4 50 763 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6f50096647bd83ac201a87921054fd17.pdf 072cbb36f515d5c2bab1ba9c2a65b086 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 165 The Lyrical Prose of Vincent Sikula Peter Petro Of the three outstanding Slovak literary movements - romanticism, surrealism, and lyrical prose - only the last one is still with us, though echoes of the Romantic school can be found in both surrealist poetry and lyrical prose. It is not really surprising that the world knows little about Slovak romanticism; other romantic schools in more influential European literatures easily overshadow this late bloomer. As for surrealist poetry, though some information about it, together with a few translations, appeared recently, 1 they cannot communicate more than a flavor of the movement that would doubtless be more known had it not flourished during the war, when communication with the rest of the world was lessened. After the war, the movement was officially banned. Thus we are left with lyrical prose. Lyrical prose is sometimes identified with expressionism, but since the examples of expressionism offered by handbooks include Joyce ' s Finnegans Wake and Kafka's Trial, it seems there is a need to differentiate expressionism from lyrical prose, inasmuch as the works of Jozef Cfger Hronsky, Milo Urban, and Vincent Sikula - the major Slovak practitioners of this genre - have very little in common indeed with Joyce and Kafka . The difference would lie in the quintessential role that the village plays in the work of these Slovak authors . This is not merely a question of thematics: urban writers like Joyce and Kafka versus the Slovaks who write about the village. The difference lies rather in the world of the Slovak village and in the world view that the village inspires as the repository of traditional life long extinct in the more advanced western Europe . I think this was understood very clearly by J.C. Hronsky , when he said: " The Slovak village, despite all its simplicity, has its depth , and it is a more mysterious depth than anyone would guess judging by a superficial look. " i The village is closer to God than the city. N eed one say that thi s realization is by no means unique, that the traditional life has always been connected in literature with the country, that in fact we are dealing with an ancient topos found in the earliest �166 SLOVAKIA literature ? What is then the specificity of Slovak lyrical prose? Perhaps a brief look at the work of Vincent Sikula, the contemporary representative of the genre, might offer us the answer. Vincent Sikula, born in 1936 , is fully aware that representing the school of lyrical prose, and following such giants as Hronsky and Urban , placed him in an enviable , though necessarily responsible position. But he is a worthy disciple . Moreover, he does not lack a certain flair for self-promotion, so very important for an author from a little known literature. He even managed to provoke some interest in his biography , when he alluded, somewhat mysteriously , to his years spent in a monastery. This would explain, at least partially, his abiding interest in and constant reference to the Church . Thus, he puzzles and even infuriates those of his critics who are dependent on the official Marxist pseudo-religion and, consequently, hate Catholicism. This is not to say that he is clearly a religious author: we look in vain for the mysticism , that , for example , is such a prominent feature of Hronsky's prose . 3 This puzzlement is visible in the variety of critical responses to Sikula' s work that Pavol Stevcek divided into three groups : the critics who are enthusiastic about Sikula (Vincent Sabfk, Julius Noge, Ivan Sulfk) ; those with doubts about the author ' s method (Vladimir Mirnic, Bretislav Truhlar, Jan Stevcek); and those radically opposed to Sikula (as is Daniel Okali). ◄ It should be pointed out in all fairness that being opposed by Daniel Okali is highly desirable , since he suffers from a chronic case of Zhdanovism and is suspicious of anything that bears an unmistakable sign of originality. It seems that Sikula takes for granted the accomplishments of Hronsky and Urban, and does not try to duplicate their efforts. Rather, Sikula uses their work as a secure base on which to build his often precarious narrative structures that, as was the case with Hronsky, depend so heavily on the dialogue, and also on the lyricism of the first person narrator . Hronsky found out that "in the distant villages, far away from civilization, below gigantic forests, and under the huge cupola of the heavens, the world is peaceful, awesome, and silent. And this silence is the expression of a great divinity. Disturbances are always pitifully small and engineered by us , men . That is what I sensed out there, in the mountains .. . ' ' 5 However, Sikula ' s village is not so far away from civilization , as was Hronsky's. The fact that Sikula writes about the western Slovakian �SLOVAKIA 167 villages that are close to the c1t1es is perhaps a sign of encroaching modernization: his villagers have a lot of contact with the city and know more than Hronsky's. At the same time, Sikula preserves their natural, traditional frame of mind as if forgetting, or perhaps purposefully ignoring, their loss of innocence and their new-found knowledge . Thus, one of Sikula's early stories opens with a whimsical introduction where the narrator's loneliness is accentuated by the apparent emptiness of the village over which echoes the narrator's loud call: I shout across the village, and nobody answers . Only the road about which people sing meanders ahead of me like a girl ' s braid . I am shouting. When a man walks along the road, he often has to call out to the man walking ahead of him . Who could it be? Who could it be, walking ahead of me? If it is a man , he will have a match, if a girl, I shall see her home. It does not become one to walk alone, whether someone walks ahead of me or behind me. 6 In reading Sikula' s lyrical narration we are struck again and again by the apparent non sequiturs that somehow manage to coalesce into a meaningful narrative at the end of a particular section or story. This is even more striking in Sikula's dialogue, which throws light on how one and the same incident is perceived in two villages, recreating the peasant language: - Do you know they caught a spy in Brusky? - Nonsense! - They really did. - What ' s his name? - Mucka . - Mucka? - Come on! - I know a Mucka. - Me too . - Me too. - Me too. - Mucka worked for Ringos, didn't he? - Yes, for Ringos. - He worked for everyone! - Mucka must be an old man now . �SLOVAKIA 168 - He is . Who would have thought that about him, tell me! Mucka? A spy? You must be kidding! They say he had a gang too, would you believe that! He sent a note to Ringos . No kidding! Really! To Ringos? Mucka . A note? He sold the lumber. Lumber? A saw. To Ringos? You're kidding! They've got him. They don't. 7 In the village Brusky itself, the same event is discussed as a rumor about a shooting at Ringos' s farm. - Who was shooting? Ringos? -No . - And the police? - What would they do with him? - It was like this: Ringos's cow was bloated because he let her feed on fresh clover. - Ringos does not even own a cow. - Ringos? - Well, he does not. - Then you don't know him . - He used to own cows. - He used to. - Ringos founded a cooperative in Ostrica. - His cow was bloated and so he went to have a look at her at night. - He does not have a cow. As soon as he founded the co-op, he got rid of everything. - Good idea. �SLOVAKIA 169 - You're all so stupid! - Who told you? - He did . - Maybe he was dreaming. - How could he have been dreaming, if he walked along the courtyard and watched the cow? - He is all upset. - He had a stroke . - A heart attack! - Ringos? - Futka. - Then what are you babbling about? - Who knows if he had a stroke, when they found him in the vineyard? - Have they called the doctor? - They have. - What did he say? - Nothing. - A heart attack! - But they say that Mucka sent a note to somebody. - To Belus . - To Ringos . - To Futka. - I don't know what you're talking about. - He sent it to Futka. - To Belus . And so on. Where is the truth of the matter, of any matter? In Sikula, the truth does emerge at the end of the story, novel, or trilogy, but it is available only to the narrator and the reader following the sum total of experiences, hints , possibilities and events that are, as in the examples of Sikula's dialogue, open to doubts. Thus, Sikula often trivializes and relativizes events, leading us to the conclusion that they are not really important to him , suggesting, perhaps , that they should not be important to us either. He is much more interested in the lyrical quality of his narrative. And this would mean, in Sikula's case, the re-invention of the child's innocence, naivety, and simplicity. It would mean adopting a consciously nostalgic approach, presenting the world as seen through the eyes of a child , even when the narrator is obviously mature. Sikula's dialogues �170 SLOVAKIA are conversations overheard by a child who hears the sounds, understands the words , and yet lacks enough experience to enter fully into the significance of the overheard communication . Not so the reader. Consequently, we witness a tension between the world that, so to speak, does not make sense to the narrator, and the same world accessible to the reader. Reading Sikula means adjusting ourselves to both levels. For some, such adjustment is difficult, as it is for the critics who have doubts about Sikula. For others still, adjustment is out of the question. Daniel Okali cannot bear to see the mythologized Slovak National Uprising of 1944 distorted, as he would have it, by a child-like lyrical narrator. The legend of the Uprising has to be preserved. There must only be one official version, nothing more . To lyricize, that is to say, to relativize and trivialize this legend is a sacrilege to Okali. But this is exactly what Sikula has done with his trilogy Majstri (The Craftsmen, 1976), Muskat (The Geranium, 1977), and Vilma (1979) . Okali misses in the trilogy the expression of the '' historic-social dimension of Slovak fascism, the complex historic and artistic truth, its ideational-aesthetic presentation in its dialectic contradictions and nakedness.' ' 9 It is not easy to satisfy Okali. But Sikula seemed untouched by Okali's attack that came before the appearance of the last volume of the trilogy, Vilma. On the contrary, he dared to issue a new challenge to the likes of Okali, refusing to accept the official explanation of history as finite . Everything must be available to the lyrical narrator , everything can be endowed with new content, everything should be open for lyrical transformation. As he says in Vilma: Friends , history is written by the people! But of course! And who writes the books? If only the historians reminded us of it again! If only they reminded us of it more often! Historical fact is a bag which has to be filled! Who said that? I don't remember. Even so, historical fact is a bag that has to be filled and that's that! One has to save, save the bag! Even the bag, my friends! 10 And on the opening page of Vilma, Sikula, as if to underscore his contempt for dogmatic criticism , continues unruffied with his lyrical narrator: Oftentimes I don't even know why some people are angry with me. Maybe I do know, but I don't always admit it. People don't like to admit they have faults. I 'm like that too. �SLOVAKIA 171 M aybe I do m ake a mistake now and then, and maybe more than one. But who is without faults ? You tell me! When I look a t you som etimes, it seems to me that you are looking at m e too . But ifl turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e. Let's say I am still a little boy. For a short time I have even served as an altar boy . I know by heart the confiteor and suscipiat. But ifl put on the white shirt and robe which went so nicely with a white, red , or violet collar - and I used to be so proud, not realizing that I looked like an angel with tussled hair, at least I see myself like that now , although today I could hardly join my hands and piously lower m y eyes, and even if I could - as soon as I would appear in a clean and freshly ironed robe in front of the altar, no matter how pious m y expression , I guess the priest would get scared and the once sinful and now already devout little old ladies who never miss a single mass would perhaps run out of the church. You better not consider me an altar boy any more! But even so, I am still a little boy. W e have to play this little theatrical to the end. 11 Again the disjointed style with its seemingly irrelevant insertions and naive parenthetical comments , again the evocation of childhood . Once the reader accepts su ch a narrator , he has to put up with his point of view, that is , with the other level of the narrative introduced by the third paragraph: ''When I look at you sometimes, it seems to me that you are lookin g at me too. But if I turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e.'' Of course, this only seems irrelevant: the reader soon finds out that the statement is d esigned to make a tran siti on to the lyrical narrative and to a nchor it in the psychology characterized by a childlike wonder and circum scribed by the world of the vill age. T o a citified modern man , the villager is like a child. Sikula accepts this premise and peoples his works with childlike peasants, eccentrics , and even weird characters who all communicate naturally and easily with the lyrical n arrator. P erhaps the n arrator does not understand them , the same as he does not understand the events of the Upri sing that angered Okali . But he does convey to u s their essential quality , essential in the sense that it is raw, unprocessed , and reported �172 SLOVAKIA with the kind of objectivity accessible to a child or a villager who both perceive the world on a level that may seem superficial to a modem man, but which does not lack its depth, as Hronsky reminded us. When the peasants argue about what really happened in Brusky, when they try to find out whether Mucka is a spy, or whether Ringos suffered a stroke or a heart attack, the truth of the matter takes second place to the new happening that looms larger, namely to the conversation itself. The conversation is an event happening in the now immediately accessible to a peasant. It is something that he understands , it is the very stuff of life. The rumors about Mucka and Ringos belong to a bewitched circle outside their reach and control and are as unimportant to them as the past is to a child . It may be objected that Sikula distorts his peasants and gives us a false picture of the village, particularly if we bear in mind that he is writing about the western Slovakian village that, one has to stress, has never been isolated the way villages were (and some still are) in the upper Hron area, or in the Orava region. The answer to this is that he does distort , but that this very distortion is the main charm of his work . And Sikula is not alone. He is a part of a very wide movement indeed, a movement that includes the Russian derevenshchiki, or village writers, and many authors in other Slavic literatures. The movement, it seems, is Slavic literature's reaction to the modem uprootedness that followed the Second World War. The West has experienced uprootedness as well, but it was a process that started long ago and went on for centuries . Not so in the Slavic countries. A good case could be made to show how the sudden changes occasioned by the two wars, and eve n more by the coming of social engineering on a gigantic scale coupled with a war on traditional life with its faults and great virtues, led to the loss of values, bemoaned so often in the W est and East, and to the emptiness that. this nostalgic literary movement tries to fill. This wider perspective might help us to situate Vincent Sikula's work within the native Slovak literary tradition of lyrical prose, but also in the emerging trends appearing elsewhere in the Slavic literary world, wherein the village reappears forcefully in the guise of the national conscience, of the very soul of the nation, despite the sad fact that the traditional village and all that it implies has in the meantime been modernized and no longer exists. Thus, Sikula does not go wrong when he places the action of his �SLOVAKIA 17 3 work in villages that are so close to the cities. We may assume that they are modernized or citified to an extent that should make the planners and social engineers who would like to erase the difference between the village and the city feel proud. He does not go wrong , because it is not so much the village as the village m entality that he would like to preserve in his work. Sikula's village is no lon ger the mysterious site cut off from the corrupting influences of the city, a lost domain preserved and embedded in the crystal of fi ction , as it is in Hronsky . It survives in Sikula's work in the village m entality which he sees as a precious remnant of the traditional life , as a tonic against the ailment of modern uprootedness, and finally as the lyrical soul of a child in abiding wonderment, illuminating a world that has lost its soul. NOTES ' See my " Slovak Surrealist Poetry : The M ovement and Its Rediscove ry," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. XX , No . 2 Gune 1978), pp . 237-244, a nd "Slovak Surrealist P arty," Prism Intern ational , Vol. XV , N os. 2 and 3 (Summer- Fall 1976), pp. 146-164 . ' Quoted in Alexander M atuska, J. C . Hronsky, rpt. in Osobnosti (Bratislava : Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), p. 435. ' Matuska, p. 448. • Pavo! Stevcek , Contemporary Slovak Literature, transl. Olga H orska (Bratislava: Obzor, 1980), p. 89 . ' Quoted in M a tu ska, p. 435. ' Vincent Sikula , " T ancuj ," in Maino si postavim bungalow (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1964), p. 49 . 7 V . Sikul a, Povetrie (Brat islava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1968), pp. 169- 170. 'Ibid. , pp . 170-17 1. 9 Stevcek, p . 89. 10 V. Sikula , Vilma (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1979), p. 172. " Ibid ., p. 7. Presented in Panel 65, " The Vi llage in Slovak Li te rature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asilomar, Cali fornia on 21 September 1981. �� SLOVAKIA 165 The Lyrical Prose of Vincent Sikula Peter Petro Of the three outstanding Slovak literary movements - romanticism, surrealism, and lyrical prose - only the last one is still with us, though echoes of the Romantic school can be found in both surrealist poetry and lyrical prose. It is not really surprising that the world knows little about Slovak romanticism; other romantic schools in more influential European literatures easily overshadow this late bloomer. As for surrealist poetry, though some information about it, together with a few translations, appeared recently, 1 they cannot communicate more than a flavor of the movement that would doubtless be more known had it not flourished during the war, when communication with the rest of the world was lessened. After the war, the movement was officially banned. Thus we are left with lyrical prose. Lyrical prose is sometimes identified with expressionism, but since the examples of expressionism offered by handbooks include Joyce ' s Finnegans Wake and Kafka's Trial, it seems there is a need to differentiate expressionism from lyrical prose, inasmuch as the works of Jozef Cfger Hronsky, Milo Urban, and Vincent Sikula - the major Slovak practitioners of this genre - have very little in common indeed with Joyce and Kafka . The difference would lie in the quintessential role that the village plays in the work of these Slovak authors . This is not merely a question of thematics: urban writers like Joyce and Kafka versus the Slovaks who write about the village. The difference lies rather in the world of the Slovak village and in the world view that the village inspires as the repository of traditional life long extinct in the more advanced western Europe . I think this was understood very clearly by J.C. Hronsky , when he said: " The Slovak village, despite all its simplicity, has its depth , and it is a more mysterious depth than anyone would guess judging by a superficial look. " i The village is closer to God than the city. N eed one say that thi s realization is by no means unique, that the traditional life has always been connected in literature with the country, that in fact we are dealing with an ancient topos found in the earliest �166 SLOVAKIA literature ? What is then the specificity of Slovak lyrical prose? Perhaps a brief look at the work of Vincent Sikula, the contemporary representative of the genre, might offer us the answer. Vincent Sikula, born in 1936 , is fully aware that representing the school of lyrical prose, and following such giants as Hronsky and Urban , placed him in an enviable , though necessarily responsible position. But he is a worthy disciple . Moreover, he does not lack a certain flair for self-promotion, so very important for an author from a little known literature. He even managed to provoke some interest in his biography , when he alluded, somewhat mysteriously , to his years spent in a monastery. This would explain, at least partially, his abiding interest in and constant reference to the Church . Thus, he puzzles and even infuriates those of his critics who are dependent on the official Marxist pseudo-religion and, consequently, hate Catholicism. This is not to say that he is clearly a religious author: we look in vain for the mysticism , that , for example , is such a prominent feature of Hronsky's prose . 3 This puzzlement is visible in the variety of critical responses to Sikula' s work that Pavol Stevcek divided into three groups : the critics who are enthusiastic about Sikula (Vincent Sabfk, Julius Noge, Ivan Sulfk) ; those with doubts about the author ' s method (Vladimir Mirnic, Bretislav Truhlar, Jan Stevcek); and those radically opposed to Sikula (as is Daniel Okali). ◄ It should be pointed out in all fairness that being opposed by Daniel Okali is highly desirable , since he suffers from a chronic case of Zhdanovism and is suspicious of anything that bears an unmistakable sign of originality. It seems that Sikula takes for granted the accomplishments of Hronsky and Urban, and does not try to duplicate their efforts. Rather, Sikula uses their work as a secure base on which to build his often precarious narrative structures that, as was the case with Hronsky, depend so heavily on the dialogue, and also on the lyricism of the first person narrator . Hronsky found out that "in the distant villages, far away from civilization, below gigantic forests, and under the huge cupola of the heavens, the world is peaceful, awesome, and silent. And this silence is the expression of a great divinity. Disturbances are always pitifully small and engineered by us , men . That is what I sensed out there, in the mountains .. . ' ' 5 However, Sikula ' s village is not so far away from civilization , as was Hronsky's. The fact that Sikula writes about the western Slovakian �SLOVAKIA 167 villages that are close to the c1t1es is perhaps a sign of encroaching modernization: his villagers have a lot of contact with the city and know more than Hronsky's. At the same time, Sikula preserves their natural, traditional frame of mind as if forgetting, or perhaps purposefully ignoring, their loss of innocence and their new-found knowledge . Thus, one of Sikula's early stories opens with a whimsical introduction where the narrator's loneliness is accentuated by the apparent emptiness of the village over which echoes the narrator's loud call: I shout across the village, and nobody answers . Only the road about which people sing meanders ahead of me like a girl ' s braid . I am shouting. When a man walks along the road, he often has to call out to the man walking ahead of him . Who could it be? Who could it be, walking ahead of me? If it is a man , he will have a match, if a girl, I shall see her home. It does not become one to walk alone, whether someone walks ahead of me or behind me. 6 In reading Sikula' s lyrical narration we are struck again and again by the apparent non sequiturs that somehow manage to coalesce into a meaningful narrative at the end of a particular section or story. This is even more striking in Sikula's dialogue, which throws light on how one and the same incident is perceived in two villages, recreating the peasant language: - Do you know they caught a spy in Brusky? - Nonsense! - They really did. - What ' s his name? - Mucka . - Mucka? - Come on! - I know a Mucka. - Me too . - Me too. - Me too. - Mucka worked for Ringos, didn't he? - Yes, for Ringos. - He worked for everyone! - Mucka must be an old man now . �SLOVAKIA 168 - He is . Who would have thought that about him, tell me! Mucka? A spy? You must be kidding! They say he had a gang too, would you believe that! He sent a note to Ringos . No kidding! Really! To Ringos? Mucka . A note? He sold the lumber. Lumber? A saw. To Ringos? You're kidding! They've got him. They don't. 7 In the village Brusky itself, the same event is discussed as a rumor about a shooting at Ringos' s farm. - Who was shooting? Ringos? -No . - And the police? - What would they do with him? - It was like this: Ringos's cow was bloated because he let her feed on fresh clover. - Ringos does not even own a cow. - Ringos? - Well, he does not. - Then you don't know him . - He used to own cows. - He used to. - Ringos founded a cooperative in Ostrica. - His cow was bloated and so he went to have a look at her at night. - He does not have a cow. As soon as he founded the co-op, he got rid of everything. - Good idea. �SLOVAKIA 169 - You're all so stupid! - Who told you? - He did . - Maybe he was dreaming. - How could he have been dreaming, if he walked along the courtyard and watched the cow? - He is all upset. - He had a stroke . - A heart attack! - Ringos? - Futka. - Then what are you babbling about? - Who knows if he had a stroke, when they found him in the vineyard? - Have they called the doctor? - They have. - What did he say? - Nothing. - A heart attack! - But they say that Mucka sent a note to somebody. - To Belus . - To Ringos . - To Futka. - I don't know what you're talking about. - He sent it to Futka. - To Belus . And so on. Where is the truth of the matter, of any matter? In Sikula, the truth does emerge at the end of the story, novel, or trilogy, but it is available only to the narrator and the reader following the sum total of experiences, hints , possibilities and events that are, as in the examples of Sikula's dialogue, open to doubts. Thus, Sikula often trivializes and relativizes events, leading us to the conclusion that they are not really important to him , suggesting, perhaps , that they should not be important to us either. He is much more interested in the lyrical quality of his narrative. And this would mean, in Sikula's case, the re-invention of the child's innocence, naivety, and simplicity. It would mean adopting a consciously nostalgic approach, presenting the world as seen through the eyes of a child , even when the narrator is obviously mature. Sikula's dialogues �170 SLOVAKIA are conversations overheard by a child who hears the sounds, understands the words , and yet lacks enough experience to enter fully into the significance of the overheard communication . Not so the reader. Consequently, we witness a tension between the world that, so to speak, does not make sense to the narrator, and the same world accessible to the reader. Reading Sikula means adjusting ourselves to both levels. For some, such adjustment is difficult, as it is for the critics who have doubts about Sikula. For others still, adjustment is out of the question. Daniel Okali cannot bear to see the mythologized Slovak National Uprising of 1944 distorted, as he would have it, by a child-like lyrical narrator. The legend of the Uprising has to be preserved. There must only be one official version, nothing more . To lyricize, that is to say, to relativize and trivialize this legend is a sacrilege to Okali. But this is exactly what Sikula has done with his trilogy Majstri (The Craftsmen, 1976), Muskat (The Geranium, 1977), and Vilma (1979) . Okali misses in the trilogy the expression of the '' historic-social dimension of Slovak fascism, the complex historic and artistic truth, its ideational-aesthetic presentation in its dialectic contradictions and nakedness.' ' 9 It is not easy to satisfy Okali. But Sikula seemed untouched by Okali's attack that came before the appearance of the last volume of the trilogy, Vilma. On the contrary, he dared to issue a new challenge to the likes of Okali, refusing to accept the official explanation of history as finite . Everything must be available to the lyrical narrator , everything can be endowed with new content, everything should be open for lyrical transformation. As he says in Vilma: Friends , history is written by the people! But of course! And who writes the books? If only the historians reminded us of it again! If only they reminded us of it more often! Historical fact is a bag which has to be filled! Who said that? I don't remember. Even so, historical fact is a bag that has to be filled and that's that! One has to save, save the bag! Even the bag, my friends! 10 And on the opening page of Vilma, Sikula, as if to underscore his contempt for dogmatic criticism , continues unruffied with his lyrical narrator: Oftentimes I don't even know why some people are angry with me. Maybe I do know, but I don't always admit it. People don't like to admit they have faults. I 'm like that too. �SLOVAKIA 171 M aybe I do m ake a mistake now and then, and maybe more than one. But who is without faults ? You tell me! When I look a t you som etimes, it seems to me that you are looking at m e too . But ifl turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e. Let's say I am still a little boy. For a short time I have even served as an altar boy . I know by heart the confiteor and suscipiat. But ifl put on the white shirt and robe which went so nicely with a white, red , or violet collar - and I used to be so proud, not realizing that I looked like an angel with tussled hair, at least I see myself like that now , although today I could hardly join my hands and piously lower m y eyes, and even if I could - as soon as I would appear in a clean and freshly ironed robe in front of the altar, no matter how pious m y expression , I guess the priest would get scared and the once sinful and now already devout little old ladies who never miss a single mass would perhaps run out of the church. You better not consider me an altar boy any more! But even so, I am still a little boy. W e have to play this little theatrical to the end. 11 Again the disjointed style with its seemingly irrelevant insertions and naive parenthetical comments , again the evocation of childhood . Once the reader accepts su ch a narrator , he has to put up with his point of view, that is , with the other level of the narrative introduced by the third paragraph: ''When I look at you sometimes, it seems to me that you are lookin g at me too. But if I turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e.'' Of course, this only seems irrelevant: the reader soon finds out that the statement is d esigned to make a tran siti on to the lyrical narrative and to a nchor it in the psychology characterized by a childlike wonder and circum scribed by the world of the vill age. T o a citified modern man , the villager is like a child. Sikula accepts this premise and peoples his works with childlike peasants, eccentrics , and even weird characters who all communicate naturally and easily with the lyrical n arrator. P erhaps the n arrator does not understand them , the same as he does not understand the events of the Upri sing that angered Okali . But he does convey to u s their essential quality , essential in the sense that it is raw, unprocessed , and reported �172 SLOVAKIA with the kind of objectivity accessible to a child or a villager who both perceive the world on a level that may seem superficial to a modem man, but which does not lack its depth, as Hronsky reminded us. When the peasants argue about what really happened in Brusky, when they try to find out whether Mucka is a spy, or whether Ringos suffered a stroke or a heart attack, the truth of the matter takes second place to the new happening that looms larger, namely to the conversation itself. The conversation is an event happening in the now immediately accessible to a peasant. It is something that he understands , it is the very stuff of life. The rumors about Mucka and Ringos belong to a bewitched circle outside their reach and control and are as unimportant to them as the past is to a child . It may be objected that Sikula distorts his peasants and gives us a false picture of the village, particularly if we bear in mind that he is writing about the western Slovakian village that, one has to stress, has never been isolated the way villages were (and some still are) in the upper Hron area, or in the Orava region. The answer to this is that he does distort , but that this very distortion is the main charm of his work . And Sikula is not alone. He is a part of a very wide movement indeed, a movement that includes the Russian derevenshchiki, or village writers, and many authors in other Slavic literatures. The movement, it seems, is Slavic literature's reaction to the modem uprootedness that followed the Second World War. The West has experienced uprootedness as well, but it was a process that started long ago and went on for centuries . Not so in the Slavic countries. A good case could be made to show how the sudden changes occasioned by the two wars, and eve n more by the coming of social engineering on a gigantic scale coupled with a war on traditional life with its faults and great virtues, led to the loss of values, bemoaned so often in the W est and East, and to the emptiness that. this nostalgic literary movement tries to fill. This wider perspective might help us to situate Vincent Sikula's work within the native Slovak literary tradition of lyrical prose, but also in the emerging trends appearing elsewhere in the Slavic literary world, wherein the village reappears forcefully in the guise of the national conscience, of the very soul of the nation, despite the sad fact that the traditional village and all that it implies has in the meantime been modernized and no longer exists. Thus, Sikula does not go wrong when he places the action of his �SLOVAKIA 17 3 work in villages that are so close to the cities. We may assume that they are modernized or citified to an extent that should make the planners and social engineers who would like to erase the difference between the village and the city feel proud. He does not go wrong , because it is not so much the village as the village m entality that he would like to preserve in his work. Sikula's village is no lon ger the mysterious site cut off from the corrupting influences of the city, a lost domain preserved and embedded in the crystal of fi ction , as it is in Hronsky . It survives in Sikula's work in the village m entality which he sees as a precious remnant of the traditional life , as a tonic against the ailment of modern uprootedness, and finally as the lyrical soul of a child in abiding wonderment, illuminating a world that has lost its soul. NOTES ' See my " Slovak Surrealist Poetry : The M ovement and Its Rediscove ry," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. XX , No . 2 Gune 1978), pp . 237-244, a nd "Slovak Surrealist P arty," Prism Intern ational , Vol. XV , N os. 2 and 3 (Summer- Fall 1976), pp. 146-164 . ' Quoted in Alexander M atuska, J. C . Hronsky, rpt. in Osobnosti (Bratislava : Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), p. 435. ' Matuska, p. 448. • Pavo! Stevcek , Contemporary Slovak Literature, transl. Olga H orska (Bratislava: Obzor, 1980), p. 89 . ' Quoted in M a tu ska, p. 435. ' Vincent Sikula , " T ancuj ," in Maino si postavim bungalow (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1964), p. 49 . 7 V . Sikul a, Povetrie (Brat islava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1968), pp. 169- 170. 'Ibid. , pp . 170-17 1. 9 Stevcek, p . 89. 10 V. Sikula , Vilma (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1979), p. 172. " Ibid ., p. 7. Presented in Panel 65, " The Vi llage in Slovak Li te rature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asilomar, Cali fornia on 21 September 1981. �� 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 1982-83, Vol. 30 Description An account of the resource Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83. 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 1982-83 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 165 The Lyrical Prose of Vincent Sikula Peter Petro Of the three outstanding Slovak literary movements - romanticism, surrealism, and lyrical prose - only the last one is still with us, though echoes of the Romantic school can be found in both surrealist poetry and lyrical prose. It is not really surprising that the world knows little about Slovak romanticism; other romantic schools in more influential European literatures easily overshadow this late bloomer. As for surrealist poetry, though some information about it, together with a few translations, appeared recently, 1 they cannot communicate more than a flavor of the movement that would doubtless be more known had it not flourished during the war, when communication with the rest of the world was lessened. After the war, the movement was officially banned. Thus we are left with lyrical prose. Lyrical prose is sometimes identified with expressionism, but since the examples of expressionism offered by handbooks include Joyce ' s Finnegans Wake and Kafka's Trial, it seems there is a need to differentiate expressionism from lyrical prose, inasmuch as the works of Jozef Cfger Hronsky, Milo Urban, and Vincent Sikula - the major Slovak practitioners of this genre - have very little in common indeed with Joyce and Kafka . The difference would lie in the quintessential role that the village plays in the work of these Slovak authors . This is not merely a question of thematics: urban writers like Joyce and Kafka versus the Slovaks who write about the village. The difference lies rather in the world of the Slovak village and in the world view that the village inspires as the repository of traditional life long extinct in the more advanced western Europe . I think this was understood very clearly by J.C. Hronsky , when he said: " The Slovak village, despite all its simplicity, has its depth , and it is a more mysterious depth than anyone would guess judging by a superficial look. " i The village is closer to God than the city. N eed one say that thi s realization is by no means unique, that the traditional life has always been connected in literature with the country, that in fact we are dealing with an ancient topos found in the earliest 166 SLOVAKIA literature ? What is then the specificity of Slovak lyrical prose? Perhaps a brief look at the work of Vincent Sikula, the contemporary representative of the genre, might offer us the answer. Vincent Sikula, born in 1936 , is fully aware that representing the school of lyrical prose, and following such giants as Hronsky and Urban , placed him in an enviable , though necessarily responsible position. But he is a worthy disciple . Moreover, he does not lack a certain flair for self-promotion, so very important for an author from a little known literature. He even managed to provoke some interest in his biography , when he alluded, somewhat mysteriously , to his years spent in a monastery. This would explain, at least partially, his abiding interest in and constant reference to the Church . Thus, he puzzles and even infuriates those of his critics who are dependent on the official Marxist pseudo-religion and, consequently, hate Catholicism. This is not to say that he is clearly a religious author: we look in vain for the mysticism , that , for example , is such a prominent feature of Hronsky's prose . 3 This puzzlement is visible in the variety of critical responses to Sikula' s work that Pavol Stevcek divided into three groups : the critics who are enthusiastic about Sikula (Vincent Sabfk, Julius Noge, Ivan Sulfk) ; those with doubts about the author ' s method (Vladimir Mirnic, Bretislav Truhlar, Jan Stevcek); and those radically opposed to Sikula (as is Daniel Okali). ◄ It should be pointed out in all fairness that being opposed by Daniel Okali is highly desirable , since he suffers from a chronic case of Zhdanovism and is suspicious of anything that bears an unmistakable sign of originality. It seems that Sikula takes for granted the accomplishments of Hronsky and Urban, and does not try to duplicate their efforts. Rather, Sikula uses their work as a secure base on which to build his often precarious narrative structures that, as was the case with Hronsky, depend so heavily on the dialogue, and also on the lyricism of the first person narrator . Hronsky found out that "in the distant villages, far away from civilization, below gigantic forests, and under the huge cupola of the heavens, the world is peaceful, awesome, and silent. And this silence is the expression of a great divinity. Disturbances are always pitifully small and engineered by us , men . That is what I sensed out there, in the mountains .. . ' ' 5 However, Sikula ' s village is not so far away from civilization , as was Hronsky's. The fact that Sikula writes about the western Slovakian SLOVAKIA 167 villages that are close to the c1t1es is perhaps a sign of encroaching modernization: his villagers have a lot of contact with the city and know more than Hronsky's. At the same time, Sikula preserves their natural, traditional frame of mind as if forgetting, or perhaps purposefully ignoring, their loss of innocence and their new-found knowledge . Thus, one of Sikula's early stories opens with a whimsical introduction where the narrator's loneliness is accentuated by the apparent emptiness of the village over which echoes the narrator's loud call: I shout across the village, and nobody answers . Only the road about which people sing meanders ahead of me like a girl ' s braid . I am shouting. When a man walks along the road, he often has to call out to the man walking ahead of him . Who could it be? Who could it be, walking ahead of me? If it is a man , he will have a match, if a girl, I shall see her home. It does not become one to walk alone, whether someone walks ahead of me or behind me. 6 In reading Sikula' s lyrical narration we are struck again and again by the apparent non sequiturs that somehow manage to coalesce into a meaningful narrative at the end of a particular section or story. This is even more striking in Sikula's dialogue, which throws light on how one and the same incident is perceived in two villages, recreating the peasant language: - Do you know they caught a spy in Brusky? - Nonsense! - They really did. - What ' s his name? - Mucka . - Mucka? - Come on! - I know a Mucka. - Me too . - Me too. - Me too. - Mucka worked for Ringos, didn't he? - Yes, for Ringos. - He worked for everyone! - Mucka must be an old man now . SLOVAKIA 168 - He is . Who would have thought that about him, tell me! Mucka? A spy? You must be kidding! They say he had a gang too, would you believe that! He sent a note to Ringos . No kidding! Really! To Ringos? Mucka . A note? He sold the lumber. Lumber? A saw. To Ringos? You're kidding! They've got him. They don't. 7 In the village Brusky itself, the same event is discussed as a rumor about a shooting at Ringos' s farm. - Who was shooting? Ringos? -No . - And the police? - What would they do with him? - It was like this: Ringos's cow was bloated because he let her feed on fresh clover. - Ringos does not even own a cow. - Ringos? - Well, he does not. - Then you don't know him . - He used to own cows. - He used to. - Ringos founded a cooperative in Ostrica. - His cow was bloated and so he went to have a look at her at night. - He does not have a cow. As soon as he founded the co-op, he got rid of everything. - Good idea. SLOVAKIA 169 - You're all so stupid! - Who told you? - He did . - Maybe he was dreaming. - How could he have been dreaming, if he walked along the courtyard and watched the cow? - He is all upset. - He had a stroke . - A heart attack! - Ringos? - Futka. - Then what are you babbling about? - Who knows if he had a stroke, when they found him in the vineyard? - Have they called the doctor? - They have. - What did he say? - Nothing. - A heart attack! - But they say that Mucka sent a note to somebody. - To Belus . - To Ringos . - To Futka. - I don't know what you're talking about. - He sent it to Futka. - To Belus . And so on. Where is the truth of the matter, of any matter? In Sikula, the truth does emerge at the end of the story, novel, or trilogy, but it is available only to the narrator and the reader following the sum total of experiences, hints , possibilities and events that are, as in the examples of Sikula's dialogue, open to doubts. Thus, Sikula often trivializes and relativizes events, leading us to the conclusion that they are not really important to him , suggesting, perhaps , that they should not be important to us either. He is much more interested in the lyrical quality of his narrative. And this would mean, in Sikula's case, the re-invention of the child's innocence, naivety, and simplicity. It would mean adopting a consciously nostalgic approach, presenting the world as seen through the eyes of a child , even when the narrator is obviously mature. Sikula's dialogues 170 SLOVAKIA are conversations overheard by a child who hears the sounds, understands the words , and yet lacks enough experience to enter fully into the significance of the overheard communication . Not so the reader. Consequently, we witness a tension between the world that, so to speak, does not make sense to the narrator, and the same world accessible to the reader. Reading Sikula means adjusting ourselves to both levels. For some, such adjustment is difficult, as it is for the critics who have doubts about Sikula. For others still, adjustment is out of the question. Daniel Okali cannot bear to see the mythologized Slovak National Uprising of 1944 distorted, as he would have it, by a child-like lyrical narrator. The legend of the Uprising has to be preserved. There must only be one official version, nothing more . To lyricize, that is to say, to relativize and trivialize this legend is a sacrilege to Okali. But this is exactly what Sikula has done with his trilogy Majstri (The Craftsmen, 1976), Muskat (The Geranium, 1977), and Vilma (1979) . Okali misses in the trilogy the expression of the '' historic-social dimension of Slovak fascism, the complex historic and artistic truth, its ideational-aesthetic presentation in its dialectic contradictions and nakedness.' ' 9 It is not easy to satisfy Okali. But Sikula seemed untouched by Okali's attack that came before the appearance of the last volume of the trilogy, Vilma. On the contrary, he dared to issue a new challenge to the likes of Okali, refusing to accept the official explanation of history as finite . Everything must be available to the lyrical narrator , everything can be endowed with new content, everything should be open for lyrical transformation. As he says in Vilma: Friends , history is written by the people! But of course! And who writes the books? If only the historians reminded us of it again! If only they reminded us of it more often! Historical fact is a bag which has to be filled! Who said that? I don't remember. Even so, historical fact is a bag that has to be filled and that's that! One has to save, save the bag! Even the bag, my friends! 10 And on the opening page of Vilma, Sikula, as if to underscore his contempt for dogmatic criticism , continues unruffied with his lyrical narrator: Oftentimes I don't even know why some people are angry with me. Maybe I do know, but I don't always admit it. People don't like to admit they have faults. I 'm like that too. SLOVAKIA 171 M aybe I do m ake a mistake now and then, and maybe more than one. But who is without faults ? You tell me! When I look a t you som etimes, it seems to me that you are looking at m e too . But ifl turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e. Let's say I am still a little boy. For a short time I have even served as an altar boy . I know by heart the confiteor and suscipiat. But ifl put on the white shirt and robe which went so nicely with a white, red , or violet collar - and I used to be so proud, not realizing that I looked like an angel with tussled hair, at least I see myself like that now , although today I could hardly join my hands and piously lower m y eyes, and even if I could - as soon as I would appear in a clean and freshly ironed robe in front of the altar, no matter how pious m y expression , I guess the priest would get scared and the once sinful and now already devout little old ladies who never miss a single mass would perhaps run out of the church. You better not consider me an altar boy any more! But even so, I am still a little boy. W e have to play this little theatrical to the end. 11 Again the disjointed style with its seemingly irrelevant insertions and naive parenthetical comments , again the evocation of childhood . Once the reader accepts su ch a narrator , he has to put up with his point of view, that is , with the other level of the narrative introduced by the third paragraph: ''When I look at you sometimes, it seems to me that you are lookin g at me too. But if I turn away and look elsewhere, I can think that you too stopped looking at m e.'' Of course, this only seems irrelevant: the reader soon finds out that the statement is d esigned to make a tran siti on to the lyrical narrative and to a nchor it in the psychology characterized by a childlike wonder and circum scribed by the world of the vill age. T o a citified modern man , the villager is like a child. Sikula accepts this premise and peoples his works with childlike peasants, eccentrics , and even weird characters who all communicate naturally and easily with the lyrical n arrator. P erhaps the n arrator does not understand them , the same as he does not understand the events of the Upri sing that angered Okali . But he does convey to u s their essential quality , essential in the sense that it is raw, unprocessed , and reported 172 SLOVAKIA with the kind of objectivity accessible to a child or a villager who both perceive the world on a level that may seem superficial to a modem man, but which does not lack its depth, as Hronsky reminded us. When the peasants argue about what really happened in Brusky, when they try to find out whether Mucka is a spy, or whether Ringos suffered a stroke or a heart attack, the truth of the matter takes second place to the new happening that looms larger, namely to the conversation itself. The conversation is an event happening in the now immediately accessible to a peasant. It is something that he understands , it is the very stuff of life. The rumors about Mucka and Ringos belong to a bewitched circle outside their reach and control and are as unimportant to them as the past is to a child . It may be objected that Sikula distorts his peasants and gives us a false picture of the village, particularly if we bear in mind that he is writing about the western Slovakian village that, one has to stress, has never been isolated the way villages were (and some still are) in the upper Hron area, or in the Orava region. The answer to this is that he does distort , but that this very distortion is the main charm of his work . And Sikula is not alone. He is a part of a very wide movement indeed, a movement that includes the Russian derevenshchiki, or village writers, and many authors in other Slavic literatures. The movement, it seems, is Slavic literature's reaction to the modem uprootedness that followed the Second World War. The West has experienced uprootedness as well, but it was a process that started long ago and went on for centuries . Not so in the Slavic countries. A good case could be made to show how the sudden changes occasioned by the two wars, and eve n more by the coming of social engineering on a gigantic scale coupled with a war on traditional life with its faults and great virtues, led to the loss of values, bemoaned so often in the W est and East, and to the emptiness that. this nostalgic literary movement tries to fill. This wider perspective might help us to situate Vincent Sikula's work within the native Slovak literary tradition of lyrical prose, but also in the emerging trends appearing elsewhere in the Slavic literary world, wherein the village reappears forcefully in the guise of the national conscience, of the very soul of the nation, despite the sad fact that the traditional village and all that it implies has in the meantime been modernized and no longer exists. Thus, Sikula does not go wrong when he places the action of his SLOVAKIA 17 3 work in villages that are so close to the cities. We may assume that they are modernized or citified to an extent that should make the planners and social engineers who would like to erase the difference between the village and the city feel proud. He does not go wrong , because it is not so much the village as the village m entality that he would like to preserve in his work. Sikula's village is no lon ger the mysterious site cut off from the corrupting influences of the city, a lost domain preserved and embedded in the crystal of fi ction , as it is in Hronsky . It survives in Sikula's work in the village m entality which he sees as a precious remnant of the traditional life , as a tonic against the ailment of modern uprootedness, and finally as the lyrical soul of a child in abiding wonderment, illuminating a world that has lost its soul. NOTES ' See my " Slovak Surrealist Poetry : The M ovement and Its Rediscove ry," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. XX , No . 2 Gune 1978), pp . 237-244, a nd "Slovak Surrealist P arty," Prism Intern ational , Vol. XV , N os. 2 and 3 (Summer- Fall 1976), pp. 146-164 . ' Quoted in Alexander M atuska, J. C . Hronsky, rpt. in Osobnosti (Bratislava : Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), p. 435. ' Matuska, p. 448. • Pavo! Stevcek , Contemporary Slovak Literature, transl. Olga H orska (Bratislava: Obzor, 1980), p. 89 . ' Quoted in M a tu ska, p. 435. ' Vincent Sikula , " T ancuj ," in Maino si postavim bungalow (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1964), p. 49 . 7 V . Sikul a, Povetrie (Brat islava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1968), pp. 169- 170. 'Ibid. , pp . 170-17 1. 9 Stevcek, p . 89. 10 V. Sikula , Vilma (Bratislava: Slovensky Spisovatel' , 1979), p. 172. " Ibid ., p. 7. Presented in Panel 65, " The Vi llage in Slovak Li te rature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asilomar, Cali fornia on 21 September 1981.  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 Lyrical Prose of Vincent Šikula Description An account of the resource Peter Petro Slovakia, Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83 pp. 165-173 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Petro, Peter Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ae72ad20320a50fc785e801b2602e879.pdf 86f44198a453e1c904f5c7f2ff96e7e1 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 175 CONTRIBUTORS DA YID P. DANIEL is in the Department of Historical Theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, he has published many articles on Slovak Reformation history and is active in several organizations on European history . MARIE-ELIZABETH DUCREUX is in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Not of Slavic extraction herself, she has just completed her doctoral dissertation on Czech hymnology at the Sorbonne. F.G. GALAN is at the University of Texas in Austin, where his speciality is literary theory and semiotics. His book on the semiotics of film was recently published and one on the Prague Circle is expected shortly . WILLIAM E . HARKINS is at Columbia University, where he has been a pioneer of both Czech and Slovak studies, besides his work in Russian. He has long been active in national and international Slavic organizations. EV A SUSAN KUCEKOVA teaches Czech and Slovak at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. She recently completed her dissertation on folk literature at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. PETER PETRO teaches comparative literature , Slovak, and Russian at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His book on four modern satirists was rece ntl y published by M outon , a nd he is prepa ring an English history of modern Slovak literature. NORMAL. RUDINSKY is at Oregon Sta te University in Co rvallis. She has tra nsl ated stories by M a rtin Kukucfn and is currentl y prepa ring a collection of stories by Bozena Slan cfkov a Timrava. G ERALD J. SABO is at j ohn Carroll U nive rsity in Cleveland . His Yale dissertation will be published as a critical edition ofHugolfn G avlovic's Valaska Skala , and he is preparin g a n En glish hi story of earl y Slovak literature . JAROS LAV J. VAJDA is a n editor at Concordia Press, St. Louis, but is best known as a transla tor of Slovak poe try, including Hviezd oslav , Kras ko, and J anko Kral' . �176 SLOVAKIA Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the editor . Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length , and should be submitted in triplicate, typed double-spaced, with generous margins for copyeditin g. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced , numbered , and placed at the end of the paper. T ext and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers. Proper orthography and diacritical m arks must be supplied for all foreign words . Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided . Books for review are to be sent to the editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged . Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme ? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced , typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author , full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. ��THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland , Ohio EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK, K.S.G. President JOHN A . HOLY Secretary-Treasurer DANIEL F. TANZONE Vice Presidents ANNEZ. SAROSY MICHAEL BUCKO Executive Committee Edward J . Behuncik, John A . Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr ., George N. Kantor Michael J . Krajsa , Louise M. Yash , Cecelia Sarocky, Margaret Pilosi , Joseph R. Kristofik , George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza , President Regional Vice-Presidents : George Lupjan - New York , New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania George Chura - Ohio Joseph Fecik - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin Matthew Zvada - California John Hvasta - Washington, D.C. , Virginia Joseph Valen cik Auditors : Dolores J . Soska Paul Brunovsky SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland , Ohio FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S . AND CANADA Cleveland , Ohio SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa. LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . FIRST SLOVAK WREATH OF THE FREE EAGLE Bridgeport, Conn. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN ' S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa , K.S.G., President SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown , Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A . � SLOVAKIA 175 CONTRIBUTORS DA YID P. DANIEL is in the Department of Historical Theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, he has published many articles on Slovak Reformation history and is active in several organizations on European history . MARIE-ELIZABETH DUCREUX is in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Not of Slavic extraction herself, she has just completed her doctoral dissertation on Czech hymnology at the Sorbonne. F.G. GALAN is at the University of Texas in Austin, where his speciality is literary theory and semiotics. His book on the semiotics of film was recently published and one on the Prague Circle is expected shortly . WILLIAM E . HARKINS is at Columbia University, where he has been a pioneer of both Czech and Slovak studies, besides his work in Russian. He has long been active in national and international Slavic organizations. EV A SUSAN KUCEKOVA teaches Czech and Slovak at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. She recently completed her dissertation on folk literature at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. PETER PETRO teaches comparative literature , Slovak, and Russian at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His book on four modern satirists was rece ntl y published by M outon , a nd he is prepa ring an English history of modern Slovak literature. NORMAL. RUDINSKY is at Oregon Sta te University in Co rvallis. She has tra nsl ated stories by M a rtin Kukucfn and is currentl y prepa ring a collection of stories by Bozena Slan cfkov a Timrava. G ERALD J. SABO is at j ohn Carroll U nive rsity in Cleveland . His Yale dissertation will be published as a critical edition ofHugolfn G avlovic's Valaska Skala , and he is preparin g a n En glish hi story of earl y Slovak literature . JAROS LAV J. VAJDA is a n editor at Concordia Press, St. Louis, but is best known as a transla tor of Slovak poe try, including Hviezd oslav , Kras ko, and J anko Kral' . �176 SLOVAKIA Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the editor . Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length , and should be submitted in triplicate, typed double-spaced, with generous margins for copyeditin g. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced , numbered , and placed at the end of the paper. T ext and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers. Proper orthography and diacritical m arks must be supplied for all foreign words . Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided . Books for review are to be sent to the editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged . Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme ? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced , typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author , full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. ��THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland , Ohio EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK, K.S.G. President JOHN A . HOLY Secretary-Treasurer DANIEL F. TANZONE Vice Presidents ANNEZ. SAROSY MICHAEL BUCKO Executive Committee Edward J . Behuncik, John A . Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr ., George N. Kantor Michael J . Krajsa , Louise M. Yash , Cecelia Sarocky, Margaret Pilosi , Joseph R. Kristofik , George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza , President Regional Vice-Presidents : George Lupjan - New York , New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania George Chura - Ohio Joseph Fecik - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin Matthew Zvada - California John Hvasta - Washington, D.C. , Virginia Joseph Valen cik Auditors : Dolores J . Soska Paul Brunovsky SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland , Ohio FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S . AND CANADA Cleveland , Ohio SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa. LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . FIRST SLOVAK WREATH OF THE FREE EAGLE Bridgeport, Conn. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN ' S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa , K.S.G., President SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown , Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1982-83, Vol. 30 Description An account of the resource Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83. 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 1982-83 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 175 CONTRIBUTORS DA YID P. DANIEL is in the Department of Historical Theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, he has published many articles on Slovak Reformation history and is active in several organizations on European history . MARIE-ELIZABETH DUCREUX is in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Not of Slavic extraction herself, she has just completed her doctoral dissertation on Czech hymnology at the Sorbonne. F.G. GALAN is at the University of Texas in Austin, where his speciality is literary theory and semiotics. His book on the semiotics of film was recently published and one on the Prague Circle is expected shortly . WILLIAM E . HARKINS is at Columbia University, where he has been a pioneer of both Czech and Slovak studies, besides his work in Russian. He has long been active in national and international Slavic organizations. EV A SUSAN KUCEKOVA teaches Czech and Slovak at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. She recently completed her dissertation on folk literature at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. PETER PETRO teaches comparative literature , Slovak, and Russian at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His book on four modern satirists was rece ntl y published by M outon , a nd he is prepa ring an English history of modern Slovak literature. NORMAL. RUDINSKY is at Oregon Sta te University in Co rvallis. She has tra nsl ated stories by M a rtin Kukucfn and is currentl y prepa ring a collection of stories by Bozena Slan cfkov a Timrava. G ERALD J. SABO is at j ohn Carroll U nive rsity in Cleveland . His Yale dissertation will be published as a critical edition ofHugolfn G avlovic's Valaska Skala , and he is preparin g a n En glish hi story of earl y Slovak literature . JAROS LAV J. VAJDA is a n editor at Concordia Press, St. Louis, but is best known as a transla tor of Slovak poe try, including Hviezd oslav , Kras ko, and J anko Kral' . 176 SLOVAKIA Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the editor . Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length , and should be submitted in triplicate, typed double-spaced, with generous margins for copyeditin g. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced , numbered , and placed at the end of the paper. T ext and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers. Proper orthography and diacritical m arks must be supplied for all foreign words . Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided . Books for review are to be sent to the editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged . Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme ? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced , typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author , full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland , Ohio EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK, K.S.G. President JOHN A . HOLY Secretary-Treasurer DANIEL F. TANZONE Vice Presidents ANNEZ. SAROSY MICHAEL BUCKO Executive Committee Edward J . Behuncik, John A . Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr ., George N. Kantor Michael J . Krajsa , Louise M. Yash , Cecelia Sarocky, Margaret Pilosi , Joseph R. Kristofik , George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza , President Regional Vice-Presidents : George Lupjan - New York , New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania George Chura - Ohio Joseph Fecik - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin Matthew Zvada - California John Hvasta - Washington, D.C. , Virginia Joseph Valen cik Auditors : Dolores J . Soska Paul Brunovsky SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland , Ohio FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S . AND CANADA Cleveland , Ohio SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa. LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . FIRST SLOVAK WREATH OF THE FREE EAGLE Bridgeport, Conn. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN ' S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa , K.S.G., President SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown , Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 30 (No. 55-56) Description An account of the resource includes Contributors; Guidelines for Manuscripts Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/97cece137011a186a8e52a1bab6f0d09.pdf e33a180073fe710a002e3637130be3e9 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 1980-81 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA ����SLOVAKIA VOLUMEXXIX 1980-1981 NUMBERS 53-64 An annual devoted to the history and culture of Slovaks the world over Editor MICHAEL NOVAK American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Managing Editor M. MARK STOLARIK The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Editorial Board DAVID P. DANIEL Concordia Theological Seminary OWEN V. JOHNSON Indiana University THOMAS D. MARZIK Saint Joseph's University STANLEY Z. PECH University of British Columbia Slovak League Advisory Board EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK DRAGA DIVINSKA JOHN A. HOLY JOSEPH C. KRAJSA DANIEL F. TANZONE Publisher Slovak League of America c I o John A. Holy, Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 Inquiries regarding subscriptions should be addressed to John Holy. Manuscripts for possible publication and books for review should be addressed to M. Mark Stolarik, 700 Penfield Ave., Havertown, Pa. 19083. ��Table of Contents A Letter from the Publisher John A . Holy . .. . _"\" . ...... ..... ............... . . . 7 HISTORY The Slovak Republic and the Slovaks Stanislav J . Kirschbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Rusyns and the Slovak State PaulR. Magocsi ...... . ..... . . . . . . .. . . .. ... .. . . . . . .. .. . . 39 Music Schools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of Interwar Slovakia Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 An Ethnohistory of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions Howard F. Stein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 LITERATURE Exerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner , 1906-1933 Vasil S. Koban .............. . . . .. . ..................... 105 Babushka Sonya Jason . . . . . . ................. . .... . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. 126 REVIEWS Peter Brock - The Slovak National Awakening (Andrej Cincura) . . . . . . . . . . . .............. . . . 135 Josef Kalvoda - Czechoslovakia 's Role in Soviet Strategy (Stanislav J. Kirschbaum) . . .............................. 138 �Dorothea El Mallakh - The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 (Yeshayahu Jelinek) . . . . . ... . .... .. ............... . .... .. 141 Anthony X. Sutherland - Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia (Josef Kalvoda) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 145 Yeshayahu Jelinek - The Parish Republic (Anthony X. Sutherland) ....... . . .. . . . . .... . . . . . .. . . . .... 147 Andrea Rebichini - Chiesa, societa e stato in Cecoslovachia (Teodorik J. Zubek) . . . . . . . . ....... . . .. . .... . . . .. . . . .. .. . 149 Vsevlad J. Gajdos - Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek - Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike (Gerald J. Sabo) ....... . . . . . . . . .. . . .... .. . .. . . . .. . . . ... . 151 Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps . Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, m (JuneGranatirAlexander) . ....... . .. . . . ...... .. . . . . ... . . 153 Vasil S. Kohan - The Sorrows of Marienka (Paul Wilkes) ............ . . . .... .. . . .. ...... . . . 157 Megles, Stolarik & Tybor - Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland (Thomas D. Marzik) .......... .. ... ... . . . . . . . . ....... . .. . 160 Contributors .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . ....... . ........ .. . . . . . .. .. . . 163 Guidelines for Manuscripts ......... . . . ... \ . . . . . . . . .... . . ..... 165 �SLOVAKIA 7 A Letter ·From The Publisher With this issue Slovakia marks its thirtieth anniversary. The first volume was published by the Slovak League of America in 1951, with the then President of the League, Philip A. Hrobak, serving as editor. Hrobak was a staunch defender of the rights of the Slovak nation, and issues of Slovakia testified to his beliefs during the twelve years of his editorship. Shortly before his death, Hrobak asked Dr. Joseph Pauco, then Secretary of the Slovak League, to serve as editor. Pauco's strong belief in the right of the Slovak nation to its independence continued to be the philosophy of Slovakia. Under his leadership the journal expanded its scope and attracted a number of scholars who contributed timely articles which mirrored his philosophy. With the untimely death of Dr. Pauco in 1975, the Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America asked Michael Novak, noted American scholar, educator, and political analyst of Slovak ancestry, to serv~ as editor of Slovakia. With his vast scholarly resources Novak expanded the scope of the journal and named Dr. M. Mark Stolarik, historian and director of the prestigious Balch Institute of Philadelphia, as managing editor. Over the years several noted American and Canadian scholars of Slovak ancestry have served on the editorial board and, more recently, other scholars who specialize in Slavic and East European studies have been asked to serve on the editorial board. During its thirty years of existence Slovakia has served as a forum for the study of Slovak history, culture, and political science. It has provided the American public with much information in English on Slovakia, a nation that is little known in the West. For all these years Slovakia has been published by the Slovak League of America, a civic and cultural federation of Americans of Slovak ancestry. Through the generosity of an array of dedicated individuals and organizations, the League continues to espouse its basic philosophy - to bring Slovakia, with its rich history, culture, and heritage, to the American public. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer Slovak League of America �� SLOVAKIA 1980-81 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA ����SLOVAKIA VOLUMEXXIX 1980-1981 NUMBERS 53-64 An annual devoted to the history and culture of Slovaks the world over Editor MICHAEL NOVAK American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Managing Editor M. MARK STOLARIK The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Editorial Board DAVID P. DANIEL Concordia Theological Seminary OWEN V. JOHNSON Indiana University THOMAS D. MARZIK Saint Joseph's University STANLEY Z. PECH University of British Columbia Slovak League Advisory Board EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK DRAGA DIVINSKA JOHN A. HOLY JOSEPH C. KRAJSA DANIEL F. TANZONE Publisher Slovak League of America c I o John A. Holy, Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 Inquiries regarding subscriptions should be addressed to John Holy. Manuscripts for possible publication and books for review should be addressed to M. Mark Stolarik, 700 Penfield Ave., Havertown, Pa. 19083. ��Table of Contents A Letter from the Publisher John A . Holy . .. . _"\" . ...... ..... ............... . . . 7 HISTORY The Slovak Republic and the Slovaks Stanislav J . Kirschbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Rusyns and the Slovak State PaulR. Magocsi ...... . ..... . . . . . . .. . . .. ... .. . . . . . .. .. . . 39 Music Schools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of Interwar Slovakia Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 An Ethnohistory of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions Howard F. Stein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 LITERATURE Exerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner , 1906-1933 Vasil S. Koban .............. . . . .. . ..................... 105 Babushka Sonya Jason . . . . . . ................. . .... . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. 126 REVIEWS Peter Brock - The Slovak National Awakening (Andrej Cincura) . . . . . . . . . . . .............. . . . 135 Josef Kalvoda - Czechoslovakia 's Role in Soviet Strategy (Stanislav J. Kirschbaum) . . .............................. 138 �Dorothea El Mallakh - The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 (Yeshayahu Jelinek) . . . . . ... . .... .. ............... . .... .. 141 Anthony X. Sutherland - Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia (Josef Kalvoda) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 145 Yeshayahu Jelinek - The Parish Republic (Anthony X. Sutherland) ....... . . .. . . . . .... . . . . . .. . . . .... 147 Andrea Rebichini - Chiesa, societa e stato in Cecoslovachia (Teodorik J. Zubek) . . . . . . . . ....... . . .. . .... . . . .. . . . .. .. . 149 Vsevlad J. Gajdos - Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek - Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike (Gerald J. Sabo) ....... . . . . . . . . .. . . .... .. . .. . . . .. . . . ... . 151 Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps . Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, m (JuneGranatirAlexander) . ....... . .. . . . ...... .. . . . . ... . . 153 Vasil S. Kohan - The Sorrows of Marienka (Paul Wilkes) ............ . . . .... .. . . .. ...... . . . 157 Megles, Stolarik & Tybor - Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland (Thomas D. Marzik) .......... .. ... ... . . . . . . . . ....... . .. . 160 Contributors .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . ....... . ........ .. . . . . . .. .. . . 163 Guidelines for Manuscripts ......... . . . ... \ . . . . . . . . .... . . ..... 165 �SLOVAKIA 7 A Letter ·From The Publisher With this issue Slovakia marks its thirtieth anniversary. The first volume was published by the Slovak League of America in 1951, with the then President of the League, Philip A. Hrobak, serving as editor. Hrobak was a staunch defender of the rights of the Slovak nation, and issues of Slovakia testified to his beliefs during the twelve years of his editorship. Shortly before his death, Hrobak asked Dr. Joseph Pauco, then Secretary of the Slovak League, to serve as editor. Pauco's strong belief in the right of the Slovak nation to its independence continued to be the philosophy of Slovakia. Under his leadership the journal expanded its scope and attracted a number of scholars who contributed timely articles which mirrored his philosophy. With the untimely death of Dr. Pauco in 1975, the Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America asked Michael Novak, noted American scholar, educator, and political analyst of Slovak ancestry, to serv~ as editor of Slovakia. With his vast scholarly resources Novak expanded the scope of the journal and named Dr. M. Mark Stolarik, historian and director of the prestigious Balch Institute of Philadelphia, as managing editor. Over the years several noted American and Canadian scholars of Slovak ancestry have served on the editorial board and, more recently, other scholars who specialize in Slavic and East European studies have been asked to serve on the editorial board. During its thirty years of existence Slovakia has served as a forum for the study of Slovak history, culture, and political science. It has provided the American public with much information in English on Slovakia, a nation that is little known in the West. For all these years Slovakia has been published by the Slovak League of America, a civic and cultural federation of Americans of Slovak ancestry. Through the generosity of an array of dedicated individuals and organizations, the League continues to espouse its basic philosophy - to bring Slovakia, with its rich history, culture, and heritage, to the American public. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer Slovak League of America �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 1980-81 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA SLOVAKIA VOLUMEXXIX 1980-1981 NUMBERS 53-64 An annual devoted to the history and culture of Slovaks the world over Editor MICHAEL NOVAK American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Managing Editor M. MARK STOLARIK The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Editorial Board DAVID P. DANIEL Concordia Theological Seminary OWEN V. JOHNSON Indiana University THOMAS D. MARZIK Saint Joseph's University STANLEY Z. PECH University of British Columbia Slovak League Advisory Board EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK DRAGA DIVINSKA JOHN A. HOLY JOSEPH C. KRAJSA DANIEL F. TANZONE Publisher Slovak League of America c I o John A. Holy, Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 Inquiries regarding subscriptions should be addressed to John Holy. Manuscripts for possible publication and books for review should be addressed to M. Mark Stolarik, 700 Penfield Ave., Havertown, Pa. 19083. Table of Contents A Letter from the Publisher John A . Holy . .. . _"\" . ...... ..... ............... . . . 7 HISTORY The Slovak Republic and the Slovaks Stanislav J . Kirschbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Rusyns and the Slovak State PaulR. Magocsi ...... . ..... . . . . . . .. . . .. ... .. . . . . . .. .. . . 39 Music Schools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of Interwar Slovakia Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 An Ethnohistory of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions Howard F. Stein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 LITERATURE Exerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner , 1906-1933 Vasil S. Koban .............. . . . .. . ..................... 105 Babushka Sonya Jason . . . . . . ................. . .... . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. 126 REVIEWS Peter Brock - The Slovak National Awakening (Andrej Cincura) . . . . . . . . . . . .............. . . . 135 Josef Kalvoda - Czechoslovakia 's Role in Soviet Strategy (Stanislav J. Kirschbaum) . . .............................. 138 Dorothea El Mallakh - The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 (Yeshayahu Jelinek) . . . . . ... . .... .. ............... . .... .. 141 Anthony X. Sutherland - Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia (Josef Kalvoda) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 145 Yeshayahu Jelinek - The Parish Republic (Anthony X. Sutherland) ....... . . .. . . . . .... . . . . . .. . . . .... 147 Andrea Rebichini - Chiesa, societa e stato in Cecoslovachia (Teodorik J. Zubek) . . . . . . . . ....... . . .. . .... . . . .. . . . .. .. . 149 Vsevlad J. Gajdos - Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek - Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike (Gerald J. Sabo) ....... . . . . . . . . .. . . .... .. . .. . . . .. . . . ... . 151 Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps . Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, m (JuneGranatirAlexander) . ....... . .. . . . ...... .. . . . . ... . . 153 Vasil S. Kohan - The Sorrows of Marienka (Paul Wilkes) ............ . . . .... .. . . .. ...... . . . 157 Megles, Stolarik & Tybor - Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland (Thomas D. Marzik) .......... .. ... ... . . . . . . . . ....... . .. . 160 Contributors .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . ....... . ........ .. . . . . . .. .. . . 163 Guidelines for Manuscripts ......... . . . ... \ . . . . . . . . .... . . ..... 165 SLOVAKIA 7 A Letter ·From The Publisher With this issue Slovakia marks its thirtieth anniversary. The first volume was published by the Slovak League of America in 1951, with the then President of the League, Philip A. Hrobak, serving as editor. Hrobak was a staunch defender of the rights of the Slovak nation, and issues of Slovakia testified to his beliefs during the twelve years of his editorship. Shortly before his death, Hrobak asked Dr. Joseph Pauco, then Secretary of the Slovak League, to serve as editor. Pauco's strong belief in the right of the Slovak nation to its independence continued to be the philosophy of Slovakia. Under his leadership the journal expanded its scope and attracted a number of scholars who contributed timely articles which mirrored his philosophy. With the untimely death of Dr. Pauco in 1975, the Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America asked Michael Novak, noted American scholar, educator, and political analyst of Slovak ancestry, to serv~ as editor of Slovakia. With his vast scholarly resources Novak expanded the scope of the journal and named Dr. M. Mark Stolarik, historian and director of the prestigious Balch Institute of Philadelphia, as managing editor. Over the years several noted American and Canadian scholars of Slovak ancestry have served on the editorial board and, more recently, other scholars who specialize in Slavic and East European studies have been asked to serve on the editorial board. During its thirty years of existence Slovakia has served as a forum for the study of Slovak history, culture, and political science. It has provided the American public with much information in English on Slovakia, a nation that is little known in the West. For all these years Slovakia has been published by the Slovak League of America, a civic and cultural federation of Americans of Slovak ancestry. Through the generosity of an array of dedicated individuals and organizations, the League continues to espouse its basic philosophy - to bring Slovakia, with its rich history, culture, and heritage, to the American public. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer Slovak League of America  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54) Description An account of the resource includes A Letter from the Publisher (John A. Holy) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Holý, Ján A., 1922-2020 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/65dc1a12000a9236ee24b833ac5ca939.pdf 8fed217fb702ba5847ba8d29b72814d3 PDF Text Text HISTORY ��SLOVAKIA 11 The .Slovak Republic and the Slovaks· . STANISLAV J. KIRSCHBAUM INTRODUCTION There are very few topics in recent history that have been as much avoided, accidentally or deliberately, by Western as well as Communist scholars as the Slovak Republic (1939-1945) . The significance of this state in the period of its existence is certainly not central to an understanding of the more important world events that were taking place at the time, nor was its contribution to those events such that it required the attention of world powers. Historical surveys published in the West in the last forty years have thus not given Slovakia much attention; one can appreciate the reason for this, but one must also note that there are often serious inaccuracies, distortions, and misrepresentations in these works.I The task of writing this history of the Slovak Republic is, therefore, left to a few Western specialists or to Slovak Marxist historians. But here one is also left wanting; ideological preoccupations and problems of documentation explain this unusual state of affairs. The Republic of Slovakia found itself on the side of the vanquished powers at the end of the Second World War. Historians have been understandably more interested in recording the activities of the victorious, often applying ex post facto a devil theory to the defeated. In the wake of an ideological conflict like the Second World War, and with the ideological division of the world in the postwar years, the tendency to simplify in order better to glorify and I or condemn is understandable. It is not to be excused, however. Nevertheless Western, as well as Communist, historians have generally let their engagement get the better of their scholarship, or else they have conveniently cast intractable subjects to the Orwellian memory hole. For example, two Canadians, one of Czech, the other of • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies , New Haven, October, 1979. �12 SLOVAKIA Slovak origin, purporting to write the history of the Czechs and Slovaks in Canada, have actually suggested that Slovak separatism is " an aberration of the past , excusable perhaps under the circumstances of the day , but otherwise the sooner forgotten the better.' ' 2 Communist scholars have also generally avoided the Slovak Republic, with the only two works published in the 1950s3 followed by a few articles in the 1960s.4 Writing from their Marxist perspective , they have, however, shown a shift in accent and interpretation in their later writings.5 This shift corresponds to greater access to the documentation on the Slovak Republic for scholars in Slovakia. However, this documentation is not necessarily accessible to Western scholars . Access to original documents and other primary sources is in fact the greatest problem that Western scholars studying Slovakia face. All of the works on the period of the Slovak Republic published in the West show a minimal reliance on original Slovak documentation . At best, they have used three newspapers published in Slovakia that are available , namely Slovak , Gardista , and Grenzbote.6 Monographs which were published during the war and which found their way into Western European or American libraries are also available; but their number, as well as their importance , is limited. None gives a total picture of the Slovak Republic ; most were written during the war, and generally before the 1944 revolt. Finally, none of the political leaders or officials of the state has made public any documents in his possession 7 that cast additional light. With some exceptions, there are no detailed memoirs or diaries that one can draw upon.8 Finally, there is no indication that Prague or Bratislava is presently disposed to open Slovak archives to Western scholars, except perhaps for earlier periods and less explosive subjects like education. 9 There is , on the other hand, one documentary source that Western and Communist IO scholars have used widely, namely German documentation. The Allies published soon after the war the series Documents on German Foreign Policy ; those documents not found in this series are now available in Bonn at the\ Politisches Archiv des auswiirtigen Amtes . Also available are SS documents, namely from Himmler's Sicherheitsdienst, which John Conway has prudently characterized as "conscientious, though obviously one-sided. " 11 Conway's comments are indeed pertinent for much of German documentation ; it must be used with great care when applied to Slovakia. The scholar must remember that they are addressed to and written by people serving the Third Reich. A third, but unfortunately rather unreliable source of information, �SLOVAKIA 13 is the files of the British Foreign Office. These were at first composed of British diplomatic reports, especially from Consul to Slovakia Peter Pares, which are useful because of their detachment and scope. Pares, however, left Slovakia after the outbreak of the Second World War, and thereupon the reports fo'll{ld in the files of the Foreign Office ceased to come from agents in diplomatic representation abroad. Bruce Lockhart12 then set into motion the gathering of intelligence not only on Slovak, but also on Czech, affairs in the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and thus thickened Foreign Office files with weekly and sundry reports. With the British de facto and later de jure recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London, headed by Edvard Bene§, the task of gathering intelligence and preparing situation reports fell on the Czech and Slovak exiles in London. The information in this documentation is rarely accurate, and to its discredit, extremely selective.13 The documents show quite plainly that Bene§ and his people used only information that damaged the Slovak Republic, especially Slovak politicians. Likewise, the weekly summaries of the Political Intelligence Department are not very useful because they were based upon reports emanating from Bene§'s people. However, the Foreign Office files also contain occasional letters or reports from other sources that paint a totally different picture; but they are too few and, unfortunately, rarely comprehensive enough to give scholars something concrete. This problem of inadequate documentary evidence makes the task of studying the Slovak Republic an extremely difficult one.14 Nevertheless a beginning must be made, if only to ask questions, examine existing interpretations, and seek to understand the motives and actions of the men at the center of events; there is indeed a real challenge of intellectual and documentary detection in this case. The documentation used in this article is neither specialized nor all-encompassing. I have examined closely most available secondary sources, both Western and Communist, read the memoir-like contributions of Slovaks in SlovakCanadian and Slovak-American newspapers and periodicals, and studied carefully the documents of the Foreign Office. Furthermore, I accept the writings of exiled Slovak scholars as those most likely to help us understand the Slovak Republic and the actions of its leaders, while taking note of their often defensive and apologetic nature. I am also aware of the fact that there exist many works disposed in an unfriendly, if not outright inimical, way to the Slovak Republic; I have sought to understand the arguments presented and have accepted at face value the facts given. But one should be skeptical toward them; a state where the President could walk on the streets of the capital city without a �14 SLOVAKIA bodyguard to protect him and where no attempt was ever made on his life is not a state where everything was evil and against the interests of the Slovak people, as some works suggest. The full history of the Slovak Republic will, however, not be written until all archival material is made available. Until then the present debate is likely to continue. Before examining the various aspects of this topic, a few words should be said about the broader perspective within which the Slovak Republic found itself. In his study of the impact of education in Slovakia in the 1920s and 1930s, Owen Johnson has shown that by the end of the second decade of the existence of the first Czechoslovak Republic not only had Prague's policy of Czechoslovak nation-building failed, but indeed its "program of Czechoslovak state building had turned into one of Slovak nation building."15 There is some irony in the fact that Prague's policies had the opposite effect of what had been expected; in this respect then, the activities of the Slovak Republic would be merely the continuation and the prolongation of this process with the difference that all decisions affecting the Slovaks would be taken by Slovaks in Bratislava and not in Prague. The fact that the Slovaks took their national life into their own hands, notwithstanding the circumstances that had led to this step, also reflected the problems created by the selective application of the policy of national self-determination in Central Europe. While recognizing on the one hand the right of nations to selfdetermination on the morrow of the Great War, the victorious powers were selective on the other in their granting of this right to the various nations of the Habsburg Empire. The Slovaks were not unaware of this discrepancy, and when the deleterious geopolitical arrangements of the Versailles settlement finally succumbed to German expansionism, Slovak independence was as much an act of nati~al self-determination as one of self-preservation. The ultimate tragedy of the Slovaks is that by 1945 the victorious powers once again applied in a selective fashion the principles of national self-determination as embodied in the Atlantic Charter. THE ACCEPTANCE OF SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE The declaration of Slovak independence was greeted with rejoicing by a great many Slovaks, although in Bratislava, as British Consul Peter Pares reported, there had not been many manifestations of that joy. The capital city of Slovakia was yet to become a primarily Slovak city, and its non-Slovak population did not show much enthusiasm. Pares sensed apathy or pessimism.16 Slovakia's declaration of independence had in fact come about under circumstances that differentiate it from �SLOVAKIA 15 similar events for other nations in recent times. Consul Pares's report not only singles out this ~ct, but it underlines one of the major tasks that the leaders of the new'state had to face. Slovakia's declaration of independence cannot be disassociated from the two previous decades when neither the political individuality of Slovakia nor the nationhood of its people had been acknowledged by the Czechoslovak Republic. Belatedly and grudgingly, Prague had granted Slovakia autonomy on October 6, 1938, under conditions that did not indicate the total and willing abandonment by the Czech elite of the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism. '' But for the Slovak people, autonomy represented the successful outcome of a twenty-year struggle, a hope that Slovak national development could now be carried out by the Slovak people. Autonomy brought about manifestations of popular gladness in the cities, towns, and villages of Slovakia. The Hlinka Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party, headed by Martin Razus, had been the main political forces not only behind autonomy, but above all, in the educational campaign that was essential for the Slovak people in order to handle their own affairs. After two decades of Czech local, as well as state administration, a policy that had brought about much bitterness in Slovakia, 17 the Slovaks looked upon autonomy as the fulfillment not only of original promises, but also of national aspirations. Independence and statehood had not been an alternative openly discussed and contemplated by Slovak leaders in the two decades before autonomy. This is not to say that they might not one day have considered it. Indeed, as Samo Falt'an, a Slovak Commwiist historian, has written: "Statehood as an expression of national liberty cannot be rejected and qualified as treason to the nation.'' He went on to add that independence was a logical outcome in the light of the Slovaks' status in the CSR: ''The creation of the Slovak State is not in conflict with national interests and efforts, all the more so, because in the twenty-year existence of the CSR there had been no successful attempt to reach a Czech-Slovak constitutional arrangement. "18 Nevertheless - and this is important in order to understand the problems that faced th,e new state - when independence was declared, it had not been the object of wide public discussion but rather came rapidly on the heels of autonomy when Slovakia had barely begun to enjoy its new status in Czecho-Slovakia. However, within the Hlinka party, reorganized since November 8, 1938 as the Slovak Party of National Unity, which other Slovak parties had been invited to join except for Slovak Communists and Social Democrats, there were elements that had been considering �16 SLOVAKIA independence, especially in the light of the changing international situation in Europe. The predominance of Germany and the fear that Prague might not be able to defend the integrity and existence of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks concerned them. In fact, from the very beginnings of Czecho-Slovakia, the Hlinka party had given Prague notice that the survival and interests of the Slovak nation were uppermost in its policy stand and actions.19 But in 1938-1939 the need to explore all avenues was paramount, for as Churchill declared in the House of Commons on October 5, 1938: "I venture to think that in the future the Czechoslovak state cannot be maintained as an independent entity. You will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured only by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi regime. "20 The Slovak elite was aware of this danger of engulfment and of the necessity to maneuver in such a way as to avoid it. As events would show and the history of the Slovak Republic would confirm, Slovak independence was the one solution that enabled Slovakia to avoid the total absorption that befell other Central European peoples and states. The events leading to independence need not he recounted here, since they have been examined elsewhere.21 Suffice it to say that in the light of European developments and the rapidity with which they were unfolding, the decision to opt for independence and the manner in which it was done showed courage on the part of the Slovak leaders. It was also the best solution, not only under the circumstances, but also for the Slovak nation.22 But at the moment of independence, and for the immediate future, this decision by the Slovak leaders had to be explained and shown to be viable both to the Slovak people and to the world at large. The Hlinka Party23 embarked on this task, calling upon all Slovaks to join it, as the Communist historian I:ubomir Liptak has written. The new regime in Slovakia did not exclude its political opponents from positions in the new state.24 In fact he pointed out: The populists did not come to power after an extreme collision of political trends in Slovakia, in the wake of a moderate civil war as was the case for example in Italy and Germany, but during an international crisis, when all existing political conceptions and currents failed, or did not have an oppottunity to influence developments. In this kind of internal political vacuum, when political opponents are eliminated, or do not have clear goals, or are isolated in the nation, the populists could get the support or at least the passive help of yesterday's political opponents.25 �SLOVAKIA 17 Although there was a single Slovak party (there was, however, also a Slovak German, and a small Slovak Hungarian, party) and the regime manifested certain visible authoritarian characteristics, the appearance of factions and policy directions in the Blinka Party, the division between the legislative and executive branches of government, and the role of the churches in the political life of the state26 were all factors that would influence Slovak political life and help the Blinka Party to carry out its program. In the words of Liptak, in the Slovak Republic there was a "certain 'liberalism' and carefulness in the introduction of authoritarian arrangements.' •27 This moderate liberalism was, however, not to be enjoyed by all citizens, and many individuals suffered, although on the whole there was none of the totalitarianism, terror, and ideological dogmatism that later befell the Slovaks under the Communist regime. These conditions also made it possible for opposing views to coexist and later influence events in Slovakia. For there existed three factors which had heavily mortgaged the viability of the Slovak Republic and which would in time take their place in the political life of the state and ultimately seal its fate; they were the activities of opposition groups, Slovak-German relations, and the world war. The appearance of a group opposing the Slovak Republic is something that British Consul Pares soon took notice of. In his July report on the Constitution of Slovakia, where he noted the unique position of the Blinka Party in the political system, he pointed out that the Catholic origin of this party probably meant the virtual exclusion of Slovak Protestants within it, as well as their relegation to the background of public affairs. He concluded from this that the ''insignificant position into which they have been thrust is sure to arouse their bitter resentment. "28 By mid-November he reported the "active revolt ... of a section of the Lutheran Community, which was the greatest source of strength of the former centralists or ''Czechoslovaks'' and has suffered with their eclipse. In this case, it is sectarian feeling rather than loss of political power which has created bitter antagonism to the existing government .... "29 Despite the fact that a number of Protestant personalities occupied key positions in the state, that their economic influence in Slovakia did not diminish but in fact increased, and that their leaders publicly proclaimed their adherence and loyalty to the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Protestant community did indeed form an opposition group, whether for sectarian or political reasons, especially after Benes began to regroup his political partisans in London. As Pares noted in his last dispatch on Slovakia to London, the Protestants formed �18 SLOVAKIA at home and abroad an opposition link to the Slovak Republic and lent Benes support for his goal of recreating the first Czechoslovak Republic.30 By 1943 they would be actively involved in the restoration of Czechoslovak authority in Slovakia and would help a second main opposition group, the Communists, in preparing an armed revolt in Central Slovakia. The role of the Communists in Slovakia mirrored well the turgidity of their movement until the German attack on the Soviet Union in June of 1941. Soviet diplomatic recognition of Slovakia invalidated the slogans of national self-determination they propagated in 1939, while the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, by then resident in Moscow, ordered the abandonment of the slogan of a '' Soviet Slovak Republic,'' which began to appear in 1940. The Communist Party had been declared illegal in Slovakia so that its activities and organization were clandestine. The security services of the Slovak Republic occasionally rounded up Communists, but as both Falt'an and Liptak pointed out, not only were they quickly released from prison, but they were allowed to resume their positions in economic and state institutions. 31 In was not until late 1943 and 1944 that Communist activity became a major factor in Slovak political life, in part because the Communists were in touch with Soviet partisan units operating out of Kiev, and in part because they had worked out a new political program for Slovakia in the future of Czechoslovak Republic.32 Together with Slovak non-Communists, primarily Lutherans, they began to prepare the revolt of 1944, which I will examine below. The existence and activity of opposition groups to the Slovak Republic were enhanced by the nature of Slovak-German relations. The role of Germany in the destruction of Czechoslovakia had been a major factor in Slovakia's declaration of independence and as British Consul Pares noted, ''from the moment when indeflendence was declared the Slovaks never had any illusions about the difficulties and risks of their situation as a nation of two million people in the centre of Europe. ,,33 Attempts to pursue an independent foreign policy by the Minister of External Affairs, Ferdinand Durcansky, resulted in his removal in July 1940 under German pressure and thereafter Germany made sure that Slovak political life did not go beyond certain limits, which for the most part were, however, not clearly defined; on the other hand Germany did not encourage Slovak pro-Nazi elements to take power, nor did Hitler back the attempted coup in 1941 against President Tiso, in which the German ambassador, M. von Killinger, was himself involved. Slovakia was nevertheless in the German sphere of interest; its existence �SLOVAKIA 19 was in fact tied to German political and economic activities, and despite the diplomatic recognition it had been granted by twenty-seven states, its juridical status did not\in fact extend much beyond Europe. British de facto and later de jure ·recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government in London, followed by Soviet and American recognition,34 as well as the Hungarian claims on Slovakia, further strengthened the ties between Slovakia and Germany which were not broken until the war's end. The outbreak of the Second World War was the third factor that heavily influenced the politics and the viability of the Slovak Republic. Although Slovakia would not experience the horrors of war until 1944, the fact that there was a war all around it enabled opposition groups to get involved in military activities on Slovak soil and do just what the Slovak leaders had so successfully avoided doing, namely bring the war into Slovakia with their 1944 revolt. Also, the war forced Slovakia into much closer cooperation with Germany, especially in the economic sphere, and brought about the deportation into Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jews. In the end Slovakia's existence became tied to the outcome of a war that Germany had begun. In spite of the weight of these three factors on the Slovak Republic, its political leaders determined to carry out policies that would enable the Slovak people to develop further their national life, or put in other terms, that would embark them upon a program of modernization that would dispel any doubts about Slovak political maturity. 35 In this respect, as the available evidence shows, the Slovak Republic represented a singular achievement that had not been equalled in the Czechoslovak state. THE POLICIES OF THE REGIME It was the misfortune of the Slovak Republic that it had to fight throughout its existence the battle of statehood. International law notwithstanding, the Slovaks came to realize that the international existence of their state was shaky, a situation which resulted in the blurring of the boundary lines between state and regime for many Slovaks and most observers.36 This blurring grew as the war developed and became prevalent by the time it became clear that the Allies, who by then had recognized the Czechoslovak government in London, were going to win the war. But in 1939 and for the next four years, until the German army was defeated at Stalingrad, and despite the need after July 1940 for Slovakia to align itself closer to Germany, the lines between state �20 SLOVAKIA and regime were quite closer. The notion of statehood was indeed understood by the Slovaks, as Peter Pares quite accurately reported to London in his last dispatch in January 1940: One solid cause for satisfaction still remains in spite of Slovakia' s need for dependence on one or other of the stronger neighbouring nations and that is the fact that after one thousand years the internal political administration has at last passed exclusively into the hands of Slovaks. Economic and political dependence on either Germany, the Czechs or Hungary is inevitable so long as Slovakia remains an independent state but the right of full self-administration is a pure gain which is entirely due to the establishment of the republic and goes far toward reconciling the Slovaks with the drawbacks of their political position.37 The Slovaks lost in fact very little time in setting up a constitution for their state. They proclaimed on July 21, 1939 a republic, drawing upon the constitutions of Austria, Portugal, and Czechoslovakia, to determine the balance between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.38 The constitutional text is divided into thirteen chapters of 103 articles forming "a comprehensive set of fundamental principles and laws concerning the whole field of government and making provisions for the exercise of political power.' •39 Worthy of note are also the articles dealing with the duties and general rights of the citizens, including the right of assembly and freedom of speech and the protection of the workers. As students of the Slovak constitution have noted, the social provisions were greatly influenced by Papal encyclicals, particularly Rerum novarum and Quadragesimo anno.40 The main authoritarian feature is to be found in the role of the Hlinka Party. As Pares pointed out in his description of the constitution to the Foreign Office, ''in spite of the mul~plication of the organs of government, it is easy to see that the Hlinka party itself will, under the new Constitution, be the most powerful factor"in the government of the country." 41 Changes in the Hlinka Party further enhanced the authoritarian character of the regime, as some features of the German and Italian party systems were adopted. The Hlinka Party did not, however, have a fascist or national-socialist program, although attempts were made to give it one, and it sought to direct political life along Slovak national traditions. 42 Like all political parties, the Hlinka Party was divided into factions. Throughout the six years of the Slovak Republic, the main faction, headed by Jozef Tiso, President of the Party and also President of the Republic from October 26, 1939, dominated the political life of the �SLOVAKIA 21 country. It was composed not only of long-standing members of the party, but also of representatives of other Slovak parties who had consented to run on the single ticket for the Diet during the elections of December 18, 1938.43 Th.is faction exercised its influence not only in the Presidency, but'also in ~he Slovak Parliament. 44 For the better part of the life of the Slovak Republic, the Tiso faction also had to make every effort to curb the pro-Nazi faction which sought indeed to give Slovakia a Slovak national-socialist regime. It was headed by Vojtech Tuka, who after July 1940 became Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs until the 1944 revolt. Tuka owed his position to Hitler who had summoned Tiso to Salzburg on July 28, 1940 to impose a closer alignment with Germany. Hitler also forced the dismissal of Durcansky, Minister of External Affairs. The Secretary-General of the Party, Jozef Kirschbaum, was also removed from his position shortly afterwards. Slovakia had lost some of the freedom it had enjoyed in the first seventeen months of its existence. Still, the Hlinka Party, whose main organizational opponent was the pro-Tuka Hlinka Guard, managed to carry through a series of policies that, with one exception, one can hardly qualify as Nazi or fascist.45 Likewise much of the posturing and outward imitation of Italian and German uniforms was more a matter of form to please Germany than an integral part of Slovak political culture. It would have been a different story if Tuka and Alexander Mach, the Minister of the Interior, had succeeded in overthrowing Tiso. The country would most likely have been ruled by the Hlinka Guard, whose membership was not composed of the most enlightened segments of the population. 46 Of all the policies the regime of the Slovak Republic proposed and carried out, the most unfortunate and tragic were the confiscation of Slovak Jewish property, known as the policy of aryanization, and in 1942 on German urging, the deportation to Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jewish population. These policies found both support and opposition in Slovakia. The aryanization policy was introduced shortly after independence and was voted on by the Slovak Parliament in response to a mood that existed in public circles.47 The deportation policy, advocated by the Tuka faction, however, met with serious opposition, 48 and although it could be stopped only belatedly, Tiso and his supporters in Parliament were still able to limit its scope and save the lives of thousands of Slovak Jews.49 Nevertheless, one of the darkest chapters in Slovak history had been written, and it went a long way toward damaging the record of the Slovak Republic50 and the aspirations of the Slovak people for independence. �22 SLOVAKIA Foreign policy was another area where room for maneuver was limited. The Communist historian Liptak has argued that the Slovak Republic was a mere pawn in a German game in Europe, especially in the period following independence; it was not possible, he concluded, for Slovakia to pursue an independent foreign policy.51 The measure of the success or failure of Slovakia's foreign policy lies in the degree to which it could resist German dominance and obtain for itself some freedom of action and protection of its own interests. The test came early with the Hungarian attack on Eastern Slovakia in March 1939 and, as Milan Durica has shown, the Slovaks, led by Durcansky, were reasonably successful in minimizing the damage and protecting Slovak interests. 52 The Treaty of Protection (Schuetzvertrag) between Slovakia and Germany set the limits of Slovakia's room for maneuver in foreign relations, military, and economic affairs. With the outbreak of the war, Slovakia joined Germany in invading Poland but only to recapture Slovak territory lost in 1920 and 1938. Nevertheless, Durcansky attempted to widen his freedom of action, and one of his attempts to pursue an independent course failed due to an indiscretion by a Slovak diplomat53 and brought about his downfall in July of 1940.54 Thereafter, Prime Minister Tuka, who was also External Affairs Minister, aligned Slovakia closer to German foreign policy by joining the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1940 and by participating in the war against the Soviet Union. There is no indication in the documentation that there were military engagements between Slovak and British or American forces.55 The measure of the success of Durcansky' s foreign policy may perhaps best be gauged by the fact that he set parameters on German interference which enabled the regime to carry out a wide range of domestic policies. Even after his ouster in 1940, German interference was felt primarily in foreign, military, and economic policy and in the Jewish question. As Communist leader Gustav Husak, an eyewitness to the politics and policies of the Slovak Republic, pointed out in July 1944: ''German influence is great, but not\so great for independence to be a stupid mask. "56 The major achievements of the Slovak Republic were in the economic and socio-cultural fields. If adequate research is ever possible in these two areas, the results are likely to show that the regime was quite successful in taking the Slovak people far down the road of modernization and that, until the revolt of 1944, the Slovak government looked after its non-Jewish citizens through planned economic and social development. The Slovak Republic was the framework within which the Slovak people could and did attain a good measure of national and so- �SLOVAKIA 23 cial development even under the stringent diplomatic and military conditions their government found itself. As Gustav Husak wrote in 1944, distinguishing between regime and state: "If this state had another content and were l~d by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, there would be nothing to say against it from a Slovak point of view." 57 Husak, a Communist, was understandably not in favor of the regime; but he acknowledged the importance and benefits of statehood for the Slovaks. Certainly by 1944 there was no doubt about that anymore. There had been doubts, however, at the time of independence. They had arisen from some of the intitial difficulties the autonomous Slovak government had experienced in late 1938 and early 1939. As Peter Pares wrote in February 1939, there were difficulties in a series of sectors, especially in the economic, educational, and administrative ones, from which he concluded that the result ''must inevitably be the economic stagnation of Slovakia and might even mean a disastrous impoverishment." 58 But by April 1939, Pares reported that "the present state of affairs in Slovakia, after nearly a month of independence, seems to indicate that, in spite of the manner in which the declaration of independence was brought about and of the disturbing effects of the Hungarian invasion of Eastern Slovakia, conditions are more stable than anybody expected. "59 The situation in fact continued to improve so much that Husak could write in 1944 that there had been a definite improvement to what the situation had been in Czechoslovakia. He went on to add that in the first seventeen months of the Slovak Republic ''it also became evident that Slovakia could take care of itself economically, there was neither economic nor currency chaos, the standard of living did not go down, quite the contrary, a good number of people, especially the intelligentsia, got ahead .... '•60 A report in the Foreign Office files dated August 1943 also confirms the progress made with the following eyewitness account: '' A traveller who has recently returned from Slovakia was amazed to find how normal things were, not only in Bratislava, but also in other towns. There was no blackout and practically no restrictions. Food and clothing were plentiful and prices reasonable. There was little war talk. Life went on as usual everywhere, but there was a shortage of servants and indeed a general shortage of labour. "61 Before outlining the various aspects of socio-economic and cultural development that the documentation and the literature have permitted me to put together, a few words should be said about the parameters I am using to evaluate the contribution of the Slovak Republic to the life �24 SLOVAKIA of the Slovak people. Ideally, when a nation has acquired statehood it should be totally free to handle its own affairs; for small nations, however, reality is generally far removed from theory, especially when there are powerful neighboring states. Depending on the pressures the powerful put on a small state, the measure of realism must be not only the degree to which policies allow the people to enjoy a standard of living comparable to that of the neighboring nations, but also the perceivable cost, in the short and longer run of resistance and opposition to the pressure of the powerful neighbor. For example, the failure of Canadian nationalists to persuade the Canadian people to have their government limit the American domination of the Canadian economy - over 60 percent of Canadian industry is owned by Americans - is due to the refusal of the Canadian people to give up the standard of living this situation has brought them and to accept the cost of a policy of greater independence. There is little public discussion in Canada on American domination; it is a topic that is debated primarily in certain academic, intellectual, and political circles with hardly any echo elsewhere. The Canadian people do not hesitate, furthermore, to vote out a government which they perceive has not done enough not only to maintain, but to improve, their standard of living. These are the acceptable parameters of political realism in the second half of the twentieth century, not only for Canada, but for quite a few states, in the Western, as well as in the Communist, world. It is clear that the Slovak people found themselves in a similar situation until the revolt of 1944; it is my contention that the Slovak government was successful, especially in a war situation, in giving the Slovak people a good standard of living. Communist scholars do not hesitate to point out that the Slovak economy was dominated by Germany because of the secret protocol in the Treaty of Protection, which called for close economic cooperation and the increase of Slovakia's industrial and agriculture output. Other treaties followed to spell out in detail economic arrangements between Slovakia and Germany, and the Reich also sent advisers to help in various ministries. Liptak calculated that in 1938 the share of German and Austrian capital totaled only 5 percent in Sloyakia; by 1944 it had grown to 64 percent. This phenomenal growth is ~xplained by the fact that Germany took over the shares of Czech and foreign capital in Slovakia as they occupied the various financial centers of Europe. 62 At the same time Slovak capital grew from 2 percent in 1938 to 6 percent in 1944,63 and the number of companies in which Slovaks held a controlling interest rose from 40 to 74. Furthermore, from 1942 on, Slovak banks were successful in obtaining additional shares, especially in industry, that �SLOVAKIA 25 enabled them to operate a number of transfers of controlling interest from Germany to Slovakia. 64 It was this capital inflow which allowed for the development of Slovak industry. Some 4,855 million ks. were invested in five years, allowing for the creation of 250 new enterprises and the enlargement of SO-existing ones. The railways benefited from 95 km. of new tracks , while i 84 km. were rebuilt or repaired. Road paving, repair, and reconstruction were done on 1,100 km. , with 282 km. of new roads laid; telephone links, under and above ground, were greatly improved, adding 291 communities to the existing network, while 470 villages acquired electrification.65 The 12 ,000 kw. of hydroelectric power built between 1918 and 1939 was increased to 90,000 kw. between 1939 and 1945.66 Foreign Office files also give some statistics worthy of note. In 1942 the investment in chemical, textile, mining, metallurgy, and electrical industries represented close to half of that year's investment. The National Bank net profit in 1941 was 21.86 million ks. and 30.83 m. ks. in 1942.67 Trade statistics also show that Slovakia was by no means restricting the variety of goods and services available; in January-February 1942 Slovakia exported 400 m. ks. worth of goods while it imported 575 m. ks. For the same period in 1943, exports increased to 570 m. ks., and imports rose to 730 m. ks. A Slovak-Italian agreement valued at 800 m. ks. , with 60 m. ks. in Slovakia's favor, was signed in 1943. 68 There are very few agricultural statistics available; it seems that this was not a sector that encountered too many problems, even though the promised land reform of 1939 was not carried out. British reports note good fruit crops in 1942 and 1943 . The year 1943 was also reported as a good vintage year for Slovak wines. Communist authors indicate without hesitation that the social groups that benefited most from the economic expansion and growth in Slovakia were the middle and upper middle classes. The lot of workers also seems to have been satisfactory, except perhaps early on when worker discontent culminated in a strike fomented by Communists in Handlova in October 1940.69 The Slovak Parliament passed a number of bills to improve the social conditions of the working class, and salaries and wages showed a steady increase, 70 while unemployment disappeared. The autonomy and later independence of Slovakia brought about the availability of positions in the state as well as tertiary sectors which until then had been occupied primarily by Czechs. Education was another area which showed considerable activity and enabled educated Slovaks to move ahead. The University of Bratislava added two new fa- �26 SLOVAKIA culties , and a technical university was created in July 1939, taking up from the one created in Kosice in 1937 (but then under Magyar control). A school of economics was also founded, and by 1943 there were more than twice as many students enrolled in Slovak institutions of higher learning than there had been in 1938. An educational reform was also announced in July 1939, and Church-controlled schools were re-established. 71 These educational policies and reforms remedied in fact a major defect in Prague's educational program in Slovakia during the interwar years. As Owen Johnson has written: "What the Czechoslovak Republic / had / failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical and professional - that are required to conduct a modem nation."72 The founding of the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences and the modernization of the publication facilities of the Matica slovenska gave additional impetus to scientific and literary work. For the period 19391944, literary output, for example, totaled 709 works of which 437 were for prose, 169 for poetry, and 103 for plays. 73 Access to such works was made possible by a chain of bookstores operated by the Matica across the country. The statistics at my disposal are too incomplete to enable me to give an accurate survey of achievements but also of problems and failures. Nevertheless the picture that comes out is a positive one showing that"in five of the six years of the existence of the Slovak Republic, the Slovaks moved far down the road of modernization, dispelling any doubts about their ability to handle their own affairs. There is no better testimony to this fact than the report Gustav Husak prepared in July 1944 on the eve of the revolt he would lead as a member of the two opposition groups to the Slovak Republic. It is worthwhile to quote at length from it: In Slovakia today, there is sufficient merchandise, the system of distribution generally works well, and in comparison to adjacent territories (the Czech lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is best in Slovakia for the level of real salaries and their purchasing power. The salaries of employees and workers were raised many times, enterprises have all kinds of supply privileges and there cannot be any talk of a lack of basic commodities for consumers. The Slovak crown is the strongest currency in Central Europe , there is full confidence in it at home, �SLOVAKIA 27 people continue to save . . . and inflationary tendencies are sooner the result of German pressure on the economy than of internal conditions . . . : Problems are created by German demands, as a result of w}Uch Germany owes Slovakia today 6 billion ks ..... Slovak industry, given the circumstances of this war, was greatly modernized and some 2 billion ks. were invested in equipment (within 2 years), which in Slovakia is a huge sum .... In general one can say that on the basis of the experience of six years, Slovakia is able to exist as an independent unit economically and financially, can hold out on its own, has even today the necessary forces (including technical ones) and conditions of production for international competition . . . . The Slovaks are an independent nation, they have the same rights and expectations as any other nation. Today Slovak is the exclusive language of administration, all the formal attributes of a nation are there, and for this reason anyone who would like to return to the old conception of a united Czechoslovak nation will meet with opposition . . . . It is to be regretted that / the creation of the Slovak Republic / took place in combination with the worst political regime; still nothing will change the fact that on the national level there is a certain self-consciousness ''that we can take care of our own affairs" in political and economic affairs, that we can have our own army, our own administration, that one's own language is not inferior to that of former dominating nations, that Slovakia was a partner with whom states (the USSR and others) had relations, and to some degree still have today, in short that the Slovak nation can be the subject and not only the object of politics and other / activities / ... In these last six years, the development of a national consciousness and the completion of this development on the formal level are the most remarkable achievements that will not disappear with the fall of the regime . . . . It is a fact that this state is independent and has as much independence as a small state can have especially in time of war. 74 THE REVOLT OF 1944 Husak 's 1944 report on the conditions in Slovakia is in stark contrast with the twenty-seven page, top secret report ''The Revolt in Slovakia' ' found in Foreign Office files outlining the consequences of the fighting . 75 Likewise, one is struck by the difference between the provisional Czechoslovak government London broadcasts, especially �28 SLOVAKIA throughout 1944, inciting the Slovaks to acts of sabotage and destruction of life and property, and the Slovak press and media, when shorn of their ideological jargon and Germanophile phraseology, encouraging the population to ignore this incitement to violence. There was, in fact, partisan activity taking place sporadically throughout 1944; and, by the end of August the Slovaks found themselves almost overnight plunged into an abyss of violence and death which meant the end of their independence. One has to ask what brought about this shift from a relatively calm and stable situation to organized hostilities which resulted in German occupation and the inclusion of Slovakia in the European war. Was it a "Slovak National Uprising," as Communist historiography claims?76 Was it "an uprising for Czechoslovakia," as Wolfgang Venohr has suggested?77 Or was it an "incredible conspiracy," as Frantisek Vnuk has contended?78 The events of 1944 have already found their place in many versions in Slovak historiography, and they need not be recounted here at length. 79 But in the context of this study, two questions must be asked: Why did the revolt take place? and what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people? The reasons that were given after the fact by the leaders of the revolt, both Communist and non-Communist, seem like romanticized self-justifications in the light of the situation in Slovakia and the activities the partisans launched and the results they achieved.80 This is not to suggest that these men did not believe they were doing what they later claimed they had done. There is indeed a tragic irony in the fact that this was the way which insured that the Slovak people in the about-tobe restored Czechoslovak Republic would not be under a military dictatorship as Benes wanted,81 nor subjected to a renewed assimilation as had been attempted in the first CSR.82 Even the leaders of the Slovak Republic were also not unaware of the political situation of the Slovaks and the horns of the dilemma on which they found themselves. This is well illustrated by the following report that found its way into the files 11 of the Foreign Office; it was written by Kuhl de Borososhat, Hungarian Minister in Bratislava, a year before the revolt: Slovak politicians have held a conference at Rezsahegt I sic I (Ruzomberok) under the leadership of Blahos / sic I . Af- ter negotiations which lasted several days the opinion crystallized .that the Slovak people must, under all conditions, remain independent. As, after an Anglosaxon victory, the opinion of the politicians of today will no longer apply, the political leaders of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slovakia are entrusting the fate of their country to the hands of the American Slovaks. \ I asked the Minister of the Interior, Sano Mach, if the government adhered to the decision. He replied that the government had knowledge of it and would agree with it, but can neither adhere to it nor sanction it as this would imply that they had renounced belief in a German victozy - _a n open confession which Slovakia cannot and may not make. 83 The expectation of help from American Slovaks was, however, unrealistic; the resolution. of the Slovak dilemma lay in Europe. Thus, to answer the question why the revolt took place, one must go back to the three factors which had mortgaged the existence of the Republic of Slovakia. By 1944 they had come together in a way that made it impossible for the Slovak government to defend the integrity of the state and avoid the destruction that resulted. Germany was losing the war and progressively retreating from conquered territories, though not without resistance. German resistance was in fact dictated by strategic factors, and Slovakia played in this respect a major role on the Eastern front; for the Germans, Slovakia, with its mountains, barred the road to the Danubian plain for the Red Army, thus protecting the retreat of German armies from the Balkans; for the Soviet Union, the control of Slovakia meant access not only to the valley of the Danube, but also to Vienna and Prague. Also, the alliance with Germany, the second factor, had to be maintained in part because of the first factor but also because of the recognition of the Czechoslovak government in London by the Allies. To turn against Germany meant to be occupied by the Wehrmacht with no guarantee that help would be forthcoming in such a case either from the Soviet Union or the Western Allies. The Slovak government was, furthermore, anxious to avoid any Soviet involvement in Slovak affairs for the simple reason that Bolshevism ran against the Christian Slovak national traditions they upheld. Anti-German feeling had nevertheless begun to grow in Slovakia, and the government's pro-German policy was one of many arguments used to persuade Slovaks to go into opposition. 84 It was the activities of the Communist and non-Communist opposition groups, the third factor, which brought about the armed revolt in Central Slovakia that resulted in the German occupation of the country. The Germans then ordered the deportation of the majority of the Slovak Jews who had been spared the 1942 deportation, and there were sum- �30 SLOVAKIA mary executions on both sides as well as wanton destruction and violence. An additional tragic aspect to the entire episode is the fact that the revolt did not take place at a moment when it could benefit the Allied war effort and also scuttled the secret plans of the Slovak Army, prepared by the Minister of National Defense, General Ferdinand Catlos, and sent to Moscow, to help the Allied effort in Central Europe. Slovak army divisions would have been made available to partake in the sweep of the Red Army toward Budapest and Vienna.85 Catlos's plan, aside from its possible military usefulness, would have maintained the integrity of the Slovak Republic; this was unacceptable to the two opposition groups, the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, who in signing the Christmas Agreement of 1943 had agreed to work toward the restoration of Czechoslovakia. 86 The answer to the second question, namely what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people, is a little more complex. The revolt involved at first thousands of Slovaks, civilians and soldiers, because of the tremendous confusion that arose when it broke out. Apart from the German occupation, which had been the result of the shooting of a German military mission going through the Slovak town of Turciansky Sviity Martin, the most determining factor was the rumor that Tiso had been murdered by the Germans.87 But there were also Slovaks who had become disenchanted with the regime and joined the partisans for this reason. Husak indicated in his pre-revolt report that many Slovaks were ready to change the regime but to keep the state.88 The knowledge that the Allies had recognized Benes's Czechoslovak government - London broadcasts w~re frequently listened to89 - had helped to blur the line between regime and state to the point that in the proverbial sense , the baby was thrown out with the bath water. Except for those who had been working for the restoration of Czechoslovakia, it is not clear that many of those who joined the partisans realized that they were in a revolt not only against the regime, but also against the state. However, one must note that many Slovaks did not participate in the revolt and were even opposed to it because of their allegiance to the Slovak Republic. They realized that the revolt meant a return to the status quo antebellum . London broadcasts were making it perfectly clear that this was what awaited the Slovaks at the end of the war. But as Husak pointed out in a 1946 report, the Slovaks, both in government and in opposition, considered such a proposition to be ' 'rather ridiculous. " 90 The writer, Tido J. Gaspar, Head of the Propaganda Office of �SLOVAKIA 31 the Slovak government, expressed his opposition to the revolt as follows: It wasn't fear of the future, but fear of a renewed past. A return to the disgusting " Benesiada. " We were afraid of it. Benes was threatening us with revenge and promised to renew everything which had previously oppressed us Slovaks .. .. He did not recognize for us any n~tional rights . In fact he did not even recognize us as a nation. We were afraid of that. For this reason we did not see the Uprising as a liberation from the path of fascism , but rather as an unenticing overture to a new process of enslavement. 91 The revolt was basically put down within three months by German forces. 92 But Slovakia could not return to the normalcy of the pre-revolt years. The country was occupied. And even though the Slovak government continued to carry on with its policies both during and after the revolt,93 the link between the governing and the governed was not the same anymore . The end of the war was near. And, as members of the Slovak government fled to Austria in April 1946, the Slovak National Council, created out of the wartime collaboration between the Communists and the Democrats , took power in Slovakia on behalf of the restored Czechoslovak Republic. THE LEGACY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC In the aftermath of the Second World War, Slovakia found itself caught in a double maelstrom of postwar politics. Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet military sphere of interest; within three years the Czechs and Slovaks would become part of the Soviet bloc. Secondly, Slovakia was granted a form of autonomy in the new Czechoslovak Republic; by the time the constitution became law in May 1948, only the formal attributes of autonomy remained. Thus the atmosphere and the politics of the postwar and the Communist period were ripe to give the Slovak Republic an historical blow. Its high officials, from the President of the Republic to members of Parliament and Department heads, were tried, often in absentia, and in the majority of cases convicted on various counts of treason against the Czechoslovak Republic. President Tiso and Prime Minister Tuka were condemned to death and executed in April 1947. Others were sent to serve long prison terms . The vengeance of Czechoslovak officials that Gaspar had feared was given free rein. In this way, a chapter in Slovak �32 SLOVAKIA history was closed and in the Communist period deliberately relegated to oblivion, or at best selectively examined to condemn it better. The situation is only slightly different in the Western world. Former officials of the Slovak Republic who found exile in the West have made an effort to explain the why and wherefore of Slovakia's first modern state. Their works have found only a limited audience, due in part to the vigilence of pro-Czechoslovak groups, both Czech and Slovak, who refuse to recognize that something positive might be said about the wartime period in Slovakia, especially about the Slovak Republic. No Western learned society, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, held a study session on this topic until 1979. It is, therefore, difficult to determine the legacy of the Slovak Republic. The idea of statehood that it represents has been accepted by most Slovak organizations in the West, such as the Slovak League of America and the Slovak World Congress; in their newspapers and periodicals, anniversaries and events are regularly mentioned and celebrated. Western scholarship has, unfortunately, not kept pace to give greater substance to the idea of statehood, for reasons I outlined at the beginning. Thus the pride hundreds of thousands of Slovaks have in this chapter of their history does not overflow into the world around them. More important, of course, is the legacy to the Slovaks in Slovakia. A perusal of Communist literature of the mid and late sixties suggests a tacit acceptance of the legacy of statehood; Slovak newpapers and periodicals often referred to the wartime period, especially as the drive to federalization became more pronounced. The publication of excerpts from Tido J . Gaspar's memoirs must also be seen as an important step in that direction . But the selective scholarship on the subject suggests that the Communist regime is still incapable of coming to terms with it. Time will undoubtedly cool passions, and curiosity will begin to take over. It is my belief that when Slovak archives become accessible to all scholars without restrictions, the record will show, as I have suggested in this article , that the Slovak Republic served the Slovaks well, especially in the social and cultural field, and that it played an extremely important role in the development of the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The federalization of Czechoslovakia, proposed at first in 1944 and made into law in 1968, could not have taken place if the Slovak Republic had been a dismal failure in the life of the Slovak people. But more research will have to be done, not only for scholarly reasons , but above all, to paraphrase the national motto of Slovakia's western neighbor, so that the truth might prevail. �SLOVAKIA 33 NOTES . 1 Of fourteen general histories puqlished since 1941 taken at random, the creation of the Slovak Republic has been presen\ed as follows : (1) no mention at all - J .B. Duroselle , L'Europe de 1815 a nosjours (Paris , 1970); Walter P. Hall and William G. Davis , The Course of Europe Since Waterloo (New York, 1941) ; and George Lichtheim, Europe in the Tw entieth Century (New York, 1972); (2) serious errors of presentation and interpretation - Martin Gilbert, The European Powers 1900-1945 (New York, 1965), p . 220 ; Carleton J .H . Hayes , Contemporary Europe Since 1870 (New York, 1953) , p . 631; Walter C. Langsam, The World Since 1914 (New York , 1943), p. 517 ; J .M . Roberts, Europe 1880-1945 (New York, 1972), p. 516; D.C . Watt, "Diplomatic History" in The New Cambridge Modern History , Vol. XIl: The Shifting Balances of 'World Forces, 1898-1945, edited by C.L. Mowat (Cambridge , 1968), p . 725; (3) minor errors of presentation and interpretation - Rene Albrecht-Carrie, A Dilpomatic History of Europe Since the Congress of Vienna (New York, 1958), pp . 529-30 ; C.E . Black and E .C. Helmreich, Twentieth Century Europe (New York, 1959), p . 529 ; James Joli, Europe Since 1870: An Introductory H istory (London, 1973), pp. 373 and 441; (4) reasonably accurate - A.J . Grant and H. Temperley , Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1789-1950) (London, 1952), p. 529; H . Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe: A History (Englewood Cliffs , 1966) , p . 318 ; and Elizabeth Wiskemann in Survey of International Affairs 1939-1946 - Hitler 's Europe , edited by Arnold Toynbee and Veronica M . Toynbee (London, 1954) , pp . 597-604 . 2 John Gellner and John Smerek, The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada (Toronto, 1968), p. viii. 3 Bohuslav Graca, 14. Maree 1939 (Bratislava, 1955) and lmrich Stanek , Zrada a pad, (Praha, 1958) . 4 See , for example, I.:ubomir Liptak, "Mad'arsko v politike Slovenskeho statu v rokoch 1939-1943," Historicky tasopis XI (1), 1967, pp . 1-35 ; --- , "Slovensky stat a protifasisticke hnutie v rokoch 1939-1943 ," Historicky tasopis XIV (2) , 1966, pp . 161-218; ---, "Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky fosopis XIII (3), 1965, pp. 329-65; --- , "Politicky rezim na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945" in Slovenske narodne povstanie roku 1944 (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 20-49 ; --- , Slovensko v 20, storoti (Bratislava, 1968), pp. 175265; Martin Vietor, " Prispevok k objasneniu fasistickeho charakteru tzv . Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky tasop is VIlI (4 ), 1960, pp , 483-508. 5 The two noticeable examples are : Samo Falt'an, Slovenskd otdka v Ceskoslovensku (Bratislava, 1968), pp . 92-103 and Ivan Kamenec, "Snem Slovenskej Republiky a jeho postoj k problemu zidovskeho obyvatefstva na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945," Historicky fosopis XVII (3) , 1969, pp , 329-62 , 6 There is a problem of availability ; the Library of Congress does not have the complete sets, nor does the British Library , 7 The late Ferdinand Durcansky once told me that he himself had destroyed documents because of the physical impossibility of taking them with him, especially to South America. 8 Many former Slovak politicians and officials have published vignettes of their activities in various Slovak publications in the West ; at present only two have published de- �34 SLOVAKIA tailed memoirs: Jozef Miku§, Pamliti slovenskeho diplomata (Middletown, 1978) and Karol Sidor, Sest'rokov pri Vatikane (Scranton, 1947), which also contains documents concerning Slovak foreign policy and diplomacy. The diary of Stefan Tiso, Prime Minister from September 1944 to April 1946, is presently at Stanford University, Hoover Institution on War and Peace ; access to it is however restricted. Excerpts from the diary were published by Yeshayahu Jelinek, " Dennfk Dr . Stefana Tisu," Historickj tasopis XVIIl (2), 1970, pp. 270-87. 9 Such an example is Owen Verne Johnson, Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 1918-1938: Education and Its Impact , unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1978. A recent exception is that of Dorothea El Mallakh, who succeeded in obtaining access to unpublished documents covering the years 1936 through October 1938 from the Ministry of the Interior archives in Prague. She had expected to fail in obtaining access to these documents when she visited Prague in January 1969. But as she writes: " Luck in timing and the helpfulness of individuals all coalesced to bring me almost 2600 frames of microfilms." Dorothea H. El Mallakh, The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939: A Study in Unrelenting Nationalism (Boulder, '1970) , p. xiv. 10 See Hans Dress, Slowakei und faschistische Neuordnung Eurpoas 1939-1941 (Berlin, 1972) . 11 John S. Conway, "The Churches, the Slovak State and the Jews 1939-1946," Slavonic Review Lil (126), 1974, p . 87. 12 In his autobiography, Lockhart makes it perfectly clear that he was devoted to Bene§ and that he had no qualms in working for him. See R.H. Bruce Lockhart, Comes the Reckoning (London, 1947), pp. 64ff. 13 In response to a request from the Central Department of the Foreign Office to comment on reports that Bruce Lockhart had put together from information he received from Czech and Slovak sources in London, Peter Pares foresaw from the very beginning the direction this information would go: " Many of the reports reaching London directly may come through the Slovak political emigrants who are nearly all Protestants and not only opposed to the present Slovak regime themselves but draw their information from Protestant sources in Slovakia which are also in bitter opposition.' ' FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-68-12. Public Record Office, London. 14 This problem is compounded by the fact that there are very few general studies on the Slovak Republic published in a Western language, and none is detailed and comprehensive in scope. See Milan S. :C>urica, "Slovakia During World War II - the Slovak Republic' ' in Joseph M. Kirschbaum, ed., Slovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Toronto, 1973), pp. 161-94; Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1961) , pp . 111\76; Jozef Lettrich, History of Modem Slovakia (New York, 1966), pp. 123-91; Josepli A. Mikus, Slovakia - A Political History, 1918-1950 (Milwaukee , 1963), pp. 67-164; 'and Anthony X. Sutherland, Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modem Slovakia (Middletown, 1978), pp. 81-102. Additional titles, particularly of specialized topics in Western and Slovak languages, may be found in Yeshayahu Jelinek, " The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) ," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, pp. 17-24. 16 Johnson, p . 466. 16 FO 417-39 , Doc. 3973-19-18. �SLOVAKIA 35 17 This is noted in a report by Pares to the Foreign Office. FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-712. 18 Falt'an, pp . 106-06. \ 19 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, "Die Stellung der Slowakischen Volkspartei zur Aussenpolitik Prags'' in Karl Bos!, ed., Gleichgewicht - Revision - Restauration. Die Aussenpolitik der Ersten Tschechoslowakischen Republik im Europasystem der Pariser Vorortsvertrtige (Muenchen, 1976), pp. 316-66. 20 House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, 339 H.C. Deb. 6 s., pp. 366-6. 21 See especially FrantiAek Vnuk, "Slovakia's Six Eventful Months (October 1938 March 1939), " Slovak Studies IV, 1968, pp . 7-164; Joseph Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 98-146; Mikus , pp . 67-91 ; El Mallakh, pp. 113-44. A somewhat different version is found in Joerg K. Hoensch, Die Slowakei undHitlers Ostpolitik (Koeln, 1966). 22 The Slovak struggle for autonomy in the First Czechoslovak Republic was a variation on the theme of national self-determination which was ultimately denied the Slovaks by the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism'' of the Prague government. Independence, if it could be achieved, was not only the logical outcome, but in the light of the "Czechoslovak" ideology of Prague, the only way for the Slovak nation to assert itself. Other solutions were not excluded so long as the Slovaks were recognized as a nation independent of the Czechs ; a Central European federation is often mentioned in this context. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 223-30 . 23 Though the Hlinka Party had become the Party of Slovak National Unity on October 6, 1938, the literature still refers to it as the Hlinka Party . I will conform to this usage. 24 Liptak, "Politicky rezim ... , " p . 24. See Also Joseph M. Kirschbaum, pp. 169-73. 26 Liptak, Slovensko, p . 210. 26 Conway, p. 96. 27 Liptak, " Politicky rezim ... ," p. 26 . 28 FO 417-40 , Doc. C10876-7-12 . 29 FO 371-22900, Doc . C18636-7-12 . 30 See note 13 . 31 Falt'an, p . 114 and Liptak, " Politicky rezim . .. , "p. 36. 32 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, ''Federalism in Slovak Communist Politics,' ' Canadian Slavonic Papers XIX (4) , 1977, pp . 446-9. 33 FO 371-24290, Doc . C612-68-12 . 34 The British Government recognized Benes 's national committee as the " Provisional Czechoslovak Government" on July 21 , 1940. Full de jure recognition was granted on July 18, 1941 , the same day the Soviet Union granted de facto and de jure recognition. The United States followed suit on July 31 , 1941 . 36 In a report on conditions in Slovakia written in January 1939, George Kennan expressed the following opinion, which was widely held at that time: "Its (Slovakia's) native leaders are so sadly lacking in experience, in imagination, in breadth of view, and in depth of purpose that they cannot hope to maneuver successfully for very long �SLOVAKIA 36 amid the powerful national and ideological currents which are playing all around them in Central Europe. " George P. Kennan, From Prague After Munich: Diplomatic Papers 1938-1940 (Princeton, 1968), p. 27. 36 This is best illustrated by the fact that not only in the literature but also during the war, Slovakia was referred to as a " fascist state, " not in a descriptive but in a normative sense. 37 FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-58-12. 38 Joseph M . Kirschbaum , p . 163. 39 Ibid. , p. 159. 40 Ibid. , p . 168; Mikus, p. 94 ; Jan F . Gleiman, "Duch ustavy SR" in Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Slouenska Republika 1939-1949 (Scranton, 1949), p. 120. 41 FO 417-40, Doc. Cl0876-7-12. 42 The most comprehensive analysis of the program is found in Stefan Polakovit, Tisoua nauka (Bratislava, 1941). An English outline appears in Joseph M . Kirschbaum, Slouakia, pp. 170-3; a critical approach was taken by Yeshayahu Jelinek in The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slouak People's Party 1939-1945 (Boulder, 1976) . 43 Of the 63 deputies elected, 48 were from the Hlinka Party; 12 represented the Agrarian Party, the Slovak National Party, the Artisan Party, and the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. See above, Kirschbaum, p . 169. 44 Kamenec, passim . 46 The Fuehrer principle was introduced in Slovak political life on October 22, 1942. It enabled President Tiso to consolidate his power and that of the Hlinka Party against Tuka and Mach and the Hlinka Guard. 46 According to Liptak, the Hlinka Guard represented the lumpenproletariat and the radical small bourgeoisie. Liptak, "Politicky reiim ... , "p. 26. 47 Some authors refer to a tradition of anti-Semitism as well as the activities of Slovak Jews in Slovak life to explain the early anti-Jewish policies. Mikus, pp. 96-6.; Sutherland, pp. 88-9. See also Kennan, pp. 22-3. 48 Conway, passim. 49 Kamenec, p . 363. 60 This is made quite clear by one of the leaders of the 1944 revolt. See Lettrich, passim . 61 Liptak, Slouensko , pp. 177-180. For a description of Slovak foreign policy, see Mikus, pp. 116-138. 62 Milan S. Ourica, La Slouaccia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania, 1938-1945 , (Padova, 1964), Vol. I, p . 107. 53 Mikus, pp. 135-6 and Ourica, p . 107. 64 The situation and events leading to the Salzburg' meeting Jlre described at length in Liptak, "Priprava a priebeh . . . . " 66 As to th~ question whether Slovakia declared war on the U.K. and the United States, there is also no documentary evidence that this did take place according to postwar re- �SLOVAKIA 37 search into the matter by State Ikpartment officials . The suggestion that Slovakia did declare war is based on a New York Times report of December 13, 1941 of a German broadcast from Bratislava that stated that Slovakia had declared war. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia , pp. 318-21. 66 Gustav Husak , " O vyvoji a situacii na Slovensku," Svedectvi XV (68) , 1979, p . 377. 67 Ibid. 68 FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-7-12. 69 FO 417-39, Doc. C5201-7-12 . 60 Husak, p. 369. 61 FO 371-34337, Doc. C9206-372-12 . In his pre-revolt report, Husak indicates that some 60,000 Slovaks also worked in Germany. Husak, p. 373. 62 Liptak, Slovensko , p. 194. 63 I.:ubomir Liptak, Ovlddnutie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitdlom (Bratislava, 1960), p . 66. 64 Liptak, Slovensko, pp. 201-2. 65 Falt'an, pp. 108-9. See also FO 371-39121 , Doc. C877-877-18. 66 Sutherland, p. 87 . 67 FO 371-34446, Doc. C1066-160-18. 68 FO 371-34446, Doc . C6626-160-18. 69 Dress , p. 119. 70 Ibid ., p. 117. 71 It is interesting that the Slovaks met with no opposition from the Germans. As Conway writes: ''It should be noted that the abolition of religious instruction and the removal of crucifixes from the schools were two notable features of the Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church." Conway, p . 89 , note 11. 72 Owen V. Johnson, "The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, p . 42 . 73 Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov (Middletown, 1965), p. 12. 74 Husak, pp. 376-77. 76 FO 371-38942, Doc. C13551-1343-12 . 76 Husak's memoirs are entitled: " Testimony on the Slovak National Uprising." See Gustav Husak , Svedectvo o slovenskom narodnom povstani (Bratislava, 1964). A revised and amended version was published in 1969. 77 Wolfgang Venohr, Au/stand fuer die Tschechoslowakei (Hamburg, 1969). 78 Frantisek Vnuk, Neuveritefne sprisahanie (Middletown, 1964). 79 The most complete account in a Western language is by Venohr. 80 ' 'The political motive for an uprising was the desire to liberate Slovakia by its own efforts as soon as possible, to throw out the Germans , to destroy the dictatorship of the �SLOVAKIA 38 Slovak People's Party, reintroduce Czechoslovak democratic institutions, spare Slovakia the suffering of the war and assure its just place in a free Czechoslovakia.'' Lettrich, p. 200. 81 A. Benl!ik and J. Pivovarl!i, " Problemes militaires de llnsurrection nationale slovaque," Studia historica slovaca IV, 1966, p. 166. 82 Upon the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (Bene§'s party) prepared a document for the party faithful outlining how the Czechoslovak Government should go about successfully assimilating the Slovaks. It was published for the first time in 1968. See Pravda (Bratislava), March 29, 1968. 83 FO 371-34337, Doc. 9786-372-12. 84 According to Husak, some other arguments were "the class content of this state, its undemocratic fascist regime, its vassal link to Nazi Germany and its policies against the people." Husak, Svedectvo, p . 129. 85 There is a full German translation of Catlo§'s plan in Venohr, pp. 119-21. 86 See Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, "Federalism .. . ," pp. 446-49. 87 M. Kuhar, a former communications officer in the Slovak Army, explained to me recently in an interview in Toronto, Canada, that his unit had been mobilized when the rumor of Tiso's death had reached it with the understanding that the Slovak Army would engage the Germans to defend Slovak independence. When the rumor proved to be untrue, his unit returned to its barracks . 88 Husak, "O vyvoji ... ," p. 377. 89 In 1942, at a ceremony for a new extension of the electrical network, President Tiso remarked: "You see, how, with more electricity we are giving you an opportunity to hear London and Moscow. In Russia they do not have such an opportunity, because there they give them a record player and thus they can hear only Moscow. The Slovak Republic is not afraid to hear foreign stations, because we know the truth and we are not afraid of the lies that London broadcasts.•• Slovak, May 19, 1942, quoted in Milan Stanislav l'>urica, "Slovensko za druhej svetovej vojny - Slovenska Republika" in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dej£n (Lausanne, 1976), p. 143, note 127. 90 Vilem Prel!an, Slovenske ntirodne povstanie (Bratislava, 1965), document 576, p. 950. 91 Tido J. Ga§par, "Z pamiiti, " Slovenske pohfady LXXXIV (12), 1968, p. 79. 92 At a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff in London on November 15, 1944, it was acknowledged that the revolt had collapsed. FO 371-38944, Doc. C15945-1343-12. \ 93 Liptak, "Politicky re!im . . . , " p. 48. � HISTORY ��SLOVAKIA 11 The .Slovak Republic and the Slovaks· . STANISLAV J. KIRSCHBAUM INTRODUCTION There are very few topics in recent history that have been as much avoided, accidentally or deliberately, by Western as well as Communist scholars as the Slovak Republic (1939-1945) . The significance of this state in the period of its existence is certainly not central to an understanding of the more important world events that were taking place at the time, nor was its contribution to those events such that it required the attention of world powers. Historical surveys published in the West in the last forty years have thus not given Slovakia much attention; one can appreciate the reason for this, but one must also note that there are often serious inaccuracies, distortions, and misrepresentations in these works.I The task of writing this history of the Slovak Republic is, therefore, left to a few Western specialists or to Slovak Marxist historians. But here one is also left wanting; ideological preoccupations and problems of documentation explain this unusual state of affairs. The Republic of Slovakia found itself on the side of the vanquished powers at the end of the Second World War. Historians have been understandably more interested in recording the activities of the victorious, often applying ex post facto a devil theory to the defeated. In the wake of an ideological conflict like the Second World War, and with the ideological division of the world in the postwar years, the tendency to simplify in order better to glorify and I or condemn is understandable. It is not to be excused, however. Nevertheless Western, as well as Communist, historians have generally let their engagement get the better of their scholarship, or else they have conveniently cast intractable subjects to the Orwellian memory hole. For example, two Canadians, one of Czech, the other of • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies , New Haven, October, 1979. �12 SLOVAKIA Slovak origin, purporting to write the history of the Czechs and Slovaks in Canada, have actually suggested that Slovak separatism is " an aberration of the past , excusable perhaps under the circumstances of the day , but otherwise the sooner forgotten the better.' ' 2 Communist scholars have also generally avoided the Slovak Republic, with the only two works published in the 1950s3 followed by a few articles in the 1960s.4 Writing from their Marxist perspective , they have, however, shown a shift in accent and interpretation in their later writings.5 This shift corresponds to greater access to the documentation on the Slovak Republic for scholars in Slovakia. However, this documentation is not necessarily accessible to Western scholars . Access to original documents and other primary sources is in fact the greatest problem that Western scholars studying Slovakia face. All of the works on the period of the Slovak Republic published in the West show a minimal reliance on original Slovak documentation . At best, they have used three newspapers published in Slovakia that are available , namely Slovak , Gardista , and Grenzbote.6 Monographs which were published during the war and which found their way into Western European or American libraries are also available; but their number, as well as their importance , is limited. None gives a total picture of the Slovak Republic ; most were written during the war, and generally before the 1944 revolt. Finally, none of the political leaders or officials of the state has made public any documents in his possession 7 that cast additional light. With some exceptions, there are no detailed memoirs or diaries that one can draw upon.8 Finally, there is no indication that Prague or Bratislava is presently disposed to open Slovak archives to Western scholars, except perhaps for earlier periods and less explosive subjects like education. 9 There is , on the other hand, one documentary source that Western and Communist IO scholars have used widely, namely German documentation. The Allies published soon after the war the series Documents on German Foreign Policy ; those documents not found in this series are now available in Bonn at the\ Politisches Archiv des auswiirtigen Amtes . Also available are SS documents, namely from Himmler's Sicherheitsdienst, which John Conway has prudently characterized as "conscientious, though obviously one-sided. " 11 Conway's comments are indeed pertinent for much of German documentation ; it must be used with great care when applied to Slovakia. The scholar must remember that they are addressed to and written by people serving the Third Reich. A third, but unfortunately rather unreliable source of information, �SLOVAKIA 13 is the files of the British Foreign Office. These were at first composed of British diplomatic reports, especially from Consul to Slovakia Peter Pares, which are useful because of their detachment and scope. Pares, however, left Slovakia after the outbreak of the Second World War, and thereupon the reports fo'll{ld in the files of the Foreign Office ceased to come from agents in diplomatic representation abroad. Bruce Lockhart12 then set into motion the gathering of intelligence not only on Slovak, but also on Czech, affairs in the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and thus thickened Foreign Office files with weekly and sundry reports. With the British de facto and later de jure recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London, headed by Edvard Bene§, the task of gathering intelligence and preparing situation reports fell on the Czech and Slovak exiles in London. The information in this documentation is rarely accurate, and to its discredit, extremely selective.13 The documents show quite plainly that Bene§ and his people used only information that damaged the Slovak Republic, especially Slovak politicians. Likewise, the weekly summaries of the Political Intelligence Department are not very useful because they were based upon reports emanating from Bene§'s people. However, the Foreign Office files also contain occasional letters or reports from other sources that paint a totally different picture; but they are too few and, unfortunately, rarely comprehensive enough to give scholars something concrete. This problem of inadequate documentary evidence makes the task of studying the Slovak Republic an extremely difficult one.14 Nevertheless a beginning must be made, if only to ask questions, examine existing interpretations, and seek to understand the motives and actions of the men at the center of events; there is indeed a real challenge of intellectual and documentary detection in this case. The documentation used in this article is neither specialized nor all-encompassing. I have examined closely most available secondary sources, both Western and Communist, read the memoir-like contributions of Slovaks in SlovakCanadian and Slovak-American newspapers and periodicals, and studied carefully the documents of the Foreign Office. Furthermore, I accept the writings of exiled Slovak scholars as those most likely to help us understand the Slovak Republic and the actions of its leaders, while taking note of their often defensive and apologetic nature. I am also aware of the fact that there exist many works disposed in an unfriendly, if not outright inimical, way to the Slovak Republic; I have sought to understand the arguments presented and have accepted at face value the facts given. But one should be skeptical toward them; a state where the President could walk on the streets of the capital city without a �14 SLOVAKIA bodyguard to protect him and where no attempt was ever made on his life is not a state where everything was evil and against the interests of the Slovak people, as some works suggest. The full history of the Slovak Republic will, however, not be written until all archival material is made available. Until then the present debate is likely to continue. Before examining the various aspects of this topic, a few words should be said about the broader perspective within which the Slovak Republic found itself. In his study of the impact of education in Slovakia in the 1920s and 1930s, Owen Johnson has shown that by the end of the second decade of the existence of the first Czechoslovak Republic not only had Prague's policy of Czechoslovak nation-building failed, but indeed its "program of Czechoslovak state building had turned into one of Slovak nation building."15 There is some irony in the fact that Prague's policies had the opposite effect of what had been expected; in this respect then, the activities of the Slovak Republic would be merely the continuation and the prolongation of this process with the difference that all decisions affecting the Slovaks would be taken by Slovaks in Bratislava and not in Prague. The fact that the Slovaks took their national life into their own hands, notwithstanding the circumstances that had led to this step, also reflected the problems created by the selective application of the policy of national self-determination in Central Europe. While recognizing on the one hand the right of nations to selfdetermination on the morrow of the Great War, the victorious powers were selective on the other in their granting of this right to the various nations of the Habsburg Empire. The Slovaks were not unaware of this discrepancy, and when the deleterious geopolitical arrangements of the Versailles settlement finally succumbed to German expansionism, Slovak independence was as much an act of nati~al self-determination as one of self-preservation. The ultimate tragedy of the Slovaks is that by 1945 the victorious powers once again applied in a selective fashion the principles of national self-determination as embodied in the Atlantic Charter. THE ACCEPTANCE OF SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE The declaration of Slovak independence was greeted with rejoicing by a great many Slovaks, although in Bratislava, as British Consul Peter Pares reported, there had not been many manifestations of that joy. The capital city of Slovakia was yet to become a primarily Slovak city, and its non-Slovak population did not show much enthusiasm. Pares sensed apathy or pessimism.16 Slovakia's declaration of independence had in fact come about under circumstances that differentiate it from �SLOVAKIA 15 similar events for other nations in recent times. Consul Pares's report not only singles out this ~ct, but it underlines one of the major tasks that the leaders of the new'state had to face. Slovakia's declaration of independence cannot be disassociated from the two previous decades when neither the political individuality of Slovakia nor the nationhood of its people had been acknowledged by the Czechoslovak Republic. Belatedly and grudgingly, Prague had granted Slovakia autonomy on October 6, 1938, under conditions that did not indicate the total and willing abandonment by the Czech elite of the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism. '' But for the Slovak people, autonomy represented the successful outcome of a twenty-year struggle, a hope that Slovak national development could now be carried out by the Slovak people. Autonomy brought about manifestations of popular gladness in the cities, towns, and villages of Slovakia. The Hlinka Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party, headed by Martin Razus, had been the main political forces not only behind autonomy, but above all, in the educational campaign that was essential for the Slovak people in order to handle their own affairs. After two decades of Czech local, as well as state administration, a policy that had brought about much bitterness in Slovakia, 17 the Slovaks looked upon autonomy as the fulfillment not only of original promises, but also of national aspirations. Independence and statehood had not been an alternative openly discussed and contemplated by Slovak leaders in the two decades before autonomy. This is not to say that they might not one day have considered it. Indeed, as Samo Falt'an, a Slovak Commwiist historian, has written: "Statehood as an expression of national liberty cannot be rejected and qualified as treason to the nation.'' He went on to add that independence was a logical outcome in the light of the Slovaks' status in the CSR: ''The creation of the Slovak State is not in conflict with national interests and efforts, all the more so, because in the twenty-year existence of the CSR there had been no successful attempt to reach a Czech-Slovak constitutional arrangement. "18 Nevertheless - and this is important in order to understand the problems that faced th,e new state - when independence was declared, it had not been the object of wide public discussion but rather came rapidly on the heels of autonomy when Slovakia had barely begun to enjoy its new status in Czecho-Slovakia. However, within the Hlinka party, reorganized since November 8, 1938 as the Slovak Party of National Unity, which other Slovak parties had been invited to join except for Slovak Communists and Social Democrats, there were elements that had been considering �16 SLOVAKIA independence, especially in the light of the changing international situation in Europe. The predominance of Germany and the fear that Prague might not be able to defend the integrity and existence of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks concerned them. In fact, from the very beginnings of Czecho-Slovakia, the Hlinka party had given Prague notice that the survival and interests of the Slovak nation were uppermost in its policy stand and actions.19 But in 1938-1939 the need to explore all avenues was paramount, for as Churchill declared in the House of Commons on October 5, 1938: "I venture to think that in the future the Czechoslovak state cannot be maintained as an independent entity. You will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured only by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi regime. "20 The Slovak elite was aware of this danger of engulfment and of the necessity to maneuver in such a way as to avoid it. As events would show and the history of the Slovak Republic would confirm, Slovak independence was the one solution that enabled Slovakia to avoid the total absorption that befell other Central European peoples and states. The events leading to independence need not he recounted here, since they have been examined elsewhere.21 Suffice it to say that in the light of European developments and the rapidity with which they were unfolding, the decision to opt for independence and the manner in which it was done showed courage on the part of the Slovak leaders. It was also the best solution, not only under the circumstances, but also for the Slovak nation.22 But at the moment of independence, and for the immediate future, this decision by the Slovak leaders had to be explained and shown to be viable both to the Slovak people and to the world at large. The Hlinka Party23 embarked on this task, calling upon all Slovaks to join it, as the Communist historian I:ubomir Liptak has written. The new regime in Slovakia did not exclude its political opponents from positions in the new state.24 In fact he pointed out: The populists did not come to power after an extreme collision of political trends in Slovakia, in the wake of a moderate civil war as was the case for example in Italy and Germany, but during an international crisis, when all existing political conceptions and currents failed, or did not have an oppottunity to influence developments. In this kind of internal political vacuum, when political opponents are eliminated, or do not have clear goals, or are isolated in the nation, the populists could get the support or at least the passive help of yesterday's political opponents.25 �SLOVAKIA 17 Although there was a single Slovak party (there was, however, also a Slovak German, and a small Slovak Hungarian, party) and the regime manifested certain visible authoritarian characteristics, the appearance of factions and policy directions in the Blinka Party, the division between the legislative and executive branches of government, and the role of the churches in the political life of the state26 were all factors that would influence Slovak political life and help the Blinka Party to carry out its program. In the words of Liptak, in the Slovak Republic there was a "certain 'liberalism' and carefulness in the introduction of authoritarian arrangements.' •27 This moderate liberalism was, however, not to be enjoyed by all citizens, and many individuals suffered, although on the whole there was none of the totalitarianism, terror, and ideological dogmatism that later befell the Slovaks under the Communist regime. These conditions also made it possible for opposing views to coexist and later influence events in Slovakia. For there existed three factors which had heavily mortgaged the viability of the Slovak Republic and which would in time take their place in the political life of the state and ultimately seal its fate; they were the activities of opposition groups, Slovak-German relations, and the world war. The appearance of a group opposing the Slovak Republic is something that British Consul Pares soon took notice of. In his July report on the Constitution of Slovakia, where he noted the unique position of the Blinka Party in the political system, he pointed out that the Catholic origin of this party probably meant the virtual exclusion of Slovak Protestants within it, as well as their relegation to the background of public affairs. He concluded from this that the ''insignificant position into which they have been thrust is sure to arouse their bitter resentment. "28 By mid-November he reported the "active revolt ... of a section of the Lutheran Community, which was the greatest source of strength of the former centralists or ''Czechoslovaks'' and has suffered with their eclipse. In this case, it is sectarian feeling rather than loss of political power which has created bitter antagonism to the existing government .... "29 Despite the fact that a number of Protestant personalities occupied key positions in the state, that their economic influence in Slovakia did not diminish but in fact increased, and that their leaders publicly proclaimed their adherence and loyalty to the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Protestant community did indeed form an opposition group, whether for sectarian or political reasons, especially after Benes began to regroup his political partisans in London. As Pares noted in his last dispatch on Slovakia to London, the Protestants formed �18 SLOVAKIA at home and abroad an opposition link to the Slovak Republic and lent Benes support for his goal of recreating the first Czechoslovak Republic.30 By 1943 they would be actively involved in the restoration of Czechoslovak authority in Slovakia and would help a second main opposition group, the Communists, in preparing an armed revolt in Central Slovakia. The role of the Communists in Slovakia mirrored well the turgidity of their movement until the German attack on the Soviet Union in June of 1941. Soviet diplomatic recognition of Slovakia invalidated the slogans of national self-determination they propagated in 1939, while the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, by then resident in Moscow, ordered the abandonment of the slogan of a '' Soviet Slovak Republic,'' which began to appear in 1940. The Communist Party had been declared illegal in Slovakia so that its activities and organization were clandestine. The security services of the Slovak Republic occasionally rounded up Communists, but as both Falt'an and Liptak pointed out, not only were they quickly released from prison, but they were allowed to resume their positions in economic and state institutions. 31 In was not until late 1943 and 1944 that Communist activity became a major factor in Slovak political life, in part because the Communists were in touch with Soviet partisan units operating out of Kiev, and in part because they had worked out a new political program for Slovakia in the future of Czechoslovak Republic.32 Together with Slovak non-Communists, primarily Lutherans, they began to prepare the revolt of 1944, which I will examine below. The existence and activity of opposition groups to the Slovak Republic were enhanced by the nature of Slovak-German relations. The role of Germany in the destruction of Czechoslovakia had been a major factor in Slovakia's declaration of independence and as British Consul Pares noted, ''from the moment when indeflendence was declared the Slovaks never had any illusions about the difficulties and risks of their situation as a nation of two million people in the centre of Europe. ,,33 Attempts to pursue an independent foreign policy by the Minister of External Affairs, Ferdinand Durcansky, resulted in his removal in July 1940 under German pressure and thereafter Germany made sure that Slovak political life did not go beyond certain limits, which for the most part were, however, not clearly defined; on the other hand Germany did not encourage Slovak pro-Nazi elements to take power, nor did Hitler back the attempted coup in 1941 against President Tiso, in which the German ambassador, M. von Killinger, was himself involved. Slovakia was nevertheless in the German sphere of interest; its existence �SLOVAKIA 19 was in fact tied to German political and economic activities, and despite the diplomatic recognition it had been granted by twenty-seven states, its juridical status did not\in fact extend much beyond Europe. British de facto and later de jure ·recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government in London, followed by Soviet and American recognition,34 as well as the Hungarian claims on Slovakia, further strengthened the ties between Slovakia and Germany which were not broken until the war's end. The outbreak of the Second World War was the third factor that heavily influenced the politics and the viability of the Slovak Republic. Although Slovakia would not experience the horrors of war until 1944, the fact that there was a war all around it enabled opposition groups to get involved in military activities on Slovak soil and do just what the Slovak leaders had so successfully avoided doing, namely bring the war into Slovakia with their 1944 revolt. Also, the war forced Slovakia into much closer cooperation with Germany, especially in the economic sphere, and brought about the deportation into Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jews. In the end Slovakia's existence became tied to the outcome of a war that Germany had begun. In spite of the weight of these three factors on the Slovak Republic, its political leaders determined to carry out policies that would enable the Slovak people to develop further their national life, or put in other terms, that would embark them upon a program of modernization that would dispel any doubts about Slovak political maturity. 35 In this respect, as the available evidence shows, the Slovak Republic represented a singular achievement that had not been equalled in the Czechoslovak state. THE POLICIES OF THE REGIME It was the misfortune of the Slovak Republic that it had to fight throughout its existence the battle of statehood. International law notwithstanding, the Slovaks came to realize that the international existence of their state was shaky, a situation which resulted in the blurring of the boundary lines between state and regime for many Slovaks and most observers.36 This blurring grew as the war developed and became prevalent by the time it became clear that the Allies, who by then had recognized the Czechoslovak government in London, were going to win the war. But in 1939 and for the next four years, until the German army was defeated at Stalingrad, and despite the need after July 1940 for Slovakia to align itself closer to Germany, the lines between state �20 SLOVAKIA and regime were quite closer. The notion of statehood was indeed understood by the Slovaks, as Peter Pares quite accurately reported to London in his last dispatch in January 1940: One solid cause for satisfaction still remains in spite of Slovakia' s need for dependence on one or other of the stronger neighbouring nations and that is the fact that after one thousand years the internal political administration has at last passed exclusively into the hands of Slovaks. Economic and political dependence on either Germany, the Czechs or Hungary is inevitable so long as Slovakia remains an independent state but the right of full self-administration is a pure gain which is entirely due to the establishment of the republic and goes far toward reconciling the Slovaks with the drawbacks of their political position.37 The Slovaks lost in fact very little time in setting up a constitution for their state. They proclaimed on July 21, 1939 a republic, drawing upon the constitutions of Austria, Portugal, and Czechoslovakia, to determine the balance between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.38 The constitutional text is divided into thirteen chapters of 103 articles forming "a comprehensive set of fundamental principles and laws concerning the whole field of government and making provisions for the exercise of political power.' •39 Worthy of note are also the articles dealing with the duties and general rights of the citizens, including the right of assembly and freedom of speech and the protection of the workers. As students of the Slovak constitution have noted, the social provisions were greatly influenced by Papal encyclicals, particularly Rerum novarum and Quadragesimo anno.40 The main authoritarian feature is to be found in the role of the Hlinka Party. As Pares pointed out in his description of the constitution to the Foreign Office, ''in spite of the mul~plication of the organs of government, it is easy to see that the Hlinka party itself will, under the new Constitution, be the most powerful factor"in the government of the country." 41 Changes in the Hlinka Party further enhanced the authoritarian character of the regime, as some features of the German and Italian party systems were adopted. The Hlinka Party did not, however, have a fascist or national-socialist program, although attempts were made to give it one, and it sought to direct political life along Slovak national traditions. 42 Like all political parties, the Hlinka Party was divided into factions. Throughout the six years of the Slovak Republic, the main faction, headed by Jozef Tiso, President of the Party and also President of the Republic from October 26, 1939, dominated the political life of the �SLOVAKIA 21 country. It was composed not only of long-standing members of the party, but also of representatives of other Slovak parties who had consented to run on the single ticket for the Diet during the elections of December 18, 1938.43 Th.is faction exercised its influence not only in the Presidency, but'also in ~he Slovak Parliament. 44 For the better part of the life of the Slovak Republic, the Tiso faction also had to make every effort to curb the pro-Nazi faction which sought indeed to give Slovakia a Slovak national-socialist regime. It was headed by Vojtech Tuka, who after July 1940 became Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs until the 1944 revolt. Tuka owed his position to Hitler who had summoned Tiso to Salzburg on July 28, 1940 to impose a closer alignment with Germany. Hitler also forced the dismissal of Durcansky, Minister of External Affairs. The Secretary-General of the Party, Jozef Kirschbaum, was also removed from his position shortly afterwards. Slovakia had lost some of the freedom it had enjoyed in the first seventeen months of its existence. Still, the Hlinka Party, whose main organizational opponent was the pro-Tuka Hlinka Guard, managed to carry through a series of policies that, with one exception, one can hardly qualify as Nazi or fascist.45 Likewise much of the posturing and outward imitation of Italian and German uniforms was more a matter of form to please Germany than an integral part of Slovak political culture. It would have been a different story if Tuka and Alexander Mach, the Minister of the Interior, had succeeded in overthrowing Tiso. The country would most likely have been ruled by the Hlinka Guard, whose membership was not composed of the most enlightened segments of the population. 46 Of all the policies the regime of the Slovak Republic proposed and carried out, the most unfortunate and tragic were the confiscation of Slovak Jewish property, known as the policy of aryanization, and in 1942 on German urging, the deportation to Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jewish population. These policies found both support and opposition in Slovakia. The aryanization policy was introduced shortly after independence and was voted on by the Slovak Parliament in response to a mood that existed in public circles.47 The deportation policy, advocated by the Tuka faction, however, met with serious opposition, 48 and although it could be stopped only belatedly, Tiso and his supporters in Parliament were still able to limit its scope and save the lives of thousands of Slovak Jews.49 Nevertheless, one of the darkest chapters in Slovak history had been written, and it went a long way toward damaging the record of the Slovak Republic50 and the aspirations of the Slovak people for independence. �22 SLOVAKIA Foreign policy was another area where room for maneuver was limited. The Communist historian Liptak has argued that the Slovak Republic was a mere pawn in a German game in Europe, especially in the period following independence; it was not possible, he concluded, for Slovakia to pursue an independent foreign policy.51 The measure of the success or failure of Slovakia's foreign policy lies in the degree to which it could resist German dominance and obtain for itself some freedom of action and protection of its own interests. The test came early with the Hungarian attack on Eastern Slovakia in March 1939 and, as Milan Durica has shown, the Slovaks, led by Durcansky, were reasonably successful in minimizing the damage and protecting Slovak interests. 52 The Treaty of Protection (Schuetzvertrag) between Slovakia and Germany set the limits of Slovakia's room for maneuver in foreign relations, military, and economic affairs. With the outbreak of the war, Slovakia joined Germany in invading Poland but only to recapture Slovak territory lost in 1920 and 1938. Nevertheless, Durcansky attempted to widen his freedom of action, and one of his attempts to pursue an independent course failed due to an indiscretion by a Slovak diplomat53 and brought about his downfall in July of 1940.54 Thereafter, Prime Minister Tuka, who was also External Affairs Minister, aligned Slovakia closer to German foreign policy by joining the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1940 and by participating in the war against the Soviet Union. There is no indication in the documentation that there were military engagements between Slovak and British or American forces.55 The measure of the success of Durcansky' s foreign policy may perhaps best be gauged by the fact that he set parameters on German interference which enabled the regime to carry out a wide range of domestic policies. Even after his ouster in 1940, German interference was felt primarily in foreign, military, and economic policy and in the Jewish question. As Communist leader Gustav Husak, an eyewitness to the politics and policies of the Slovak Republic, pointed out in July 1944: ''German influence is great, but not\so great for independence to be a stupid mask. "56 The major achievements of the Slovak Republic were in the economic and socio-cultural fields. If adequate research is ever possible in these two areas, the results are likely to show that the regime was quite successful in taking the Slovak people far down the road of modernization and that, until the revolt of 1944, the Slovak government looked after its non-Jewish citizens through planned economic and social development. The Slovak Republic was the framework within which the Slovak people could and did attain a good measure of national and so- �SLOVAKIA 23 cial development even under the stringent diplomatic and military conditions their government found itself. As Gustav Husak wrote in 1944, distinguishing between regime and state: "If this state had another content and were l~d by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, there would be nothing to say against it from a Slovak point of view." 57 Husak, a Communist, was understandably not in favor of the regime; but he acknowledged the importance and benefits of statehood for the Slovaks. Certainly by 1944 there was no doubt about that anymore. There had been doubts, however, at the time of independence. They had arisen from some of the intitial difficulties the autonomous Slovak government had experienced in late 1938 and early 1939. As Peter Pares wrote in February 1939, there were difficulties in a series of sectors, especially in the economic, educational, and administrative ones, from which he concluded that the result ''must inevitably be the economic stagnation of Slovakia and might even mean a disastrous impoverishment." 58 But by April 1939, Pares reported that "the present state of affairs in Slovakia, after nearly a month of independence, seems to indicate that, in spite of the manner in which the declaration of independence was brought about and of the disturbing effects of the Hungarian invasion of Eastern Slovakia, conditions are more stable than anybody expected. "59 The situation in fact continued to improve so much that Husak could write in 1944 that there had been a definite improvement to what the situation had been in Czechoslovakia. He went on to add that in the first seventeen months of the Slovak Republic ''it also became evident that Slovakia could take care of itself economically, there was neither economic nor currency chaos, the standard of living did not go down, quite the contrary, a good number of people, especially the intelligentsia, got ahead .... '•60 A report in the Foreign Office files dated August 1943 also confirms the progress made with the following eyewitness account: '' A traveller who has recently returned from Slovakia was amazed to find how normal things were, not only in Bratislava, but also in other towns. There was no blackout and practically no restrictions. Food and clothing were plentiful and prices reasonable. There was little war talk. Life went on as usual everywhere, but there was a shortage of servants and indeed a general shortage of labour. "61 Before outlining the various aspects of socio-economic and cultural development that the documentation and the literature have permitted me to put together, a few words should be said about the parameters I am using to evaluate the contribution of the Slovak Republic to the life �24 SLOVAKIA of the Slovak people. Ideally, when a nation has acquired statehood it should be totally free to handle its own affairs; for small nations, however, reality is generally far removed from theory, especially when there are powerful neighboring states. Depending on the pressures the powerful put on a small state, the measure of realism must be not only the degree to which policies allow the people to enjoy a standard of living comparable to that of the neighboring nations, but also the perceivable cost, in the short and longer run of resistance and opposition to the pressure of the powerful neighbor. For example, the failure of Canadian nationalists to persuade the Canadian people to have their government limit the American domination of the Canadian economy - over 60 percent of Canadian industry is owned by Americans - is due to the refusal of the Canadian people to give up the standard of living this situation has brought them and to accept the cost of a policy of greater independence. There is little public discussion in Canada on American domination; it is a topic that is debated primarily in certain academic, intellectual, and political circles with hardly any echo elsewhere. The Canadian people do not hesitate, furthermore, to vote out a government which they perceive has not done enough not only to maintain, but to improve, their standard of living. These are the acceptable parameters of political realism in the second half of the twentieth century, not only for Canada, but for quite a few states, in the Western, as well as in the Communist, world. It is clear that the Slovak people found themselves in a similar situation until the revolt of 1944; it is my contention that the Slovak government was successful, especially in a war situation, in giving the Slovak people a good standard of living. Communist scholars do not hesitate to point out that the Slovak economy was dominated by Germany because of the secret protocol in the Treaty of Protection, which called for close economic cooperation and the increase of Slovakia's industrial and agriculture output. Other treaties followed to spell out in detail economic arrangements between Slovakia and Germany, and the Reich also sent advisers to help in various ministries. Liptak calculated that in 1938 the share of German and Austrian capital totaled only 5 percent in Sloyakia; by 1944 it had grown to 64 percent. This phenomenal growth is ~xplained by the fact that Germany took over the shares of Czech and foreign capital in Slovakia as they occupied the various financial centers of Europe. 62 At the same time Slovak capital grew from 2 percent in 1938 to 6 percent in 1944,63 and the number of companies in which Slovaks held a controlling interest rose from 40 to 74. Furthermore, from 1942 on, Slovak banks were successful in obtaining additional shares, especially in industry, that �SLOVAKIA 25 enabled them to operate a number of transfers of controlling interest from Germany to Slovakia. 64 It was this capital inflow which allowed for the development of Slovak industry. Some 4,855 million ks. were invested in five years, allowing for the creation of 250 new enterprises and the enlargement of SO-existing ones. The railways benefited from 95 km. of new tracks , while i 84 km. were rebuilt or repaired. Road paving, repair, and reconstruction were done on 1,100 km. , with 282 km. of new roads laid; telephone links, under and above ground, were greatly improved, adding 291 communities to the existing network, while 470 villages acquired electrification.65 The 12 ,000 kw. of hydroelectric power built between 1918 and 1939 was increased to 90,000 kw. between 1939 and 1945.66 Foreign Office files also give some statistics worthy of note. In 1942 the investment in chemical, textile, mining, metallurgy, and electrical industries represented close to half of that year's investment. The National Bank net profit in 1941 was 21.86 million ks. and 30.83 m. ks. in 1942.67 Trade statistics also show that Slovakia was by no means restricting the variety of goods and services available; in January-February 1942 Slovakia exported 400 m. ks. worth of goods while it imported 575 m. ks. For the same period in 1943, exports increased to 570 m. ks., and imports rose to 730 m. ks. A Slovak-Italian agreement valued at 800 m. ks. , with 60 m. ks. in Slovakia's favor, was signed in 1943. 68 There are very few agricultural statistics available; it seems that this was not a sector that encountered too many problems, even though the promised land reform of 1939 was not carried out. British reports note good fruit crops in 1942 and 1943 . The year 1943 was also reported as a good vintage year for Slovak wines. Communist authors indicate without hesitation that the social groups that benefited most from the economic expansion and growth in Slovakia were the middle and upper middle classes. The lot of workers also seems to have been satisfactory, except perhaps early on when worker discontent culminated in a strike fomented by Communists in Handlova in October 1940.69 The Slovak Parliament passed a number of bills to improve the social conditions of the working class, and salaries and wages showed a steady increase, 70 while unemployment disappeared. The autonomy and later independence of Slovakia brought about the availability of positions in the state as well as tertiary sectors which until then had been occupied primarily by Czechs. Education was another area which showed considerable activity and enabled educated Slovaks to move ahead. The University of Bratislava added two new fa- �26 SLOVAKIA culties , and a technical university was created in July 1939, taking up from the one created in Kosice in 1937 (but then under Magyar control). A school of economics was also founded, and by 1943 there were more than twice as many students enrolled in Slovak institutions of higher learning than there had been in 1938. An educational reform was also announced in July 1939, and Church-controlled schools were re-established. 71 These educational policies and reforms remedied in fact a major defect in Prague's educational program in Slovakia during the interwar years. As Owen Johnson has written: "What the Czechoslovak Republic / had / failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical and professional - that are required to conduct a modem nation."72 The founding of the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences and the modernization of the publication facilities of the Matica slovenska gave additional impetus to scientific and literary work. For the period 19391944, literary output, for example, totaled 709 works of which 437 were for prose, 169 for poetry, and 103 for plays. 73 Access to such works was made possible by a chain of bookstores operated by the Matica across the country. The statistics at my disposal are too incomplete to enable me to give an accurate survey of achievements but also of problems and failures. Nevertheless the picture that comes out is a positive one showing that"in five of the six years of the existence of the Slovak Republic, the Slovaks moved far down the road of modernization, dispelling any doubts about their ability to handle their own affairs. There is no better testimony to this fact than the report Gustav Husak prepared in July 1944 on the eve of the revolt he would lead as a member of the two opposition groups to the Slovak Republic. It is worthwhile to quote at length from it: In Slovakia today, there is sufficient merchandise, the system of distribution generally works well, and in comparison to adjacent territories (the Czech lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is best in Slovakia for the level of real salaries and their purchasing power. The salaries of employees and workers were raised many times, enterprises have all kinds of supply privileges and there cannot be any talk of a lack of basic commodities for consumers. The Slovak crown is the strongest currency in Central Europe , there is full confidence in it at home, �SLOVAKIA 27 people continue to save . . . and inflationary tendencies are sooner the result of German pressure on the economy than of internal conditions . . . : Problems are created by German demands, as a result of w}Uch Germany owes Slovakia today 6 billion ks ..... Slovak industry, given the circumstances of this war, was greatly modernized and some 2 billion ks. were invested in equipment (within 2 years), which in Slovakia is a huge sum .... In general one can say that on the basis of the experience of six years, Slovakia is able to exist as an independent unit economically and financially, can hold out on its own, has even today the necessary forces (including technical ones) and conditions of production for international competition . . . . The Slovaks are an independent nation, they have the same rights and expectations as any other nation. Today Slovak is the exclusive language of administration, all the formal attributes of a nation are there, and for this reason anyone who would like to return to the old conception of a united Czechoslovak nation will meet with opposition . . . . It is to be regretted that / the creation of the Slovak Republic / took place in combination with the worst political regime; still nothing will change the fact that on the national level there is a certain self-consciousness ''that we can take care of our own affairs" in political and economic affairs, that we can have our own army, our own administration, that one's own language is not inferior to that of former dominating nations, that Slovakia was a partner with whom states (the USSR and others) had relations, and to some degree still have today, in short that the Slovak nation can be the subject and not only the object of politics and other / activities / ... In these last six years, the development of a national consciousness and the completion of this development on the formal level are the most remarkable achievements that will not disappear with the fall of the regime . . . . It is a fact that this state is independent and has as much independence as a small state can have especially in time of war. 74 THE REVOLT OF 1944 Husak 's 1944 report on the conditions in Slovakia is in stark contrast with the twenty-seven page, top secret report ''The Revolt in Slovakia' ' found in Foreign Office files outlining the consequences of the fighting . 75 Likewise, one is struck by the difference between the provisional Czechoslovak government London broadcasts, especially �28 SLOVAKIA throughout 1944, inciting the Slovaks to acts of sabotage and destruction of life and property, and the Slovak press and media, when shorn of their ideological jargon and Germanophile phraseology, encouraging the population to ignore this incitement to violence. There was, in fact, partisan activity taking place sporadically throughout 1944; and, by the end of August the Slovaks found themselves almost overnight plunged into an abyss of violence and death which meant the end of their independence. One has to ask what brought about this shift from a relatively calm and stable situation to organized hostilities which resulted in German occupation and the inclusion of Slovakia in the European war. Was it a "Slovak National Uprising," as Communist historiography claims?76 Was it "an uprising for Czechoslovakia," as Wolfgang Venohr has suggested?77 Or was it an "incredible conspiracy," as Frantisek Vnuk has contended?78 The events of 1944 have already found their place in many versions in Slovak historiography, and they need not be recounted here at length. 79 But in the context of this study, two questions must be asked: Why did the revolt take place? and what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people? The reasons that were given after the fact by the leaders of the revolt, both Communist and non-Communist, seem like romanticized self-justifications in the light of the situation in Slovakia and the activities the partisans launched and the results they achieved.80 This is not to suggest that these men did not believe they were doing what they later claimed they had done. There is indeed a tragic irony in the fact that this was the way which insured that the Slovak people in the about-tobe restored Czechoslovak Republic would not be under a military dictatorship as Benes wanted,81 nor subjected to a renewed assimilation as had been attempted in the first CSR.82 Even the leaders of the Slovak Republic were also not unaware of the political situation of the Slovaks and the horns of the dilemma on which they found themselves. This is well illustrated by the following report that found its way into the files 11 of the Foreign Office; it was written by Kuhl de Borososhat, Hungarian Minister in Bratislava, a year before the revolt: Slovak politicians have held a conference at Rezsahegt I sic I (Ruzomberok) under the leadership of Blahos / sic I . Af- ter negotiations which lasted several days the opinion crystallized .that the Slovak people must, under all conditions, remain independent. As, after an Anglosaxon victory, the opinion of the politicians of today will no longer apply, the political leaders of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slovakia are entrusting the fate of their country to the hands of the American Slovaks. \ I asked the Minister of the Interior, Sano Mach, if the government adhered to the decision. He replied that the government had knowledge of it and would agree with it, but can neither adhere to it nor sanction it as this would imply that they had renounced belief in a German victozy - _a n open confession which Slovakia cannot and may not make. 83 The expectation of help from American Slovaks was, however, unrealistic; the resolution. of the Slovak dilemma lay in Europe. Thus, to answer the question why the revolt took place, one must go back to the three factors which had mortgaged the existence of the Republic of Slovakia. By 1944 they had come together in a way that made it impossible for the Slovak government to defend the integrity of the state and avoid the destruction that resulted. Germany was losing the war and progressively retreating from conquered territories, though not without resistance. German resistance was in fact dictated by strategic factors, and Slovakia played in this respect a major role on the Eastern front; for the Germans, Slovakia, with its mountains, barred the road to the Danubian plain for the Red Army, thus protecting the retreat of German armies from the Balkans; for the Soviet Union, the control of Slovakia meant access not only to the valley of the Danube, but also to Vienna and Prague. Also, the alliance with Germany, the second factor, had to be maintained in part because of the first factor but also because of the recognition of the Czechoslovak government in London by the Allies. To turn against Germany meant to be occupied by the Wehrmacht with no guarantee that help would be forthcoming in such a case either from the Soviet Union or the Western Allies. The Slovak government was, furthermore, anxious to avoid any Soviet involvement in Slovak affairs for the simple reason that Bolshevism ran against the Christian Slovak national traditions they upheld. Anti-German feeling had nevertheless begun to grow in Slovakia, and the government's pro-German policy was one of many arguments used to persuade Slovaks to go into opposition. 84 It was the activities of the Communist and non-Communist opposition groups, the third factor, which brought about the armed revolt in Central Slovakia that resulted in the German occupation of the country. The Germans then ordered the deportation of the majority of the Slovak Jews who had been spared the 1942 deportation, and there were sum- �30 SLOVAKIA mary executions on both sides as well as wanton destruction and violence. An additional tragic aspect to the entire episode is the fact that the revolt did not take place at a moment when it could benefit the Allied war effort and also scuttled the secret plans of the Slovak Army, prepared by the Minister of National Defense, General Ferdinand Catlos, and sent to Moscow, to help the Allied effort in Central Europe. Slovak army divisions would have been made available to partake in the sweep of the Red Army toward Budapest and Vienna.85 Catlos's plan, aside from its possible military usefulness, would have maintained the integrity of the Slovak Republic; this was unacceptable to the two opposition groups, the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, who in signing the Christmas Agreement of 1943 had agreed to work toward the restoration of Czechoslovakia. 86 The answer to the second question, namely what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people, is a little more complex. The revolt involved at first thousands of Slovaks, civilians and soldiers, because of the tremendous confusion that arose when it broke out. Apart from the German occupation, which had been the result of the shooting of a German military mission going through the Slovak town of Turciansky Sviity Martin, the most determining factor was the rumor that Tiso had been murdered by the Germans.87 But there were also Slovaks who had become disenchanted with the regime and joined the partisans for this reason. Husak indicated in his pre-revolt report that many Slovaks were ready to change the regime but to keep the state.88 The knowledge that the Allies had recognized Benes's Czechoslovak government - London broadcasts w~re frequently listened to89 - had helped to blur the line between regime and state to the point that in the proverbial sense , the baby was thrown out with the bath water. Except for those who had been working for the restoration of Czechoslovakia, it is not clear that many of those who joined the partisans realized that they were in a revolt not only against the regime, but also against the state. However, one must note that many Slovaks did not participate in the revolt and were even opposed to it because of their allegiance to the Slovak Republic. They realized that the revolt meant a return to the status quo antebellum . London broadcasts were making it perfectly clear that this was what awaited the Slovaks at the end of the war. But as Husak pointed out in a 1946 report, the Slovaks, both in government and in opposition, considered such a proposition to be ' 'rather ridiculous. " 90 The writer, Tido J. Gaspar, Head of the Propaganda Office of �SLOVAKIA 31 the Slovak government, expressed his opposition to the revolt as follows: It wasn't fear of the future, but fear of a renewed past. A return to the disgusting " Benesiada. " We were afraid of it. Benes was threatening us with revenge and promised to renew everything which had previously oppressed us Slovaks .. .. He did not recognize for us any n~tional rights . In fact he did not even recognize us as a nation. We were afraid of that. For this reason we did not see the Uprising as a liberation from the path of fascism , but rather as an unenticing overture to a new process of enslavement. 91 The revolt was basically put down within three months by German forces. 92 But Slovakia could not return to the normalcy of the pre-revolt years. The country was occupied. And even though the Slovak government continued to carry on with its policies both during and after the revolt,93 the link between the governing and the governed was not the same anymore . The end of the war was near. And, as members of the Slovak government fled to Austria in April 1946, the Slovak National Council, created out of the wartime collaboration between the Communists and the Democrats , took power in Slovakia on behalf of the restored Czechoslovak Republic. THE LEGACY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC In the aftermath of the Second World War, Slovakia found itself caught in a double maelstrom of postwar politics. Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet military sphere of interest; within three years the Czechs and Slovaks would become part of the Soviet bloc. Secondly, Slovakia was granted a form of autonomy in the new Czechoslovak Republic; by the time the constitution became law in May 1948, only the formal attributes of autonomy remained. Thus the atmosphere and the politics of the postwar and the Communist period were ripe to give the Slovak Republic an historical blow. Its high officials, from the President of the Republic to members of Parliament and Department heads, were tried, often in absentia, and in the majority of cases convicted on various counts of treason against the Czechoslovak Republic. President Tiso and Prime Minister Tuka were condemned to death and executed in April 1947. Others were sent to serve long prison terms . The vengeance of Czechoslovak officials that Gaspar had feared was given free rein. In this way, a chapter in Slovak �32 SLOVAKIA history was closed and in the Communist period deliberately relegated to oblivion, or at best selectively examined to condemn it better. The situation is only slightly different in the Western world. Former officials of the Slovak Republic who found exile in the West have made an effort to explain the why and wherefore of Slovakia's first modern state. Their works have found only a limited audience, due in part to the vigilence of pro-Czechoslovak groups, both Czech and Slovak, who refuse to recognize that something positive might be said about the wartime period in Slovakia, especially about the Slovak Republic. No Western learned society, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, held a study session on this topic until 1979. It is, therefore, difficult to determine the legacy of the Slovak Republic. The idea of statehood that it represents has been accepted by most Slovak organizations in the West, such as the Slovak League of America and the Slovak World Congress; in their newspapers and periodicals, anniversaries and events are regularly mentioned and celebrated. Western scholarship has, unfortunately, not kept pace to give greater substance to the idea of statehood, for reasons I outlined at the beginning. Thus the pride hundreds of thousands of Slovaks have in this chapter of their history does not overflow into the world around them. More important, of course, is the legacy to the Slovaks in Slovakia. A perusal of Communist literature of the mid and late sixties suggests a tacit acceptance of the legacy of statehood; Slovak newpapers and periodicals often referred to the wartime period, especially as the drive to federalization became more pronounced. The publication of excerpts from Tido J . Gaspar's memoirs must also be seen as an important step in that direction . But the selective scholarship on the subject suggests that the Communist regime is still incapable of coming to terms with it. Time will undoubtedly cool passions, and curiosity will begin to take over. It is my belief that when Slovak archives become accessible to all scholars without restrictions, the record will show, as I have suggested in this article , that the Slovak Republic served the Slovaks well, especially in the social and cultural field, and that it played an extremely important role in the development of the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The federalization of Czechoslovakia, proposed at first in 1944 and made into law in 1968, could not have taken place if the Slovak Republic had been a dismal failure in the life of the Slovak people. But more research will have to be done, not only for scholarly reasons , but above all, to paraphrase the national motto of Slovakia's western neighbor, so that the truth might prevail. �SLOVAKIA 33 NOTES . 1 Of fourteen general histories puqlished since 1941 taken at random, the creation of the Slovak Republic has been presen\ed as follows : (1) no mention at all - J .B. Duroselle , L'Europe de 1815 a nosjours (Paris , 1970); Walter P. Hall and William G. Davis , The Course of Europe Since Waterloo (New York, 1941) ; and George Lichtheim, Europe in the Tw entieth Century (New York, 1972); (2) serious errors of presentation and interpretation - Martin Gilbert, The European Powers 1900-1945 (New York, 1965), p . 220 ; Carleton J .H . Hayes , Contemporary Europe Since 1870 (New York, 1953) , p . 631; Walter C. Langsam, The World Since 1914 (New York , 1943), p. 517 ; J .M . Roberts, Europe 1880-1945 (New York, 1972), p. 516; D.C . Watt, "Diplomatic History" in The New Cambridge Modern History , Vol. XIl: The Shifting Balances of 'World Forces, 1898-1945, edited by C.L. Mowat (Cambridge , 1968), p . 725; (3) minor errors of presentation and interpretation - Rene Albrecht-Carrie, A Dilpomatic History of Europe Since the Congress of Vienna (New York, 1958), pp . 529-30 ; C.E . Black and E .C. Helmreich, Twentieth Century Europe (New York, 1959), p . 529 ; James Joli, Europe Since 1870: An Introductory H istory (London, 1973), pp. 373 and 441; (4) reasonably accurate - A.J . Grant and H. Temperley , Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1789-1950) (London, 1952), p. 529; H . Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe: A History (Englewood Cliffs , 1966) , p . 318 ; and Elizabeth Wiskemann in Survey of International Affairs 1939-1946 - Hitler 's Europe , edited by Arnold Toynbee and Veronica M . Toynbee (London, 1954) , pp . 597-604 . 2 John Gellner and John Smerek, The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada (Toronto, 1968), p. viii. 3 Bohuslav Graca, 14. Maree 1939 (Bratislava, 1955) and lmrich Stanek , Zrada a pad, (Praha, 1958) . 4 See , for example, I.:ubomir Liptak, "Mad'arsko v politike Slovenskeho statu v rokoch 1939-1943," Historicky tasopis XI (1), 1967, pp . 1-35 ; --- , "Slovensky stat a protifasisticke hnutie v rokoch 1939-1943 ," Historicky tasopis XIV (2) , 1966, pp . 161-218; ---, "Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky fosopis XIII (3), 1965, pp. 329-65; --- , "Politicky rezim na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945" in Slovenske narodne povstanie roku 1944 (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 20-49 ; --- , Slovensko v 20, storoti (Bratislava, 1968), pp. 175265; Martin Vietor, " Prispevok k objasneniu fasistickeho charakteru tzv . Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky tasop is VIlI (4 ), 1960, pp , 483-508. 5 The two noticeable examples are : Samo Falt'an, Slovenskd otdka v Ceskoslovensku (Bratislava, 1968), pp . 92-103 and Ivan Kamenec, "Snem Slovenskej Republiky a jeho postoj k problemu zidovskeho obyvatefstva na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945," Historicky fosopis XVII (3) , 1969, pp , 329-62 , 6 There is a problem of availability ; the Library of Congress does not have the complete sets, nor does the British Library , 7 The late Ferdinand Durcansky once told me that he himself had destroyed documents because of the physical impossibility of taking them with him, especially to South America. 8 Many former Slovak politicians and officials have published vignettes of their activities in various Slovak publications in the West ; at present only two have published de- �34 SLOVAKIA tailed memoirs: Jozef Miku§, Pamliti slovenskeho diplomata (Middletown, 1978) and Karol Sidor, Sest'rokov pri Vatikane (Scranton, 1947), which also contains documents concerning Slovak foreign policy and diplomacy. The diary of Stefan Tiso, Prime Minister from September 1944 to April 1946, is presently at Stanford University, Hoover Institution on War and Peace ; access to it is however restricted. Excerpts from the diary were published by Yeshayahu Jelinek, " Dennfk Dr . Stefana Tisu," Historickj tasopis XVIIl (2), 1970, pp. 270-87. 9 Such an example is Owen Verne Johnson, Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 1918-1938: Education and Its Impact , unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1978. A recent exception is that of Dorothea El Mallakh, who succeeded in obtaining access to unpublished documents covering the years 1936 through October 1938 from the Ministry of the Interior archives in Prague. She had expected to fail in obtaining access to these documents when she visited Prague in January 1969. But as she writes: " Luck in timing and the helpfulness of individuals all coalesced to bring me almost 2600 frames of microfilms." Dorothea H. El Mallakh, The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939: A Study in Unrelenting Nationalism (Boulder, '1970) , p. xiv. 10 See Hans Dress, Slowakei und faschistische Neuordnung Eurpoas 1939-1941 (Berlin, 1972) . 11 John S. Conway, "The Churches, the Slovak State and the Jews 1939-1946," Slavonic Review Lil (126), 1974, p . 87. 12 In his autobiography, Lockhart makes it perfectly clear that he was devoted to Bene§ and that he had no qualms in working for him. See R.H. Bruce Lockhart, Comes the Reckoning (London, 1947), pp. 64ff. 13 In response to a request from the Central Department of the Foreign Office to comment on reports that Bruce Lockhart had put together from information he received from Czech and Slovak sources in London, Peter Pares foresaw from the very beginning the direction this information would go: " Many of the reports reaching London directly may come through the Slovak political emigrants who are nearly all Protestants and not only opposed to the present Slovak regime themselves but draw their information from Protestant sources in Slovakia which are also in bitter opposition.' ' FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-68-12. Public Record Office, London. 14 This problem is compounded by the fact that there are very few general studies on the Slovak Republic published in a Western language, and none is detailed and comprehensive in scope. See Milan S. :C>urica, "Slovakia During World War II - the Slovak Republic' ' in Joseph M. Kirschbaum, ed., Slovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Toronto, 1973), pp. 161-94; Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1961) , pp . 111\76; Jozef Lettrich, History of Modem Slovakia (New York, 1966), pp. 123-91; Josepli A. Mikus, Slovakia - A Political History, 1918-1950 (Milwaukee , 1963), pp. 67-164; 'and Anthony X. Sutherland, Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modem Slovakia (Middletown, 1978), pp. 81-102. Additional titles, particularly of specialized topics in Western and Slovak languages, may be found in Yeshayahu Jelinek, " The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) ," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, pp. 17-24. 16 Johnson, p . 466. 16 FO 417-39 , Doc. 3973-19-18. �SLOVAKIA 35 17 This is noted in a report by Pares to the Foreign Office. FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-712. 18 Falt'an, pp . 106-06. \ 19 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, "Die Stellung der Slowakischen Volkspartei zur Aussenpolitik Prags'' in Karl Bos!, ed., Gleichgewicht - Revision - Restauration. Die Aussenpolitik der Ersten Tschechoslowakischen Republik im Europasystem der Pariser Vorortsvertrtige (Muenchen, 1976), pp. 316-66. 20 House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, 339 H.C. Deb. 6 s., pp. 366-6. 21 See especially FrantiAek Vnuk, "Slovakia's Six Eventful Months (October 1938 March 1939), " Slovak Studies IV, 1968, pp . 7-164; Joseph Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 98-146; Mikus , pp . 67-91 ; El Mallakh, pp. 113-44. A somewhat different version is found in Joerg K. Hoensch, Die Slowakei undHitlers Ostpolitik (Koeln, 1966). 22 The Slovak struggle for autonomy in the First Czechoslovak Republic was a variation on the theme of national self-determination which was ultimately denied the Slovaks by the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism'' of the Prague government. Independence, if it could be achieved, was not only the logical outcome, but in the light of the "Czechoslovak" ideology of Prague, the only way for the Slovak nation to assert itself. Other solutions were not excluded so long as the Slovaks were recognized as a nation independent of the Czechs ; a Central European federation is often mentioned in this context. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 223-30 . 23 Though the Hlinka Party had become the Party of Slovak National Unity on October 6, 1938, the literature still refers to it as the Hlinka Party . I will conform to this usage. 24 Liptak, "Politicky rezim ... , " p . 24. See Also Joseph M. Kirschbaum, pp. 169-73. 26 Liptak, Slovensko, p . 210. 26 Conway, p. 96. 27 Liptak, " Politicky rezim ... ," p. 26 . 28 FO 417-40 , Doc. C10876-7-12 . 29 FO 371-22900, Doc . C18636-7-12 . 30 See note 13 . 31 Falt'an, p . 114 and Liptak, " Politicky rezim . .. , "p. 36. 32 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, ''Federalism in Slovak Communist Politics,' ' Canadian Slavonic Papers XIX (4) , 1977, pp . 446-9. 33 FO 371-24290, Doc . C612-68-12 . 34 The British Government recognized Benes 's national committee as the " Provisional Czechoslovak Government" on July 21 , 1940. Full de jure recognition was granted on July 18, 1941 , the same day the Soviet Union granted de facto and de jure recognition. The United States followed suit on July 31 , 1941 . 36 In a report on conditions in Slovakia written in January 1939, George Kennan expressed the following opinion, which was widely held at that time: "Its (Slovakia's) native leaders are so sadly lacking in experience, in imagination, in breadth of view, and in depth of purpose that they cannot hope to maneuver successfully for very long �SLOVAKIA 36 amid the powerful national and ideological currents which are playing all around them in Central Europe. " George P. Kennan, From Prague After Munich: Diplomatic Papers 1938-1940 (Princeton, 1968), p. 27. 36 This is best illustrated by the fact that not only in the literature but also during the war, Slovakia was referred to as a " fascist state, " not in a descriptive but in a normative sense. 37 FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-58-12. 38 Joseph M . Kirschbaum , p . 163. 39 Ibid. , p. 159. 40 Ibid. , p . 168; Mikus, p. 94 ; Jan F . Gleiman, "Duch ustavy SR" in Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Slouenska Republika 1939-1949 (Scranton, 1949), p. 120. 41 FO 417-40, Doc. Cl0876-7-12. 42 The most comprehensive analysis of the program is found in Stefan Polakovit, Tisoua nauka (Bratislava, 1941). An English outline appears in Joseph M . Kirschbaum, Slouakia, pp. 170-3; a critical approach was taken by Yeshayahu Jelinek in The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slouak People's Party 1939-1945 (Boulder, 1976) . 43 Of the 63 deputies elected, 48 were from the Hlinka Party; 12 represented the Agrarian Party, the Slovak National Party, the Artisan Party, and the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. See above, Kirschbaum, p . 169. 44 Kamenec, passim . 46 The Fuehrer principle was introduced in Slovak political life on October 22, 1942. It enabled President Tiso to consolidate his power and that of the Hlinka Party against Tuka and Mach and the Hlinka Guard. 46 According to Liptak, the Hlinka Guard represented the lumpenproletariat and the radical small bourgeoisie. Liptak, "Politicky reiim ... , "p. 26. 47 Some authors refer to a tradition of anti-Semitism as well as the activities of Slovak Jews in Slovak life to explain the early anti-Jewish policies. Mikus, pp. 96-6.; Sutherland, pp. 88-9. See also Kennan, pp. 22-3. 48 Conway, passim. 49 Kamenec, p . 363. 60 This is made quite clear by one of the leaders of the 1944 revolt. See Lettrich, passim . 61 Liptak, Slouensko , pp. 177-180. For a description of Slovak foreign policy, see Mikus, pp. 116-138. 62 Milan S. Ourica, La Slouaccia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania, 1938-1945 , (Padova, 1964), Vol. I, p . 107. 53 Mikus, pp. 135-6 and Ourica, p . 107. 64 The situation and events leading to the Salzburg' meeting Jlre described at length in Liptak, "Priprava a priebeh . . . . " 66 As to th~ question whether Slovakia declared war on the U.K. and the United States, there is also no documentary evidence that this did take place according to postwar re- �SLOVAKIA 37 search into the matter by State Ikpartment officials . The suggestion that Slovakia did declare war is based on a New York Times report of December 13, 1941 of a German broadcast from Bratislava that stated that Slovakia had declared war. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia , pp. 318-21. 66 Gustav Husak , " O vyvoji a situacii na Slovensku," Svedectvi XV (68) , 1979, p . 377. 67 Ibid. 68 FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-7-12. 69 FO 417-39, Doc. C5201-7-12 . 60 Husak, p. 369. 61 FO 371-34337, Doc. C9206-372-12 . In his pre-revolt report, Husak indicates that some 60,000 Slovaks also worked in Germany. Husak, p. 373. 62 Liptak, Slovensko , p. 194. 63 I.:ubomir Liptak, Ovlddnutie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitdlom (Bratislava, 1960), p . 66. 64 Liptak, Slovensko, pp. 201-2. 65 Falt'an, pp. 108-9. See also FO 371-39121 , Doc. C877-877-18. 66 Sutherland, p. 87 . 67 FO 371-34446, Doc. C1066-160-18. 68 FO 371-34446, Doc . C6626-160-18. 69 Dress , p. 119. 70 Ibid ., p. 117. 71 It is interesting that the Slovaks met with no opposition from the Germans. As Conway writes: ''It should be noted that the abolition of religious instruction and the removal of crucifixes from the schools were two notable features of the Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church." Conway, p . 89 , note 11. 72 Owen V. Johnson, "The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, p . 42 . 73 Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov (Middletown, 1965), p. 12. 74 Husak, pp. 376-77. 76 FO 371-38942, Doc. C13551-1343-12 . 76 Husak's memoirs are entitled: " Testimony on the Slovak National Uprising." See Gustav Husak , Svedectvo o slovenskom narodnom povstani (Bratislava, 1964). A revised and amended version was published in 1969. 77 Wolfgang Venohr, Au/stand fuer die Tschechoslowakei (Hamburg, 1969). 78 Frantisek Vnuk, Neuveritefne sprisahanie (Middletown, 1964). 79 The most complete account in a Western language is by Venohr. 80 ' 'The political motive for an uprising was the desire to liberate Slovakia by its own efforts as soon as possible, to throw out the Germans , to destroy the dictatorship of the �SLOVAKIA 38 Slovak People's Party, reintroduce Czechoslovak democratic institutions, spare Slovakia the suffering of the war and assure its just place in a free Czechoslovakia.'' Lettrich, p. 200. 81 A. Benl!ik and J. Pivovarl!i, " Problemes militaires de llnsurrection nationale slovaque," Studia historica slovaca IV, 1966, p. 166. 82 Upon the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (Bene§'s party) prepared a document for the party faithful outlining how the Czechoslovak Government should go about successfully assimilating the Slovaks. It was published for the first time in 1968. See Pravda (Bratislava), March 29, 1968. 83 FO 371-34337, Doc. 9786-372-12. 84 According to Husak, some other arguments were "the class content of this state, its undemocratic fascist regime, its vassal link to Nazi Germany and its policies against the people." Husak, Svedectvo, p . 129. 85 There is a full German translation of Catlo§'s plan in Venohr, pp. 119-21. 86 See Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, "Federalism .. . ," pp. 446-49. 87 M. Kuhar, a former communications officer in the Slovak Army, explained to me recently in an interview in Toronto, Canada, that his unit had been mobilized when the rumor of Tiso's death had reached it with the understanding that the Slovak Army would engage the Germans to defend Slovak independence. When the rumor proved to be untrue, his unit returned to its barracks . 88 Husak, "O vyvoji ... ," p. 377. 89 In 1942, at a ceremony for a new extension of the electrical network, President Tiso remarked: "You see, how, with more electricity we are giving you an opportunity to hear London and Moscow. In Russia they do not have such an opportunity, because there they give them a record player and thus they can hear only Moscow. The Slovak Republic is not afraid to hear foreign stations, because we know the truth and we are not afraid of the lies that London broadcasts.•• Slovak, May 19, 1942, quoted in Milan Stanislav l'>urica, "Slovensko za druhej svetovej vojny - Slovenska Republika" in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dej£n (Lausanne, 1976), p. 143, note 127. 90 Vilem Prel!an, Slovenske ntirodne povstanie (Bratislava, 1965), document 576, p. 950. 91 Tido J. Ga§par, "Z pamiiti, " Slovenske pohfady LXXXIV (12), 1968, p. 79. 92 At a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff in London on November 15, 1944, it was acknowledged that the revolt had collapsed. FO 371-38944, Doc. C15945-1343-12. \ 93 Liptak, "Politicky re!im . . . , " p. 48. � 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 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 HISTORY SLOVAKIA 11 The .Slovak Republic and the Slovaks· . STANISLAV J. KIRSCHBAUM INTRODUCTION There are very few topics in recent history that have been as much avoided, accidentally or deliberately, by Western as well as Communist scholars as the Slovak Republic (1939-1945) . The significance of this state in the period of its existence is certainly not central to an understanding of the more important world events that were taking place at the time, nor was its contribution to those events such that it required the attention of world powers. Historical surveys published in the West in the last forty years have thus not given Slovakia much attention; one can appreciate the reason for this, but one must also note that there are often serious inaccuracies, distortions, and misrepresentations in these works.I The task of writing this history of the Slovak Republic is, therefore, left to a few Western specialists or to Slovak Marxist historians. But here one is also left wanting; ideological preoccupations and problems of documentation explain this unusual state of affairs. The Republic of Slovakia found itself on the side of the vanquished powers at the end of the Second World War. Historians have been understandably more interested in recording the activities of the victorious, often applying ex post facto a devil theory to the defeated. In the wake of an ideological conflict like the Second World War, and with the ideological division of the world in the postwar years, the tendency to simplify in order better to glorify and I or condemn is understandable. It is not to be excused, however. Nevertheless Western, as well as Communist, historians have generally let their engagement get the better of their scholarship, or else they have conveniently cast intractable subjects to the Orwellian memory hole. For example, two Canadians, one of Czech, the other of • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies , New Haven, October, 1979. 12 SLOVAKIA Slovak origin, purporting to write the history of the Czechs and Slovaks in Canada, have actually suggested that Slovak separatism is " an aberration of the past , excusable perhaps under the circumstances of the day , but otherwise the sooner forgotten the better.' ' 2 Communist scholars have also generally avoided the Slovak Republic, with the only two works published in the 1950s3 followed by a few articles in the 1960s.4 Writing from their Marxist perspective , they have, however, shown a shift in accent and interpretation in their later writings.5 This shift corresponds to greater access to the documentation on the Slovak Republic for scholars in Slovakia. However, this documentation is not necessarily accessible to Western scholars . Access to original documents and other primary sources is in fact the greatest problem that Western scholars studying Slovakia face. All of the works on the period of the Slovak Republic published in the West show a minimal reliance on original Slovak documentation . At best, they have used three newspapers published in Slovakia that are available , namely Slovak , Gardista , and Grenzbote.6 Monographs which were published during the war and which found their way into Western European or American libraries are also available; but their number, as well as their importance , is limited. None gives a total picture of the Slovak Republic ; most were written during the war, and generally before the 1944 revolt. Finally, none of the political leaders or officials of the state has made public any documents in his possession 7 that cast additional light. With some exceptions, there are no detailed memoirs or diaries that one can draw upon.8 Finally, there is no indication that Prague or Bratislava is presently disposed to open Slovak archives to Western scholars, except perhaps for earlier periods and less explosive subjects like education. 9 There is , on the other hand, one documentary source that Western and Communist IO scholars have used widely, namely German documentation. The Allies published soon after the war the series Documents on German Foreign Policy ; those documents not found in this series are now available in Bonn at the\ Politisches Archiv des auswiirtigen Amtes . Also available are SS documents, namely from Himmler's Sicherheitsdienst, which John Conway has prudently characterized as "conscientious, though obviously one-sided. " 11 Conway's comments are indeed pertinent for much of German documentation ; it must be used with great care when applied to Slovakia. The scholar must remember that they are addressed to and written by people serving the Third Reich. A third, but unfortunately rather unreliable source of information, SLOVAKIA 13 is the files of the British Foreign Office. These were at first composed of British diplomatic reports, especially from Consul to Slovakia Peter Pares, which are useful because of their detachment and scope. Pares, however, left Slovakia after the outbreak of the Second World War, and thereupon the reports fo'll{ld in the files of the Foreign Office ceased to come from agents in diplomatic representation abroad. Bruce Lockhart12 then set into motion the gathering of intelligence not only on Slovak, but also on Czech, affairs in the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and thus thickened Foreign Office files with weekly and sundry reports. With the British de facto and later de jure recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London, headed by Edvard Bene§, the task of gathering intelligence and preparing situation reports fell on the Czech and Slovak exiles in London. The information in this documentation is rarely accurate, and to its discredit, extremely selective.13 The documents show quite plainly that Bene§ and his people used only information that damaged the Slovak Republic, especially Slovak politicians. Likewise, the weekly summaries of the Political Intelligence Department are not very useful because they were based upon reports emanating from Bene§'s people. However, the Foreign Office files also contain occasional letters or reports from other sources that paint a totally different picture; but they are too few and, unfortunately, rarely comprehensive enough to give scholars something concrete. This problem of inadequate documentary evidence makes the task of studying the Slovak Republic an extremely difficult one.14 Nevertheless a beginning must be made, if only to ask questions, examine existing interpretations, and seek to understand the motives and actions of the men at the center of events; there is indeed a real challenge of intellectual and documentary detection in this case. The documentation used in this article is neither specialized nor all-encompassing. I have examined closely most available secondary sources, both Western and Communist, read the memoir-like contributions of Slovaks in SlovakCanadian and Slovak-American newspapers and periodicals, and studied carefully the documents of the Foreign Office. Furthermore, I accept the writings of exiled Slovak scholars as those most likely to help us understand the Slovak Republic and the actions of its leaders, while taking note of their often defensive and apologetic nature. I am also aware of the fact that there exist many works disposed in an unfriendly, if not outright inimical, way to the Slovak Republic; I have sought to understand the arguments presented and have accepted at face value the facts given. But one should be skeptical toward them; a state where the President could walk on the streets of the capital city without a 14 SLOVAKIA bodyguard to protect him and where no attempt was ever made on his life is not a state where everything was evil and against the interests of the Slovak people, as some works suggest. The full history of the Slovak Republic will, however, not be written until all archival material is made available. Until then the present debate is likely to continue. Before examining the various aspects of this topic, a few words should be said about the broader perspective within which the Slovak Republic found itself. In his study of the impact of education in Slovakia in the 1920s and 1930s, Owen Johnson has shown that by the end of the second decade of the existence of the first Czechoslovak Republic not only had Prague's policy of Czechoslovak nation-building failed, but indeed its "program of Czechoslovak state building had turned into one of Slovak nation building."15 There is some irony in the fact that Prague's policies had the opposite effect of what had been expected; in this respect then, the activities of the Slovak Republic would be merely the continuation and the prolongation of this process with the difference that all decisions affecting the Slovaks would be taken by Slovaks in Bratislava and not in Prague. The fact that the Slovaks took their national life into their own hands, notwithstanding the circumstances that had led to this step, also reflected the problems created by the selective application of the policy of national self-determination in Central Europe. While recognizing on the one hand the right of nations to selfdetermination on the morrow of the Great War, the victorious powers were selective on the other in their granting of this right to the various nations of the Habsburg Empire. The Slovaks were not unaware of this discrepancy, and when the deleterious geopolitical arrangements of the Versailles settlement finally succumbed to German expansionism, Slovak independence was as much an act of nati~al self-determination as one of self-preservation. The ultimate tragedy of the Slovaks is that by 1945 the victorious powers once again applied in a selective fashion the principles of national self-determination as embodied in the Atlantic Charter. THE ACCEPTANCE OF SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE The declaration of Slovak independence was greeted with rejoicing by a great many Slovaks, although in Bratislava, as British Consul Peter Pares reported, there had not been many manifestations of that joy. The capital city of Slovakia was yet to become a primarily Slovak city, and its non-Slovak population did not show much enthusiasm. Pares sensed apathy or pessimism.16 Slovakia's declaration of independence had in fact come about under circumstances that differentiate it from SLOVAKIA 15 similar events for other nations in recent times. Consul Pares's report not only singles out this ~ct, but it underlines one of the major tasks that the leaders of the new'state had to face. Slovakia's declaration of independence cannot be disassociated from the two previous decades when neither the political individuality of Slovakia nor the nationhood of its people had been acknowledged by the Czechoslovak Republic. Belatedly and grudgingly, Prague had granted Slovakia autonomy on October 6, 1938, under conditions that did not indicate the total and willing abandonment by the Czech elite of the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism. '' But for the Slovak people, autonomy represented the successful outcome of a twenty-year struggle, a hope that Slovak national development could now be carried out by the Slovak people. Autonomy brought about manifestations of popular gladness in the cities, towns, and villages of Slovakia. The Hlinka Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party, headed by Martin Razus, had been the main political forces not only behind autonomy, but above all, in the educational campaign that was essential for the Slovak people in order to handle their own affairs. After two decades of Czech local, as well as state administration, a policy that had brought about much bitterness in Slovakia, 17 the Slovaks looked upon autonomy as the fulfillment not only of original promises, but also of national aspirations. Independence and statehood had not been an alternative openly discussed and contemplated by Slovak leaders in the two decades before autonomy. This is not to say that they might not one day have considered it. Indeed, as Samo Falt'an, a Slovak Commwiist historian, has written: "Statehood as an expression of national liberty cannot be rejected and qualified as treason to the nation.'' He went on to add that independence was a logical outcome in the light of the Slovaks' status in the CSR: ''The creation of the Slovak State is not in conflict with national interests and efforts, all the more so, because in the twenty-year existence of the CSR there had been no successful attempt to reach a Czech-Slovak constitutional arrangement. "18 Nevertheless - and this is important in order to understand the problems that faced th,e new state - when independence was declared, it had not been the object of wide public discussion but rather came rapidly on the heels of autonomy when Slovakia had barely begun to enjoy its new status in Czecho-Slovakia. However, within the Hlinka party, reorganized since November 8, 1938 as the Slovak Party of National Unity, which other Slovak parties had been invited to join except for Slovak Communists and Social Democrats, there were elements that had been considering 16 SLOVAKIA independence, especially in the light of the changing international situation in Europe. The predominance of Germany and the fear that Prague might not be able to defend the integrity and existence of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks concerned them. In fact, from the very beginnings of Czecho-Slovakia, the Hlinka party had given Prague notice that the survival and interests of the Slovak nation were uppermost in its policy stand and actions.19 But in 1938-1939 the need to explore all avenues was paramount, for as Churchill declared in the House of Commons on October 5, 1938: "I venture to think that in the future the Czechoslovak state cannot be maintained as an independent entity. You will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured only by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi regime. "20 The Slovak elite was aware of this danger of engulfment and of the necessity to maneuver in such a way as to avoid it. As events would show and the history of the Slovak Republic would confirm, Slovak independence was the one solution that enabled Slovakia to avoid the total absorption that befell other Central European peoples and states. The events leading to independence need not he recounted here, since they have been examined elsewhere.21 Suffice it to say that in the light of European developments and the rapidity with which they were unfolding, the decision to opt for independence and the manner in which it was done showed courage on the part of the Slovak leaders. It was also the best solution, not only under the circumstances, but also for the Slovak nation.22 But at the moment of independence, and for the immediate future, this decision by the Slovak leaders had to be explained and shown to be viable both to the Slovak people and to the world at large. The Hlinka Party23 embarked on this task, calling upon all Slovaks to join it, as the Communist historian I:ubomir Liptak has written. The new regime in Slovakia did not exclude its political opponents from positions in the new state.24 In fact he pointed out: The populists did not come to power after an extreme collision of political trends in Slovakia, in the wake of a moderate civil war as was the case for example in Italy and Germany, but during an international crisis, when all existing political conceptions and currents failed, or did not have an oppottunity to influence developments. In this kind of internal political vacuum, when political opponents are eliminated, or do not have clear goals, or are isolated in the nation, the populists could get the support or at least the passive help of yesterday's political opponents.25 SLOVAKIA 17 Although there was a single Slovak party (there was, however, also a Slovak German, and a small Slovak Hungarian, party) and the regime manifested certain visible authoritarian characteristics, the appearance of factions and policy directions in the Blinka Party, the division between the legislative and executive branches of government, and the role of the churches in the political life of the state26 were all factors that would influence Slovak political life and help the Blinka Party to carry out its program. In the words of Liptak, in the Slovak Republic there was a "certain 'liberalism' and carefulness in the introduction of authoritarian arrangements.' •27 This moderate liberalism was, however, not to be enjoyed by all citizens, and many individuals suffered, although on the whole there was none of the totalitarianism, terror, and ideological dogmatism that later befell the Slovaks under the Communist regime. These conditions also made it possible for opposing views to coexist and later influence events in Slovakia. For there existed three factors which had heavily mortgaged the viability of the Slovak Republic and which would in time take their place in the political life of the state and ultimately seal its fate; they were the activities of opposition groups, Slovak-German relations, and the world war. The appearance of a group opposing the Slovak Republic is something that British Consul Pares soon took notice of. In his July report on the Constitution of Slovakia, where he noted the unique position of the Blinka Party in the political system, he pointed out that the Catholic origin of this party probably meant the virtual exclusion of Slovak Protestants within it, as well as their relegation to the background of public affairs. He concluded from this that the ''insignificant position into which they have been thrust is sure to arouse their bitter resentment. "28 By mid-November he reported the "active revolt ... of a section of the Lutheran Community, which was the greatest source of strength of the former centralists or ''Czechoslovaks'' and has suffered with their eclipse. In this case, it is sectarian feeling rather than loss of political power which has created bitter antagonism to the existing government .... "29 Despite the fact that a number of Protestant personalities occupied key positions in the state, that their economic influence in Slovakia did not diminish but in fact increased, and that their leaders publicly proclaimed their adherence and loyalty to the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Protestant community did indeed form an opposition group, whether for sectarian or political reasons, especially after Benes began to regroup his political partisans in London. As Pares noted in his last dispatch on Slovakia to London, the Protestants formed 18 SLOVAKIA at home and abroad an opposition link to the Slovak Republic and lent Benes support for his goal of recreating the first Czechoslovak Republic.30 By 1943 they would be actively involved in the restoration of Czechoslovak authority in Slovakia and would help a second main opposition group, the Communists, in preparing an armed revolt in Central Slovakia. The role of the Communists in Slovakia mirrored well the turgidity of their movement until the German attack on the Soviet Union in June of 1941. Soviet diplomatic recognition of Slovakia invalidated the slogans of national self-determination they propagated in 1939, while the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, by then resident in Moscow, ordered the abandonment of the slogan of a '' Soviet Slovak Republic,'' which began to appear in 1940. The Communist Party had been declared illegal in Slovakia so that its activities and organization were clandestine. The security services of the Slovak Republic occasionally rounded up Communists, but as both Falt'an and Liptak pointed out, not only were they quickly released from prison, but they were allowed to resume their positions in economic and state institutions. 31 In was not until late 1943 and 1944 that Communist activity became a major factor in Slovak political life, in part because the Communists were in touch with Soviet partisan units operating out of Kiev, and in part because they had worked out a new political program for Slovakia in the future of Czechoslovak Republic.32 Together with Slovak non-Communists, primarily Lutherans, they began to prepare the revolt of 1944, which I will examine below. The existence and activity of opposition groups to the Slovak Republic were enhanced by the nature of Slovak-German relations. The role of Germany in the destruction of Czechoslovakia had been a major factor in Slovakia's declaration of independence and as British Consul Pares noted, ''from the moment when indeflendence was declared the Slovaks never had any illusions about the difficulties and risks of their situation as a nation of two million people in the centre of Europe. ,,33 Attempts to pursue an independent foreign policy by the Minister of External Affairs, Ferdinand Durcansky, resulted in his removal in July 1940 under German pressure and thereafter Germany made sure that Slovak political life did not go beyond certain limits, which for the most part were, however, not clearly defined; on the other hand Germany did not encourage Slovak pro-Nazi elements to take power, nor did Hitler back the attempted coup in 1941 against President Tiso, in which the German ambassador, M. von Killinger, was himself involved. Slovakia was nevertheless in the German sphere of interest; its existence SLOVAKIA 19 was in fact tied to German political and economic activities, and despite the diplomatic recognition it had been granted by twenty-seven states, its juridical status did not\in fact extend much beyond Europe. British de facto and later de jure ·recognition of the provisional Czechoslovak government in London, followed by Soviet and American recognition,34 as well as the Hungarian claims on Slovakia, further strengthened the ties between Slovakia and Germany which were not broken until the war's end. The outbreak of the Second World War was the third factor that heavily influenced the politics and the viability of the Slovak Republic. Although Slovakia would not experience the horrors of war until 1944, the fact that there was a war all around it enabled opposition groups to get involved in military activities on Slovak soil and do just what the Slovak leaders had so successfully avoided doing, namely bring the war into Slovakia with their 1944 revolt. Also, the war forced Slovakia into much closer cooperation with Germany, especially in the economic sphere, and brought about the deportation into Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jews. In the end Slovakia's existence became tied to the outcome of a war that Germany had begun. In spite of the weight of these three factors on the Slovak Republic, its political leaders determined to carry out policies that would enable the Slovak people to develop further their national life, or put in other terms, that would embark them upon a program of modernization that would dispel any doubts about Slovak political maturity. 35 In this respect, as the available evidence shows, the Slovak Republic represented a singular achievement that had not been equalled in the Czechoslovak state. THE POLICIES OF THE REGIME It was the misfortune of the Slovak Republic that it had to fight throughout its existence the battle of statehood. International law notwithstanding, the Slovaks came to realize that the international existence of their state was shaky, a situation which resulted in the blurring of the boundary lines between state and regime for many Slovaks and most observers.36 This blurring grew as the war developed and became prevalent by the time it became clear that the Allies, who by then had recognized the Czechoslovak government in London, were going to win the war. But in 1939 and for the next four years, until the German army was defeated at Stalingrad, and despite the need after July 1940 for Slovakia to align itself closer to Germany, the lines between state 20 SLOVAKIA and regime were quite closer. The notion of statehood was indeed understood by the Slovaks, as Peter Pares quite accurately reported to London in his last dispatch in January 1940: One solid cause for satisfaction still remains in spite of Slovakia' s need for dependence on one or other of the stronger neighbouring nations and that is the fact that after one thousand years the internal political administration has at last passed exclusively into the hands of Slovaks. Economic and political dependence on either Germany, the Czechs or Hungary is inevitable so long as Slovakia remains an independent state but the right of full self-administration is a pure gain which is entirely due to the establishment of the republic and goes far toward reconciling the Slovaks with the drawbacks of their political position.37 The Slovaks lost in fact very little time in setting up a constitution for their state. They proclaimed on July 21, 1939 a republic, drawing upon the constitutions of Austria, Portugal, and Czechoslovakia, to determine the balance between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.38 The constitutional text is divided into thirteen chapters of 103 articles forming "a comprehensive set of fundamental principles and laws concerning the whole field of government and making provisions for the exercise of political power.' •39 Worthy of note are also the articles dealing with the duties and general rights of the citizens, including the right of assembly and freedom of speech and the protection of the workers. As students of the Slovak constitution have noted, the social provisions were greatly influenced by Papal encyclicals, particularly Rerum novarum and Quadragesimo anno.40 The main authoritarian feature is to be found in the role of the Hlinka Party. As Pares pointed out in his description of the constitution to the Foreign Office, ''in spite of the mul~plication of the organs of government, it is easy to see that the Hlinka party itself will, under the new Constitution, be the most powerful factor"in the government of the country." 41 Changes in the Hlinka Party further enhanced the authoritarian character of the regime, as some features of the German and Italian party systems were adopted. The Hlinka Party did not, however, have a fascist or national-socialist program, although attempts were made to give it one, and it sought to direct political life along Slovak national traditions. 42 Like all political parties, the Hlinka Party was divided into factions. Throughout the six years of the Slovak Republic, the main faction, headed by Jozef Tiso, President of the Party and also President of the Republic from October 26, 1939, dominated the political life of the SLOVAKIA 21 country. It was composed not only of long-standing members of the party, but also of representatives of other Slovak parties who had consented to run on the single ticket for the Diet during the elections of December 18, 1938.43 Th.is faction exercised its influence not only in the Presidency, but'also in ~he Slovak Parliament. 44 For the better part of the life of the Slovak Republic, the Tiso faction also had to make every effort to curb the pro-Nazi faction which sought indeed to give Slovakia a Slovak national-socialist regime. It was headed by Vojtech Tuka, who after July 1940 became Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs until the 1944 revolt. Tuka owed his position to Hitler who had summoned Tiso to Salzburg on July 28, 1940 to impose a closer alignment with Germany. Hitler also forced the dismissal of Durcansky, Minister of External Affairs. The Secretary-General of the Party, Jozef Kirschbaum, was also removed from his position shortly afterwards. Slovakia had lost some of the freedom it had enjoyed in the first seventeen months of its existence. Still, the Hlinka Party, whose main organizational opponent was the pro-Tuka Hlinka Guard, managed to carry through a series of policies that, with one exception, one can hardly qualify as Nazi or fascist.45 Likewise much of the posturing and outward imitation of Italian and German uniforms was more a matter of form to please Germany than an integral part of Slovak political culture. It would have been a different story if Tuka and Alexander Mach, the Minister of the Interior, had succeeded in overthrowing Tiso. The country would most likely have been ruled by the Hlinka Guard, whose membership was not composed of the most enlightened segments of the population. 46 Of all the policies the regime of the Slovak Republic proposed and carried out, the most unfortunate and tragic were the confiscation of Slovak Jewish property, known as the policy of aryanization, and in 1942 on German urging, the deportation to Poland of more than half of Slovakia's Jewish population. These policies found both support and opposition in Slovakia. The aryanization policy was introduced shortly after independence and was voted on by the Slovak Parliament in response to a mood that existed in public circles.47 The deportation policy, advocated by the Tuka faction, however, met with serious opposition, 48 and although it could be stopped only belatedly, Tiso and his supporters in Parliament were still able to limit its scope and save the lives of thousands of Slovak Jews.49 Nevertheless, one of the darkest chapters in Slovak history had been written, and it went a long way toward damaging the record of the Slovak Republic50 and the aspirations of the Slovak people for independence. 22 SLOVAKIA Foreign policy was another area where room for maneuver was limited. The Communist historian Liptak has argued that the Slovak Republic was a mere pawn in a German game in Europe, especially in the period following independence; it was not possible, he concluded, for Slovakia to pursue an independent foreign policy.51 The measure of the success or failure of Slovakia's foreign policy lies in the degree to which it could resist German dominance and obtain for itself some freedom of action and protection of its own interests. The test came early with the Hungarian attack on Eastern Slovakia in March 1939 and, as Milan Durica has shown, the Slovaks, led by Durcansky, were reasonably successful in minimizing the damage and protecting Slovak interests. 52 The Treaty of Protection (Schuetzvertrag) between Slovakia and Germany set the limits of Slovakia's room for maneuver in foreign relations, military, and economic affairs. With the outbreak of the war, Slovakia joined Germany in invading Poland but only to recapture Slovak territory lost in 1920 and 1938. Nevertheless, Durcansky attempted to widen his freedom of action, and one of his attempts to pursue an independent course failed due to an indiscretion by a Slovak diplomat53 and brought about his downfall in July of 1940.54 Thereafter, Prime Minister Tuka, who was also External Affairs Minister, aligned Slovakia closer to German foreign policy by joining the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1940 and by participating in the war against the Soviet Union. There is no indication in the documentation that there were military engagements between Slovak and British or American forces.55 The measure of the success of Durcansky' s foreign policy may perhaps best be gauged by the fact that he set parameters on German interference which enabled the regime to carry out a wide range of domestic policies. Even after his ouster in 1940, German interference was felt primarily in foreign, military, and economic policy and in the Jewish question. As Communist leader Gustav Husak, an eyewitness to the politics and policies of the Slovak Republic, pointed out in July 1944: ''German influence is great, but not\so great for independence to be a stupid mask. "56 The major achievements of the Slovak Republic were in the economic and socio-cultural fields. If adequate research is ever possible in these two areas, the results are likely to show that the regime was quite successful in taking the Slovak people far down the road of modernization and that, until the revolt of 1944, the Slovak government looked after its non-Jewish citizens through planned economic and social development. The Slovak Republic was the framework within which the Slovak people could and did attain a good measure of national and so- SLOVAKIA 23 cial development even under the stringent diplomatic and military conditions their government found itself. As Gustav Husak wrote in 1944, distinguishing between regime and state: "If this state had another content and were l~d by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, there would be nothing to say against it from a Slovak point of view." 57 Husak, a Communist, was understandably not in favor of the regime; but he acknowledged the importance and benefits of statehood for the Slovaks. Certainly by 1944 there was no doubt about that anymore. There had been doubts, however, at the time of independence. They had arisen from some of the intitial difficulties the autonomous Slovak government had experienced in late 1938 and early 1939. As Peter Pares wrote in February 1939, there were difficulties in a series of sectors, especially in the economic, educational, and administrative ones, from which he concluded that the result ''must inevitably be the economic stagnation of Slovakia and might even mean a disastrous impoverishment." 58 But by April 1939, Pares reported that "the present state of affairs in Slovakia, after nearly a month of independence, seems to indicate that, in spite of the manner in which the declaration of independence was brought about and of the disturbing effects of the Hungarian invasion of Eastern Slovakia, conditions are more stable than anybody expected. "59 The situation in fact continued to improve so much that Husak could write in 1944 that there had been a definite improvement to what the situation had been in Czechoslovakia. He went on to add that in the first seventeen months of the Slovak Republic ''it also became evident that Slovakia could take care of itself economically, there was neither economic nor currency chaos, the standard of living did not go down, quite the contrary, a good number of people, especially the intelligentsia, got ahead .... '•60 A report in the Foreign Office files dated August 1943 also confirms the progress made with the following eyewitness account: '' A traveller who has recently returned from Slovakia was amazed to find how normal things were, not only in Bratislava, but also in other towns. There was no blackout and practically no restrictions. Food and clothing were plentiful and prices reasonable. There was little war talk. Life went on as usual everywhere, but there was a shortage of servants and indeed a general shortage of labour. "61 Before outlining the various aspects of socio-economic and cultural development that the documentation and the literature have permitted me to put together, a few words should be said about the parameters I am using to evaluate the contribution of the Slovak Republic to the life 24 SLOVAKIA of the Slovak people. Ideally, when a nation has acquired statehood it should be totally free to handle its own affairs; for small nations, however, reality is generally far removed from theory, especially when there are powerful neighboring states. Depending on the pressures the powerful put on a small state, the measure of realism must be not only the degree to which policies allow the people to enjoy a standard of living comparable to that of the neighboring nations, but also the perceivable cost, in the short and longer run of resistance and opposition to the pressure of the powerful neighbor. For example, the failure of Canadian nationalists to persuade the Canadian people to have their government limit the American domination of the Canadian economy - over 60 percent of Canadian industry is owned by Americans - is due to the refusal of the Canadian people to give up the standard of living this situation has brought them and to accept the cost of a policy of greater independence. There is little public discussion in Canada on American domination; it is a topic that is debated primarily in certain academic, intellectual, and political circles with hardly any echo elsewhere. The Canadian people do not hesitate, furthermore, to vote out a government which they perceive has not done enough not only to maintain, but to improve, their standard of living. These are the acceptable parameters of political realism in the second half of the twentieth century, not only for Canada, but for quite a few states, in the Western, as well as in the Communist, world. It is clear that the Slovak people found themselves in a similar situation until the revolt of 1944; it is my contention that the Slovak government was successful, especially in a war situation, in giving the Slovak people a good standard of living. Communist scholars do not hesitate to point out that the Slovak economy was dominated by Germany because of the secret protocol in the Treaty of Protection, which called for close economic cooperation and the increase of Slovakia's industrial and agriculture output. Other treaties followed to spell out in detail economic arrangements between Slovakia and Germany, and the Reich also sent advisers to help in various ministries. Liptak calculated that in 1938 the share of German and Austrian capital totaled only 5 percent in Sloyakia; by 1944 it had grown to 64 percent. This phenomenal growth is ~xplained by the fact that Germany took over the shares of Czech and foreign capital in Slovakia as they occupied the various financial centers of Europe. 62 At the same time Slovak capital grew from 2 percent in 1938 to 6 percent in 1944,63 and the number of companies in which Slovaks held a controlling interest rose from 40 to 74. Furthermore, from 1942 on, Slovak banks were successful in obtaining additional shares, especially in industry, that SLOVAKIA 25 enabled them to operate a number of transfers of controlling interest from Germany to Slovakia. 64 It was this capital inflow which allowed for the development of Slovak industry. Some 4,855 million ks. were invested in five years, allowing for the creation of 250 new enterprises and the enlargement of SO-existing ones. The railways benefited from 95 km. of new tracks , while i 84 km. were rebuilt or repaired. Road paving, repair, and reconstruction were done on 1,100 km. , with 282 km. of new roads laid; telephone links, under and above ground, were greatly improved, adding 291 communities to the existing network, while 470 villages acquired electrification.65 The 12 ,000 kw. of hydroelectric power built between 1918 and 1939 was increased to 90,000 kw. between 1939 and 1945.66 Foreign Office files also give some statistics worthy of note. In 1942 the investment in chemical, textile, mining, metallurgy, and electrical industries represented close to half of that year's investment. The National Bank net profit in 1941 was 21.86 million ks. and 30.83 m. ks. in 1942.67 Trade statistics also show that Slovakia was by no means restricting the variety of goods and services available; in January-February 1942 Slovakia exported 400 m. ks. worth of goods while it imported 575 m. ks. For the same period in 1943, exports increased to 570 m. ks., and imports rose to 730 m. ks. A Slovak-Italian agreement valued at 800 m. ks. , with 60 m. ks. in Slovakia's favor, was signed in 1943. 68 There are very few agricultural statistics available; it seems that this was not a sector that encountered too many problems, even though the promised land reform of 1939 was not carried out. British reports note good fruit crops in 1942 and 1943 . The year 1943 was also reported as a good vintage year for Slovak wines. Communist authors indicate without hesitation that the social groups that benefited most from the economic expansion and growth in Slovakia were the middle and upper middle classes. The lot of workers also seems to have been satisfactory, except perhaps early on when worker discontent culminated in a strike fomented by Communists in Handlova in October 1940.69 The Slovak Parliament passed a number of bills to improve the social conditions of the working class, and salaries and wages showed a steady increase, 70 while unemployment disappeared. The autonomy and later independence of Slovakia brought about the availability of positions in the state as well as tertiary sectors which until then had been occupied primarily by Czechs. Education was another area which showed considerable activity and enabled educated Slovaks to move ahead. The University of Bratislava added two new fa- 26 SLOVAKIA culties , and a technical university was created in July 1939, taking up from the one created in Kosice in 1937 (but then under Magyar control). A school of economics was also founded, and by 1943 there were more than twice as many students enrolled in Slovak institutions of higher learning than there had been in 1938. An educational reform was also announced in July 1939, and Church-controlled schools were re-established. 71 These educational policies and reforms remedied in fact a major defect in Prague's educational program in Slovakia during the interwar years. As Owen Johnson has written: "What the Czechoslovak Republic / had / failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical and professional - that are required to conduct a modem nation."72 The founding of the Slovak Academy of Arts and Sciences and the modernization of the publication facilities of the Matica slovenska gave additional impetus to scientific and literary work. For the period 19391944, literary output, for example, totaled 709 works of which 437 were for prose, 169 for poetry, and 103 for plays. 73 Access to such works was made possible by a chain of bookstores operated by the Matica across the country. The statistics at my disposal are too incomplete to enable me to give an accurate survey of achievements but also of problems and failures. Nevertheless the picture that comes out is a positive one showing that"in five of the six years of the existence of the Slovak Republic, the Slovaks moved far down the road of modernization, dispelling any doubts about their ability to handle their own affairs. There is no better testimony to this fact than the report Gustav Husak prepared in July 1944 on the eve of the revolt he would lead as a member of the two opposition groups to the Slovak Republic. It is worthwhile to quote at length from it: In Slovakia today, there is sufficient merchandise, the system of distribution generally works well, and in comparison to adjacent territories (the Czech lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is best in Slovakia for the level of real salaries and their purchasing power. The salaries of employees and workers were raised many times, enterprises have all kinds of supply privileges and there cannot be any talk of a lack of basic commodities for consumers. The Slovak crown is the strongest currency in Central Europe , there is full confidence in it at home, SLOVAKIA 27 people continue to save . . . and inflationary tendencies are sooner the result of German pressure on the economy than of internal conditions . . . : Problems are created by German demands, as a result of w}Uch Germany owes Slovakia today 6 billion ks ..... Slovak industry, given the circumstances of this war, was greatly modernized and some 2 billion ks. were invested in equipment (within 2 years), which in Slovakia is a huge sum .... In general one can say that on the basis of the experience of six years, Slovakia is able to exist as an independent unit economically and financially, can hold out on its own, has even today the necessary forces (including technical ones) and conditions of production for international competition . . . . The Slovaks are an independent nation, they have the same rights and expectations as any other nation. Today Slovak is the exclusive language of administration, all the formal attributes of a nation are there, and for this reason anyone who would like to return to the old conception of a united Czechoslovak nation will meet with opposition . . . . It is to be regretted that / the creation of the Slovak Republic / took place in combination with the worst political regime; still nothing will change the fact that on the national level there is a certain self-consciousness ''that we can take care of our own affairs" in political and economic affairs, that we can have our own army, our own administration, that one's own language is not inferior to that of former dominating nations, that Slovakia was a partner with whom states (the USSR and others) had relations, and to some degree still have today, in short that the Slovak nation can be the subject and not only the object of politics and other / activities / ... In these last six years, the development of a national consciousness and the completion of this development on the formal level are the most remarkable achievements that will not disappear with the fall of the regime . . . . It is a fact that this state is independent and has as much independence as a small state can have especially in time of war. 74 THE REVOLT OF 1944 Husak 's 1944 report on the conditions in Slovakia is in stark contrast with the twenty-seven page, top secret report ''The Revolt in Slovakia' ' found in Foreign Office files outlining the consequences of the fighting . 75 Likewise, one is struck by the difference between the provisional Czechoslovak government London broadcasts, especially 28 SLOVAKIA throughout 1944, inciting the Slovaks to acts of sabotage and destruction of life and property, and the Slovak press and media, when shorn of their ideological jargon and Germanophile phraseology, encouraging the population to ignore this incitement to violence. There was, in fact, partisan activity taking place sporadically throughout 1944; and, by the end of August the Slovaks found themselves almost overnight plunged into an abyss of violence and death which meant the end of their independence. One has to ask what brought about this shift from a relatively calm and stable situation to organized hostilities which resulted in German occupation and the inclusion of Slovakia in the European war. Was it a "Slovak National Uprising," as Communist historiography claims?76 Was it "an uprising for Czechoslovakia," as Wolfgang Venohr has suggested?77 Or was it an "incredible conspiracy," as Frantisek Vnuk has contended?78 The events of 1944 have already found their place in many versions in Slovak historiography, and they need not be recounted here at length. 79 But in the context of this study, two questions must be asked: Why did the revolt take place? and what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people? The reasons that were given after the fact by the leaders of the revolt, both Communist and non-Communist, seem like romanticized self-justifications in the light of the situation in Slovakia and the activities the partisans launched and the results they achieved.80 This is not to suggest that these men did not believe they were doing what they later claimed they had done. There is indeed a tragic irony in the fact that this was the way which insured that the Slovak people in the about-tobe restored Czechoslovak Republic would not be under a military dictatorship as Benes wanted,81 nor subjected to a renewed assimilation as had been attempted in the first CSR.82 Even the leaders of the Slovak Republic were also not unaware of the political situation of the Slovaks and the horns of the dilemma on which they found themselves. This is well illustrated by the following report that found its way into the files 11 of the Foreign Office; it was written by Kuhl de Borososhat, Hungarian Minister in Bratislava, a year before the revolt: Slovak politicians have held a conference at Rezsahegt I sic I (Ruzomberok) under the leadership of Blahos / sic I . Af- ter negotiations which lasted several days the opinion crystallized .that the Slovak people must, under all conditions, remain independent. As, after an Anglosaxon victory, the opinion of the politicians of today will no longer apply, the political leaders of SLOVAKIA 29 Slovakia are entrusting the fate of their country to the hands of the American Slovaks. \ I asked the Minister of the Interior, Sano Mach, if the government adhered to the decision. He replied that the government had knowledge of it and would agree with it, but can neither adhere to it nor sanction it as this would imply that they had renounced belief in a German victozy - _a n open confession which Slovakia cannot and may not make. 83 The expectation of help from American Slovaks was, however, unrealistic; the resolution. of the Slovak dilemma lay in Europe. Thus, to answer the question why the revolt took place, one must go back to the three factors which had mortgaged the existence of the Republic of Slovakia. By 1944 they had come together in a way that made it impossible for the Slovak government to defend the integrity of the state and avoid the destruction that resulted. Germany was losing the war and progressively retreating from conquered territories, though not without resistance. German resistance was in fact dictated by strategic factors, and Slovakia played in this respect a major role on the Eastern front; for the Germans, Slovakia, with its mountains, barred the road to the Danubian plain for the Red Army, thus protecting the retreat of German armies from the Balkans; for the Soviet Union, the control of Slovakia meant access not only to the valley of the Danube, but also to Vienna and Prague. Also, the alliance with Germany, the second factor, had to be maintained in part because of the first factor but also because of the recognition of the Czechoslovak government in London by the Allies. To turn against Germany meant to be occupied by the Wehrmacht with no guarantee that help would be forthcoming in such a case either from the Soviet Union or the Western Allies. The Slovak government was, furthermore, anxious to avoid any Soviet involvement in Slovak affairs for the simple reason that Bolshevism ran against the Christian Slovak national traditions they upheld. Anti-German feeling had nevertheless begun to grow in Slovakia, and the government's pro-German policy was one of many arguments used to persuade Slovaks to go into opposition. 84 It was the activities of the Communist and non-Communist opposition groups, the third factor, which brought about the armed revolt in Central Slovakia that resulted in the German occupation of the country. The Germans then ordered the deportation of the majority of the Slovak Jews who had been spared the 1942 deportation, and there were sum- 30 SLOVAKIA mary executions on both sides as well as wanton destruction and violence. An additional tragic aspect to the entire episode is the fact that the revolt did not take place at a moment when it could benefit the Allied war effort and also scuttled the secret plans of the Slovak Army, prepared by the Minister of National Defense, General Ferdinand Catlos, and sent to Moscow, to help the Allied effort in Central Europe. Slovak army divisions would have been made available to partake in the sweep of the Red Army toward Budapest and Vienna.85 Catlos's plan, aside from its possible military usefulness, would have maintained the integrity of the Slovak Republic; this was unacceptable to the two opposition groups, the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party, who in signing the Christmas Agreement of 1943 had agreed to work toward the restoration of Czechoslovakia. 86 The answer to the second question, namely what were the attitude and response of the Slovak people, is a little more complex. The revolt involved at first thousands of Slovaks, civilians and soldiers, because of the tremendous confusion that arose when it broke out. Apart from the German occupation, which had been the result of the shooting of a German military mission going through the Slovak town of Turciansky Sviity Martin, the most determining factor was the rumor that Tiso had been murdered by the Germans.87 But there were also Slovaks who had become disenchanted with the regime and joined the partisans for this reason. Husak indicated in his pre-revolt report that many Slovaks were ready to change the regime but to keep the state.88 The knowledge that the Allies had recognized Benes's Czechoslovak government - London broadcasts w~re frequently listened to89 - had helped to blur the line between regime and state to the point that in the proverbial sense , the baby was thrown out with the bath water. Except for those who had been working for the restoration of Czechoslovakia, it is not clear that many of those who joined the partisans realized that they were in a revolt not only against the regime, but also against the state. However, one must note that many Slovaks did not participate in the revolt and were even opposed to it because of their allegiance to the Slovak Republic. They realized that the revolt meant a return to the status quo antebellum . London broadcasts were making it perfectly clear that this was what awaited the Slovaks at the end of the war. But as Husak pointed out in a 1946 report, the Slovaks, both in government and in opposition, considered such a proposition to be ' 'rather ridiculous. " 90 The writer, Tido J. Gaspar, Head of the Propaganda Office of SLOVAKIA 31 the Slovak government, expressed his opposition to the revolt as follows: It wasn't fear of the future, but fear of a renewed past. A return to the disgusting " Benesiada. " We were afraid of it. Benes was threatening us with revenge and promised to renew everything which had previously oppressed us Slovaks .. .. He did not recognize for us any n~tional rights . In fact he did not even recognize us as a nation. We were afraid of that. For this reason we did not see the Uprising as a liberation from the path of fascism , but rather as an unenticing overture to a new process of enslavement. 91 The revolt was basically put down within three months by German forces. 92 But Slovakia could not return to the normalcy of the pre-revolt years. The country was occupied. And even though the Slovak government continued to carry on with its policies both during and after the revolt,93 the link between the governing and the governed was not the same anymore . The end of the war was near. And, as members of the Slovak government fled to Austria in April 1946, the Slovak National Council, created out of the wartime collaboration between the Communists and the Democrats , took power in Slovakia on behalf of the restored Czechoslovak Republic. THE LEGACY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC In the aftermath of the Second World War, Slovakia found itself caught in a double maelstrom of postwar politics. Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet military sphere of interest; within three years the Czechs and Slovaks would become part of the Soviet bloc. Secondly, Slovakia was granted a form of autonomy in the new Czechoslovak Republic; by the time the constitution became law in May 1948, only the formal attributes of autonomy remained. Thus the atmosphere and the politics of the postwar and the Communist period were ripe to give the Slovak Republic an historical blow. Its high officials, from the President of the Republic to members of Parliament and Department heads, were tried, often in absentia, and in the majority of cases convicted on various counts of treason against the Czechoslovak Republic. President Tiso and Prime Minister Tuka were condemned to death and executed in April 1947. Others were sent to serve long prison terms . The vengeance of Czechoslovak officials that Gaspar had feared was given free rein. In this way, a chapter in Slovak 32 SLOVAKIA history was closed and in the Communist period deliberately relegated to oblivion, or at best selectively examined to condemn it better. The situation is only slightly different in the Western world. Former officials of the Slovak Republic who found exile in the West have made an effort to explain the why and wherefore of Slovakia's first modern state. Their works have found only a limited audience, due in part to the vigilence of pro-Czechoslovak groups, both Czech and Slovak, who refuse to recognize that something positive might be said about the wartime period in Slovakia, especially about the Slovak Republic. No Western learned society, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, held a study session on this topic until 1979. It is, therefore, difficult to determine the legacy of the Slovak Republic. The idea of statehood that it represents has been accepted by most Slovak organizations in the West, such as the Slovak League of America and the Slovak World Congress; in their newspapers and periodicals, anniversaries and events are regularly mentioned and celebrated. Western scholarship has, unfortunately, not kept pace to give greater substance to the idea of statehood, for reasons I outlined at the beginning. Thus the pride hundreds of thousands of Slovaks have in this chapter of their history does not overflow into the world around them. More important, of course, is the legacy to the Slovaks in Slovakia. A perusal of Communist literature of the mid and late sixties suggests a tacit acceptance of the legacy of statehood; Slovak newpapers and periodicals often referred to the wartime period, especially as the drive to federalization became more pronounced. The publication of excerpts from Tido J . Gaspar's memoirs must also be seen as an important step in that direction . But the selective scholarship on the subject suggests that the Communist regime is still incapable of coming to terms with it. Time will undoubtedly cool passions, and curiosity will begin to take over. It is my belief that when Slovak archives become accessible to all scholars without restrictions, the record will show, as I have suggested in this article , that the Slovak Republic served the Slovaks well, especially in the social and cultural field, and that it played an extremely important role in the development of the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The federalization of Czechoslovakia, proposed at first in 1944 and made into law in 1968, could not have taken place if the Slovak Republic had been a dismal failure in the life of the Slovak people. But more research will have to be done, not only for scholarly reasons , but above all, to paraphrase the national motto of Slovakia's western neighbor, so that the truth might prevail. SLOVAKIA 33 NOTES . 1 Of fourteen general histories puqlished since 1941 taken at random, the creation of the Slovak Republic has been presen\ed as follows : (1) no mention at all - J .B. Duroselle , L'Europe de 1815 a nosjours (Paris , 1970); Walter P. Hall and William G. Davis , The Course of Europe Since Waterloo (New York, 1941) ; and George Lichtheim, Europe in the Tw entieth Century (New York, 1972); (2) serious errors of presentation and interpretation - Martin Gilbert, The European Powers 1900-1945 (New York, 1965), p . 220 ; Carleton J .H . Hayes , Contemporary Europe Since 1870 (New York, 1953) , p . 631; Walter C. Langsam, The World Since 1914 (New York , 1943), p. 517 ; J .M . Roberts, Europe 1880-1945 (New York, 1972), p. 516; D.C . Watt, "Diplomatic History" in The New Cambridge Modern History , Vol. XIl: The Shifting Balances of 'World Forces, 1898-1945, edited by C.L. Mowat (Cambridge , 1968), p . 725; (3) minor errors of presentation and interpretation - Rene Albrecht-Carrie, A Dilpomatic History of Europe Since the Congress of Vienna (New York, 1958), pp . 529-30 ; C.E . Black and E .C. Helmreich, Twentieth Century Europe (New York, 1959), p . 529 ; James Joli, Europe Since 1870: An Introductory H istory (London, 1973), pp. 373 and 441; (4) reasonably accurate - A.J . Grant and H. Temperley , Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1789-1950) (London, 1952), p. 529; H . Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe: A History (Englewood Cliffs , 1966) , p . 318 ; and Elizabeth Wiskemann in Survey of International Affairs 1939-1946 - Hitler 's Europe , edited by Arnold Toynbee and Veronica M . Toynbee (London, 1954) , pp . 597-604 . 2 John Gellner and John Smerek, The Czechs and Slovaks in Canada (Toronto, 1968), p. viii. 3 Bohuslav Graca, 14. Maree 1939 (Bratislava, 1955) and lmrich Stanek , Zrada a pad, (Praha, 1958) . 4 See , for example, I.:ubomir Liptak, "Mad'arsko v politike Slovenskeho statu v rokoch 1939-1943," Historicky tasopis XI (1), 1967, pp . 1-35 ; --- , "Slovensky stat a protifasisticke hnutie v rokoch 1939-1943 ," Historicky tasopis XIV (2) , 1966, pp . 161-218; ---, "Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky fosopis XIII (3), 1965, pp. 329-65; --- , "Politicky rezim na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945" in Slovenske narodne povstanie roku 1944 (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 20-49 ; --- , Slovensko v 20, storoti (Bratislava, 1968), pp. 175265; Martin Vietor, " Prispevok k objasneniu fasistickeho charakteru tzv . Slovenskeho statu ," Historicky tasop is VIlI (4 ), 1960, pp , 483-508. 5 The two noticeable examples are : Samo Falt'an, Slovenskd otdka v Ceskoslovensku (Bratislava, 1968), pp . 92-103 and Ivan Kamenec, "Snem Slovenskej Republiky a jeho postoj k problemu zidovskeho obyvatefstva na Slovensku v rokoch 1939-1945," Historicky fosopis XVII (3) , 1969, pp , 329-62 , 6 There is a problem of availability ; the Library of Congress does not have the complete sets, nor does the British Library , 7 The late Ferdinand Durcansky once told me that he himself had destroyed documents because of the physical impossibility of taking them with him, especially to South America. 8 Many former Slovak politicians and officials have published vignettes of their activities in various Slovak publications in the West ; at present only two have published de- 34 SLOVAKIA tailed memoirs: Jozef Miku§, Pamliti slovenskeho diplomata (Middletown, 1978) and Karol Sidor, Sest'rokov pri Vatikane (Scranton, 1947), which also contains documents concerning Slovak foreign policy and diplomacy. The diary of Stefan Tiso, Prime Minister from September 1944 to April 1946, is presently at Stanford University, Hoover Institution on War and Peace ; access to it is however restricted. Excerpts from the diary were published by Yeshayahu Jelinek, " Dennfk Dr . Stefana Tisu," Historickj tasopis XVIIl (2), 1970, pp. 270-87. 9 Such an example is Owen Verne Johnson, Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 1918-1938: Education and Its Impact , unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1978. A recent exception is that of Dorothea El Mallakh, who succeeded in obtaining access to unpublished documents covering the years 1936 through October 1938 from the Ministry of the Interior archives in Prague. She had expected to fail in obtaining access to these documents when she visited Prague in January 1969. But as she writes: " Luck in timing and the helpfulness of individuals all coalesced to bring me almost 2600 frames of microfilms." Dorothea H. El Mallakh, The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939: A Study in Unrelenting Nationalism (Boulder, '1970) , p. xiv. 10 See Hans Dress, Slowakei und faschistische Neuordnung Eurpoas 1939-1941 (Berlin, 1972) . 11 John S. Conway, "The Churches, the Slovak State and the Jews 1939-1946," Slavonic Review Lil (126), 1974, p . 87. 12 In his autobiography, Lockhart makes it perfectly clear that he was devoted to Bene§ and that he had no qualms in working for him. See R.H. Bruce Lockhart, Comes the Reckoning (London, 1947), pp. 64ff. 13 In response to a request from the Central Department of the Foreign Office to comment on reports that Bruce Lockhart had put together from information he received from Czech and Slovak sources in London, Peter Pares foresaw from the very beginning the direction this information would go: " Many of the reports reaching London directly may come through the Slovak political emigrants who are nearly all Protestants and not only opposed to the present Slovak regime themselves but draw their information from Protestant sources in Slovakia which are also in bitter opposition.' ' FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-68-12. Public Record Office, London. 14 This problem is compounded by the fact that there are very few general studies on the Slovak Republic published in a Western language, and none is detailed and comprehensive in scope. See Milan S. :C>urica, "Slovakia During World War II - the Slovak Republic' ' in Joseph M. Kirschbaum, ed., Slovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Toronto, 1973), pp. 161-94; Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1961) , pp . 111\76; Jozef Lettrich, History of Modem Slovakia (New York, 1966), pp. 123-91; Josepli A. Mikus, Slovakia - A Political History, 1918-1950 (Milwaukee , 1963), pp. 67-164; 'and Anthony X. Sutherland, Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modem Slovakia (Middletown, 1978), pp. 81-102. Additional titles, particularly of specialized topics in Western and Slovak languages, may be found in Yeshayahu Jelinek, " The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) ," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, pp. 17-24. 16 Johnson, p . 466. 16 FO 417-39 , Doc. 3973-19-18. SLOVAKIA 35 17 This is noted in a report by Pares to the Foreign Office. FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-712. 18 Falt'an, pp . 106-06. \ 19 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, "Die Stellung der Slowakischen Volkspartei zur Aussenpolitik Prags'' in Karl Bos!, ed., Gleichgewicht - Revision - Restauration. Die Aussenpolitik der Ersten Tschechoslowakischen Republik im Europasystem der Pariser Vorortsvertrtige (Muenchen, 1976), pp. 316-66. 20 House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, 339 H.C. Deb. 6 s., pp. 366-6. 21 See especially FrantiAek Vnuk, "Slovakia's Six Eventful Months (October 1938 March 1939), " Slovak Studies IV, 1968, pp . 7-164; Joseph Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 98-146; Mikus , pp . 67-91 ; El Mallakh, pp. 113-44. A somewhat different version is found in Joerg K. Hoensch, Die Slowakei undHitlers Ostpolitik (Koeln, 1966). 22 The Slovak struggle for autonomy in the First Czechoslovak Republic was a variation on the theme of national self-determination which was ultimately denied the Slovaks by the ideology of ''Czechoslovakism'' of the Prague government. Independence, if it could be achieved, was not only the logical outcome, but in the light of the "Czechoslovak" ideology of Prague, the only way for the Slovak nation to assert itself. Other solutions were not excluded so long as the Slovaks were recognized as a nation independent of the Czechs ; a Central European federation is often mentioned in this context. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia, pp. 223-30 . 23 Though the Hlinka Party had become the Party of Slovak National Unity on October 6, 1938, the literature still refers to it as the Hlinka Party . I will conform to this usage. 24 Liptak, "Politicky rezim ... , " p . 24. See Also Joseph M. Kirschbaum, pp. 169-73. 26 Liptak, Slovensko, p . 210. 26 Conway, p. 96. 27 Liptak, " Politicky rezim ... ," p. 26 . 28 FO 417-40 , Doc. C10876-7-12 . 29 FO 371-22900, Doc . C18636-7-12 . 30 See note 13 . 31 Falt'an, p . 114 and Liptak, " Politicky rezim . .. , "p. 36. 32 See Stanislav J . Kirschbaum, ''Federalism in Slovak Communist Politics,' ' Canadian Slavonic Papers XIX (4) , 1977, pp . 446-9. 33 FO 371-24290, Doc . C612-68-12 . 34 The British Government recognized Benes 's national committee as the " Provisional Czechoslovak Government" on July 21 , 1940. Full de jure recognition was granted on July 18, 1941 , the same day the Soviet Union granted de facto and de jure recognition. The United States followed suit on July 31 , 1941 . 36 In a report on conditions in Slovakia written in January 1939, George Kennan expressed the following opinion, which was widely held at that time: "Its (Slovakia's) native leaders are so sadly lacking in experience, in imagination, in breadth of view, and in depth of purpose that they cannot hope to maneuver successfully for very long SLOVAKIA 36 amid the powerful national and ideological currents which are playing all around them in Central Europe. " George P. Kennan, From Prague After Munich: Diplomatic Papers 1938-1940 (Princeton, 1968), p. 27. 36 This is best illustrated by the fact that not only in the literature but also during the war, Slovakia was referred to as a " fascist state, " not in a descriptive but in a normative sense. 37 FO 371-24290, Doc. C612-58-12. 38 Joseph M . Kirschbaum , p . 163. 39 Ibid. , p. 159. 40 Ibid. , p . 168; Mikus, p. 94 ; Jan F . Gleiman, "Duch ustavy SR" in Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Slouenska Republika 1939-1949 (Scranton, 1949), p. 120. 41 FO 417-40, Doc. Cl0876-7-12. 42 The most comprehensive analysis of the program is found in Stefan Polakovit, Tisoua nauka (Bratislava, 1941). An English outline appears in Joseph M . Kirschbaum, Slouakia, pp. 170-3; a critical approach was taken by Yeshayahu Jelinek in The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slouak People's Party 1939-1945 (Boulder, 1976) . 43 Of the 63 deputies elected, 48 were from the Hlinka Party; 12 represented the Agrarian Party, the Slovak National Party, the Artisan Party, and the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. See above, Kirschbaum, p . 169. 44 Kamenec, passim . 46 The Fuehrer principle was introduced in Slovak political life on October 22, 1942. It enabled President Tiso to consolidate his power and that of the Hlinka Party against Tuka and Mach and the Hlinka Guard. 46 According to Liptak, the Hlinka Guard represented the lumpenproletariat and the radical small bourgeoisie. Liptak, "Politicky reiim ... , "p. 26. 47 Some authors refer to a tradition of anti-Semitism as well as the activities of Slovak Jews in Slovak life to explain the early anti-Jewish policies. Mikus, pp. 96-6.; Sutherland, pp. 88-9. See also Kennan, pp. 22-3. 48 Conway, passim. 49 Kamenec, p . 363. 60 This is made quite clear by one of the leaders of the 1944 revolt. See Lettrich, passim . 61 Liptak, Slouensko , pp. 177-180. For a description of Slovak foreign policy, see Mikus, pp. 116-138. 62 Milan S. Ourica, La Slouaccia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania, 1938-1945 , (Padova, 1964), Vol. I, p . 107. 53 Mikus, pp. 135-6 and Ourica, p . 107. 64 The situation and events leading to the Salzburg' meeting Jlre described at length in Liptak, "Priprava a priebeh . . . . " 66 As to th~ question whether Slovakia declared war on the U.K. and the United States, there is also no documentary evidence that this did take place according to postwar re- SLOVAKIA 37 search into the matter by State Ikpartment officials . The suggestion that Slovakia did declare war is based on a New York Times report of December 13, 1941 of a German broadcast from Bratislava that stated that Slovakia had declared war. See Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia , pp. 318-21. 66 Gustav Husak , " O vyvoji a situacii na Slovensku," Svedectvi XV (68) , 1979, p . 377. 67 Ibid. 68 FO 371-22896, Doc. C1872-7-12. 69 FO 417-39, Doc. C5201-7-12 . 60 Husak, p. 369. 61 FO 371-34337, Doc. C9206-372-12 . In his pre-revolt report, Husak indicates that some 60,000 Slovaks also worked in Germany. Husak, p. 373. 62 Liptak, Slovensko , p. 194. 63 I.:ubomir Liptak, Ovlddnutie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitdlom (Bratislava, 1960), p . 66. 64 Liptak, Slovensko, pp. 201-2. 65 Falt'an, pp. 108-9. See also FO 371-39121 , Doc. C877-877-18. 66 Sutherland, p. 87 . 67 FO 371-34446, Doc. C1066-160-18. 68 FO 371-34446, Doc . C6626-160-18. 69 Dress , p. 119. 70 Ibid ., p. 117. 71 It is interesting that the Slovaks met with no opposition from the Germans. As Conway writes: ''It should be noted that the abolition of religious instruction and the removal of crucifixes from the schools were two notable features of the Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church." Conway, p . 89 , note 11. 72 Owen V. Johnson, "The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938," Slovakia XXVIII (61-62) , 1978-79, p . 42 . 73 Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov (Middletown, 1965), p. 12. 74 Husak, pp. 376-77. 76 FO 371-38942, Doc. C13551-1343-12 . 76 Husak's memoirs are entitled: " Testimony on the Slovak National Uprising." See Gustav Husak , Svedectvo o slovenskom narodnom povstani (Bratislava, 1964). A revised and amended version was published in 1969. 77 Wolfgang Venohr, Au/stand fuer die Tschechoslowakei (Hamburg, 1969). 78 Frantisek Vnuk, Neuveritefne sprisahanie (Middletown, 1964). 79 The most complete account in a Western language is by Venohr. 80 ' 'The political motive for an uprising was the desire to liberate Slovakia by its own efforts as soon as possible, to throw out the Germans , to destroy the dictatorship of the SLOVAKIA 38 Slovak People's Party, reintroduce Czechoslovak democratic institutions, spare Slovakia the suffering of the war and assure its just place in a free Czechoslovakia.'' Lettrich, p. 200. 81 A. Benl!ik and J. Pivovarl!i, " Problemes militaires de llnsurrection nationale slovaque," Studia historica slovaca IV, 1966, p. 166. 82 Upon the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (Bene§'s party) prepared a document for the party faithful outlining how the Czechoslovak Government should go about successfully assimilating the Slovaks. It was published for the first time in 1968. See Pravda (Bratislava), March 29, 1968. 83 FO 371-34337, Doc. 9786-372-12. 84 According to Husak, some other arguments were "the class content of this state, its undemocratic fascist regime, its vassal link to Nazi Germany and its policies against the people." Husak, Svedectvo, p . 129. 85 There is a full German translation of Catlo§'s plan in Venohr, pp. 119-21. 86 See Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, "Federalism .. . ," pp. 446-49. 87 M. Kuhar, a former communications officer in the Slovak Army, explained to me recently in an interview in Toronto, Canada, that his unit had been mobilized when the rumor of Tiso's death had reached it with the understanding that the Slovak Army would engage the Germans to defend Slovak independence. When the rumor proved to be untrue, his unit returned to its barracks . 88 Husak, "O vyvoji ... ," p. 377. 89 In 1942, at a ceremony for a new extension of the electrical network, President Tiso remarked: "You see, how, with more electricity we are giving you an opportunity to hear London and Moscow. In Russia they do not have such an opportunity, because there they give them a record player and thus they can hear only Moscow. The Slovak Republic is not afraid to hear foreign stations, because we know the truth and we are not afraid of the lies that London broadcasts.•• Slovak, May 19, 1942, quoted in Milan Stanislav l'>urica, "Slovensko za druhej svetovej vojny - Slovenska Republika" in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dej£n (Lausanne, 1976), p. 143, note 127. 90 Vilem Prel!an, Slovenske ntirodne povstanie (Bratislava, 1965), document 576, p. 950. 91 Tido J. Ga§par, "Z pamiiti, " Slovenske pohfady LXXXIV (12), 1968, p. 79. 92 At a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff in London on November 15, 1944, it was acknowledged that the revolt had collapsed. FO 371-38944, Doc. C15945-1343-12. \ 93 Liptak, "Politicky re!im . . . , " p. 48.  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 the Slovaks Description An account of the resource Stanislav J. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 11-38 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Stanislav J., 1942- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/0b6c68ad0818ec5fc3a9c1430d5a48e6.pdf fbaea4ee445f3de9f46cda610c0c5e13 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 39 Rusyns a'\d the Slovak State· PAULR. MAGOCSI The status of Rusyns living within the boundaries of the Slovak state between the years 1939 and 1944 was greatly influenced by developments during the interwar period and most especially during the period of the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic in late 1938 and early 1939. The Rusyns, or as they are known today, Ukrainians, who inhabit the so-called Presov Region of present-day northeastern Slovakia, 1 had lived for centuries in harmony with neighboring Slovaks. Both groups were ruled by Hungary and both groups were characterized by general economic and social backwardness. 2 This situation changed after 1918 when Rusyns and Slovaks found themselves within the first Czechoslovak Republic. Both groups now had the opportunity to function as a political as well as cultural force whose demands had to be taken into consideration by the Czechoslovak state. This, however, led to friction between these otherwise friendly Slavic groups. Already toward the end of World War I Rusyn immigrants in the United States began to talk about autonomy, or even statehood, which they hoped to obtain for their Carpatho-Rusyn homeland at the close of the war. These leaders spoke of uniting all Rusyn-inhabited areas, including the northern portions of the old Hungarian counties of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin. This demand was opposed, however, by Slovak leaders who felt that all three of these counties should belong to Slovakia. 3 When the Rusyn province of Subcarpathian Rus' (Podkarpatska Rus) was established in 1919, its western border with Slovakia (along the Uz River) was initially only a provisional one, and Rusyn politicians both in Subcarpathian Rus' as well as in the Presov Region called upon the Prague administration to unite all Rusyn-inhabited areas into one autonomous province. But Slovaks adamantly opposed any proposed cession of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin counties. Finally in 1929, the • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. �40 SLOVAKIA boundary of Subcarpathian Rus' was moved slightly westward, still leaving more than 90,000 Rusyns as a minority within the province of Slovakia.4 Rusyn leaders in Subcarpathian Rus' continued to lay claim to what became their Presov Region irredenta, but it was not until late 1938 that a new drive toward Rusyn unification was undertaken in earnest. After the Munich Crisis and the establishment of a federalized Czecho-Slovakia in October 1938, Presov Region Rusyn parliamentary deputies Ivan P 'escak and Petr Zidovskij supported the demands of the Rusyn National Committee in Presov (est. 1937) , which called for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rus'. These efforts lasted barely a month, however, because in November, after a Ukrainophile government led by Avhustyn Volosyn came to power in Subcarpathian Rl,ls', Presov Region Rusyns, who were traditionally Russophile in national orientation, wanted nothing to do with the Carpatho-Ukrainian government farther east. Instead, the Rusyn National Committee in Presov supported elections to the Slovak Provincial Diet (to which two Rusyns were chosen) in December.5 Within a few months the question of unity with Subcarpathian Rus' became a moot issue. On March 15, 1939, Hitler decided to liquidate what remained of Czecho-Slovakia. Bohemia and Moravia were incorporated into the Third Reich; Slovakia (without its southern region annexed by Hungary in November, 1938) was allowed to become an independent but German-oriented state; and Subcarpathian Rus' was taken by Hungary. In late March, the anxious Hungarians sliced off a piece of land in eastern Slovakia leaving 36 Rusyn villages (20,000 people from the Presov Region) under Hungary for the duration of the war. As a result of these political changes, most Presov Region Rusyns were now under the control of a state governed by Slovaks in Bratislava. The Slovaks had struggled for more than two decades to gain greater autonomy from the Czech-dominated centralized Prague government. Now they finally had their own state, even if its existence depended on the good will of Hitler's German~. The new government in Bratislava was dominated by patriots whose goal was to Slovakize all aspects of the country. The Rusyns of the Presov Region were especially a target for discrimination, because just after the Munich Crisis they expressed a desire to unite with Subcarpathian Rus ' . Consequently, the Greek Catholic Church and especially its Bishop, Pavel Gojdic, were accused of disloyalty and pro-Hungarian feelings . For instance, in 1939 the President of Slovakia, Dr. Jozef Tiso, and in 1940 the Minister of Propaganda, Sano Mach, visited Presov and on two �SLOVAKIA 41 separate occasions sligh_ted the Bishop in public and questioned his loyalty.6 Also in 1940, Apdrej Dudas was appointed to head the administrative district (Saris:.Zemplin iupa) for all of eastern Slovakia, a post he was to hold for the remainder of the war. Dudas was convinced that the idea of a Rusyn nationality was created by the Hungarians, and in 1943 he wrote a book on the subject and concluded that the "socalled Rusyn people (rusinsky l 'ud) in the Carpathian Basin are by origin and character Slovak. "7 It was in such an atmosphere that Presov Region Rusyns now found themselves. In early 1939, the Rusyn National Committee and Carpatho-Rusyn National Council were banned, the newspaper Prja~evskaja Rus' (Presov, 1938-39) was closed, and the activity of the local Rusyn cultural Duchnovyc Society was restricted. Rusyns were allowed one more deputy, Mychal Bon'ko, who was appointed to the Slovak Diet in 1941, but like his elected predecessors (Simko and Hornjak), he was expected to support the government's policy.8 Only the Greek Catholic Church led by Bishop Gojdic could effectively defend Rusyn national interests. As a result of Gojdic' s efforts, the Slovak government passed a decree in 1940 making all Rusyn elementary schools the responsibility of the Greek Catholic Church. This allowed for the maintenance of Rusyn teaching, and for that purpose four new textbooks were published. Other cultural activity was limited. The Slovaks wanted to remove Presov as the cultural center for Rusyns, and in that regard tried, though unsuccessfully, to have Bishop Gojdic' s residence transferred from Presov northward to Medzilaborce. One newspaper was permitted, Novoe vremja (Medzilaborce, 1940-44), which like the Greek Catholic school system used the so-called ''traditional Carpatho-Rusyn language" (i.e., Russian with local dialectisms) and propagated a Russophile national orientation.9 Presov Region authors were generally isolated from each other during the war years, although some cultural activity took place among Rusyn university students in Bratislava through their student club, the Dobrianskij Society (Obscestvo Dobrianskogo) and publications: Studenfeskij iurnal (Bratislava, 194041) and Jar' (Bratislava, 1942-43).10 The economic situation of the mass of Rusyn peasantry did not change from what it was during the interwar years, even though a few thousand went to Germany to work and some who remained home were able to take advantage of the aryanization laws (September, 1941) and receive proprietorship over former Jewish land and shops. Moreover, Slovakia suffered little destruction until the last months of the war, and �42 SLOVAKIA some improvements, especially in roads and communications, took place. It is beyond the scope of this presentation to discuss the partisan movement in any detail. Suffice it to say that the first partisan unit in the Presov Region was organized already in 1943, and an underground movement, the Carpatho-Russian Autonomous Union for National Liberation (Karpatorusskij Avtonomnyj Sojuz Nacionafnogo Osvobozdenija - KRASNO), was formed in 1944. The latter maintained contacts both with the Slovak underground movement and with the Czechoslovak Army Corps in the Soviet Union. KRASNO was dedicated to the principle of a liberated Chzechoslovakia, and it welcomed the October, 1944 declaration of the underground Slovak National Council that the ''new republic must be ... a fraternal republic of three equal nations - Czechs, Slovaks, and Carpatho-Rusyns. "11 In summary, the close and often supportive relations that existed for centuries between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns were replaced in the twentieth century by friction often caused by the opposed political and cultural goals of the two groups. Neither the First nor Second Czechoslovak Republic, nor the Slovak state contributed in any way to a lessening of political friction between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns, a situation, I might add, which has only worsened since World War II.12 NOTES 1 Rusyns living south of the Carpathian Mountains (i.e. , in the present-day Transcarpathian Oblast' of the Ukrainian SSR as well as the Pre§ov Region) have been known by various names , such as Carpatho-Ruthenian, Carpatho-Russian, and CarpathoUkrainian. It was not until the twentieth century that the name Ukrainian came to be accepted by certain segments of the population; and with regard specifically to the inhabitants of the Pre§ov Region, this did not occur until as late as the 1960s. The historic name of the group has always been Rusyn (o~ Rusnak in the Pre§ov Region), and this is the term that will be used here. The Pre§ov Region takes its name from the city of Pre§ov, the traditional religious and cultural center of the group, which is, however, located outside of Rusyn ethnographic territory. For a discussion of nomenclature, see Paul R. Magocsi, The Shaping of a National Identity: Subcarpathian Rus', 1848-1948 (Cambridge, Mass. and London: Harvard University Press, 1978), pp. 277-281. 2 For a survey of socioeconomic and cultural developments in the nineteenth century among Rusyns, see Magocsi, ibid, pp. 9-76 ; I. G. Kolomiets, Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskie otnosheniia i obshchestvennoe dvizhenie v Zakarpat'e vo vtoroi polovine XIX, 2 vols. (Tomsk: lzd. Tomskogo universiteta, 1961-62) ; and Ivan Zeguc, Die national- �SLOVAKIA 43 politischem Bestrebungen der Karpato-Ruthenen 1848-1914 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1965). On the Slovaks, see R. W .~Seton-Watson, Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908); and Franti§ek Bokes, Dejiny Slovdkov a Slovenska od najstarJfch i!ias al po oslobodenie; Slovenska vlastiveda , Vol. IV (Bratislava, 1946), esp. pp. 130-339. On Slovak-Rusyn relations before 1918, see Mykhailo Mofnar, Slovaky i Ukraintsi (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1966); and Helen Rudlovi!akova, " K otazkam vzajomnych kultumych stykov Slovakov a zakarpatskych Ukrajincov v polovici minuleho storocia,'' Sbomtk Sevi!enskovskj Filozoficky fakulty Univ. P. J. Safdrika, V (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 149-166. 3 For further details on the immediate post-World War I developments, see Magocsi, Shaping of a National Identity , pp. 76-102 ; and Marian Mark Stolarik, " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918, " Slovakia, VIIl (Cleveland and Rome, 1968), pp. 7-82 . 4 For details on the problem of the Slovak-Rusyn border during the interwar period, see the comprehensive recent monograph by Ivan Vanat, Narysy novitn 'oi istorii ukrain· tsiv Skhidnoi Slovachchyny , Vol. I: 1918-1988 (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1979), pp. 103135 and 272-287. 5 There is controversy over the extent to which Rusyn leaders in the Pre§ov Region supported the call for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rue'. Ukrainian writers in Pre§ov today, in an attempt to show that Rusyns in 1938 were in opposition to Slovak political activity at the same time that they were anxious to express solidarity with their " Carpatho-Ukrainian" brethren just to the east, argue that contemporary Slovak police reports revealed that support for unity with Subcarpathian Rue ' was widespread. Cf. Stefan Pazur, ''O vyvoji narodnostnych pomerov na vychodnom Slovensku v jesennych mesiacoch roku 1938," Nove obzory, X (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 13-25. Indeed, this is true for the month of October and very early November. But I have read these same police reports (in the Statny Slovensky Ostredny Archiv - SSOA - in Bratislava), and they indicate by November a clear change in Pre§ov Region Rusyn public opinion against the idea of unity, because the "Ukrainian orientation is alien and in the end they (Pre§ov Region Rusyns) reject any kind of revision of borders in favor of Carpatho-Ukraine. " Prezidium Policajneho riaditel'stva v Pre§ove, January 11 , 1939 (SSOA , Fond Prezidium Krajinskeho uradu, carton 297, folder 310-1938). See · also carton 298, folder 62212-38. 6 These incidents are based on an unnamed eyewitness report and are given in Atanasii V. Pekar, Narysy istorii tserkvy Zakarpattia , Analecta OSBM, Series II, Sectio I (Rome , 1967) , pp. 144-146; and Julius Kubinyi, The History of PrjaJiv Eparchy, Editiones Universitatis Catholicae Ucrainorum S. Clementia Papae, Vol. XXXII (Rome, 1970) , pp . 161-163. 7 Andrej DudltA,Rustnskaotdzkaajej uzadie (Buenos Aires: Zahranii!na Matica slovenska, 1971) , p. 25. The Slovak denial of the existence of Rusyns in the Pre§ov Region was widespread already during the interwar period: ''These people (in northern Sari§ and Zemplin counties) are our Slovaks, who only because of the Greek Catholic faith inadvertently call themselves Rusnaks or of the Rusnak faith . But teachenJ infect them by saying that they are also of Rusyn nationality. This is ridiculous, but it is happening .... There are no Rusyns up there, nor Rusnaks, only Slovaks of the Greek Catholic faith. " Slovenska politika (Bratislava), September 2, 1928 - cited in Ivan Baji!ura, Ukrajinskaotdzka v CSSR (Ko§ice : Vychodoslovenske vyd. , 1967) , p. 44. The politically and emotionally charged questions of whether all Greek Catholics in eastern Slovakia are Rusyns or whether all or most are Slovaks has acquired an exten- �44 SLOVAKIA sive polemical and scholarly literature. Among the better works which present opposing views are: Volodymyr Hnatiuk, " Rusyny Priashivs'koi eparkhii i ikh hovory," Zapysky Nau.kouoho Touarystua im. Sheuchenka, XXXV (L'viv, 1900), pp. 1-25; and Ondrej R. Halaga, Slouanske osfdlenie potisia a uychodoslouenski greckokatolici (Ko§ice , 1947) . 8 For details on the policy of the Slovak autonomous government and later the Slovak state vis-a-vis the Pre§ov Region Rusyns, see Andrii Kovach, " Stanovyshche zakarpatis'kykh ukraintsiv (rusyniv) i zanepad pershoi ChSR," Nau.kouyi zbirnyk , VI, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Bratislava, and Pre§ov, 1972), esp. pp. 23-30 ; and his " Natsional'na polityka Slovats'koi Respubliky po vidnoshenniu do rusyniv-ukraintsiv (1939-1945 r.r.)," in Zhouten ' i ukrains'ka kul'tura (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 132-143 . 9 Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century and continuing down to as recently as the early 1950s, most members of the Pre§ov Region Rusyn intelligentsia considered themselves part of one Russian nationality which lived from the Carpathian Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. 10 On cultural developments during the war years, see Andrii Kovach, ''Ukraintsi Priashivshchyny i deiaki pytannia kul 'turnoi polityky Slovats'koi Respubliky," Naukouyi zbirnyk, IV, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1969), pp . 401-412; and his " Ukraintsi Skhidnoi Slovachchyny naperedodni slovats'koho narodnoho povstannia, " Z mynuloho i suchasnoho ukraintsiu Chekhoslouachchyny, Pedahohichnyi zbirnyk, No. 3 (Bratislava, 1973), pp . 196-215. 11 Cited in Edo Fri§ , My§lienka a tin: uuahy o Ceskoslouensku 1938-1948 (Bratislava, 1968) , p. 104. For details on the Rusyn underground and partisan movement, see the studies by Stepan Pazhur, Vasyl' Horkovych, Andrii Kovach, as well as several eyewitness recollections from the period contained in Shliakh do uoli , in Naukouyi zbirnyk , II (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1966) . 12 For a discussion of Slovak-Rusyn relations between 1945 and the mid-1960s, see Baj<'!ura , Ukrajinska. ota.zka u CSSR; on the worsening of those relations after the Dubrek era in 1968-69, see Pavel Maro, " National Assimilation: The Case of the RusynUkrainians of Czechoslovakia," East Central Europe, II, 2 (Pittsburgh, 1975), pp . 101132. � SLOVAKIA 39 Rusyns a'\d the Slovak State· PAULR. MAGOCSI The status of Rusyns living within the boundaries of the Slovak state between the years 1939 and 1944 was greatly influenced by developments during the interwar period and most especially during the period of the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic in late 1938 and early 1939. The Rusyns, or as they are known today, Ukrainians, who inhabit the so-called Presov Region of present-day northeastern Slovakia, 1 had lived for centuries in harmony with neighboring Slovaks. Both groups were ruled by Hungary and both groups were characterized by general economic and social backwardness. 2 This situation changed after 1918 when Rusyns and Slovaks found themselves within the first Czechoslovak Republic. Both groups now had the opportunity to function as a political as well as cultural force whose demands had to be taken into consideration by the Czechoslovak state. This, however, led to friction between these otherwise friendly Slavic groups. Already toward the end of World War I Rusyn immigrants in the United States began to talk about autonomy, or even statehood, which they hoped to obtain for their Carpatho-Rusyn homeland at the close of the war. These leaders spoke of uniting all Rusyn-inhabited areas, including the northern portions of the old Hungarian counties of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin. This demand was opposed, however, by Slovak leaders who felt that all three of these counties should belong to Slovakia. 3 When the Rusyn province of Subcarpathian Rus' (Podkarpatska Rus) was established in 1919, its western border with Slovakia (along the Uz River) was initially only a provisional one, and Rusyn politicians both in Subcarpathian Rus' as well as in the Presov Region called upon the Prague administration to unite all Rusyn-inhabited areas into one autonomous province. But Slovaks adamantly opposed any proposed cession of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin counties. Finally in 1929, the • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. �40 SLOVAKIA boundary of Subcarpathian Rus' was moved slightly westward, still leaving more than 90,000 Rusyns as a minority within the province of Slovakia.4 Rusyn leaders in Subcarpathian Rus' continued to lay claim to what became their Presov Region irredenta, but it was not until late 1938 that a new drive toward Rusyn unification was undertaken in earnest. After the Munich Crisis and the establishment of a federalized Czecho-Slovakia in October 1938, Presov Region Rusyn parliamentary deputies Ivan P 'escak and Petr Zidovskij supported the demands of the Rusyn National Committee in Presov (est. 1937) , which called for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rus'. These efforts lasted barely a month, however, because in November, after a Ukrainophile government led by Avhustyn Volosyn came to power in Subcarpathian Rl,ls', Presov Region Rusyns, who were traditionally Russophile in national orientation, wanted nothing to do with the Carpatho-Ukrainian government farther east. Instead, the Rusyn National Committee in Presov supported elections to the Slovak Provincial Diet (to which two Rusyns were chosen) in December.5 Within a few months the question of unity with Subcarpathian Rus' became a moot issue. On March 15, 1939, Hitler decided to liquidate what remained of Czecho-Slovakia. Bohemia and Moravia were incorporated into the Third Reich; Slovakia (without its southern region annexed by Hungary in November, 1938) was allowed to become an independent but German-oriented state; and Subcarpathian Rus' was taken by Hungary. In late March, the anxious Hungarians sliced off a piece of land in eastern Slovakia leaving 36 Rusyn villages (20,000 people from the Presov Region) under Hungary for the duration of the war. As a result of these political changes, most Presov Region Rusyns were now under the control of a state governed by Slovaks in Bratislava. The Slovaks had struggled for more than two decades to gain greater autonomy from the Czech-dominated centralized Prague government. Now they finally had their own state, even if its existence depended on the good will of Hitler's German~. The new government in Bratislava was dominated by patriots whose goal was to Slovakize all aspects of the country. The Rusyns of the Presov Region were especially a target for discrimination, because just after the Munich Crisis they expressed a desire to unite with Subcarpathian Rus ' . Consequently, the Greek Catholic Church and especially its Bishop, Pavel Gojdic, were accused of disloyalty and pro-Hungarian feelings . For instance, in 1939 the President of Slovakia, Dr. Jozef Tiso, and in 1940 the Minister of Propaganda, Sano Mach, visited Presov and on two �SLOVAKIA 41 separate occasions sligh_ted the Bishop in public and questioned his loyalty.6 Also in 1940, Apdrej Dudas was appointed to head the administrative district (Saris:.Zemplin iupa) for all of eastern Slovakia, a post he was to hold for the remainder of the war. Dudas was convinced that the idea of a Rusyn nationality was created by the Hungarians, and in 1943 he wrote a book on the subject and concluded that the "socalled Rusyn people (rusinsky l 'ud) in the Carpathian Basin are by origin and character Slovak. "7 It was in such an atmosphere that Presov Region Rusyns now found themselves. In early 1939, the Rusyn National Committee and Carpatho-Rusyn National Council were banned, the newspaper Prja~evskaja Rus' (Presov, 1938-39) was closed, and the activity of the local Rusyn cultural Duchnovyc Society was restricted. Rusyns were allowed one more deputy, Mychal Bon'ko, who was appointed to the Slovak Diet in 1941, but like his elected predecessors (Simko and Hornjak), he was expected to support the government's policy.8 Only the Greek Catholic Church led by Bishop Gojdic could effectively defend Rusyn national interests. As a result of Gojdic' s efforts, the Slovak government passed a decree in 1940 making all Rusyn elementary schools the responsibility of the Greek Catholic Church. This allowed for the maintenance of Rusyn teaching, and for that purpose four new textbooks were published. Other cultural activity was limited. The Slovaks wanted to remove Presov as the cultural center for Rusyns, and in that regard tried, though unsuccessfully, to have Bishop Gojdic' s residence transferred from Presov northward to Medzilaborce. One newspaper was permitted, Novoe vremja (Medzilaborce, 1940-44), which like the Greek Catholic school system used the so-called ''traditional Carpatho-Rusyn language" (i.e., Russian with local dialectisms) and propagated a Russophile national orientation.9 Presov Region authors were generally isolated from each other during the war years, although some cultural activity took place among Rusyn university students in Bratislava through their student club, the Dobrianskij Society (Obscestvo Dobrianskogo) and publications: Studenfeskij iurnal (Bratislava, 194041) and Jar' (Bratislava, 1942-43).10 The economic situation of the mass of Rusyn peasantry did not change from what it was during the interwar years, even though a few thousand went to Germany to work and some who remained home were able to take advantage of the aryanization laws (September, 1941) and receive proprietorship over former Jewish land and shops. Moreover, Slovakia suffered little destruction until the last months of the war, and �42 SLOVAKIA some improvements, especially in roads and communications, took place. It is beyond the scope of this presentation to discuss the partisan movement in any detail. Suffice it to say that the first partisan unit in the Presov Region was organized already in 1943, and an underground movement, the Carpatho-Russian Autonomous Union for National Liberation (Karpatorusskij Avtonomnyj Sojuz Nacionafnogo Osvobozdenija - KRASNO), was formed in 1944. The latter maintained contacts both with the Slovak underground movement and with the Czechoslovak Army Corps in the Soviet Union. KRASNO was dedicated to the principle of a liberated Chzechoslovakia, and it welcomed the October, 1944 declaration of the underground Slovak National Council that the ''new republic must be ... a fraternal republic of three equal nations - Czechs, Slovaks, and Carpatho-Rusyns. "11 In summary, the close and often supportive relations that existed for centuries between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns were replaced in the twentieth century by friction often caused by the opposed political and cultural goals of the two groups. Neither the First nor Second Czechoslovak Republic, nor the Slovak state contributed in any way to a lessening of political friction between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns, a situation, I might add, which has only worsened since World War II.12 NOTES 1 Rusyns living south of the Carpathian Mountains (i.e. , in the present-day Transcarpathian Oblast' of the Ukrainian SSR as well as the Pre§ov Region) have been known by various names , such as Carpatho-Ruthenian, Carpatho-Russian, and CarpathoUkrainian. It was not until the twentieth century that the name Ukrainian came to be accepted by certain segments of the population; and with regard specifically to the inhabitants of the Pre§ov Region, this did not occur until as late as the 1960s. The historic name of the group has always been Rusyn (o~ Rusnak in the Pre§ov Region), and this is the term that will be used here. The Pre§ov Region takes its name from the city of Pre§ov, the traditional religious and cultural center of the group, which is, however, located outside of Rusyn ethnographic territory. For a discussion of nomenclature, see Paul R. Magocsi, The Shaping of a National Identity: Subcarpathian Rus', 1848-1948 (Cambridge, Mass. and London: Harvard University Press, 1978), pp. 277-281. 2 For a survey of socioeconomic and cultural developments in the nineteenth century among Rusyns, see Magocsi, ibid, pp. 9-76 ; I. G. Kolomiets, Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskie otnosheniia i obshchestvennoe dvizhenie v Zakarpat'e vo vtoroi polovine XIX, 2 vols. (Tomsk: lzd. Tomskogo universiteta, 1961-62) ; and Ivan Zeguc, Die national- �SLOVAKIA 43 politischem Bestrebungen der Karpato-Ruthenen 1848-1914 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1965). On the Slovaks, see R. W .~Seton-Watson, Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908); and Franti§ek Bokes, Dejiny Slovdkov a Slovenska od najstarJfch i!ias al po oslobodenie; Slovenska vlastiveda , Vol. IV (Bratislava, 1946), esp. pp. 130-339. On Slovak-Rusyn relations before 1918, see Mykhailo Mofnar, Slovaky i Ukraintsi (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1966); and Helen Rudlovi!akova, " K otazkam vzajomnych kultumych stykov Slovakov a zakarpatskych Ukrajincov v polovici minuleho storocia,'' Sbomtk Sevi!enskovskj Filozoficky fakulty Univ. P. J. Safdrika, V (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 149-166. 3 For further details on the immediate post-World War I developments, see Magocsi, Shaping of a National Identity , pp. 76-102 ; and Marian Mark Stolarik, " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918, " Slovakia, VIIl (Cleveland and Rome, 1968), pp. 7-82 . 4 For details on the problem of the Slovak-Rusyn border during the interwar period, see the comprehensive recent monograph by Ivan Vanat, Narysy novitn 'oi istorii ukrain· tsiv Skhidnoi Slovachchyny , Vol. I: 1918-1988 (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1979), pp. 103135 and 272-287. 5 There is controversy over the extent to which Rusyn leaders in the Pre§ov Region supported the call for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rue'. Ukrainian writers in Pre§ov today, in an attempt to show that Rusyns in 1938 were in opposition to Slovak political activity at the same time that they were anxious to express solidarity with their " Carpatho-Ukrainian" brethren just to the east, argue that contemporary Slovak police reports revealed that support for unity with Subcarpathian Rue ' was widespread. Cf. Stefan Pazur, ''O vyvoji narodnostnych pomerov na vychodnom Slovensku v jesennych mesiacoch roku 1938," Nove obzory, X (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 13-25. Indeed, this is true for the month of October and very early November. But I have read these same police reports (in the Statny Slovensky Ostredny Archiv - SSOA - in Bratislava), and they indicate by November a clear change in Pre§ov Region Rusyn public opinion against the idea of unity, because the "Ukrainian orientation is alien and in the end they (Pre§ov Region Rusyns) reject any kind of revision of borders in favor of Carpatho-Ukraine. " Prezidium Policajneho riaditel'stva v Pre§ove, January 11 , 1939 (SSOA , Fond Prezidium Krajinskeho uradu, carton 297, folder 310-1938). See · also carton 298, folder 62212-38. 6 These incidents are based on an unnamed eyewitness report and are given in Atanasii V. Pekar, Narysy istorii tserkvy Zakarpattia , Analecta OSBM, Series II, Sectio I (Rome , 1967) , pp. 144-146; and Julius Kubinyi, The History of PrjaJiv Eparchy, Editiones Universitatis Catholicae Ucrainorum S. Clementia Papae, Vol. XXXII (Rome, 1970) , pp . 161-163. 7 Andrej DudltA,Rustnskaotdzkaajej uzadie (Buenos Aires: Zahranii!na Matica slovenska, 1971) , p. 25. The Slovak denial of the existence of Rusyns in the Pre§ov Region was widespread already during the interwar period: ''These people (in northern Sari§ and Zemplin counties) are our Slovaks, who only because of the Greek Catholic faith inadvertently call themselves Rusnaks or of the Rusnak faith . But teachenJ infect them by saying that they are also of Rusyn nationality. This is ridiculous, but it is happening .... There are no Rusyns up there, nor Rusnaks, only Slovaks of the Greek Catholic faith. " Slovenska politika (Bratislava), September 2, 1928 - cited in Ivan Baji!ura, Ukrajinskaotdzka v CSSR (Ko§ice : Vychodoslovenske vyd. , 1967) , p. 44. The politically and emotionally charged questions of whether all Greek Catholics in eastern Slovakia are Rusyns or whether all or most are Slovaks has acquired an exten- �44 SLOVAKIA sive polemical and scholarly literature. Among the better works which present opposing views are: Volodymyr Hnatiuk, " Rusyny Priashivs'koi eparkhii i ikh hovory," Zapysky Nau.kouoho Touarystua im. Sheuchenka, XXXV (L'viv, 1900), pp. 1-25; and Ondrej R. Halaga, Slouanske osfdlenie potisia a uychodoslouenski greckokatolici (Ko§ice , 1947) . 8 For details on the policy of the Slovak autonomous government and later the Slovak state vis-a-vis the Pre§ov Region Rusyns, see Andrii Kovach, " Stanovyshche zakarpatis'kykh ukraintsiv (rusyniv) i zanepad pershoi ChSR," Nau.kouyi zbirnyk , VI, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Bratislava, and Pre§ov, 1972), esp. pp. 23-30 ; and his " Natsional'na polityka Slovats'koi Respubliky po vidnoshenniu do rusyniv-ukraintsiv (1939-1945 r.r.)," in Zhouten ' i ukrains'ka kul'tura (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 132-143 . 9 Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century and continuing down to as recently as the early 1950s, most members of the Pre§ov Region Rusyn intelligentsia considered themselves part of one Russian nationality which lived from the Carpathian Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. 10 On cultural developments during the war years, see Andrii Kovach, ''Ukraintsi Priashivshchyny i deiaki pytannia kul 'turnoi polityky Slovats'koi Respubliky," Naukouyi zbirnyk, IV, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1969), pp . 401-412; and his " Ukraintsi Skhidnoi Slovachchyny naperedodni slovats'koho narodnoho povstannia, " Z mynuloho i suchasnoho ukraintsiu Chekhoslouachchyny, Pedahohichnyi zbirnyk, No. 3 (Bratislava, 1973), pp . 196-215. 11 Cited in Edo Fri§ , My§lienka a tin: uuahy o Ceskoslouensku 1938-1948 (Bratislava, 1968) , p. 104. For details on the Rusyn underground and partisan movement, see the studies by Stepan Pazhur, Vasyl' Horkovych, Andrii Kovach, as well as several eyewitness recollections from the period contained in Shliakh do uoli , in Naukouyi zbirnyk , II (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1966) . 12 For a discussion of Slovak-Rusyn relations between 1945 and the mid-1960s, see Baj<'!ura , Ukrajinska. ota.zka u CSSR; on the worsening of those relations after the Dubrek era in 1968-69, see Pavel Maro, " National Assimilation: The Case of the RusynUkrainians of Czechoslovakia," East Central Europe, II, 2 (Pittsburgh, 1975), pp . 101132. � 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 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 Rusyns a'\d the Slovak State· PAULR. MAGOCSI The status of Rusyns living within the boundaries of the Slovak state between the years 1939 and 1944 was greatly influenced by developments during the interwar period and most especially during the period of the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic in late 1938 and early 1939. The Rusyns, or as they are known today, Ukrainians, who inhabit the so-called Presov Region of present-day northeastern Slovakia, 1 had lived for centuries in harmony with neighboring Slovaks. Both groups were ruled by Hungary and both groups were characterized by general economic and social backwardness. 2 This situation changed after 1918 when Rusyns and Slovaks found themselves within the first Czechoslovak Republic. Both groups now had the opportunity to function as a political as well as cultural force whose demands had to be taken into consideration by the Czechoslovak state. This, however, led to friction between these otherwise friendly Slavic groups. Already toward the end of World War I Rusyn immigrants in the United States began to talk about autonomy, or even statehood, which they hoped to obtain for their Carpatho-Rusyn homeland at the close of the war. These leaders spoke of uniting all Rusyn-inhabited areas, including the northern portions of the old Hungarian counties of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin. This demand was opposed, however, by Slovak leaders who felt that all three of these counties should belong to Slovakia. 3 When the Rusyn province of Subcarpathian Rus' (Podkarpatska Rus) was established in 1919, its western border with Slovakia (along the Uz River) was initially only a provisional one, and Rusyn politicians both in Subcarpathian Rus' as well as in the Presov Region called upon the Prague administration to unite all Rusyn-inhabited areas into one autonomous province. But Slovaks adamantly opposed any proposed cession of Spis, Saris, and Zemplin counties. Finally in 1929, the • Paper presented as part of a panel on "14 March 1939 and the Slovak State," sponsored by the Slovak Studies Association in conjunction with the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. 40 SLOVAKIA boundary of Subcarpathian Rus' was moved slightly westward, still leaving more than 90,000 Rusyns as a minority within the province of Slovakia.4 Rusyn leaders in Subcarpathian Rus' continued to lay claim to what became their Presov Region irredenta, but it was not until late 1938 that a new drive toward Rusyn unification was undertaken in earnest. After the Munich Crisis and the establishment of a federalized Czecho-Slovakia in October 1938, Presov Region Rusyn parliamentary deputies Ivan P 'escak and Petr Zidovskij supported the demands of the Rusyn National Committee in Presov (est. 1937) , which called for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rus'. These efforts lasted barely a month, however, because in November, after a Ukrainophile government led by Avhustyn Volosyn came to power in Subcarpathian Rl,ls', Presov Region Rusyns, who were traditionally Russophile in national orientation, wanted nothing to do with the Carpatho-Ukrainian government farther east. Instead, the Rusyn National Committee in Presov supported elections to the Slovak Provincial Diet (to which two Rusyns were chosen) in December.5 Within a few months the question of unity with Subcarpathian Rus' became a moot issue. On March 15, 1939, Hitler decided to liquidate what remained of Czecho-Slovakia. Bohemia and Moravia were incorporated into the Third Reich; Slovakia (without its southern region annexed by Hungary in November, 1938) was allowed to become an independent but German-oriented state; and Subcarpathian Rus' was taken by Hungary. In late March, the anxious Hungarians sliced off a piece of land in eastern Slovakia leaving 36 Rusyn villages (20,000 people from the Presov Region) under Hungary for the duration of the war. As a result of these political changes, most Presov Region Rusyns were now under the control of a state governed by Slovaks in Bratislava. The Slovaks had struggled for more than two decades to gain greater autonomy from the Czech-dominated centralized Prague government. Now they finally had their own state, even if its existence depended on the good will of Hitler's German~. The new government in Bratislava was dominated by patriots whose goal was to Slovakize all aspects of the country. The Rusyns of the Presov Region were especially a target for discrimination, because just after the Munich Crisis they expressed a desire to unite with Subcarpathian Rus ' . Consequently, the Greek Catholic Church and especially its Bishop, Pavel Gojdic, were accused of disloyalty and pro-Hungarian feelings . For instance, in 1939 the President of Slovakia, Dr. Jozef Tiso, and in 1940 the Minister of Propaganda, Sano Mach, visited Presov and on two SLOVAKIA 41 separate occasions sligh_ted the Bishop in public and questioned his loyalty.6 Also in 1940, Apdrej Dudas was appointed to head the administrative district (Saris:.Zemplin iupa) for all of eastern Slovakia, a post he was to hold for the remainder of the war. Dudas was convinced that the idea of a Rusyn nationality was created by the Hungarians, and in 1943 he wrote a book on the subject and concluded that the "socalled Rusyn people (rusinsky l 'ud) in the Carpathian Basin are by origin and character Slovak. "7 It was in such an atmosphere that Presov Region Rusyns now found themselves. In early 1939, the Rusyn National Committee and Carpatho-Rusyn National Council were banned, the newspaper Prja~evskaja Rus' (Presov, 1938-39) was closed, and the activity of the local Rusyn cultural Duchnovyc Society was restricted. Rusyns were allowed one more deputy, Mychal Bon'ko, who was appointed to the Slovak Diet in 1941, but like his elected predecessors (Simko and Hornjak), he was expected to support the government's policy.8 Only the Greek Catholic Church led by Bishop Gojdic could effectively defend Rusyn national interests. As a result of Gojdic' s efforts, the Slovak government passed a decree in 1940 making all Rusyn elementary schools the responsibility of the Greek Catholic Church. This allowed for the maintenance of Rusyn teaching, and for that purpose four new textbooks were published. Other cultural activity was limited. The Slovaks wanted to remove Presov as the cultural center for Rusyns, and in that regard tried, though unsuccessfully, to have Bishop Gojdic' s residence transferred from Presov northward to Medzilaborce. One newspaper was permitted, Novoe vremja (Medzilaborce, 1940-44), which like the Greek Catholic school system used the so-called ''traditional Carpatho-Rusyn language" (i.e., Russian with local dialectisms) and propagated a Russophile national orientation.9 Presov Region authors were generally isolated from each other during the war years, although some cultural activity took place among Rusyn university students in Bratislava through their student club, the Dobrianskij Society (Obscestvo Dobrianskogo) and publications: Studenfeskij iurnal (Bratislava, 194041) and Jar' (Bratislava, 1942-43).10 The economic situation of the mass of Rusyn peasantry did not change from what it was during the interwar years, even though a few thousand went to Germany to work and some who remained home were able to take advantage of the aryanization laws (September, 1941) and receive proprietorship over former Jewish land and shops. Moreover, Slovakia suffered little destruction until the last months of the war, and 42 SLOVAKIA some improvements, especially in roads and communications, took place. It is beyond the scope of this presentation to discuss the partisan movement in any detail. Suffice it to say that the first partisan unit in the Presov Region was organized already in 1943, and an underground movement, the Carpatho-Russian Autonomous Union for National Liberation (Karpatorusskij Avtonomnyj Sojuz Nacionafnogo Osvobozdenija - KRASNO), was formed in 1944. The latter maintained contacts both with the Slovak underground movement and with the Czechoslovak Army Corps in the Soviet Union. KRASNO was dedicated to the principle of a liberated Chzechoslovakia, and it welcomed the October, 1944 declaration of the underground Slovak National Council that the ''new republic must be ... a fraternal republic of three equal nations - Czechs, Slovaks, and Carpatho-Rusyns. "11 In summary, the close and often supportive relations that existed for centuries between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns were replaced in the twentieth century by friction often caused by the opposed political and cultural goals of the two groups. Neither the First nor Second Czechoslovak Republic, nor the Slovak state contributed in any way to a lessening of political friction between Slovaks and Presov Region Rusyns, a situation, I might add, which has only worsened since World War II.12 NOTES 1 Rusyns living south of the Carpathian Mountains (i.e. , in the present-day Transcarpathian Oblast' of the Ukrainian SSR as well as the Pre§ov Region) have been known by various names , such as Carpatho-Ruthenian, Carpatho-Russian, and CarpathoUkrainian. It was not until the twentieth century that the name Ukrainian came to be accepted by certain segments of the population; and with regard specifically to the inhabitants of the Pre§ov Region, this did not occur until as late as the 1960s. The historic name of the group has always been Rusyn (o~ Rusnak in the Pre§ov Region), and this is the term that will be used here. The Pre§ov Region takes its name from the city of Pre§ov, the traditional religious and cultural center of the group, which is, however, located outside of Rusyn ethnographic territory. For a discussion of nomenclature, see Paul R. Magocsi, The Shaping of a National Identity: Subcarpathian Rus', 1848-1948 (Cambridge, Mass. and London: Harvard University Press, 1978), pp. 277-281. 2 For a survey of socioeconomic and cultural developments in the nineteenth century among Rusyns, see Magocsi, ibid, pp. 9-76 ; I. G. Kolomiets, Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskie otnosheniia i obshchestvennoe dvizhenie v Zakarpat'e vo vtoroi polovine XIX, 2 vols. (Tomsk: lzd. Tomskogo universiteta, 1961-62) ; and Ivan Zeguc, Die national- SLOVAKIA 43 politischem Bestrebungen der Karpato-Ruthenen 1848-1914 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1965). On the Slovaks, see R. W .~Seton-Watson, Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908); and Franti§ek Bokes, Dejiny Slovdkov a Slovenska od najstarJfch i!ias al po oslobodenie; Slovenska vlastiveda , Vol. IV (Bratislava, 1946), esp. pp. 130-339. On Slovak-Rusyn relations before 1918, see Mykhailo Mofnar, Slovaky i Ukraintsi (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1966); and Helen Rudlovi!akova, " K otazkam vzajomnych kultumych stykov Slovakov a zakarpatskych Ukrajincov v polovici minuleho storocia,'' Sbomtk Sevi!enskovskj Filozoficky fakulty Univ. P. J. Safdrika, V (Bratislava, 1965) , pp. 149-166. 3 For further details on the immediate post-World War I developments, see Magocsi, Shaping of a National Identity , pp. 76-102 ; and Marian Mark Stolarik, " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918, " Slovakia, VIIl (Cleveland and Rome, 1968), pp. 7-82 . 4 For details on the problem of the Slovak-Rusyn border during the interwar period, see the comprehensive recent monograph by Ivan Vanat, Narysy novitn 'oi istorii ukrain· tsiv Skhidnoi Slovachchyny , Vol. I: 1918-1988 (Bratislava and Pre§ov, 1979), pp. 103135 and 272-287. 5 There is controversy over the extent to which Rusyn leaders in the Pre§ov Region supported the call for unification with the autonomous Subcarpathian Rue'. Ukrainian writers in Pre§ov today, in an attempt to show that Rusyns in 1938 were in opposition to Slovak political activity at the same time that they were anxious to express solidarity with their " Carpatho-Ukrainian" brethren just to the east, argue that contemporary Slovak police reports revealed that support for unity with Subcarpathian Rue ' was widespread. Cf. Stefan Pazur, ''O vyvoji narodnostnych pomerov na vychodnom Slovensku v jesennych mesiacoch roku 1938," Nove obzory, X (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 13-25. Indeed, this is true for the month of October and very early November. But I have read these same police reports (in the Statny Slovensky Ostredny Archiv - SSOA - in Bratislava), and they indicate by November a clear change in Pre§ov Region Rusyn public opinion against the idea of unity, because the "Ukrainian orientation is alien and in the end they (Pre§ov Region Rusyns) reject any kind of revision of borders in favor of Carpatho-Ukraine. " Prezidium Policajneho riaditel'stva v Pre§ove, January 11 , 1939 (SSOA , Fond Prezidium Krajinskeho uradu, carton 297, folder 310-1938). See · also carton 298, folder 62212-38. 6 These incidents are based on an unnamed eyewitness report and are given in Atanasii V. Pekar, Narysy istorii tserkvy Zakarpattia , Analecta OSBM, Series II, Sectio I (Rome , 1967) , pp. 144-146; and Julius Kubinyi, The History of PrjaJiv Eparchy, Editiones Universitatis Catholicae Ucrainorum S. Clementia Papae, Vol. XXXII (Rome, 1970) , pp . 161-163. 7 Andrej DudltA,Rustnskaotdzkaajej uzadie (Buenos Aires: Zahranii!na Matica slovenska, 1971) , p. 25. The Slovak denial of the existence of Rusyns in the Pre§ov Region was widespread already during the interwar period: ''These people (in northern Sari§ and Zemplin counties) are our Slovaks, who only because of the Greek Catholic faith inadvertently call themselves Rusnaks or of the Rusnak faith . But teachenJ infect them by saying that they are also of Rusyn nationality. This is ridiculous, but it is happening .... There are no Rusyns up there, nor Rusnaks, only Slovaks of the Greek Catholic faith. " Slovenska politika (Bratislava), September 2, 1928 - cited in Ivan Baji!ura, Ukrajinskaotdzka v CSSR (Ko§ice : Vychodoslovenske vyd. , 1967) , p. 44. The politically and emotionally charged questions of whether all Greek Catholics in eastern Slovakia are Rusyns or whether all or most are Slovaks has acquired an exten- 44 SLOVAKIA sive polemical and scholarly literature. Among the better works which present opposing views are: Volodymyr Hnatiuk, " Rusyny Priashivs'koi eparkhii i ikh hovory," Zapysky Nau.kouoho Touarystua im. Sheuchenka, XXXV (L'viv, 1900), pp. 1-25; and Ondrej R. Halaga, Slouanske osfdlenie potisia a uychodoslouenski greckokatolici (Ko§ice , 1947) . 8 For details on the policy of the Slovak autonomous government and later the Slovak state vis-a-vis the Pre§ov Region Rusyns, see Andrii Kovach, " Stanovyshche zakarpatis'kykh ukraintsiv (rusyniv) i zanepad pershoi ChSR," Nau.kouyi zbirnyk , VI, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Bratislava, and Pre§ov, 1972), esp. pp. 23-30 ; and his " Natsional'na polityka Slovats'koi Respubliky po vidnoshenniu do rusyniv-ukraintsiv (1939-1945 r.r.)," in Zhouten ' i ukrains'ka kul'tura (Pre§ov, 1968), pp. 132-143 . 9 Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century and continuing down to as recently as the early 1950s, most members of the Pre§ov Region Rusyn intelligentsia considered themselves part of one Russian nationality which lived from the Carpathian Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. 10 On cultural developments during the war years, see Andrii Kovach, ''Ukraintsi Priashivshchyny i deiaki pytannia kul 'turnoi polityky Slovats'koi Respubliky," Naukouyi zbirnyk, IV, pt. 1 (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1969), pp . 401-412; and his " Ukraintsi Skhidnoi Slovachchyny naperedodni slovats'koho narodnoho povstannia, " Z mynuloho i suchasnoho ukraintsiu Chekhoslouachchyny, Pedahohichnyi zbirnyk, No. 3 (Bratislava, 1973), pp . 196-215. 11 Cited in Edo Fri§ , My§lienka a tin: uuahy o Ceskoslouensku 1938-1948 (Bratislava, 1968) , p. 104. For details on the Rusyn underground and partisan movement, see the studies by Stepan Pazhur, Vasyl' Horkovych, Andrii Kovach, as well as several eyewitness recollections from the period contained in Shliakh do uoli , in Naukouyi zbirnyk , II (Svidnik, Pre§ov, and Bratislava, 1966) . 12 For a discussion of Slovak-Rusyn relations between 1945 and the mid-1960s, see Baj<'!ura , Ukrajinska. ota.zka u CSSR; on the worsening of those relations after the Dubrek era in 1968-69, see Pavel Maro, " National Assimilation: The Case of the RusynUkrainians of Czechoslovakia," East Central Europe, II, 2 (Pittsburgh, 1975), pp . 101132.  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 Rusyns and the Slovak State Description An account of the resource Paul R. Magocsi Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 39-44 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Magocsi, Paul Robert, 1945- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c2ccecd0d7d53397979426c363fe5b0e.pdf beeb45e1f1c66541021756a65dc22283 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 45 Music S~hools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of lnterwar Slovakia* OWEN V. JOHNSON One of the blankest pages in the history of Slovak education between the First and Second World Wars belongs to the area of music education. Although the Ministry of Education had supervisory control over these schools, it was not involved with day to day inspections and other such activities. Even now, no one is sure exactly how many music schools there were. This article will summarize present knowledge about them and attempt to evaluate their importance. One thing is certain: the Slovak people had no tradition of professional music schools and had no resources to begin establishing them after World War I. The authors of one of the few books or articles about the subject, after noting the meager research output, point out, " ... (M)usic education in Slovakia in the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic was fully in the hands of Czech music pedagogues."! Teachers in Slovakia wishing to obtain qualification to teach music in the middle schools had to pass a test in music and singing before the State Examination Commissions in Prague (established 1919) or Brno (established 1920) or at the conservatory in Prague. Examination commissions for singing were finally set up in Slovakia in 1935 at Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, and Presov, but music exams could only be taken at Bratislava.2 The most important music institution in Slovakia was located in Bratislava. It grew out of discussions held at Matica slovenska and at the General Assembly of the Union of Music Professionals (Jednota hudebnich stavov), which gathered in August 19193 in Zilina to consider a proposal (originally made in Moscow in 1915) by Milos Ruppeldt • Financial support from a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Grant and the James and Helen Hovorka Foundation assisted the preparation of this article. The research was also facilitated by my recognition by the International Research and Exchanges Board as a "Scholar-without-Stipend." �46 SLOVAKIA for the establishment of a ''Music School for Slovakia'' with the rank of a conservatory. By November, the school was a reality and Ruppeldt had become its first director. More than two-fifths of the first year's enrollment was Czech, one-quarter Slovak, one-fifth German, and oneseventh Hungarian (See Table 1).4 Although the state made a modest subvention to the school, Gustav Habrman, the Minister of Education at the time of its founding, decided it would be essentially a private institution. Its finances and legal obligations were handled by the curia of the Music Association (Hudobny spolok) for Slovakia, on which sat two government representatives, the composer Dobroslav Orel and Moravian high school principal Alojs Kolisek. In 1922, the school divided into two divisions: the conservatory, for persons planning professional careers; and a music school, for expected amateurs. The latter had instrumental, piano, and singing sections. We will return to it later. After a lengthy struggle (in which the public took little interest) and the establishment in 1924 of a drama section, the conservatory was changed in 1926 to a public institution, called the Music and Drama Academy for Slovakia. Two years later it gained conservatory rank, a recognition which boosted the school's standing across Slovakia. By 1931-32, the number of students from outside Bratislava had exceeded the number from within the city.5 Temporarily the school was financially secure, but the Depression restored its precarious state, partially because the populace could not afford to stay interested. Enrollment remained constant at just over 200 persons . Although in many ways a small operation, the Academy 's accomplishments are one of the most distinct in the post World War II era. Many of Slovakia's composers and concert artists of the quarter century after the war were graduates of the school. In spite of enormous efforts by the public and by school officials, however, the Academy remained largely a private institution during the First Republic, a condition which a number of Slovaks considered an affront since both the conservatories in Brno and Prague were operated by the state. 6 The female students at the Academy \Were concentrated in two of the three major sections - piano and singing, where they made up about eighty percent of the student body. The males were largely in the instrumental section. The other sections - organ, composition, and drama - each had only a handful of students. As long as Czech and Slovak were considered as separate categories (until 1926-27), the number of Czechs exceeded the number of Slovaks. Other aspects of interest concerning the composition of the student body were the relative absence of Hungarians and Germans in the singing division, the �Year : 149 2 25 1 3 21 6 133 2 25 1 6 27 12 8 7 2 7 1 1 8 22 7 5 6 22 21 135 3 23 2 U2 28 25 6 201 56.2 1931 -32 147 1 25 2 1 5 U3 37 2, 55 .7 210 1930-31 153 2 32 U9 42 27 5 53.-4 223 1929-30 1 7 1.48 4 23 2 8 18 5 156 2, 26 211 53.6 1932-33 1 7 18 7 19 3 5 1.40 1 153 21 23 3 201 -45.3 1933-3.4 1.40 3 22 2 6 17 6 7 150 15 . 26 198 "8 .5 193-4-35 153 20 32_ _., 1 1 1 2 210 "8.1 1935-36 Slovaks Czechs 1919-20 61 100 55 1924-25 34 56 63 1925-26 63 1926-27 53 Source : Official government publications. According to the yearly repcrts of the Academy, the following figures delineate the numbers of Czechs and Slovaks: None Orthodox Other Jewish Roman Catholic Czech Brethren Lutheran Reformed Czechoslovak 159 2 27 1 6 25 1 1 3 35 1 60 7 203 9 228 5"-8 1928-29 18 19 121 206 55 .3 1927-28 Ul 45 35 98 46 59 58 .0 207 1926-27 "° 301 47 .2 1921 -22 215 46.3 309 1920-21 German 61 Hungar ian 8 Jewish 25 Russian, Ruthen ian , Ukrainian Polish Other Religion Czechoslovak Nationality Total students Pct . women TABLE 1 Musical and Dramatic Academy- Bratislava . 0 1 0 2 28 156 30 46.5 217 1936-37 'I "' > > i\ < Vl r 0 �48 SLOVAKIA heavy concentration of Jewish students in the piano division, and the not infrequent attendance by students in their thirties and forties. Efforts to establish an institution for the study of creative arts which would operate on the same level as the Music and Drama Academy were unsuccessful. It is the city music schools in Slovakia about which very little is known. According to Gregor and Sedlicky, there were six in existence in 1921, and by the end of the First Republic's existence, "about" ten. The first was established in November 1919 at Zvolen as a three-year school, with a three-year preparatory attached. 7 There were also schools at Brezno, Bardejov, Kosice, Presov, Nitra, Zilina, and Martin (which had a branch in Vrutky).8 The Zilina school might be considered typical for all these schools. Established in 1927, it had three sections - for violin, piano, and solo singing. It was supported in part by tuition, and in part by a subvention from the city. 9 A new school in Bratislava assumed responsibility for the musical education of those who could not devote full time to such studies at the Academy, either because they were attending another secondary school or they already had jobs. Plans to establish a school at Nitra were first reported in the local press in November 1927, but it was not until two years later that a governing curatorium was set up by the city and teaching was begun. The Ministry of Education gave its official approval to the school a year later. Nitra 's first two teachers, who were graduates of the Bratislava Academy, began by offering piano, violin, and solo singing, then later added cello. In 1935, music theory and history, as well as composition, were added to the curriculum. In-house concerts were given during the year with a public concert at year's end serving as the graduation recital for students in their final year .10 In addition to functioning as centers of cultural enrichment, until 1928 the music schools could provide teacher candidates with an education adequate for passing the examination for competence in music instruction.11 After that date, they developed. their role as "feeders" for the Academy. \ The school at Presov was a more specia1 case, because a similar school had existed during the reign of the Hungarians. After the establishment of Czechoslovak control over the city in 1919, the composer Mikulas Moyzes was commissioned with the administration of the school. However, for two years his actions were hindered by the fact that the Szechenyi Circle, on which the school was organizationally dependent, was not allowed to operate because of its pro-Hungarian bias . In late 1919, Pavel Gallo, the school inspector for the Presov area, �SLOVAKIA 49 asked the Ministry of Edu ation under what conditions the school could obtain direct state aid: the archives are silent on the Ministry's response.12 In 1920, the Presov City Council, in an effort to breach the impasse , contacted the city of Zvolen to gain budget and organizational information about the school there. Meanwhile , the establishment of the Music School for Slovakia in Bratislava dealt the efforts in Presov a setback. Even though Presov was thinking more in terms of establishing a conservatory only for eastern Slovakia, the concept that Bratislava was serving the whole of Slovakia dampened such hopes. Some hope was still entertained in Presov that an arrangement in which Bratislava would serve the west, Zvolen the central territories, and Presov the east, could be arranged. But it did not materialize. Presov was also engaged in a rivalry with Kosice to the south over who had the greater right to establish a music school for eastern Slovakia. The far more Hungarian nature of the school in Kosice strengthened Presov' s argument for a Czechoslovak school. The contention that the Kosice school remained Hungarian is verified by the continued presence of a majority of Hungarians in the upper professional grades (IX-XIl), as Table 2 covering the period 1920-21-1935 shows: TABLE2 Kosice Music School: Nationality of Upper Division Students (1920-21-1935) Hungarians 6-4-2-2-2-2-9-8-9-10-9-9-16-13-12-8 Czechoslovaks 1 1-1-1- 2-.2-2- 5- 5- 6-6 Jews 1-1- 3- 3- 1-1 A declaration of 1924 said all teachers in Kosice were Hungarian.13 The classes were composed almost entirely of girls. In the latter years there was a significant portion of the student body which was Jewish (by religion). In the first years, most of the students hailed from the city, then for a period of six years, students from rural homes predominated, with a return to the original domination by the city in 1935-36.14 The first shift to rural dominance took place in 1928-29, which indicates these were students who had begun their training after the founding of the Republic and took advantage of the suddenly greater access to the city. The shift back again in 1935-36 would reflect the reduced flow from the countryside to the city which began in the mid-twenties. This pattern parallels the similar trend in the regular secondary schools.15 An article in Slovensky vychod, the only daily newspaper in eastern Slovakia, in November 1919 downplayed the national question in the Presov-Kosice controversy, stressing rather the centrality of Kosice and the need to make it a vital center. �50 SLOVAKIA " It's obvious to everyone that Kosice is and will be the center of Eastern Slovakia, and thus must be so equipped .... It must concentrate all offices and schools.'' 16 The partisans of Presov were proved somewhat correct in their assertions about the non-Czechoslovak strength of the city of Kosice since the cultural representatives of Kosice were unable to organize adequately to combat the Presov campaign. Eventually the Presov school solved its problem of state recognition when the City Council offered to detach the school from the Szechenyi Circle and attach it to the Local Branch of Matica slovenska (Miestny odbor Matice slovenskej MOMS) . According to an agreement of May 1921, the teaching language of the school was to be Slovak, although Hungarian could be used temporarily as an "assisting understanding language" for students who were attending the Hungarian classes at the local Lutheran gymnasium. The national importance of the school is clear from its new mission, which included: - the propagation of music culture in Slovakia - the education of Slovak youth in music in all its valuable and serious cultural-historical direction - the development of Slovak, or Slavic, vocal and instrumental music - the education of the Slovak music public in greater dimensions , and later the education of Slovak artists and specialists.17 · Teachers either had to be graduates of a state conservatory or to have passed the relevant exams before the State Examination Commission. Although Kosice had a more complete curriculum, the more pronounced Hungarian involvement remained . Presov offered five divisions: violin, piano, solo singing, theory, and composition. All qualified students had to be accepted, paying an average fee of 40 Kc per month. There was no age limitation. Temporary problems arose when a state inspection in 1925 recommended certain reforms. When these reforms were not instituted, the Ministry of Education temporarily suspended the school's subsidy. Things were turned around in Presov by the arrival of the capable Stanislav Treybal, who became the new Pri\lcipal of one of the city's gymnazium. By 1935-36, the school had qu~fied to give state exams for private (but not public) music teachers. It also opened two branches, one about 1936 in Bardejov, which gave instruction in piano and violin and which seems to have become independent in February 1939, and another in Sabinov, which seems to have lasted for two or three months. �SLOVAKIA 51 ' The school did not produce any great number of composers, soloists, or teachers, or at least it had less success in that regard than other schools in Slovakia. The most important fact concerning the school was its existence as a Slovak cultural center, attaining an importance in the period 1926-38 which has not since been equalled.18 Little scholarship aid was available to students in the music schools. After all, the music schools were a supplementary specialized form of education. The 229 students at Presov in 1936-37 shared only 4,550 Kc in fee reductions.19 This combination of factors - the lack of scholarships, the monthly tuition fees, and the requirement of at least modest talent made these music schools into institutions for the "better situated. "20 And like so much of the rest of the cultural history of interwar Slovakia, they were an investment in the future.* • The author would welcome comments and recollections on this subject from readers. NOTES 1 Vladimir Gregor & Tibor Sedlicky, Dejiny hudebn{ vychovy v teskych zemtch a na Slcvensku (Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1973), p. 162. 2 Jbid. , pp. 167-8. 3 Masaryk, Anton Stefanek, Karol Medvecky (Secretary of Slovak National Council) , and two other politicians, Milan Ivanka and Komel Stodola, had already indicated their support for the idea. Yearly report, Hudobna §kola pre Slovensko, 1919-20, p . 3. 4 Literamy archiv Matice slovenskej ('LAMS) 42 XIV 91, "Skoly hudobne," p. 1. 6 Jan Strelec, " Hudobna a dramaticka akademia pre Slovensko v Bratislava, " in A.S. 2itavsky, Pamatnik slcvenskeho Akolstva za u.tinkovania Prezidenta T. G. Masaryka (Bratislava: Vydvatel'stvo pamii.tnika slovenskeho §kolstva, 1936-7), Vol. I, p. 100. 6 Gregor & Sedlicky, Dejiny , p. 168. This also made study more expensive, shutting out those from lower social and economic levels. Strelec, "Hudobna, " p . 104. The 192627 school budget of 868,000 Kt included grants of 226,000 Kt from the state and 210,000 Kt from Bratislava County. The rest had to be raised privately or from governments of other counties or districts . This helps to explain the increasing number of students from outside Bratislava. Based on school's letter of 26 February 1927 in Podtatranska zupa 9043-1927 adm. If-Statny archiv (SA)-Bytta. 7 LAMS 42 XIV 91 , "Skoly hudobne," p . 4. 8 Adolf Cmiral, "Hudebni §koly v Ceskoslovenske Republice," Ceskoslcvenskci vlastiveda-Vol. 8-Umeni (Prague : Sfinx, 1936), p. 666 . The Zvolen school's existence is confirmed as early as November 1919. Zvolen zupa 72-1920 adm.-SA-Banska Bystrica. 9 Gregor & Sedlicky , Dejiny , p . 168. 10 Helena Stantekova & Richard Rybarit, " Z hudobneho iivota Nitry v minulosti a �52 SLOVAKIA sucasnosti ," in Alexander Csanda, ed ., Kapitoly z dejln Nitry (Bratislava: SPN, 1963) , p. 26. 11 Povazska zupa 9766-28-SA-Bytca. From this time on, seven semesters of conservatory attendance were required for credentialing. 12 The discussion is based on Maria Potemrova, '' Prispevok k dejinam hudobnej §koly v Pre§ove ," Nove obzory, Vol. 10 (1968) , pp. 119-43. 13 Odbo&a spravodajskej ustredne v Kosiciach. ZUS-66, SA-Ko§ice. 14 Yearly reports, Ko§ice Mestska hudobna skola, 1920-21-1935-36. 15 See Owen V. Johnson , "Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 19181938: Education and Its Impact," Unpublished Ph.D . dissertation , University of Michigan, 1978, pp. 251-7. 16 Slovensky vyckod, 18 November 1919, as quoted by Potemrova, " Prispevok, " p . 124. 17 Potemrova, " Prlspevok, " p. 127. 18 Ibid., p. 142. 19 Yearly report, Pre§ov Mestska hudobna §kola, 1936-37, p. 10. 20 Gustav Valkovit, '' Skolstvo v Nitre ,'' Sbomik pedagogickeho in§titutu v Nitre-Spolo~enske vedy 2 (1963), p. 28. � SLOVAKIA 45 Music S~hools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of lnterwar Slovakia* OWEN V. JOHNSON One of the blankest pages in the history of Slovak education between the First and Second World Wars belongs to the area of music education. Although the Ministry of Education had supervisory control over these schools, it was not involved with day to day inspections and other such activities. Even now, no one is sure exactly how many music schools there were. This article will summarize present knowledge about them and attempt to evaluate their importance. One thing is certain: the Slovak people had no tradition of professional music schools and had no resources to begin establishing them after World War I. The authors of one of the few books or articles about the subject, after noting the meager research output, point out, " ... (M)usic education in Slovakia in the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic was fully in the hands of Czech music pedagogues."! Teachers in Slovakia wishing to obtain qualification to teach music in the middle schools had to pass a test in music and singing before the State Examination Commissions in Prague (established 1919) or Brno (established 1920) or at the conservatory in Prague. Examination commissions for singing were finally set up in Slovakia in 1935 at Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, and Presov, but music exams could only be taken at Bratislava.2 The most important music institution in Slovakia was located in Bratislava. It grew out of discussions held at Matica slovenska and at the General Assembly of the Union of Music Professionals (Jednota hudebnich stavov), which gathered in August 19193 in Zilina to consider a proposal (originally made in Moscow in 1915) by Milos Ruppeldt • Financial support from a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Grant and the James and Helen Hovorka Foundation assisted the preparation of this article. The research was also facilitated by my recognition by the International Research and Exchanges Board as a "Scholar-without-Stipend." �46 SLOVAKIA for the establishment of a ''Music School for Slovakia'' with the rank of a conservatory. By November, the school was a reality and Ruppeldt had become its first director. More than two-fifths of the first year's enrollment was Czech, one-quarter Slovak, one-fifth German, and oneseventh Hungarian (See Table 1).4 Although the state made a modest subvention to the school, Gustav Habrman, the Minister of Education at the time of its founding, decided it would be essentially a private institution. Its finances and legal obligations were handled by the curia of the Music Association (Hudobny spolok) for Slovakia, on which sat two government representatives, the composer Dobroslav Orel and Moravian high school principal Alojs Kolisek. In 1922, the school divided into two divisions: the conservatory, for persons planning professional careers; and a music school, for expected amateurs. The latter had instrumental, piano, and singing sections. We will return to it later. After a lengthy struggle (in which the public took little interest) and the establishment in 1924 of a drama section, the conservatory was changed in 1926 to a public institution, called the Music and Drama Academy for Slovakia. Two years later it gained conservatory rank, a recognition which boosted the school's standing across Slovakia. By 1931-32, the number of students from outside Bratislava had exceeded the number from within the city.5 Temporarily the school was financially secure, but the Depression restored its precarious state, partially because the populace could not afford to stay interested. Enrollment remained constant at just over 200 persons . Although in many ways a small operation, the Academy 's accomplishments are one of the most distinct in the post World War II era. Many of Slovakia's composers and concert artists of the quarter century after the war were graduates of the school. In spite of enormous efforts by the public and by school officials, however, the Academy remained largely a private institution during the First Republic, a condition which a number of Slovaks considered an affront since both the conservatories in Brno and Prague were operated by the state. 6 The female students at the Academy \Were concentrated in two of the three major sections - piano and singing, where they made up about eighty percent of the student body. The males were largely in the instrumental section. The other sections - organ, composition, and drama - each had only a handful of students. As long as Czech and Slovak were considered as separate categories (until 1926-27), the number of Czechs exceeded the number of Slovaks. Other aspects of interest concerning the composition of the student body were the relative absence of Hungarians and Germans in the singing division, the �Year : 149 2 25 1 3 21 6 133 2 25 1 6 27 12 8 7 2 7 1 1 8 22 7 5 6 22 21 135 3 23 2 U2 28 25 6 201 56.2 1931 -32 147 1 25 2 1 5 U3 37 2, 55 .7 210 1930-31 153 2 32 U9 42 27 5 53.-4 223 1929-30 1 7 1.48 4 23 2 8 18 5 156 2, 26 211 53.6 1932-33 1 7 18 7 19 3 5 1.40 1 153 21 23 3 201 -45.3 1933-3.4 1.40 3 22 2 6 17 6 7 150 15 . 26 198 "8 .5 193-4-35 153 20 32_ _., 1 1 1 2 210 "8.1 1935-36 Slovaks Czechs 1919-20 61 100 55 1924-25 34 56 63 1925-26 63 1926-27 53 Source : Official government publications. According to the yearly repcrts of the Academy, the following figures delineate the numbers of Czechs and Slovaks: None Orthodox Other Jewish Roman Catholic Czech Brethren Lutheran Reformed Czechoslovak 159 2 27 1 6 25 1 1 3 35 1 60 7 203 9 228 5"-8 1928-29 18 19 121 206 55 .3 1927-28 Ul 45 35 98 46 59 58 .0 207 1926-27 "° 301 47 .2 1921 -22 215 46.3 309 1920-21 German 61 Hungar ian 8 Jewish 25 Russian, Ruthen ian , Ukrainian Polish Other Religion Czechoslovak Nationality Total students Pct . women TABLE 1 Musical and Dramatic Academy- Bratislava . 0 1 0 2 28 156 30 46.5 217 1936-37 'I "' > > i\ < Vl r 0 �48 SLOVAKIA heavy concentration of Jewish students in the piano division, and the not infrequent attendance by students in their thirties and forties. Efforts to establish an institution for the study of creative arts which would operate on the same level as the Music and Drama Academy were unsuccessful. It is the city music schools in Slovakia about which very little is known. According to Gregor and Sedlicky, there were six in existence in 1921, and by the end of the First Republic's existence, "about" ten. The first was established in November 1919 at Zvolen as a three-year school, with a three-year preparatory attached. 7 There were also schools at Brezno, Bardejov, Kosice, Presov, Nitra, Zilina, and Martin (which had a branch in Vrutky).8 The Zilina school might be considered typical for all these schools. Established in 1927, it had three sections - for violin, piano, and solo singing. It was supported in part by tuition, and in part by a subvention from the city. 9 A new school in Bratislava assumed responsibility for the musical education of those who could not devote full time to such studies at the Academy, either because they were attending another secondary school or they already had jobs. Plans to establish a school at Nitra were first reported in the local press in November 1927, but it was not until two years later that a governing curatorium was set up by the city and teaching was begun. The Ministry of Education gave its official approval to the school a year later. Nitra 's first two teachers, who were graduates of the Bratislava Academy, began by offering piano, violin, and solo singing, then later added cello. In 1935, music theory and history, as well as composition, were added to the curriculum. In-house concerts were given during the year with a public concert at year's end serving as the graduation recital for students in their final year .10 In addition to functioning as centers of cultural enrichment, until 1928 the music schools could provide teacher candidates with an education adequate for passing the examination for competence in music instruction.11 After that date, they developed. their role as "feeders" for the Academy. \ The school at Presov was a more specia1 case, because a similar school had existed during the reign of the Hungarians. After the establishment of Czechoslovak control over the city in 1919, the composer Mikulas Moyzes was commissioned with the administration of the school. However, for two years his actions were hindered by the fact that the Szechenyi Circle, on which the school was organizationally dependent, was not allowed to operate because of its pro-Hungarian bias . In late 1919, Pavel Gallo, the school inspector for the Presov area, �SLOVAKIA 49 asked the Ministry of Edu ation under what conditions the school could obtain direct state aid: the archives are silent on the Ministry's response.12 In 1920, the Presov City Council, in an effort to breach the impasse , contacted the city of Zvolen to gain budget and organizational information about the school there. Meanwhile , the establishment of the Music School for Slovakia in Bratislava dealt the efforts in Presov a setback. Even though Presov was thinking more in terms of establishing a conservatory only for eastern Slovakia, the concept that Bratislava was serving the whole of Slovakia dampened such hopes. Some hope was still entertained in Presov that an arrangement in which Bratislava would serve the west, Zvolen the central territories, and Presov the east, could be arranged. But it did not materialize. Presov was also engaged in a rivalry with Kosice to the south over who had the greater right to establish a music school for eastern Slovakia. The far more Hungarian nature of the school in Kosice strengthened Presov' s argument for a Czechoslovak school. The contention that the Kosice school remained Hungarian is verified by the continued presence of a majority of Hungarians in the upper professional grades (IX-XIl), as Table 2 covering the period 1920-21-1935 shows: TABLE2 Kosice Music School: Nationality of Upper Division Students (1920-21-1935) Hungarians 6-4-2-2-2-2-9-8-9-10-9-9-16-13-12-8 Czechoslovaks 1 1-1-1- 2-.2-2- 5- 5- 6-6 Jews 1-1- 3- 3- 1-1 A declaration of 1924 said all teachers in Kosice were Hungarian.13 The classes were composed almost entirely of girls. In the latter years there was a significant portion of the student body which was Jewish (by religion). In the first years, most of the students hailed from the city, then for a period of six years, students from rural homes predominated, with a return to the original domination by the city in 1935-36.14 The first shift to rural dominance took place in 1928-29, which indicates these were students who had begun their training after the founding of the Republic and took advantage of the suddenly greater access to the city. The shift back again in 1935-36 would reflect the reduced flow from the countryside to the city which began in the mid-twenties. This pattern parallels the similar trend in the regular secondary schools.15 An article in Slovensky vychod, the only daily newspaper in eastern Slovakia, in November 1919 downplayed the national question in the Presov-Kosice controversy, stressing rather the centrality of Kosice and the need to make it a vital center. �50 SLOVAKIA " It's obvious to everyone that Kosice is and will be the center of Eastern Slovakia, and thus must be so equipped .... It must concentrate all offices and schools.'' 16 The partisans of Presov were proved somewhat correct in their assertions about the non-Czechoslovak strength of the city of Kosice since the cultural representatives of Kosice were unable to organize adequately to combat the Presov campaign. Eventually the Presov school solved its problem of state recognition when the City Council offered to detach the school from the Szechenyi Circle and attach it to the Local Branch of Matica slovenska (Miestny odbor Matice slovenskej MOMS) . According to an agreement of May 1921, the teaching language of the school was to be Slovak, although Hungarian could be used temporarily as an "assisting understanding language" for students who were attending the Hungarian classes at the local Lutheran gymnasium. The national importance of the school is clear from its new mission, which included: - the propagation of music culture in Slovakia - the education of Slovak youth in music in all its valuable and serious cultural-historical direction - the development of Slovak, or Slavic, vocal and instrumental music - the education of the Slovak music public in greater dimensions , and later the education of Slovak artists and specialists.17 · Teachers either had to be graduates of a state conservatory or to have passed the relevant exams before the State Examination Commission. Although Kosice had a more complete curriculum, the more pronounced Hungarian involvement remained . Presov offered five divisions: violin, piano, solo singing, theory, and composition. All qualified students had to be accepted, paying an average fee of 40 Kc per month. There was no age limitation. Temporary problems arose when a state inspection in 1925 recommended certain reforms. When these reforms were not instituted, the Ministry of Education temporarily suspended the school's subsidy. Things were turned around in Presov by the arrival of the capable Stanislav Treybal, who became the new Pri\lcipal of one of the city's gymnazium. By 1935-36, the school had qu~fied to give state exams for private (but not public) music teachers. It also opened two branches, one about 1936 in Bardejov, which gave instruction in piano and violin and which seems to have become independent in February 1939, and another in Sabinov, which seems to have lasted for two or three months. �SLOVAKIA 51 ' The school did not produce any great number of composers, soloists, or teachers, or at least it had less success in that regard than other schools in Slovakia. The most important fact concerning the school was its existence as a Slovak cultural center, attaining an importance in the period 1926-38 which has not since been equalled.18 Little scholarship aid was available to students in the music schools. After all, the music schools were a supplementary specialized form of education. The 229 students at Presov in 1936-37 shared only 4,550 Kc in fee reductions.19 This combination of factors - the lack of scholarships, the monthly tuition fees, and the requirement of at least modest talent made these music schools into institutions for the "better situated. "20 And like so much of the rest of the cultural history of interwar Slovakia, they were an investment in the future.* • The author would welcome comments and recollections on this subject from readers. NOTES 1 Vladimir Gregor & Tibor Sedlicky, Dejiny hudebn{ vychovy v teskych zemtch a na Slcvensku (Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1973), p. 162. 2 Jbid. , pp. 167-8. 3 Masaryk, Anton Stefanek, Karol Medvecky (Secretary of Slovak National Council) , and two other politicians, Milan Ivanka and Komel Stodola, had already indicated their support for the idea. Yearly report, Hudobna §kola pre Slovensko, 1919-20, p . 3. 4 Literamy archiv Matice slovenskej ('LAMS) 42 XIV 91, "Skoly hudobne," p. 1. 6 Jan Strelec, " Hudobna a dramaticka akademia pre Slovensko v Bratislava, " in A.S. 2itavsky, Pamatnik slcvenskeho Akolstva za u.tinkovania Prezidenta T. G. Masaryka (Bratislava: Vydvatel'stvo pamii.tnika slovenskeho §kolstva, 1936-7), Vol. I, p. 100. 6 Gregor & Sedlicky, Dejiny , p. 168. This also made study more expensive, shutting out those from lower social and economic levels. Strelec, "Hudobna, " p . 104. The 192627 school budget of 868,000 Kt included grants of 226,000 Kt from the state and 210,000 Kt from Bratislava County. The rest had to be raised privately or from governments of other counties or districts . This helps to explain the increasing number of students from outside Bratislava. Based on school's letter of 26 February 1927 in Podtatranska zupa 9043-1927 adm. If-Statny archiv (SA)-Bytta. 7 LAMS 42 XIV 91 , "Skoly hudobne," p . 4. 8 Adolf Cmiral, "Hudebni §koly v Ceskoslovenske Republice," Ceskoslcvenskci vlastiveda-Vol. 8-Umeni (Prague : Sfinx, 1936), p. 666 . The Zvolen school's existence is confirmed as early as November 1919. Zvolen zupa 72-1920 adm.-SA-Banska Bystrica. 9 Gregor & Sedlicky , Dejiny , p . 168. 10 Helena Stantekova & Richard Rybarit, " Z hudobneho iivota Nitry v minulosti a �52 SLOVAKIA sucasnosti ," in Alexander Csanda, ed ., Kapitoly z dejln Nitry (Bratislava: SPN, 1963) , p. 26. 11 Povazska zupa 9766-28-SA-Bytca. From this time on, seven semesters of conservatory attendance were required for credentialing. 12 The discussion is based on Maria Potemrova, '' Prispevok k dejinam hudobnej §koly v Pre§ove ," Nove obzory, Vol. 10 (1968) , pp. 119-43. 13 Odbo&a spravodajskej ustredne v Kosiciach. ZUS-66, SA-Ko§ice. 14 Yearly reports, Ko§ice Mestska hudobna skola, 1920-21-1935-36. 15 See Owen V. Johnson , "Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 19181938: Education and Its Impact," Unpublished Ph.D . dissertation , University of Michigan, 1978, pp. 251-7. 16 Slovensky vyckod, 18 November 1919, as quoted by Potemrova, " Prispevok, " p . 124. 17 Potemrova, " Prlspevok, " p. 127. 18 Ibid., p. 142. 19 Yearly report, Pre§ov Mestska hudobna §kola, 1936-37, p. 10. 20 Gustav Valkovit, '' Skolstvo v Nitre ,'' Sbomik pedagogickeho in§titutu v Nitre-Spolo~enske vedy 2 (1963), p. 28. � 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 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 45 Music S~hools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of lnterwar Slovakia* OWEN V. JOHNSON One of the blankest pages in the history of Slovak education between the First and Second World Wars belongs to the area of music education. Although the Ministry of Education had supervisory control over these schools, it was not involved with day to day inspections and other such activities. Even now, no one is sure exactly how many music schools there were. This article will summarize present knowledge about them and attempt to evaluate their importance. One thing is certain: the Slovak people had no tradition of professional music schools and had no resources to begin establishing them after World War I. The authors of one of the few books or articles about the subject, after noting the meager research output, point out, " ... (M)usic education in Slovakia in the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic was fully in the hands of Czech music pedagogues."! Teachers in Slovakia wishing to obtain qualification to teach music in the middle schools had to pass a test in music and singing before the State Examination Commissions in Prague (established 1919) or Brno (established 1920) or at the conservatory in Prague. Examination commissions for singing were finally set up in Slovakia in 1935 at Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, and Presov, but music exams could only be taken at Bratislava.2 The most important music institution in Slovakia was located in Bratislava. It grew out of discussions held at Matica slovenska and at the General Assembly of the Union of Music Professionals (Jednota hudebnich stavov), which gathered in August 19193 in Zilina to consider a proposal (originally made in Moscow in 1915) by Milos Ruppeldt • Financial support from a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Grant and the James and Helen Hovorka Foundation assisted the preparation of this article. The research was also facilitated by my recognition by the International Research and Exchanges Board as a "Scholar-without-Stipend." 46 SLOVAKIA for the establishment of a ''Music School for Slovakia'' with the rank of a conservatory. By November, the school was a reality and Ruppeldt had become its first director. More than two-fifths of the first year's enrollment was Czech, one-quarter Slovak, one-fifth German, and oneseventh Hungarian (See Table 1).4 Although the state made a modest subvention to the school, Gustav Habrman, the Minister of Education at the time of its founding, decided it would be essentially a private institution. Its finances and legal obligations were handled by the curia of the Music Association (Hudobny spolok) for Slovakia, on which sat two government representatives, the composer Dobroslav Orel and Moravian high school principal Alojs Kolisek. In 1922, the school divided into two divisions: the conservatory, for persons planning professional careers; and a music school, for expected amateurs. The latter had instrumental, piano, and singing sections. We will return to it later. After a lengthy struggle (in which the public took little interest) and the establishment in 1924 of a drama section, the conservatory was changed in 1926 to a public institution, called the Music and Drama Academy for Slovakia. Two years later it gained conservatory rank, a recognition which boosted the school's standing across Slovakia. By 1931-32, the number of students from outside Bratislava had exceeded the number from within the city.5 Temporarily the school was financially secure, but the Depression restored its precarious state, partially because the populace could not afford to stay interested. Enrollment remained constant at just over 200 persons . Although in many ways a small operation, the Academy 's accomplishments are one of the most distinct in the post World War II era. Many of Slovakia's composers and concert artists of the quarter century after the war were graduates of the school. In spite of enormous efforts by the public and by school officials, however, the Academy remained largely a private institution during the First Republic, a condition which a number of Slovaks considered an affront since both the conservatories in Brno and Prague were operated by the state. 6 The female students at the Academy \Were concentrated in two of the three major sections - piano and singing, where they made up about eighty percent of the student body. The males were largely in the instrumental section. The other sections - organ, composition, and drama - each had only a handful of students. As long as Czech and Slovak were considered as separate categories (until 1926-27), the number of Czechs exceeded the number of Slovaks. Other aspects of interest concerning the composition of the student body were the relative absence of Hungarians and Germans in the singing division, the Year : 149 2 25 1 3 21 6 133 2 25 1 6 27 12 8 7 2 7 1 1 8 22 7 5 6 22 21 135 3 23 2 U2 28 25 6 201 56.2 1931 -32 147 1 25 2 1 5 U3 37 2, 55 .7 210 1930-31 153 2 32 U9 42 27 5 53.-4 223 1929-30 1 7 1.48 4 23 2 8 18 5 156 2, 26 211 53.6 1932-33 1 7 18 7 19 3 5 1.40 1 153 21 23 3 201 -45.3 1933-3.4 1.40 3 22 2 6 17 6 7 150 15 . 26 198 "8 .5 193-4-35 153 20 32_ _., 1 1 1 2 210 "8.1 1935-36 Slovaks Czechs 1919-20 61 100 55 1924-25 34 56 63 1925-26 63 1926-27 53 Source : Official government publications. According to the yearly repcrts of the Academy, the following figures delineate the numbers of Czechs and Slovaks: None Orthodox Other Jewish Roman Catholic Czech Brethren Lutheran Reformed Czechoslovak 159 2 27 1 6 25 1 1 3 35 1 60 7 203 9 228 5"-8 1928-29 18 19 121 206 55 .3 1927-28 Ul 45 35 98 46 59 58 .0 207 1926-27 "° 301 47 .2 1921 -22 215 46.3 309 1920-21 German 61 Hungar ian 8 Jewish 25 Russian, Ruthen ian , Ukrainian Polish Other Religion Czechoslovak Nationality Total students Pct . women TABLE 1 Musical and Dramatic Academy- Bratislava . 0 1 0 2 28 156 30 46.5 217 1936-37 'I "' > > i\ < Vl r 0 48 SLOVAKIA heavy concentration of Jewish students in the piano division, and the not infrequent attendance by students in their thirties and forties. Efforts to establish an institution for the study of creative arts which would operate on the same level as the Music and Drama Academy were unsuccessful. It is the city music schools in Slovakia about which very little is known. According to Gregor and Sedlicky, there were six in existence in 1921, and by the end of the First Republic's existence, "about" ten. The first was established in November 1919 at Zvolen as a three-year school, with a three-year preparatory attached. 7 There were also schools at Brezno, Bardejov, Kosice, Presov, Nitra, Zilina, and Martin (which had a branch in Vrutky).8 The Zilina school might be considered typical for all these schools. Established in 1927, it had three sections - for violin, piano, and solo singing. It was supported in part by tuition, and in part by a subvention from the city. 9 A new school in Bratislava assumed responsibility for the musical education of those who could not devote full time to such studies at the Academy, either because they were attending another secondary school or they already had jobs. Plans to establish a school at Nitra were first reported in the local press in November 1927, but it was not until two years later that a governing curatorium was set up by the city and teaching was begun. The Ministry of Education gave its official approval to the school a year later. Nitra 's first two teachers, who were graduates of the Bratislava Academy, began by offering piano, violin, and solo singing, then later added cello. In 1935, music theory and history, as well as composition, were added to the curriculum. In-house concerts were given during the year with a public concert at year's end serving as the graduation recital for students in their final year .10 In addition to functioning as centers of cultural enrichment, until 1928 the music schools could provide teacher candidates with an education adequate for passing the examination for competence in music instruction.11 After that date, they developed. their role as "feeders" for the Academy. \ The school at Presov was a more specia1 case, because a similar school had existed during the reign of the Hungarians. After the establishment of Czechoslovak control over the city in 1919, the composer Mikulas Moyzes was commissioned with the administration of the school. However, for two years his actions were hindered by the fact that the Szechenyi Circle, on which the school was organizationally dependent, was not allowed to operate because of its pro-Hungarian bias . In late 1919, Pavel Gallo, the school inspector for the Presov area, SLOVAKIA 49 asked the Ministry of Edu ation under what conditions the school could obtain direct state aid: the archives are silent on the Ministry's response.12 In 1920, the Presov City Council, in an effort to breach the impasse , contacted the city of Zvolen to gain budget and organizational information about the school there. Meanwhile , the establishment of the Music School for Slovakia in Bratislava dealt the efforts in Presov a setback. Even though Presov was thinking more in terms of establishing a conservatory only for eastern Slovakia, the concept that Bratislava was serving the whole of Slovakia dampened such hopes. Some hope was still entertained in Presov that an arrangement in which Bratislava would serve the west, Zvolen the central territories, and Presov the east, could be arranged. But it did not materialize. Presov was also engaged in a rivalry with Kosice to the south over who had the greater right to establish a music school for eastern Slovakia. The far more Hungarian nature of the school in Kosice strengthened Presov' s argument for a Czechoslovak school. The contention that the Kosice school remained Hungarian is verified by the continued presence of a majority of Hungarians in the upper professional grades (IX-XIl), as Table 2 covering the period 1920-21-1935 shows: TABLE2 Kosice Music School: Nationality of Upper Division Students (1920-21-1935) Hungarians 6-4-2-2-2-2-9-8-9-10-9-9-16-13-12-8 Czechoslovaks 1 1-1-1- 2-.2-2- 5- 5- 6-6 Jews 1-1- 3- 3- 1-1 A declaration of 1924 said all teachers in Kosice were Hungarian.13 The classes were composed almost entirely of girls. In the latter years there was a significant portion of the student body which was Jewish (by religion). In the first years, most of the students hailed from the city, then for a period of six years, students from rural homes predominated, with a return to the original domination by the city in 1935-36.14 The first shift to rural dominance took place in 1928-29, which indicates these were students who had begun their training after the founding of the Republic and took advantage of the suddenly greater access to the city. The shift back again in 1935-36 would reflect the reduced flow from the countryside to the city which began in the mid-twenties. This pattern parallels the similar trend in the regular secondary schools.15 An article in Slovensky vychod, the only daily newspaper in eastern Slovakia, in November 1919 downplayed the national question in the Presov-Kosice controversy, stressing rather the centrality of Kosice and the need to make it a vital center. 50 SLOVAKIA " It's obvious to everyone that Kosice is and will be the center of Eastern Slovakia, and thus must be so equipped .... It must concentrate all offices and schools.'' 16 The partisans of Presov were proved somewhat correct in their assertions about the non-Czechoslovak strength of the city of Kosice since the cultural representatives of Kosice were unable to organize adequately to combat the Presov campaign. Eventually the Presov school solved its problem of state recognition when the City Council offered to detach the school from the Szechenyi Circle and attach it to the Local Branch of Matica slovenska (Miestny odbor Matice slovenskej MOMS) . According to an agreement of May 1921, the teaching language of the school was to be Slovak, although Hungarian could be used temporarily as an "assisting understanding language" for students who were attending the Hungarian classes at the local Lutheran gymnasium. The national importance of the school is clear from its new mission, which included: - the propagation of music culture in Slovakia - the education of Slovak youth in music in all its valuable and serious cultural-historical direction - the development of Slovak, or Slavic, vocal and instrumental music - the education of the Slovak music public in greater dimensions , and later the education of Slovak artists and specialists.17 · Teachers either had to be graduates of a state conservatory or to have passed the relevant exams before the State Examination Commission. Although Kosice had a more complete curriculum, the more pronounced Hungarian involvement remained . Presov offered five divisions: violin, piano, solo singing, theory, and composition. All qualified students had to be accepted, paying an average fee of 40 Kc per month. There was no age limitation. Temporary problems arose when a state inspection in 1925 recommended certain reforms. When these reforms were not instituted, the Ministry of Education temporarily suspended the school's subsidy. Things were turned around in Presov by the arrival of the capable Stanislav Treybal, who became the new Pri\lcipal of one of the city's gymnazium. By 1935-36, the school had qu~fied to give state exams for private (but not public) music teachers. It also opened two branches, one about 1936 in Bardejov, which gave instruction in piano and violin and which seems to have become independent in February 1939, and another in Sabinov, which seems to have lasted for two or three months. SLOVAKIA 51 ' The school did not produce any great number of composers, soloists, or teachers, or at least it had less success in that regard than other schools in Slovakia. The most important fact concerning the school was its existence as a Slovak cultural center, attaining an importance in the period 1926-38 which has not since been equalled.18 Little scholarship aid was available to students in the music schools. After all, the music schools were a supplementary specialized form of education. The 229 students at Presov in 1936-37 shared only 4,550 Kc in fee reductions.19 This combination of factors - the lack of scholarships, the monthly tuition fees, and the requirement of at least modest talent made these music schools into institutions for the "better situated. "20 And like so much of the rest of the cultural history of interwar Slovakia, they were an investment in the future.* • The author would welcome comments and recollections on this subject from readers. NOTES 1 Vladimir Gregor & Tibor Sedlicky, Dejiny hudebn{ vychovy v teskych zemtch a na Slcvensku (Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1973), p. 162. 2 Jbid. , pp. 167-8. 3 Masaryk, Anton Stefanek, Karol Medvecky (Secretary of Slovak National Council) , and two other politicians, Milan Ivanka and Komel Stodola, had already indicated their support for the idea. Yearly report, Hudobna §kola pre Slovensko, 1919-20, p . 3. 4 Literamy archiv Matice slovenskej ('LAMS) 42 XIV 91, "Skoly hudobne," p. 1. 6 Jan Strelec, " Hudobna a dramaticka akademia pre Slovensko v Bratislava, " in A.S. 2itavsky, Pamatnik slcvenskeho Akolstva za u.tinkovania Prezidenta T. G. Masaryka (Bratislava: Vydvatel'stvo pamii.tnika slovenskeho §kolstva, 1936-7), Vol. I, p. 100. 6 Gregor & Sedlicky, Dejiny , p. 168. This also made study more expensive, shutting out those from lower social and economic levels. Strelec, "Hudobna, " p . 104. The 192627 school budget of 868,000 Kt included grants of 226,000 Kt from the state and 210,000 Kt from Bratislava County. The rest had to be raised privately or from governments of other counties or districts . This helps to explain the increasing number of students from outside Bratislava. Based on school's letter of 26 February 1927 in Podtatranska zupa 9043-1927 adm. If-Statny archiv (SA)-Bytta. 7 LAMS 42 XIV 91 , "Skoly hudobne," p . 4. 8 Adolf Cmiral, "Hudebni §koly v Ceskoslovenske Republice," Ceskoslcvenskci vlastiveda-Vol. 8-Umeni (Prague : Sfinx, 1936), p. 666 . The Zvolen school's existence is confirmed as early as November 1919. Zvolen zupa 72-1920 adm.-SA-Banska Bystrica. 9 Gregor & Sedlicky , Dejiny , p . 168. 10 Helena Stantekova & Richard Rybarit, " Z hudobneho iivota Nitry v minulosti a 52 SLOVAKIA sucasnosti ," in Alexander Csanda, ed ., Kapitoly z dejln Nitry (Bratislava: SPN, 1963) , p. 26. 11 Povazska zupa 9766-28-SA-Bytca. From this time on, seven semesters of conservatory attendance were required for credentialing. 12 The discussion is based on Maria Potemrova, '' Prispevok k dejinam hudobnej §koly v Pre§ove ," Nove obzory, Vol. 10 (1968) , pp. 119-43. 13 Odbo&a spravodajskej ustredne v Kosiciach. ZUS-66, SA-Ko§ice. 14 Yearly reports, Ko§ice Mestska hudobna skola, 1920-21-1935-36. 15 See Owen V. Johnson , "Sociocultural and National Development in Slovakia, 19181938: Education and Its Impact," Unpublished Ph.D . dissertation , University of Michigan, 1978, pp. 251-7. 16 Slovensky vyckod, 18 November 1919, as quoted by Potemrova, " Prispevok, " p . 124. 17 Potemrova, " Prlspevok, " p. 127. 18 Ibid., p. 142. 19 Yearly report, Pre§ov Mestska hudobna §kola, 1936-37, p. 10. 20 Gustav Valkovit, '' Skolstvo v Nitre ,'' Sbomik pedagogickeho in§titutu v Nitre-Spolo~enske vedy 2 (1963), p. 28.  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 Music Schools: A Chapter in the Cultural History of Interwar Slovakia Description An account of the resource Owen V. Johnson Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 45-52 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Johnson, Owen V. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cce40f336fa5744281963e827ceff3c1.pdf 9741a26422942b4466966d650bd97947 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 53 An Ethnohistqry of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions HOW ARD F. STEIN INTRODUCTION: ETHNICITY, INSTITUTIONS AND THE STUDY OF MEANING The study of ethnicity is necessarily a study of systems of meaning and how that meaning is communicated. Ethnicity is far more than a matter of social mobility, group competition for scarce resources, acculturation, and the like. This paper focuses on what might be called the "life histories" of Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations as institutionalized expressors of a century of changing groupidentity and those meanings that represent the underlying group-identity. Special emphasis is placed on identifying precisely what about ethnic identity is communicated by these institutions. The central argument is that Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations perform important psychosocial functions - not merely social structural ones. Indeed, I propose that the former determines and sustains, and explains, the revitalization or atrophy of the latter. Another way of putting it is that the ''expressive'' dimension of ethnicity is inherent in the "instrumental" roles performed by fraternal and religious organizations. The world of the symbolic is never separated from the world of the practical. The term "ethnic fraternal" is used here in the sense of mutual benefit, self-help, voluntary associations (see Anderson 1971) that trace to diverse mid-nineteenth century immigrant populations to the U.S. However, the meaning of ethnic fraternalism should not be ac• A paper presented as part of a panel on ''Ethnicity as Communication in Southeastern Europe: A Comparative Approach,'' at the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. �54 SLOVAKIA cepted as self-evident, since ethnic voluntary associations, like the religious institutions which they founded, have undergone considerable change of function, and indeed have served multiple, often contradictory functions. In both instances it will be necessary to specify the meaning of persistance and change alike. Elsewhere I have addressed issues of Slovak-American cultural continuity and change in identity at the levels of personality structure, family dynamics, child-rearing patterns, kinship structure, projective system, health and illness attitudes, psychopathology, and ethos (Stein _1973, 1974, 1975,_1976, 1978a; _Stein and Hill 197~, _19~_). No attempt~ here made at a comprehensive history of Slovaks in Europe or the United States. The reader is referred to two groups of works on Slovaks and Slovak-Americans. One genre can be regarded as "official histories," and includes works by Yurchak (1946), Kirschbaum (1960), O~do (1960), Zatko (1966), and Krajsa (1978); and the journals Slovak Studies and Slovakia. The second group consists of disparate studies whose common denominator is the absence of adherence to any prevailing ideology. Representatives of this genre include Balch (1910); Macartney (1937); Kerner (1940); Bue (1957); Roucek (1932-33, 1933-34, 1937); Stolarik (1974); Barton (1975); and Stein (1972). The sources in the first group reflect a particular point of view, namely, the alliance of Slovak Roman Catholicism with political nationalism (i.e., the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Slovak League of America). This also reminds us that traditionally among the majority of Slovaks, ethnicity and religion were fused. Slovak Studies is the publication of the Slovak Institute, Rome, and Slovakia has long been the official publication of the Slovak League. One could legitimately see the Slovak Republic as an expansion onto the level of the state of what had long been a fact at the local level: namely, the political importance of the clergy. Many past and present Slovak League leaders, scholars, and political activists on behalf of Slovak national autonomy in Europe are former leaders and intelligentsia of the short-lived Slovak Republic (1939-1945). That their genre of historiography would be ethno-national apologia is to be expected. However, the visibility of the Slovak League on the American scene in official American political circles has more to do with their anti-communism and their courtship by American political leaders than with cultural, political, or demographic fa~s intrinsic to the League. This highlights the oft neglected fact that American sociopolitical factors often heighten ethnicity, even help preserve it - through a not particularly laudable duplicitous manipulation of loyalties and fears. Among Slovak-Americans, as among all peoples, official histories �SLOVAKIA 55 are those sacred myths of the past held and recorded by the putative leadership. Throughout this essay, I shall emphasize whose perspective on the past is being stated as I discuss those institutions that have been deeply concerned v,:ith the cultural sense of time. This leads to a final word of warning: jus\ as ''culture'' is inseparable from the people who constitute it, likewise for social "institutions." An "institution" is only a conventional shorthand. What this paper is about is the history of group consensus and conflict, continuity and change. The very inclusion of this essay in Slovakia attests to changes not only in ''editorial policy" or editorship, but to a more pervasive change in Slovak ethnicity itself in which there is greater openness to self-scrutiny. It is less necessary, shall I say, to toe a "party line." Neither Slovakia, nor Slovak ethnicity, is static. The focus of this paper is on large-scale social institutions as vehicles of continuity and change in meaning systems. Among SlovakAmericans, religious and fraternal organizations have served for nearly a century as articulators of cultural meaning, first reflecting the relatively uniform cultural system brought from Slovakia, later becoming increasingly removed from the very real pluralism of the Slovak-American population for whom they claim to speak. Both ethnographic research in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania (conducted intensively 1970-1972, and intermittently through the present) and documentary study have provided both an understanding of the dynamics within local churches and fraternal society lodges, and a picture of Slovak-American religion and voluntary association on the national scale. Ethnographic study in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania, especially the mill-cities of McKeesport and Duquesne, include participant obsevation at, and interviews with members of, the following religious and fraternal groups: parishes of Slovak Roman Catholic Latin Rite, Slovak and Ruthenian Roman Catholic Byzantine Rite, Slovak Independent Catholic Rite, Slovak Lutheran Rite; the First Catholic Slovak Union, Zivena, the Slovak League, Slovak Catholic Sokol, Sokol USA, National Slovak Society, Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Evangelical Union. I obtained valuable ethnographic and demographic data from interviews and documentary sources at the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, and with officers of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Zion Synod-Lutheran Church of America. A careful study of old and recent fraternal newspapers and annual Kalendars, often stored not in official archives but in cabinets and basements, permitted comparison of ethnohistory recon- �56 SLOVAKIA structed from informants' current memory and self-presentation, with cultural meanings preserved in print.* Finally, actuarial data provided by the national offices of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and United Societies of USA permitted a comparison to be made between a necessarily selected sample in which values, attitudes, expectations, criteria and policies of admission and exclusion, and the like were expressed; and statistics of actual participation in or withdrawal from fraternal associations based on trends in membership as reflected in the purchasing and cashing-in of life insurance policies. Ethnographic research both at the local and supra-level simultaneously complemented, explained, and tested the data obtained from tables of parish and fraternal society membership. The reader is referred to the following Tables 1-4 which identify both on the national level and in the region of ethnographic study the major Slovak-American religious and fraternal institutions. ETHNOGRAPHIC BASE LINE The Slovak-American institutions discussed here stem from the migration of over some half-million Slovak peasants and landless peasants from 1880 until the mid-1920's (Zatko 1966: 45), that is, from the period of the Magyar development of a monetary, technologized, labor intensive economy in the 1870's, to the exclusionary American Emergency Quota Laws of 1921-24 and the Immigration Act of 1924, and the National Origins Act of 1929. Roughly 85 percent of the immigrants were Latin or Byzantine Rite Catholics, and 15 percent were Lutherans and Calvinists. The highest rate of migration was from the most impoverished and overpopulated regions of Slovakia, namely, the foothills of the Tatra and Carpathian Mountains (Jansak 1930). As an overall pattern, the earliest Slovaks came to the anthracite coal mining district of eastern Pennsylvania, while later Slovaks came to the mill towns in the "Steel Valley" of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and westward (Cleveland, Gary, Chicago). The greater Pittsburgh region remains the highest concentration of Slovak-Americans in the U.S. (some 29,000 immigrants; 35,000 foreign stock in 1930 Censu~ Klein 1938: 288; Roucek 1933-34: 614) . It is the location of the national offices of the National • These include Narodne Noviny, Jednota, The Greek Catholic Union Messenger, Prosvita, Katolicky Sokol, Sokol USA Times; annual fraternal yearbooks or Kalenddrs ; and the journals Slovakia (Slovak League) and Slovak Studies (Slovak Institute, Cleveland and Rome). �SLOVAKIA 57 TABLE 1 THE FOUNDING OF SOOVAK-AMERICAN RELIGION IN AMERICA I. Early Slovak Catholic Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Church in the Western Hemisphere, Hazleton, Penna., 1885 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church* . .......... . (Cornerstone) Early Slovak Roman Catholic Churches in the Allentown, Penna. Diocese (anthracite coal mining area)* ................ . . . Bethlehem, Penna., 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius Saint Michael Archangel ... . .... . . . . .. . ..... Summit Hill, Langsford, Penna. , 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius .... . .. .... ....... . .Reading, Penna., 1896 First Slovak Catholic parish school ............ .. . . .Chicago, ID., 1900 Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak Sisterhood: Motherhouse established .................... ... Danville, Pa., 1901 High School for Girls established ........... . .... Danville, Pa., 1922 First Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve St. Michael's Parish ........ Braddock, Pa., 1902 Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the USA (to support students interested in teaching and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns) .... Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1903 Benedictine High School for Boys . .. . . .... . . . ...... Cleveland, 1927 II. Early Slovak Lutheran Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Lutheran Church in the Western Hemisphere: Saints Peter and Paul .............. Freeland, Penna., first services: 1883; Church built: 1886. • Slovak Lutheran Synod (Missouri Synod) ............ 1902 Slovak Zion Synod (left Missouri Synod, joined United Lutheran Church of America founded in 1919) . . ......... . . .. . . . . ..... .. 1920 • Source: Katolicky Sokol, July 21, 1971 (published in Passaic, New Jersey) . Evidently, the founding of the first Slovak church in the western hemisphere is a matter of considerable controversy - and competition. Professor M. Mark Stolarik kindly informed me of the feud between St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and St. Stephen's in Streator, Illinois for the honor of being "the first" (which, incidentally, is a very American preoccupation!) . Professor Stolarik found the St. Stephen records several years ago and deposited them at the Immigrant Archives in Minnesota. Thus St. Stephen's can document its claim to having been founded in 1884. On the other hand, St. Joseph's burned down at the tum of the century, and its records were lost. Thus its claim to having been founded in 1884 cannot be documented . Professor Stolarik suggests that the editor of Katolicky Sokol, John Sciranka, my original source for the 1886 date , tended to favor the Hazleton parish since he was from Pennsylvania (again , ethnicity in a meta-context, this time localism) (personal communication, 9 September 1979) . �Passaic, N.J ., 1906 Cleveland, 1907 Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1911 Slovak Catholic Sokol Slovak League of America Slovak Catholic Federation in America McKeesport, Pa ., 1902 Wilkes-Barre, Pa ., 1892 Freeland, Pa., 1893 New York, 1896 Greek Catholic Union Slovak Evangelical Union (since 1960: United Lut9eran Society) Sokol USA (orig.: Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA) United Societies of USA (Sobranije) Cleveland, 1892 Cleveland, 1890 Cleveland ? Passaic, N.J . McKeesport Perth Amboy, N.J. Ligonier, Pa. Pittsburgh Cleveland Cleveiand Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious , political, fraternal Insurance, religious , cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, cultural, insurance, political, fraternal Insurance, religious (Greek Catholic), cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, religious (Roman Catholic), cultural, fraternal , insurance Political, cultural, religious Religious, political, cultural MAJOR NATIONALLY-BASED SLOVAK INSTITUTIONS Headquarters Place and Year Functions Pittsburgh, 1890 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal New York, 1891 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union 2ivena Beneficial Society (women's equivalent to National Slovak Society, last joint convention with NSS, 1901) First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) Name National Slovak Society TABLE2 > 7' > ~ r I.I) CX) V, �Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak National Catholic Church, McKeesport, founded 1922; name originally Saints Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church ; changed name to present in the late 1930's for legal purposes due to loss of church building during the Depression; affiliated throughout its history with the Polish National Catholic Church, and in the 1940's with the Congregational Church. St. Mark Lutheran Church, Duquesne, Pa. (serving Duquesne and McKeesport), founded 1913 ; name originally: Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Congregation of Duquesne; church bought 1920; joined Slovak Zion Synod of the United Lutheran Church of America 1934; Sunday school founded, use of English in teaching confirmation class 1940; earlier schism over non-use of English by acculturated families ; name changed to present in the 1950's, accompanied by change in by-laws to open church to Lutherans of all nationalities . St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church , founded 1901 ; name originally "Greek Catholic," changed to " Byzantine" in the 1960's; schism in 1939. SWVAK CHURCHES SERVING THE McKEESPORT AREA Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church, founded 1892; the name "Slovak" officially dropped in the 1960's; first church building purchased and enlarged 1895 ; schism in 1922. ., TABLE3 '° u, 7' > > ~ r Vl �SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE McKEESPORT PENNSYLVANIA AREA IN '' STEEL VALLEY'' Name Year Founded Membership, other comments Slovenskeho N. P. Spolok (Slovak December 16, 1888 Protestant or Catholic, but Slavic Sick Benefit Soc.) preceded the local lodge of the National Slovak Society, with which it merged in 1890 National Slovak Society, Lodge 31 1890 Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic mostly Slovak Jednota (First Catholic Slovak 1892 (women's lodge, Roman Catholic, Slovak Union) , Lodge 60 276 , formed later) Greek Catholic Union, Lodge 2 1892 Mostly Greek Catholic, but also Roman Catholic, Rusin, and Slovak United Societies of USA (Sobranije) , 1902 Schism within the Greek Catholic Union headquarters and Lodge 1 Sokol USA (Slovensky Sokol), Lodge 1903 (ladies assembly Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic 46 11, formed later) mostly Slovak Slovak Evangelical Union, Assembly 1899 Slovak Lutheran 63 (Duquesne , Pa. , serv~g McKeesport as well) Slovak Club , White Street Hall, 1896, sold to Catholic Fellowship, men's club , social, drinking McKeesport War Veterans 1970 activities First Federal Savings and Loan 1914 Association formed to assist Slovak workers Association of Homestead in obtaining funds to purchase a home ; Federal Charter 1937 ; branch offices in McKeesport (1964), Clairton (1969) ; and Braddock (1969) ; serves Monongahela Valley Communities; (originally names: First Slovak Building and Loan Association) TABLE4 > ;;,;; < > l/1 r 0 ~ �SLOVAKIA 61 Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies of USA. The town of Munhall, located in the Steel Valley, is the site of an eparchate or diocese of. the Byzantine Catholic Church. The Greek Catholic Union, founded iq. 1892 in Wilkes-Barre, Penna. , the heart of the anthracite mining region, moved its headquarters in 1910 to the Steel Valley. Although one's place of settlement was greatly influenced by the availability of desirable work, the type of work one sought, and the reasons for choosing that work (originally, to amass greater wealth so that one could return to one's home and village and live better with higher status), it was also strongly influenced by the location of prior immigrant kinsmen, village associates, and even more remotely "related" compatriots of the same geographic, political, and dialect district or iupa - who in tum could advise prospective emigrants of the labor market. Mining and factory towns were not arbitrarily populated by people identifying with the abstract term ' 'Slovak.'' Instead, members of the same village or of adjacent villages commonly sought to live with one another in the New World. Indeed, "ethnicity" changed meanings in the process of settlement in the United States: expanding from more localized, inter-village loyalties, and reciprocal obligation, to supra-local ties based on common religion, dialect, and finally to the emergence in America of an encompassing sense of national "Slovakness" that heretofore had never existed (cf. Gould 1970). It was only after a national sense of identity became established (and this, tenuously, because of the intense factionalism among Slovaks) that the appeal of . President Wilson and Secretary of State House during World War I to Slovak nationalism was possible. A document such as the ' ' Pittsburgh Pact" was thus heretofore unthinkable. Any conceptually neat separation of religion (or churches) from fratemalism is heuristically spurious. Indeed, the history of Slovak religion and mutual benefit societies encompasses the spectrum of alliance and schism, and between them, conflict. The history of the relationship between the two types of associations is the history of each. Moreover, both types of organizations are firmly rooted in east-central European social structure. The village organization functioned much like a vastly extended family, in which kin and extra-kin ties of reciprocity were part of the fabric of everyday life . A group-psychology of community solidarity bound the village tightly together. Even the collapse of manorialism in the mid-19th century did not obliterate this essentially pre-Magyar ethno-psychology. One might say that it functioned preadaptively in the American host environment, and facilitated the earliest " insurance" and cultural- �62 SLOVAKIA perpetuative efforts. After all, the extended family was one's life, accident, and sickness "insurance." There was litsrally no conception of the "individual" apart from the family, church, and village group. Fitzpatrick (1966) correctly identifies Euro-American ethnic communities as bridges or "beachheads" to the wider host society (see also Nelli, 1970). Likewise, Anderson notes "the capacity voluntary associations have to facilitate the transition of individuals and societies to participation in the modem world" (1971:216). He further proposes that ' 'the new associations seem founded to meet needs not previously the responsibility of any older organization" (Ibid.). As this paper will emphasize, however, the new associations built on the firm foundations of elements within traditional organizations; the change lay in the repatterning of those elements - a repatteming which, I might add, has been continuous. I wish to stress that there is nothing automatic, inherently ''natural,' ' or inevitable about the Slovak-American adaptation. The need for "survival" does not explain how or why a particular "survival strategy" for "problem solving" is adopted. Stated differently, it is not the stimulus situation of the stress, but the meaning of the stress and the individual or group characteristic response to it that determines the type of adaptation that will be made (La Barre, 1972; Stein and Hill, 1979). One must inquire both into the nature of the new environment and into the cultural tools a group adapts with. "Necessity" by itself does not explain the "invention" (see Light 1972) . The Slovak-American inventions, themselves variations on traditional psychosocial organization, values, and worldview, must be regarded as preadaptations within the cultural repertoire by which the Slovaks recapitulated much of the Old World in the New (see Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) . The traditional ethos determined both how new " necessities" were perceived and the group-organizational responses based on those perceptions. I cannot here pursue in detail the thorny question as to just what " is" a Slovak. Suffice it to say that the approach taken in this paper is essentially " emic": that is, Slovak based on self-identification and / or ancestry. Thus, for instance, there are several thousand Slovak-Americans, Catholic and Lutheran, whose most ~ediate ancestry traces to Croatia rather than northern Hungary. In the mid:17th century aftermath of the Austro-Hungarian expulsion of the Turks, Maria Theresa invited those peoples inhabiting the already overpopulated Hungarian northlands to migrate to the newly opened land. For the most part, these Slovaks remained Slovaks. Identifying the "ethnic" boundary between Slovaks and Rusins or �SLOVAKIA 63 Ruthenians of far eastern Slovakia, southern Galicia, and the western Ukraine is a far stickier matter (see Stein, 1972) . Indeed, many who are Rusin in ancestry, but who lived in what was geopolitically Slovakia, became accultured insidiously through daily contact with the more westernized Slovaks, through the influence of the Latin and Byzantine Rite Roman Catholic Churches, through the centralizing tendencies of Vienna, and last but not least through affiliation and identification with Slovaks following migration to the United States - that is, many became Slovaks in the U.S. I Over at least the past three centuries, the "ethnic boundary" between Slovaks and Rusins has been progressing further eastward. Had the great immigration taken place two centuries ago, virtually all the immigrants would have been of Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox faith and Rusin ethnicity! To the religious conflict must be added, especially since the World War I era, a conflict of nationalisms and proto-nationalisms. Among the permutations of the conflict: (1) Many Ukrainian nationalists insist that eastern ''Slovaks'' and "Rusins" do not exist, but in fact are Ukrainians; (2) Slovakia has undertaken a program of attempting to Slovakize the remaining Rusins; (3) Both the conflict over ethnic identity and the gradual process of Slovakization of Rusins has taken place in the U.S. (a) in such organizations as the Greek Catholic Union and the United Societies of USA, and (b) through the continued process of Latinization whereby many Greek or Byzantine Catholics joined Slovak Latin Rite parishes. A considerable official literature (see Lacko 1963) prepared by the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio and Rome, Italy is devoted to demonstrating that Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, in Europe and America, are bona fide Slovaks and Catholics. Many Slovak peasant immigrants and their children passionately argued the same point (Stein 1972). The author's justification for including such organizations as Byzantine Rite churches, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies as Slovak is that (a) by self-identification many of their officers, priests, and members speak of themselves as Slovaks, and (b) ethnicity is a process, not a static given. THE FOUNDING OF SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS For the most part, the Slovak-American fraternal societies began in the 1880's through the early 1900's as self-help, mutual assistance organizations. The arrangement of regular social activities such as dances , plays, gymnastic groups, and literary clubs, and the organiza- �64 SLOVAKIA tion, construction, and support of Slovak parishes followed later. In all earnestness I emphasize that the link between fraternal and church lay in their division of labor: the fraternal association would first establish insurance in this world; the church would become the guarantor of insurance in the next world. The most immediate needs were mortuary funds, land for the burial of the dead, and death-sickness-and-accident insurance for workers and their families in the U.S. and Slovakia. The new "foreign" dead were often unwelcome in established cemetaries. Slovak burial societies were formed to purchase separate tracts of land, often on the periphery of the town, a considerable distance from the burial sites of the dominant population. Slovak work life was chronically uncertain by the absence of stable unionization in the steel mills until 1936 and thereafter. Wages were low (though admittedly, the immigrant laborers earning a living unheard of in their villages of origin). Periods of steady work fluctuated with periods of layoff. Working conditions were contemptously hazardous. The management of the factories and mines provided no assistance for the injured or for the families of workers killed or maimed on the job. The urban Slovak-American "peasantry" experienced much the same basic insecurity as did they and their progenitors on the manorial latifundia or as landless workers. In one sense, conditions were worse, because in the American capitalistentrepreneurial system there was no personal bond of reciprocity and obligation between manorial lord and serf - although, however, the political system of patronage in the urban wards perpetuated at least an attenuated version of this function. For those immigrants who discovered themselves to be outside the civil and moral community of those recognized as ''Americans,'' the organization of burial-deathaccident-and-sick benefit societies was a means of reconstructing a community. In employment as with religion, Slavic-Americans were for the most part seen as outside the domain of civic and religious responsibilities. This led in tum to a defensive attitude toward American society, even as the belief in the American Dream strongly persisted. Exclusion from without led to a degree of defensive self-exclusion from within. The "enclave mentality," heir to a heightened self-" consciousness of kind," was a product of ethnic-American conflict, not simple cultural transplantation. I am tempted to suggest that much on the organizational level which we might mistake for w~at was traditionally native has a distinctively nativistic quality to it. , For instance, in one multi-Slavic fraternal club, the early by-laws �SLOVAKIA 65 specified that only members of Slavic ethnic groups could qualify as members and be permitted on the premises of the club. This qualification arose as a response to the fact that representatives of the mill management would attend meetings incognito, sit at the bar, listen for comments by dissident millworkers, and report them to the management which would summarily fire them for potential insubordination. A first-generation Catholic Slovak-American who came to the United States in the late 1920's said of the Slovak Club of McKeesport, Pennsylvania (a large mill town): The Slovak Club 's By-Laws were written in 1896. Only Slavs were accepted. You had to: you didn 't know who' s your enemy in those days. Johnny Bulls, or the Irish, might be in there, before the ByLaws were adopted . If you said anything against somebody, they report you. The only way to make sure you could speak your mind and not be afraid was to make the By-Laws . Ethnic " elective affinity" was more out of forced circumstance than choice . Those who were regarded and treated as the same created a survival strategy, becoming far more homogeneous in the process than they might had the constraints been fewer . Let me give two brief examples of the hierarchy of functions in the early fraternals . My first example is Lodge No. 2 of the Greek Catholic Union. Prior to regulation of insurance fraternals by the actuarial rules of the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department in the 1920' s, a member would pay $1.00 monthly dues for the mortuary fund and for death benefits to family , the latter of which is derived by subtracting the mortuary costs from the principal. The $1.00 formal dues would be collected from every member regardless of age or age of joining. In addition to the formally recorded $1.00 , he would pay 3 cents a month for relief benefit , so that, for instance, if he lost an arm in a mill accident he would receive $500 . An additional local assessment was 5 cents monthly for sickness benefit, which provided for food and bought medicine when the member could not work because of poor health. Today, this latter has become a " flower fund " to provide flowers at the funeral of a member or a member 's spouse. Any further needs were met by proportionate assessment of the membership . A second example is that of the Slovak Sick Benefit Society, organized in McKeesport in 1888, and which in 1890 merged with the founding of Lodge No. 31 of the National Slovak Society. This local organization collected monthly dues of $1.00 for males . In addition to the regular dues , if a man died , the men paid $1.00 ; if a woman died, the women paid 50 cents extra - for funeral expenses , given to the sur- �66 SLOVAKIA vivor of the deceased. At that time, the sick benefit was $6.00 a week for 13 weeks . After 13 weeks, up to the 21st week, $3.00 a week was given. After the 21st, nothing. The main economic function was to assist those who became sick or suffered an accident in the mill, since at this time there existed neither a union nor a commitment by management to provide such benefits. The Society also had something of an ambulatory service: two members of the society visited the sick person, or went to the scene of the accident, and took him to the hospital, to his home, or where he could be given proper care. While in their initial phase, ethnic fraternals were a response to the often hostile host environment, voluntary associations were long an inescapable part of the American social landscape. As Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 1830's, resiliently self-reliant Americans were also habitual joiners. This may help to explain how and why initially exclusive self-preservation societies became internally acculturated clubs and lodges at the local and national levels. That is to say, they became largely American cultural organizations with ethnic ancestry. Criteria for membership became ethnically less restrictive. At the same time, there occurred a gradual yet massive attrition of membership in the totemic Slovak-ethnic associations, and an equally gradual yet dramatic increase in membership by the same Slovak-Americans in lower middle class totemic American clubs such as Eagles, Moose, Elks; such service related groups as Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Catholic War Veterans ; employment related union clubs; and finally local public or private restaurant-bar-entertainment clubs. While there has certainly been, especially in the 1940's and 1960's, considerable compartmentalizing of membership, dual allegiance, something of voluntaristic "double descent, " at the present time American fratemalism has already been the dominant trend. In fact many Slovak-Americans with whom I worked who still maintain their fraternal insurance policies do so for economic reasons; their fraternal affiliation lies elsewhere. Originally, in the ethnic enclave, one's kinship network, resources, and the fraternal were one' s insurance. When the ethnic community network itself was one 's guaranteed insurance, there was no need for a separate entity labeled " insurance, " let alone insurance policies outside that community. Only as many ties within the corporate ethnic community were attenuated or severed cl.id the need arise for American style individual insurance coverage. And only since World War II did the originally multiple functional fraternal societies become primarily insurance companies, that is, businesses. In both cases, American as well as ethnic insurance companies served both instrumental (eco- �SLOVAKIA 67 nomic) and expressive (ethos) functions: security by affiliation in the ethnic sense, and self-reliance in the American sense. THE PROBLEM OF PERPETUATION AND ACCULTURATION IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS During the first and second decades of each of the fraternal organizations, the emphasis gradually shifted from immediate self-help requirements to more long-range, future-oriented plans associated with revitalizing Slovak culture in America. Whereas the initial years were preoccupeid with self-preservation, the subsequent years became concerned with perpetuation. The insurance / protective aspects were incorporated in a wider institutional framework that elaborated on the traditional cultural model. Once Slovak immigrants decided to make America their permanent home, churches were founded and supported, Sokol gymnastic programs were initiated, and so forth. It quickly became evident to the founding generation that something must be done to enlist the younger generation in these activities or institutions lest Slovak culture disappear with the passing of the first generation. The younger generation must be socialized into the new institutions and activities the immigrant parents had founded. Thus each fraternal organization instituted a juvenile branch or age grade to prepare the younger generation for adult membership. There were thus established two age sets within each fraternal, the adult and the juvenile. Subsequently, most fraternals also added a Sokol or gymnastic branch (if they were not already Sokol fraternals), originally intended as a middle age grade, but which became an adult unit on par with the "General" or "Adult" branch. The lower age limit for transfer from juvenile to the adult branch seems to be 16-18 in the Greek Catholic Union, and the upper age limit is 25 in the National Slovak Society. Typically, a parent would buy a life insurance policy for an infant shortly after birth and pay for the policy until the child's majority. At that time the former junior member would become a responsible adult member, transfer his or her policy to the adult branch, and begin paying for it himself or herself. Thus was the problem of continuity initially solved. For the third and fourth generations continuity was not so readily assured. Many of the second and third generations themselves withdrew or terminated their own policies and did not enroll their children. Many immigrant and second generation informants spoke bitterly of how they felt that officers of their fraternals had used their position for �68 SLOVAKIA self-advancement (internal mobility?), pocketed some of the dues, especially during the pre-1920 days prior to state-enforced bookkeeping, and terminated members' policies or foreclosed on home mortgages during the Great Depression days when dues were not forthcoming (the internal transformation from personalized ties to impersonalized business venture). In some families where the children had been dutifully enrolled in infancy, the children took advantage of the fact that the parents paid for the juvenile policies, and upon reaching majority or "going out on their own," they turned in the policy for cash value, and enrolled themselves later in large "American" insurance companies. With large-scale industrial unionization in the mid- and late-1930's and the opening up of "American" insurance corporations to the now'' American'' descendants of the ''foreigners,'' many of the purely economic insurance functions fulfilled by the ethnic fraternals were replaced by more attractive, sounder economic policies elsewhere. As the lodges have been losing young and elderly members, the middle-aged members have become the core of their lodges, and those who will be perpetuating them will, like their counterparts in the Americanized Slovak churches, be those who have transformed their lodges and their athletics according to the model of the American prototype. With the great decrease in membership and hence in lodge population, lodge consolidation (GCU, United Societies, NSS) and the widening of intervals between meetings have taken place. Where a lodge meeting until the late 1930's was an enormous and lively social affair, often coordinated with a meal or a play in Slovak, since the Second World War it has become a cut-and-dry business meeting, where members stream in and out, pay their dues, often bring the dues of a friend or two with him (or with her), the older ones stopping to chat with a friend or two in Slovak - and then leave. The monthly business meeting of Jednota Lodge No. 60 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania usually keeps ten listeners besides the six officers and collectors at their long table. During the monthly meetings of the Sokol, the ULS, and the NSS, a table of officers sits in a room of empty chairs in the Slovak Club. Occasionally members drift in and out. The local lodge of the United Societies no longer meets; members brin~ in their dues or mail them in. Likewise for lodges of the GCU. The ULS lodge in Duquesne in 1970 changed its monthly meeting to bimonthly, because, as one officer said: "There's no use sitting down there at the empty church all afternoon every month waiting for a few people to show up." In the early 1970's, over 75 percent of the 1,300 GCU lodges were inactive. For the important annual meeting at which officials were to be elected at GCU Homestead Lodge No. 2 in 1971, only 15 of the 160 members attended. �SLOVAKIA 69 \ To this should be added that only one of the Slovak fraternal lodges in McKeesport presently has any social or athletic program. Jednota Ladies' Lodge No. 276 has a bowling team, which members from Lodge No. 60 and the nearby borough of Port Vue can join. Lodge No. 60 dropped its bowling team in 1956. Bookkeeping changes have consolidated the Sokol and General Branches of the lodges. Today they function as little more than local insurance agents and collectors. All the national offices of the Slovak fratemals modernized and streamlined their policies to make membership attractive to those of the younger generation for whom Slovakness was not a major attraction, and further, to attract non-Slovaks. To a considerable extent, present-day Slovak fratemals are primarily modem insurance com· panies which would like to stay in business. The fact that all of them are far over the required solvency guarantees nothing about the future, for which they are greatly concerned. As the national president of the GCU remarked to me: The way things are now, it's only a matter of time before the GCU is finished. Sure we have an excellent solvency. But without new members, it's just on borrowed time. You just can't rely on monetary figures alone to tell you how we're doing. Of course we're in good financial shape, but that's because today people buy bigger policies - you can't pay for a funeral for $1000 today. Most of our policies are naturally larger, and the figure they give for assets ... would lead you to believe that we're doing great. That's the way the older ones felt. They always looked at the status quo and never at anything else. (1972) Of course the schism in the 1930's cost the GCU half of its more than 135,000 membership, which crisis did not occur in the other Slovak (and Slovak / Rusin) organizations. Nevertheless the same gradual decline in activity and membership has been the experience and plague of every Slovak fraternal. Slovak-American officials at the national level frequently speak of consolidating the adult, juvenile, and Sokol branches for fiscal reasons and because of poor attendance at meetings. They likewise speak of merging lodges for similar reasons, with the hope that perhaps with greater numbers the fraternal spirit may be rekindled. But they are pessimistic and in offhand, tentative ways consider the possibility of merging not only lodges within a given fraternal, but combining many Slovak-American fratemals under a single economic umbrella - anything that will help the solvency problem and postpone the inevitable disappearance of insurance fratemalism. Everywhere in Slovak-American fratemalism, the number of purchased insurance certificates is far �70 SLOVAKIA fewer than the number of deaths, maturities, disabilities, expirations, surrenders, and lapses of policies. Beyond founding the churches, many of the church-affiliated fraternals remain a major support of the church, both financially and by requiring that their members are practitioners of the faith in good standing (for instance, Jednota). Lodge meetings are held in the church (Jednota, United Societies, Slovak Catholic Sokol, GCU), rather than the secular Slovak Hall (where the Sokol USA, NSS, and ULS McKeesport lodges meet). Except for the Lutheran group (whose Duquesne counterpart does meet in the Slovak Lutheran church), the non-religious affiliated groups meet in secular settings, while the religiousaffiliated groups meet in church halls under the aegis of the priest. Until World War II, most of the Slovak fraternal groups at the local and national levels supported the political activity of the Slovak League of America, a non-fraternal, political-cultural group organized to publicize and lobby for the cause of Slovak independence (first in relation to the Hungarians, and later the Czechs). Its stress on Catholicity, its demands for Slovak separatism (rather than federated autonomy), and its support for the politically active Slovak priests Hlinka and Tiso of the Slovak People 's Party during the Nazi period alienated from it the support of the non-Catholic Sokols and the National Slovak Society. Presently, the Slovak League is primarily affiliated with, and is somewhat the political arm of, the First Catholic Slovak Union. All, however, collaborated in the period from 1907 (the year of the League's founding) throughout the First World War and in the early postwar period, toward the founding of the (First) Republic of Czecho-Slovakia (as the Slovaks prefer to spell it). The Slovak Catholic priesthood has always been at odds with the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, frequently accusing its members of being atheists and communists. The latter, however, have historically supported Slovak national aspirations, though apart from any religious considerations. This is reflected in the membership of the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, where only Slav-ness, not religion, was a qualification for membership. As a consequence, the Slovak Catholic (Latin and Byzantine Rite) religious dissidents, as well as Slovak Protestants , tended to gravitate to the Slovensky Sokol, and the NSS rather than to Jednota or the Katolicky Sokol. Furthermore, the -0verlap in membership equally relfects this distinction. Members would mosi; likely belong to Katolicky Sokol. Slovak Lutherans , of course , would join the Slovensky Sokol and the NSS. The above politico-religious concerns , however, refer only to the �SLOVAKIA 71 \ older and middle age groups, who are the mainstay of the fraternal organizations. For the younger age group, under 36, Slovak national concerns are for the most part a matter of ancestry rather than immediacy. Apart from religious issues, criteria of membership in Slovak fraternals have during the past decades gradually become less exclusivistic. In the early by-laws, Slovak birth or descent was usually specified (together with a particular religious affiliation, where relevant). By the period following World War I, membership was widened to those of Slavic origin or ancestry (with religious specificity, where relevant). In 1937 the NSS extended membership to non-Slovak spouses married to Slovak members and their children. In the 1930's, the GCU extended membership to spouses so long as the spouse was Catholic. In the 1960's, membership in the Catholic organization was opened to Catholics of any nationality, while in the non-religious affiliated Slovak-American fratemals membership was opened to "anyone," implicitly or explicitly referring to whites of Christian faith. A young officer of the GCU said that he would like to see a change in bylaws that would open the organization to all Christians, removing the restriction to Catholics. Accompanying the opening of membership has been a gradual change in the organizations' names, first from the full length Slovak name to a shortened name, normally one word from the full name (Jednota from the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sobranije from the Greek Catholic Union). Then from the 1930's and on, the English title became more important and today predominates. Names became less European-sounding: the Slovak Evangelical Union became in 1960 the United Lutheran Society; the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA became Sokol USA. The young official of the GCU mentioned above suggested that if membership were opened to all Christians, he would like to see the name of the organization officially changed to the initials GCU only, and later "we might call it the Greater Beneficial Union / the name changed from German Beneficial Union / no, that's the GBU ... but you know what I mean.'' The direction then, would be that of an American-sounding name. Similar to this trend has been that from Slovak (or Rusin and Eastern Slovak in the Greek Catholic organizations) to English in the official publications or newspapers of fratemals. The newspapers themselves were founded shortly after the organization of the fratemals and were entirely in Slovak (with the above distinction). At the beginning of the 1930's, under pressure of the American-born membership, pages began to be devoted to stories, articles, and announcements in the �72 SLOVAKIA English language. It should be added, however, that from the days of World War I, all of the papers and English-language sections were on American history, patriotism, the American constitution, government, and citizenship. By the 1950's, 50 percent and more of the space was in the English language. For instance, after the 1964 Milwaukee Convention of Sokol USA, Slovensky Sokol devoted 76 percent of its space to English material. At the 1966 National Convention in Tampa, through an act of the General Assembly of the convention, the name of the official publication was changed from Slovensky Sokol to Sokol Times, and the paper is now entirely English-language, as is that of the United Societies, Prosvita (Enlightenment). Nevertheless, such papers as Jednota, Katolicky Sokol, and the GCU Messenger are half-English, halfSlovak; Narodne Noviny is about 25 percent Slovak. What I emphasize here is the overall direction of change. The annual Kalendar or Yearbook of the Greek Catholic Union provides an excellent and generalizable source by which changes since the first decade of the 20th century can be observed and traced. I examined the annual Kalendar of the GCU spanning the years 1903 through 1972 (with considerable gaps in the 1930's and 1940's due to schism within the society over the issue of clerical celibacy). Although the GCU was founded in 1892, the oldest available Kalendar in storage was that of 1903. The following table gives the title on the cover, a summary of advertisements which reflect contemporary issues (migration, home owning, etc.), the nature of written characters for non-English sections (Latin or Cyrillic), subjects of early essays on Americanization (1903-1932), and the language employed by the exarch / bishop in his introductory message. By the late 1960's, at least half of the Kalendar (totaling in the 1960's 90 pages) was in English. (See Table 6). To summarize the table: Through the 1930's, there were advertisements in the Kalendar for such goods and services as banks, saloons, hotel, liquors, a variety of medicinal cures, boat tickets, home building (financing, mortgages, titles, etc.), shipping from overseas, etc. Essays were written on such subjects as American history (including praiseworthy accounts of American founding heroes and legendary leaders), an explanation of American government and how to participate in it, why and how to obtain citizenship, descriptions of the nature of the population and geography of the United States, accounts of farming in the United States and of technolo~cal innovations from the zeppelin through the airplane. Considerable space was likewise devoted to a description of the Slovak-Rusin homeland, culture, religious �SLOVAKIA 73 \ customs, etc. Although much of the writing through the 1930's was in eastern Slovak-Rusin dialect and written in either or both Cyrillic and Latin characters, English was used in essays on American history and government as early as 1905, when the article was printed in both languages. Americanization, more specifically, bridge-building between the insular ethnic world and the more expanding American world, was one of the major early agendas of the fraternals. Americanization was also one of the major points of stress between traditionalists and acculturationists that led to attrition of membership and schism in churches and fraternals alike. On the one hand, the Polish National Catholic Church and the Slovak National Catholic Church, a variety of independent Rusin-eastern, Slovak-western, and Ukrainian Orthodox churches, and the United Societies of USA (among others) broke with their Americanizing-Irishizing-Latinizing denationalizing parent organizations and became bastions of tradition (e.g., in liturgy, in customs, etc.) - only to acculturate internally. On the other hand, even the most traditionalist societies zealously urged Americanization both by exhortation and by the example of its leadership - including the clergy. SCHISM, DECLINE, AND CULTURE Let me use several nodal points in the history of the Greek Catholic Union to illustrate the convulsions to which conflict between the acculturationists and traditionalists led. The GCU schism of 1902 led to the founding of a new fraternal association, the United Societies of USA (Sobranije). At the 1902 Convention of the Greek Catholic Union, there was strong debate over whether or not the largely Magyarone RusinSlovak clergy leadership would be permitted to retain their official position, since they insisted on remaining citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary. The convention overwhelmingly voted that henceforth all officers of the GCU would have to be American citizens. Moreover, there was a long-standing resentment against domination of Slovak or Rusin parishioners by a Magyar or Magyarone clergy. In Hungary, the laity could do nothing about it. But in America, former peasants could vote out those who were either of the Hungarian aristocracy or had used the church - and ethnic assimilation - as a means of social mobility. The orientation toward a secular leadership made the process complete: the Byzantine Catholic laity of the fraternal would be a strong supporter of the Church but would not be its tool. The United Societies of USA, conversely, retained priests among �.. .. ... .. .. .. . .. .. • • ---- ___________ KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOIJC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES. GEORGE BATYKO) Message by Advertisements Written Exarch I Characters Bishop Year Cyrillic Slovak Rus. Eng. Early Americanization Topics Cover Title - -- - - - - - - Amerikansko-Russko- J ·1903 Banks• , Saloons, Slovensky Kalendar Hotels , Liquors , Medical Cures , • Boat Tickets• Am. History (Rusin) 1904 • Amerikansky-Russko- 1905 Am. Government (Rusin & English) • Slovensky Kalendar Am. fanning, airplane, zeppelin 1909 (Eng.) Amerikansko-Russko- 1914 Banking-Shipping•, Am . Hist. (Rus .), population • Slovensky Kalendar Cures, Liquors of U. S. (Eng.) Banking•• Sokola Sojedinenija Citizenship / naturalization / 1921 • • govt. (Eng.) ,, Am. Hist., govt., loyalty, how Banking** 1924 • to use checking (Eng.) Kai. Soj . Gr. Kaft. 1926 Banking**, Financing, Russkich Bratstv. Home Building, y • • Religious Publications Am . Hist. , govt. (Rus.) , Cit. / 1932 Title & Mortgage Nat. (Eng.) Guarantee co., • • Banks , Boat Tick...,.. ets, Medical Cures K. Gr. Kaft. Sod . none 1953 S. S. A. • 1955 • • TABLE5 > A > < r 0 V, .:,. '-I �" " " " " " 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Gr. Kaft. Sod . S.S. A . " " " " " " " " " " Message by Exarch I B ishop • • . . . • . • ..• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . .• . Cyrillic_ Slovak Eng . . Early Americanization Topics - -- - - - Rus. Written Characters • Rovnianek (Pittsburgh) in particular •• Money orders, drafts, credit, savings , import, interest *** Diamond Jubilee Almanac GCU Calendar GCU of USA*** Gr. Kaft. Sod . v S. S. A. GCU Calendar " " " " " 1956 D. Gr . Kaft. Sod. S.S. A. " First Federal S&L of Homestead none Year -- Cover Title Advertisements KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOLIC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES . GEORGE BATYKO) TABLE 5 (Continued) ., Vl 'I )> A < )> r 0 V) �76 SLOVAKIA its officials through the present; its birth dates from when a number of delegates walked out of the GCU convention in 1902 and founded its first church-affiliated lodge in McKeesport. At the height of its membership in the mid-1920's, United Societies counted some 27,000 in its adult and juvenile branches. By 1970, the last year for which actuarial figures were made available to me, membership had declined to 5,600; since 1930, membership enrollment by young adults has precipitously declined . (See the following Tables 6 -9 assembled from the actuarial records of the United Societies of USA, public domain.) Within the GCU during the intervening years, a second, even more dramatic schism took place in the 1930's over the issue of priestly celibacy - reflecting the conflict between the traditionalists, who argued in favor of a married priesthood and the acculturationists or ''Latinizers ," who advocated clerical celibacy. While no documented figures were available to me, a number of informants agreed that some 60,000 to 70,000 members, or roughly half the membership, defected. The GCU had been organized in 1892; the Juvenile Branch in 1906; the Gymnastic Branch in 1910. It totals some 1,300 lodges and is licensed as an insurance corporation in 12 states (United Societies, in 6). At the height of membership in 1929, the GCU numbered some 60,000 members in its General or Adult Branch, 20,000 in its Falcon Branch, and 65,000 in its Juvenile Branch. The cataclysm which cost the GCU half its membership occurred in 1929. As early as 1924, the Pope had dispatched Bishop Takach back to the United States with instructions that married priests , common in the Byzantine Rite in Europe, were not to be ordained. However, ordination continued for several years through what were described as "loopholes. " In 1929 came a specific papal decree, Cum Data, forbidding the ordination of married priests in the United States. This finalization led to the immediate defection of thousands of GCU members. If this were not earthquake enough, during the 1920's all ethnic fratemals in Pennsylvania were brought under the increasingly strict regulation of the Insurance Department, which consequence was an immediate precipitous drop in the membership of all Slovak-American insurance-related fratemals. Members could no longer be assessed equally, and amounts collected varied from month to month on the basis of the past month's claims, but were rate\f according to the National Fraternal Congress table of "attained age a~ June, l, 1933." That is, members were required to pay on the basis of age, with premiums increasing with age . The new rates were adopted in June 1932 by the GCU. The National Slovak Society and the men 's and ladies' divisions �0 4 5 12 35 51 68 51 42 10 12 28 49 69 83 82 77 88 75 0 70 1 85+ 0 0 0 1 ., 0 1 1 0 6 1 4 7 18 29 15 35 33 34 69 80 0 1 In the Adult Branches, the Falcon and Main Branches have always been combined for bookkeeping purposes . 2 This figure gives the total membership in United Societies . It should be noted that at age 16, one is eligible to transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch (Main or Falcon) . One may transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch between the 16th and 18th birthday. 3 The report for 1950 was missing, so the 1949 figures were used instead . 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. This means that it is no longer possible to compare membership at ages 16 and 18 in the Juvenile Branch with that in the Adult Branch. 5 An e xplanation for the increase lies in the adoption by the United Societies of the Byzantine Life Savings policy in August, 1968. It is a policy that is sold by agents of the United Societies, an effort to expand the boundaries of fratemalism on a more traditionally commercial basis . It is a 21-year savings program, which one may enter up to age 45 . At the end of the 21 years, the money is returned to the policy owner. Its advantage is that it is insured savings, although the insurance coverage decreases with each year. For the older people , it provides the certainty of a little income . United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports (Penna., Ohio, New Jersey , West Virginia, etc.) Membership: Adult and Juvenile ADULT: MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES! Membership per attained age categories Total : Adult & Total : Year Juvenile2 Adult 55 60 65 16 18 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 46 16 3 8652 135 128 131 236 272 367 279 185 1924 565 275 212 1926 346 517 1928 55 28 1930 19339 10159 320 372 342 114 135 227 254 290 233 191 70 153 186 227 165 122 30 7472 61 127 177 120 1935 13393 36 41 86 85 51 41 111 152 192 135 92 1940 8857 5464 7 59 70 51 73 130 151 145 49 76 106 107 99 1945 7399 5235 18 19493 48 67 69 86 63 57 58 146 133 130 6285 4739 4 18 19554 43 72 44 46 54 82 78 82 56 65 106 107 5472 25 76 89 47 43 5290 68 52 44 15 55 57 97 1960 73 78 42 37 17 27 53 46 41 1965 4812 90 63 50 19705 47 45 5628 101 60 52 38 99 107 129 118 40 27 - TABLES "" )> A < )> Vl r 0 �,,.. - 63 60 101 52 44 5456 91 613 237 231 18 68 90 16 348 418 191 299 153 93 72 6 This figure is for age 17, as it is the last listed, no figure being given for age 18 in the Juvenile Branch. 7 See Note . 4 on previous page . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Membership: Adult and Juvenile JUVENILE BRANCH Membership per attained age categories Total Year Juvenile 0 1 2 10 1928 201 282 549 672 1930 9180 183 426 647 1935 5921 301 456 1940 3393 45 47 48 195 1945 2164 32 81 64 134 1949 1546 28 28 40 62 48 81 51 50 19557 1960 133 150 84 69 1965 33 74 80 88 1970 9 31 30 83 TABLE7 > )> ;ii;;: < r 0 V') 0:, " �1 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted Ond Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. W - Written Rev. - Revived Rec . - Received Iner. - Increased Mat. - Maturity Surr. - Surrender Dec . - Decrease Exp. - Expiry Other - non-specified (However, for 1935, I would suspect that the 81 in this category belong elsewhere, probably in 'Surrender.') United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches ADULT: (se e below for abbreviations) - - MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES Benefit Certificates . . . In force In force Dec . 31 Dec. 31 Year last yr. W this yr. Death Lapse Rev . Rec. Iner. Surr. Dec. Exp. Other -Mat. 1925 14908 2220 15574 133 1524 103 1926 15574 3833 18141 145 1121 1928 10704 11102 114 10313 1930 527 77 10159 . 652 1 1935 7534 279 80 7472 89 332 81 5621 1940 80 15 5464 98 154 1945 5296 139 4 5235 93 91 20 1949 4864 47 4739 113 23 35 1 19551 5356 360 5472 105 19 86 34 5514 1960 217 5290 108 248 41 44 1965 4907 160 4812 103 74 16 36 26 1970 5054 599 193 5628 91 91 30 5 1 TABLES ~ "'° 7' > > < Vl r 0 �1702 81 16 723 2g3 Transfer 1 The figures for the Juvenile Branch list only up to age 16, so it is ambiguous as to whether Juveniles past their 16th birthday are included in tne figure of 9401. 2 transfer to Falcon Branch . 3 transfer to Senior (Main) Branch. 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches JUVENILE BRANCH: Benefit Certificates In force In force Dec . 31 Received Dec . 31 Terminated b1: last yr. by transfer Increased this yr. Year Written Revived Death Lapse 19281 9401 884 49 42 1930 9239 9180 810 968 1935 6384 597 5921 11 7 470 1940 3740 136 10 3393 223 1945 2356 115 2164 12 1949 1636 60 1546 1 120 19554 1960 1965 ,,, . 1970 - TABLE9 > 7' > ~ r (./') ~ �SLOVAKIA 81 of the First Catholic Slov~ Union (Jednota) had been the first to comply in 1930. The state requirement of solvency was reflected in high premiums for the older members who, in the Depression years, could not pay. Each insurance company had to make up the deficit. The 1929 law required that all fraternal societies re-rate their policies within five years. Not that this external policing had not been attempted before. But now, like the papal decree on celibacy, the law was final. Between 1892 and 1909 or 1910, each member of the GCU had been assessed 50 cents, 60 cents, or 75 cents a month, depending on how much was customarily collected at a given lodge. There was no uniformity of policy even within the GCU. In 1909 or 1910, the GCU lodges went under an '' Assessment System,'' such that the amount due from each member was determined by the claims of the past month. Thus the assessment varied from month to month, but was internally regulated by the lodge. Around 1910, the state began to appear in the picture, proposing that members of fraternals pay according to age. Some fraternals put a lien on each member's policy, but this did not sufficiently raise revenues. In 1918 , the National Fraternal Congress Table of Mortality provided a uniform schedule according to which each member was to be rated according to the age at which he or she had joined the organization. But, even where this table was applied, it did not bring lodges or national offices anywhere approaching solvency. In Pennsylvania, the Insurance Department saw that the fraternals were functionally decentralized and operated on a day-to-day economic calculus - which, incidentally, was the traitional Slovak way of pooling resources in the extended family. It applied pressure for greater fraternal centralization and economic foresight. As of 1924, new members were to be rated according to the American Experience Table of Rates. However, the old members could continue to pay the prior National Fraternal Congress rate. This, too, did not greatly move the GCU and other Slovak-American fraternals toward solvency. Finally, the 1929 Pennsylvania law was implemented, and its effect paradoxical: it "worked" with amazing effectiveness according to the canons of American economic planning, but utterly disrupted the Slovak way of doing business. To summarize, then : the most compelling factors in declining membership within the Slovak-American fraternals were (a) the increasing cultural Americanization of their members and the availability of fraternal and insurance options within the cultural mainstream; (b) the increased influence of external (e .g., state) forces in the management of the internal affairs of the associations; (c) the devastating in- �82 SLOVAKIA fluence of the Great Depression over members' abilities to keep up payment of premiums on policies (undoubtedly influenced by " b " ); (d) the fraternal officials ' internal acculturation of the associations into "American" institutions (self-motivated as well as impelled by "b"). There remains an extremely potent factor in fraternal schism and attrition much less obvious to the observer's eye than those already discussed, one which the national president of a Slovak-American fraternal in his early 70' s poignantly articulated: ... we are still declining, there is an explanation for it. There was nothing ever done in this society. There was feeble attempts made to try to get the younger generation to become interested in our / fraternal society / . . .. we now lose, on an average of 1200 members a year .... you take in our generation, our parents were interested in our society and as soon as kids were born they put them in the lodge, the mother or father would always make sure that they would come to the meeting once a month and pay their dues. Even after they got married, the would pay their dues , do you follow me? Now, after they were on their own, had their own families they would say: "Here is your policy. Do you want to keep it. We pay till now. You can make your wife your beneficiary. " Lot of them kept it, and a lot of them turned around and cashed whatever they could get for it. See, where the old people wouldn't do that, and this younger generation isn't like the older generation. They say: " I don't need this or that." Now once again I say, it's not all of them, but the majority. They aren't worried so much like the old people were about their future. All they care is they get a new car, or good times, and when they are in trouble they come to their parents to help them out. Shortly thereafter, he spoke of local lodge meetings: The younger kids, they come, some of them come, some come and just pay their dues. They're in a hurry. They're always in a hurry. You see , I'll tell you. I think the biggest dam fault in all our fraternals. We used to have meetings every month at every lodge. I know I went as a younster, we came to the League, as a young fellow, 18, 19 years old, 20, 21. We would go to the Assemblies. All these old timers come to the meetings. It was always in the Slovak language, and if you\wanted the floor or ask permission to say something, and if you couldn""t. explain yourself well in the Slovak language, say in butchered up language, Slovak and English mixed together, the president of �SLOVAKIA 83 _ _ _ _ says: "Sit down you snot nose you. You can't express yourself in Slovak, you can sit down. You are out of order." Well, naturally these younger people think, they say "Oh, my goodness gracious." You get red in the face, these young people, then they don't know what to do. Then they sit through it and first chance that they got to go home, "They won't get me back here with a bull rope." Instead of being nice to them and courteous, ''OK, we understand you, go ahead and say in English what you want to say. We want you to come." And once you drive them away, oh boy, it's hard to bring them back. That's been the trouble all these fratemals, whether it's the Slovak Catholic, whether it's the National Slovak Society or the. First Catholic Slovak Union. It's the same condition and a lot of those old timers, when they held office, they thought they were supposed to be there till they die. The younger people, they need to bring these people in . . . . Another official, participating in the interview, later interjected: ... That old fellow who would come to the conventions, and make a rousing speech, "We have got to get our young people to take over our offices in our local assemblies, in the national,'' yet he wouldn 't give up his damn job .... (from field notes, June 1978) The chronic, occasionally acute conflict (expressed institutionally in schism) which these officers articulate is a generational conflict be- tween fathers and sons, once contained within the traditional familiar and manorial system, but now run openly rife in the expressively more permissive American cultural setting. We have already seen this conflict in another form: the 1902 schism within the GCU which led to the founding of the United Societies of USA, precipitated by the issue of allegiance to the U.S. versus allegiance to the parental-land and representatives of its authority. This conflict at the macro-institutional level is dynamically identical with the deeply traditional family struggle in Slovak culture: parental holding on versus letting go of authority, power, status, property, and roles. What I have discussed elsewhere in terms of traditional and Slovak-American personality, family dynamics, and culture change (Stein 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1976, 1978a, 1978b, 1979, Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) is dynamically identical and isomorphic with the conflict at the macro-institutional level. Traditionally as well as in the New World, unquestioning respect for and obedience to the will and authority of elders was paramount. In the official cultural ethos, the father's word and will were absolute; �84 SLOVAKIA deference was due to him no matter what. With the breakdown of the manorial order in Slovakia between 1848 and the great migration of 1880-1920 , sons began demanding a greater say in the running of family affairs . If fathers refused to relinquish some of their traditional prerogatives , sons now had options from setting up separate households to emigration . The vastly extended " joint family " diminished into the " stem family " (Goldschmidt and Kunkel 1971) in which frequently only a son or two, and daughter or two would live with or near the parents (cf. Koenig 1937) . The children now were able to place demands upon the parents , and to leave if dissatisfied. This is precisely what happened openly in the U.S., which official ethos was based on revolutionary separation from parents who, as the motto goes , exacted " taxation without representation, " an experience that strikes at the heart of the Slovak experience as well. Of course, this never was a matter of either / or. As I have demonstrated in the above cited works , moves centrifugal toward autonomy have evoked enormous ambivalence , guilt, restitution, and centripetal countervailing moves on the part of parents. Nonetheless , the above officials have identified as a decisive ingredient in the attrition of the young from Slovak-American fratemals the demand by the young for respect by the elders, a reversal of tradition that is at the same time traditionally and quintessentially '' American.'' It is thus not enough to say that the young defectors had been " Americanized ," and that the diehards remained doggedly "traditional. '' The elder officials of the Slovak-American fratemals could not mobilize the constraints they once yielded under the much hated manorial and Magyar yoke to compel those who they contemptuously regarded as " snotty nosed" youth to speak their language: Slovak. It should further be noted that language was wielded by the officials as a tool of power - but an impotent tool. Ironically, the youth, in the 1910's and 1920' s , attempted to express their interest in ethnicity in English, but were dismissed as out of order by parental-clergy-fraternal-elder figures who sought to safe-guard their venerable Slovak ethnicity by passing it on through institutional measures (churches, gynmastics , literary clubs). However, the fact of institutionalization of tradition was disqualified by the attitude of the founders toward those who would succeed them - which very " success " aroused their fear and countervailing animosity toward the Slovak-American youth. The very nature of many officers ' traditionalism led to the ardent Americanization by the young, whose consequence for the fratemals was decline in membership. ' �SLOVAKIA 85 ATHLETIC PROGRAMS IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS: INTERNAL CHANGE AND CONTINUITY Similar directional change can be seen in the history of athletic programs within the Slovak-American fraternals. The baseline was the Slovak Sokol (Falcon) or gymnastic society. The earliest Sokols had been founded in Bohemia in 1862 by Jindrich Fuegner and Miroslav Tyrs , derived from the German Turnvereine . The Sokols were used in Europe both as vehicles for nativism and Pan-Slavic solidarity. In the U.S. , they tended to follow ethnic lines and intra-ethnic schisms. Initially most of the fraternal organizations were divided into full membership branches: general (adult), juvenile (up to ages 16-18) , and Sokol. Between the ages of 16 and 18, one transferred from the juvenile branch to either the general or the Sokol branch. The Sokol branch stressed group gymnastics. Beyond local activities, each branch combined with other lodges, organizations, and conducted district, regional, national, and international slets (mass calisthenic displays) . Separate Sokol / insurance fraternals later developed. During the first decades of the twentieth century, baseball attracted considerable interest in fraternal and church groups , and if not competed for time with the gymnastic activity, it at least paralleled it. By the 1930's, Sokol activity began a slow decline, while baseball was attracting more interest. And in the mid and late 1930' s, the first fraternal bowling leagues were formed, later organized into district, regional, and national competition along the same lines as were the gymnastics. With the preparation for and American entry into World War II Sokol programs were drastically cut when the young Sokols and Sokolettes and instructors took part in the war. Great hopes were placed on a revival following the war, but there was no such revival. Quite the reverse . Those lodges which were discontinued during the war were never revived. ' ' At least fifty percent of the former gymnastically-active lodges became dormant ; numerous Sokol halls were lost; and most of the prewar instructors and directors disappeared from the physical education field . The indifference and apathy on the part of .. . Sokol membership , and officers as well, also were responsible for this decline ." (Andrew Venglarcik, Jr., " President's Column," Sokol Times, Jan . 14, 1972 , p. 3). Despite efforts by the Supreme Lodge of Sokol USA and other control bodies to induce renewal by the appropriation of larger funds for the Sokols , promises of salaries and the payment of travel expenses, there was little positive response on the part �86 SLOVAK IA of the membership . The Sokol USA slet held in 1966 was a veritable miniature compared with those of the 1920's. The influence of World War II was pervasive on both those who participated in it and in the home communities. Two facts are especially noteworthy: (a) that the virtual collapse of Sokol gynmastics was merely one small aspect of this transformation from Slovak to American, and (b) that the fact of the war did not so much cause the change as it rapidly accelerated a process already under way. Baseball, already popular before the war, was equally popular during the war in the informal games by American soldiers at recreation in training or overseas. Although the soldiers returned with baseball, they did not return it to their fraternal lodges, but instead to their industrial teams, American Legion teams, war veterans ' teams, and so forth . At the Sokol lodges, bowling became the sport. Only in the 1960's did local bowling lodge teams begin to decline. From the late 1940's and early 1950's bowling began to compete with golf, which was subsequently organized in districts, regions, and nationally. From the mid-1960 's , golf became the major activity, all of this taking place as the elderly are passing on, the young either not joining or cashing in their policies when they mature , the lodges becoming smaller and more difficult to justify and maintain. What is the meaning of the transformation in athletic activities? What has changed, and what has remained? The only remnant is that of group competition. Slets displayed competitive gymnastic groups, and baseball, bowling, and golf were organized as competitive tournaments at the various levels . But there is a gradual incorporation into the group of increasing individualism, in contrast with the "mechanical solidarity" of group gymnastics . In all of these, what the individual does is for the sake of the group effort. But the individual as a separate entity is increasingly emphasized. The team-orientation of a baseball team is far greater than that of the bowling team, because, as in the group gymnastic display, all of the members ' (or at least the playing members ' ) actions must be coordinated. This is not the case in bowling or golf, where the group is cumulative and sequential, rather than synchronized. In bowling and golf, individual efforts (and accomplishments) are not directly coordinated with tho'se of others, although they are added to them. In these '' individualistic' •· sports, individual actions are apart from the group , not subsumed under group effort as they necessarily are in the slet and in sports like baseball. Psychologically, the meaning of these sports differs greatly from the earlier " team" sports , where the individual could never be " taken out" of the group . �SLOVAKIA 87 \ This point has been well made by Andrew J. Valusek, President of Sokol USA: '' ... we believe in mass training more than emphasis on individual excellence, even though outstanding Sokol athletes are honored and play an important role in the life and achievements of the movement itself (Souvenir Book, 15th Sokol USA Slet, July 1-3, 1966, New York). This transformation in atheltics reflects what is simultaneously a cultural and psychological transformation: from Slovak to American, from group-oriented to individual-oriented, from coordinated interdependence to self-reliant independence. Furthermore, the incorporation of American athletic activities represented a new social status for the group . The lodge members had adopted within an ethnic framework typically mainstream American social activities. Increasingly, ancestral ethnicity was the basis for association, while categories of American culture dominated the content of the activity. MEN'S CLUB AND SECRET SOCIETY My final consideration in the history of the Slovak-American fraternals is its vital ' 'latent'' function as an exclusive men's club. This refers, of course, to male fraternal organizations or a compartmentalized activity of a male fraternal. The men's club provided and safeguarded a haven and refuge from women, family, and responsibility. It occasioned regularized " rituals of rebellion" (Gluckman 1954; Wallace 1966). This is not a matter of the writer's interpretations but derives from informants ' statements as well as the writer's observations. In Slovakia and Ruthenia, the village tavern had fulfilled this release function. In those Slovak-American organizations whose meetings were held under the strict supervision of the priest, the conclusion of a meeting was frequently followed by a visit to the Slovak Club . Many fraternals held their lodge meetings in one of the rooms at the Slovak Club. At the club , heavy drinking, card and craps playing, mournful and boisterous Slovak folk song, and " men' s talk" occupied the hours and filled the air. Abetted by the influences of "boilermakers'' (a shot of whiskey with a beer as chaser), the unspeakable literally emptied into the open. Taboos were cavalierly broken - at least in word. Built on shared experiences and conflicts, the male associations offered one of the few opportunities for male solidarity. Both in Europe and in the first several decades in the U.S., Saturday night was the ritual occasion for the unbottling of the week's pent up burdens. In the U.S. , the male solidarity of Slovak-American fraternal and the Slovak Club came to be predominantly associated with the immi- �88 SLOVAKIA grant generation. With the second and later generations, from the 1940's and on, this function became transferred to union halls, service veterans' clubs, American fraternal orders, and local bars, whether located adjacent to the mill or in one's neighborhood. These became places where men from varied ethnic backgrounds (though as exclusively white as they were exclusively male) could commiserate and boast of extracurricular feats on the war front and on the home front alike, out of reach of female domination and ridicule. In the original Slovak tavern the American Slovak Club, and later supra-ethnic American adaptations, lusty fiction compensated for social realities too miserable to acknowledge, and over which one felt no control. Through group support, one was able, without too great a burden on the conscience, to take a temporary moral holiday. And a man knew that later confession and communion could always undo - again temporarily what he had dared to think or say or do under the influence of potent spirits. SLOVAK-AMERICAN CHURCHES: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TRENDS A detailed history of Slovak-American parishes at the local and national levels, over the past century, exactly duplicates the history of the fraternals . For this reason, and for economy of space, I would like to review the major trends and give a brief ''life history'' of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, which history will embody these trends. Each of the churches in which I conducted fieldwork (Latin Rite, Byzantine Rite, Independent Rite Catholic, and Lutheran) either experienced the convulsion of schism or was a product of schism. Each of these parishes experiences the on-going drama of conflict between traditionalists and acculturationists. And in each of these parishes, the resolution is identical: (a) outward mobility of dissident acculturationists (and, in some cases, traditionalists for whom even the majority of parish traditionalists have compromised too much); (b) internal acculturation and inter-marriage, creating supra-ethnic denominationalized parishes ; (c) the "territorialization" of "nationality '' parishes (this language comes from khe Catholic diocesan context, but is univerally applicable) . The same directional change is evidenced since the 1930's in Slo- �SLOVAKIA " 89 vak-American churches as in fratemals: that is, away from ethnic exclusiveness and insularity. Initially, religion, like fratemalism, was an inseparable functional component of ethnicity. Today, in the context of an individual's increasingly personal community" (Gould 1970: 148), a traditional social structural view is empirically invalidated. "Religion" and "ethnicity" have become increasingly separate domains of one's life. This is true even for those originally nationality parishes which, in the 1960's or early 1970's, still maintained a large membership and which could afford to build a new parish further "up the hill" or out in suburbia. I think, for instance, of two parishes in Duquesne, Pennsylvania: Holy Trinity (Slovak) Roman Catholic Church, which, in the late 1960's, built a dazzlingly modem church in the suburb of West Mifflin in which many of the second and third generation lived, but which became de jure a supra-ethnic territorial parish in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh; and Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, originally located in the same neighborhood as Holy Trinity, but which built a modem church building in the mid-1960's a mile or two further up the hill, in a stable white, middle-class, poly-ethnic neighborhood. Cross-cutting denominational lines is the decisive influence of World War Il in accelerating, though not causing, the Americanization process within Slovak-American parishes, and with it, division or further schism. The ubiquity of this process I have discovered from discussions with Latin and Byzantine Rite Catholic, Lutheran, and Independent Catholic Slovak-American clergymen and parishioners. A Slovak Lutheran minister in his late forties, who grew up in Johnstown, Penna., relates his experience there and generalizes from it: In my church in Johnstown, there was no English until 1942 - at least until 1942, when I left for World War II. When I left, no English had been introduced. But after war, the young people coming back demanded that English be adopted as a separate service. The effect of the war was to put people of all different backgrounds together, and the common language there was English. The men thought and spoke and felt in English, so that when they got home after the war, their native towns and churches were like a foreign country. The delicate questions, then, as always, was how to contain or try to contain change within continuity. In McKeesport, Penna., Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church had been founded in 1895 as a "nationality" parish within the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese (Holy Trinity 1970; Slovak Catholic Par- �90 SLOVAKIA ishes and Institutions, 1955). In 1921 the church had a membership of some 1, 700 individuals and 325 families. In that year, the bishop appointed a priest of Alsatian-German ancestry to succeed the Slovak priest who many elderly parishioners allege returned to Slovakia under dubious circumstances (e.g. , with church funds?). Not so much the new priest's ethnicity as his antagonistic, condescendingly anti-Slovak style precipitated a schism in which some 300 families left to found Sts . Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, later renamed Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This priest remained the pastor of the church until his death in 1963, and was succeeded by a second-generation Slovak-American priest who remained pastor until his retirement in the mid-1970's. This period witnessed considerable Americanization of everything from liturgy to architecture to the aesthetics of the sanctuary. The immense wood-spires gave way to marble. The dusty baldachino was taken down in the 1960' s. The sanctuary of the church has fewer and fewer statues and candles. The interior became increasingly lighter and brightly lit. The Slovak mass on Sunday morning (one mass out of the four) , attended mostly by the older people, was phased out by the late 1960's. At the Diamond Jubilee Celebration (75 yrs.) in 1970, no Slovak was used in the special mass. (As I left the service, I overheard one man , perhaps in this 60 's, exclaim to a friend: " Couldn 't he have said something in Slovak?'') In 1975, a young third-generation Slovak-American priest became pastor and initiated weekly Charismatic Renewal Services , held in the church social hall and open to and attended by Catholics from parishes throughout McKeesport. Thus, what began as an exclusively ethnic parish has become internally a multi-ethnic territorial Roman Catholic parish though with explicitly acknowledged ties to an ethnic past. Moreover, it is the site for decidedly contemporary American cultic activity that stresses the direct, personal religious experience. The possible conflict between the priest and Eucharist-centererd formalism of the traditional mass (now in the vernacular English) and the participatory Charismatic Service of heightened self-expression and testimonial has at least for the moment been settled by compartmentalization. At the present time (see Table 10), the membership is large enough (roughly 1,800 members) , and its >decline due to the greater proportion of deaths over baptisms gradual e:eough to assure the parish at least several decades of "life." But, clearly the nature of the religious experience has changed decisively over the past 85 years . The word ' 'Slovak '' was officially dropped from the name of the church in �SLOVAKIA 91 \ the 1960's. • The parish is becoming increasingly working-class Catholic in its expressive function. The so-called Latinization and Irishization of the church has most recently been succeeded by a new type of American religious nativism: here , however, the change is induced far less from without than from within. To date, St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, and St. Mark Lutheran Church have solved the generational gap between traditionalists and acculturationists through separate services. Sts. Cyril and Methodius alternates Sundays with English and Slovak services. At St. Mark, the Slovak service typically takes place early on Sunday, followed by the English service . At the much larger St. Nicholas, the Slavonic Mass is one of three masses offered on Sunday morning, the other two in English (for detailed histories of these parishes , see Stein 1972). If at Holy Trinity, " Latinization" mediated by " Irishization " underlay much internal conflict, at St. Nicholas a less direct though powerful Latinization has taken place, here mediated by the supra-local hierarchy from Byzantine Catholic bishop through Rome. Just as in Latin Rite Slovak-American parishes, the conglomerate of IrishizationLatinization-Americanization was a means of social mobility for the priesthood ; likewise within Byzantine Rite Slovak-American parishes, Latinization-Americanization, bypassing the Latin Rite, Irish-dominated Church , was a means of social mobility for its priesthood. This, however, was not original to the American context. For centuries, both Byzantine and Latin Rite Slovak priests frequently used Magyarization as a means of mobility in Slovakia. Likewise, in Europe as in America, Germanization was a means of social mobility for Slovak Lutheran clergy. In all cases , the process in America was continuous with that in Europe: only the specific content or reference group(s) changed. • Let me furthe r pursue the issue of " What' s in a name? " , the importance of name as personal meaning and identity, from the point of view of baptismal records in this parish . Both in traditional Slovakia, and in parish records through the early 1920' s, baptismal names we re largely Biblical , or reflected more eastern Slavic influence . Thus, most males were named Michael, John, Thomas , Andrew , George, Paul, Joseph, Stephen , Be rnard , Albert, Rudolph, Charles, and Ivan ; and females were named Martha, Helen , Margaret , Mary, Anna , Elizabeth , and Ivana. American names, including the addition of a middle name, began to appear sporadically in the late 1910's , but grew in the 1920's and thereafter . For instance : Ella Sue, Stanley J oseph , Ethel Elizabeth, Emma Marie , Virginia , Robert William , George Edward (all before 1930) , Anna Mae, Rose Marie , Dorothy Mae , Virginia Louise, Patricia J ane , Lucille Diane , Gary Michael, William John , and so forth . �SLOVAKIA 92 TABLE 10 Diocese of Pittsburgh Holy Trinity (Slovak) Catholic Church Allegheny County McKeesport, PA Church reports at five year intervals (1896-1971): Year 1896 1901 1906 1911 1916 1921 1926 1931 1936 1941 1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1974+ Souls (approximate)• 600 Families (approximate)• 180 905 210 1060 250 1200 1300 1800 2500 2700 300 300 400 600 600 600 600 600 500 600 600 610 675 667 2900 2886 3170 3180 3500 3500 2725 2540 2140 Baptisms 144 151 175 177 160 140 137 131 86 72 127 86 78 66 41 26 16 Deaths 50 . 67 109 30 48 50 30 45 38 37 24 36 39 40 35 37 50 • Priest' s estimate derived from traditional annual blessing of homes after Epiphany. + Last year data available. Moreover, this was hardly a process imposed exclusively from without or by the pastor. In the absence of schism, and in the aftermath of schism for those who chose to remain loyal to church and pastor, the direction taken by the pastor coincided with the direction sought by a majority of the congregation, through passive assent if not active work toward change. The matter is somewhat different for Sts. Cyril and Methodius, an independent Slovak Catholic church that has literally struggled for survival since its creation in 1921. Beginning with some 300 zealous families as Sts. Peter and Paul, it has now barely 100 members. In the 1920's it ambitiously built a new church, only to lose it to the bank in 1937. Just as, prior to building its own edifi<z, the church held services in Slovak Hall and in churches where it was welcomed, likewise after 1937, it held services at the YWCA and the Baptist Mission. In order to be exempt from any past or future debts incurred under its original �SLOVAKIA 93 \ name , Sts. Peter and Paul changed its name to Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the late 1930's . In its early period, the church had been served by a priest ordained by the Czecho-Slovak Independent Church in Slovakia. Later, when no priest could be found, Sts. Cyril and Methodius became affiliated with the parallel nativistic Polish National Catholic movement which had begun in Scranton, Penna. in 1897 (Fox, n .d.). Services were conducted at the local, inner-city Polish National Catholic Church , served by a Polish-American priest who said mass in Polish, while responsorials and hymns were sung in Slovak by the congregation. During the late 1960's, the Polish church began a building program in suburban McKeesport. At the same time, a Swedish Evangelical Free Church was vacating its church on the "hill" and moving to a more outlying district - where its members tended to be living, and away from the area in which blacks were now living in increasing numbers . The Slovak Independent church voted to purchase the Swedish church outright in 1967. So the church now had a home, but few members. Many had, in the intervening year, returned to Holy Trinity. Others joined Catholic or Protestant churches near their homes . Still others gravitated in increasing numbers to the Polish National Catholic Church: an institution which acted both to safeguard the Slovak church and as an agent of acculturation to the PNCC tradition. Indeed , one of the greatest areas of chronic conflict within Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been those who resist and resent the PNCC influence and those who accept it. From the outset, the Slovak National Catholic Church movement has been numerically small and politically weak in comparison with the PNCC, which now claims several hundreds of thousands of members in some 140 churches in the U.S. alone - and which movement diffused in the 1920's back to the mother country . Thus the direction of change in Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been toward PNCC and American acculturation. Like St. Mark, whose ' 'life history '' I present immediately below in detail rather than fragment , the membership of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is highly skewed toward the end of the life cycle , unbalanced by a substantial middle-aged population to compensate for the outward migration of young adults and the virtually non-existent birth-rate. While these examples are sufficient to illustrate the trend of culture change , I would like to tum to the history of St. Mark Lutheran Church , which should provide a depth missing in the breadth of the " trends " I have covered for the other churches . �94 SLOVAKIA ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH: AN INSTITUTIONAL ''LIFE HISTORY'' St. Mark's was founded in 1913 by 25 members from the Slovak Evangelical Union Assembly 53 (a fraternal organization) organized in 1899 in Duquesne. The church was named the Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne. Between 1913 and 1919, ''lacking funds to either build or buy a place for a church site, the Church council called upon the nearby existing Grace Reformed Church ... for permission to use the church for services" (50th Anniversary Book, St. Mark Ev. Lutheran Church, Oct. 27, 1963) . Toward the end of the decade , Grace Reformed Church's growth compelled it to seek larger quarters elsewhere in Duquesne, making the building available for purchase. Slovak Lutherans from Duquesne and from the nearby communities of McKeesport and Glassport purchased the church building. In 1920, the parish was able to send a call for its first full-time pastor. In 1934, after no prior synodical affiliation, the church joined the Slovak Zion Synod, Lutheran Church of America, in which it has been a member ever since. In the 1930's, the Slovak Lutheran parish in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, experienced a schism between the more Americanized members and the traditionalists. The more Americanized members wanted English introduced into the service, and wanted to establish a Sunday School for their children in which English was the language of instruction. The more adamant Slovaks refused to permit any change. Between one-third and one-half of the congregation (over 150 members) left. They took up membership at the nearby German Lutheran and Engish Lutheran churches. The loss of membership in the 1930's precipitated a compromise initiated in 1940: an English-language Sunday School was founded, and English was adopted in the Vacation Bible School and in the Confirmation Class. The services, however, remained entirely in Slovak. The Second World War acted as a great catalyst of change toward the more rapid Americanization of the parish - not merely of this parish but thoughout Slovak Lutheran parishes. The younger members, many of them returning veterans, insisted on a separate English service. This structural change solved in part the probl~m of the different intergenerational linguistic and cultural orientatibns. Each age set, indeed cultural set, would have its own separate service. The Sunday morning Slovak service at the Duquesne parish is now a much shortened version of the traditional service. In this way, it has been adopted to the Ameri- �SLOVAKIA 95 can time-sense (e.g., hymns of an original 16-20 stanzas now reduced to 4-6). For occasions such •s Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday, and Confirmation, joint services are held, with roughly half in English and half in Slovak, equally distributed throughout the service. In the 1960's, further measures were taken to Americanize the church. A majority of the younger members felt that the word "Slovak" in its name , as with the lengthy European-sounding name as a whole, discouraged non-Slovaks from joining. The younger age set wished to become an integrated member of the American Lutheran community rather than remain outside it. As a reflection of this attitude change, the name was changed from Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne to the more conventional St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, or simply St. Mark Lutheran Church. The church was named in honor of a saint because, as the pastor put it, ''most American churches are called Saint this or Saint that.'' Accompanying the change in name were concomitant changes in the by-laws whose effect was intended to parallel and validate the change in name. Whereas previously membership was restricted to Slovak Lutherans and their spouses (through conversion to Lutheranism), now membership was opened to all Lutherans irrespective of nationality background. For all practical purposes the church became ''two churches' ' : Slovak Lutheran and American Lutheran, the former using the Slovak liturgy, and the latter utilizing the Common Service Book of 1917 (United Lutheran Church of America) until the mid-1960's, then the authorized Service Book and Hymnal (Lutheran Church of America, 1968). However, the opening up of the church to new membership, together with the standardization of the liturgy, failed to attract new members or to retain the young. The Slovak population of Duquesne, like that of McKeesport and all other local milltowns on the Monongahela, had largely been moving to outlying districts, first up on ''the hill,'' later further out to "suburbs. " Mobility of membership to nearby " American Lutheran" churches almost inevitably followed. In the same area of Duquesne as St. Mark Church were former Slovak Roman Catholic (Holy Trinity, Duquesne) and Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Catholic (Sts. Peter and Paul) churches . Sts. Peter and Paul had completed a new church far up on the hill in early 1960, and Holy Trinity completed a new church out in the suburb of West Mifflin in 1970. During the period from the 1940' s through the 1960' s, as the Slovaks moved " up and out," the area rapidly became settled by blacks , and the area quickly became unpopular even in the eyes of those Slovaks who remained and attended the Lutheran Church (which could not �96 SLOVAKIA afford to build elsewhere). The church could hardly retain its own members, let alone attract outsiders to what was quickly becoming called a deteriorated and unstable area. The former Slovak Catholic Holy Trinity Church building and rectory were given by the diocesan bishop to a local black church group, and the nearby vacated Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Church became a plaything for vandals. Many Catholic and Lutheran Slovak-Americans who had bought their first homes here or had grown up in this neighborhood said in disgust that this was no longer a place fit for a white man to live. It is significant that, despite all the vast changes that have taken place in the church, the original German-made oak tryptich altar, baptismal, and pulpit (of the 1920's) are retained by the church to the present. From time to time younger parishioners have suggested that the ancient pipe organ be replaced by a modern electric organ, but there has never been a concerted demand for such a replacement. I suspect that underlying this lack of pressure for costly remodeling and rennovation is first, the smallness of the congregation and hence the lack of large amounts of funds for such purposes, and second, the younger generation's relative lack of long-term future commitment to the parish and hence their acquiescence to the traditional preferences of the older generation . At present, an average of ten of those parishioners aged 60 and over attend the Slovak service; while between 40 and 50 of mostly younger parishioners and their families attend the English. Only a few elderly people are accompanied in the Slovak service by their children and grandchildren. However, many grandparents attend the English service with their children. Unexceptionably, the three-generation service is the English. A maximum of 15 attend the Slovak service, while at the English it approximates 60. The parish is rapidly losing members at both ends of the age range , the elder through deaths , and the younger with their families by moving away or joining more American Lutheran churches . Between 1960 and the end of 1970, the church lost 26 members over age 50 (out of a total of 32) of whom 14 were over age 70. Several parents in their 30 's and 40 's have told me of their intention of joining elsewhere after their own parents, stalwart members , pass on .* \ • Rarely have Slovak-ethnic organizations later becom~ stable supra-ethnic co=unity institutions . The direction of change seems one way . Ethnic parishes have declined dramatically in Slovak-American membership . The ethnic fratemals ' efforts at modernizing fis cally simply came too late . Moreover, the fratemals ' renewed efforts at in- �SLOVAKIA 97 , CONCLUSION This paper has examined religion and fraternal association among Slovak-Americans as institutional forms for the communication of cultural meaning. Although I have focused on a single Euro-American population, the perspectives and findings of this study should be applicable to and testable by data from comparable populations. Historical, documentary, ethnographic, and demographic data were adduced both to illustrate cultural patterns of communication and to offer the reader material by which my generalizations might be evaluated. I have emphasized that (a) there is much in Slovak-American adaptation that is built upon, indeed derived from, preadaptive characteristics of traditional culture which cannot be reduced to the demands of the host environment or to adaptive tools available in it; (b) the overall trend and categories of change in fraternals and churches is identical; (c) the study of institutional meaning is never removed, nor can it be abstracted from, the personal meanings of its participants who invest in social structures; (d) what from one point of view appears to be patently instrumental functions can be discerned simultaneously from another point of view as expressive functions (i.e., complementary); (e) the American cultural system was adopted by Slovak-Americans to achieve both traditional ends (often in new "language" or cultural content) and anti-traditional ends, the seeds of which were sown (as latent possibilities) in traditional Slovak family and social conflict; (f) the distinction between traditional and modern, and continuity and change, cannot be concluded on the basis of mere appearance, but must be detennined by the meanings communicated by the cultural actors; hence (g) continuity in form, function, and meaning can often be expressed, not despite, but strurnental change in service of ethnic, that is, expressive, revitalization was a futile attempt to reassemble functions that had already been severed by the membership for expressive reasons . One conspicuous exception is the Benedictine High School in Cleveland , Ohio . Another is the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Homestead, Pennsylvania (with branches in McKeesport and Clairton, also mill towns) , originally founded in 1914 by Slovak workers to assist in providing common funds for Slovak families now able and eager to purchase homes in the "hill" regions of the town up and away from their rented flats in the " lowland" or " bottoms " close to the mill . Perhaps a compelling reason for the success of the S & L association lies in its offer of supra-ethnic' ' social security '' resources from the beginning. That is, being primarily a financial institution, it stood the best chance of flourishing in the American cultural environment in which instrumental (e .g. , economic) functions were compartmentalized from expressive ones. �98 SLOVAKIA through a change in symbolic content; (h) although unmistakable trends of change have been noted, at any given moment the identified distinctive features of change may perform complementary or contradictory institutional functions; (i) the process of Americanization or acculturation cannot be seen as a unitary process directed either from within or from without the ethnic community, but must be analyzed in terms of sources of impetus for Americanization. The study of ethnicity is not the study of "tribes" as though they and their conceptually reified cultures persist statically unchanged. Rather, the study of ethnicity is the study of human relationships, the meanings which people attach to those relationships, the communication of those meanings in idiosyncratic or institutionalized forms, the process by which changed meanings lead to changes in relationships and how in tum ethnicity and thus identity itself comes to be redefined. Certainly the nativistic "New Ethnicity" advocated by many fraternal leaders and Slovak-American intelligentsia (Stein and Hill 1977) is not at all the unself-conscious native ethnicity of the pre-immigrant period. My research among some three- and four-generation SlovakAmerican families and institutions leads to to the inexorable conclusion that Slovak-American ethnicity over the past century has dramatically changed from a relatively homogeneous public expression of community form, function, structure, meaning, and relationship to a far more heterogeneous, individualized, private matter. This privatization of ethnicity had led many scholars to conclude that ethnicity has disappeared. This is nonsense: it has been repattemed, some elements retained, others given up. Although the American ethos has replaced the ethnic ethos as the core of personal and group identity, the spheres of life and the levels of the personality at which this replacement has occurred must be demonstrated and explained. What has unmistakably declined and is disappearing is the full complement of institutions which characteristically define a traditional community (cf. Arensberg and Kimball 1965) . However, as I have suggested in my previously cited works, unconsciously communicated loyalties, conflicts, values , expectation, and worldview in the intimate interior of even ethnically intermarried families results in continuities in surprising guises (e.g., the steel mill experienced as the old manorial latifundia: see Stein and Hill 1979; Hamey 1975) . , On the other hand, ethnic ties are often.maintained in the absence of conspicuously ethnic content - and here "conspicuity" refers all too often to the preoccupations and categories of the observer. Ethnicity takes on an especially "hidden" quality (Hill and May 1973) when the �SLOVAKIA 99 observer expects tradition~ meanings to take traditional representational forms. The more subtle, out-of-awareness (Hall 1977) aspects of ethnicity are the most intractible because they are pre-verbally ta.ken for granted and cannot be verbalized. Thus, for instance, I shall know that without a doubt a Slovak-American woman or man has acculturated more toward the core of the metaphoric personal ''onion'' when children - or the ethnographer! - are forcibly lavished copious quantities of food, when I am invited to visit with a family in their ''living room" or "dining room" instead of the kitchen; or when the implicit roles of maternal dominance and paternal distance in the home have become less pronounced, and the affective atmosphere affectively less brittle. Likewise, the inclusion of members from other ethnic groups within formerly exclusive tradition-maintaining fraternal and religious institutions, and the increasingly widespread phenomenon of intermarriage, are expressions of the simultaneous of group- or "ethnic" - and ego-boundaries. The formerly "other," often despised and alien, is now included within the possibilities of the "self." This fact requires a reassessment of our received wisdom about structural assimilation, namely, that inclusion is an act governed or regulated by the more mainstreamed "Americans" - that is, that it operates as a one-way process. Rather, inclusion is reciprocally a dynamic from within the ethnic group. Finally, this paper further confirms the tenet that ethnicity is a process operating at many levels, and is not a lineal continuum whose starting and terminal points can easily be plotted in terms of preconceived categories of "passing," "acculturation," "mobility," or "assimilation." It is the author's hope that future studies will not only provide greater breadth and depth in the study of Slovak-Americans, but will offer a comparative framework for the study of emigrant Slovaks in other nations (indeed, other regions of the U.S.), the internal transformation of Slovakia in the post-World War I period, and other European emigrant populations in their new contexts. Such studies will determine precisely how limited or widespread is the trend of culture change discussed in this paper. REFERENCES Anderson, Robert T. "Voluntary Associations in History," American Anthropologist 73(1971): 209-222. Arensberg, Conrad M. and Solon T. Kimball. Culture and Community . New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1966. �100 SLOVAKIA Balch, Emily Greene. Our Slavic Fellow Citizens . New York : Amo Press, 1969 (orig. 1910) . Barton , Josef J . Peasants and Strangers : Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 1890-1950. Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press, 1976. Bue, Bonaventure S. " Slovak Nationalism: Its Origins, Conflicts and Objectives." Master's thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1967. Fitzpatrick , Joseph P. " The Importance of ' Community' in the Process of Immigrant Assimilation, " International Migration Review 1(1)(1966) : 6-16. Fox, Paul. The Polish National Catholic Church . Scranton , Penna: School of Christian Living, n.d . Gluckman, Max. Rituals of Rebellion in South-East Africa . Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1964. Goldschmidt, Walter and E. J . Kunkel. " The Structure of the Peasant Family," American Anthropologist 73(1971): 1068-1076. Gould, Harold A. ' 'Some Preliminary Observations Concerning the Anthropology of Industrialization,'' In Peasants in Cities: Readings in the Anthropology of Urbanization . William Mangin, ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970, pp. 137-149. Hall, Edward. Beyond Culture . Garden City, New York : Doubleday 1/ Anchor, 1977. Hamey, Robert F. "Ambiente and Social Class in North American Little Italies," Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism 2(2)(1976): 208-224. Hill, Robert F. and J . Thomas May. " Exploring Hidden Ethnicity: Problems and Methods ," American Society of Ethnohistory , Central State University, Edmond , Oklahoma, October 1973. Jansak Stefan. "The Land Question in Slovakia (I), " The Slavonic Review 8(1930) : 612626. Kerner, Robert J ., ed . Czechoslovakia . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1940. Kirschbaum , Joseph M. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Europe. New York: Robert Speller and Sons, 1960. Klein, Philip . A Social Study of Pittsburgh. New York : Columbia University Press, 1938. Koenig, Samuel. " Marriage and the Family among the Galician Ukrainians, " In Studies in the Science of Society . George P. Murdock, ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937 , pp. 299-318 . Krajsa, Joseph C., Chairman, Editorial Board. Slovaks in America . Middletown, Penn.: The Slovak League of America, 1978. La Barre, Weston . The Ghost Dance: The Origins of Religion . New York: Dell, 1972. Lacko, Michael. '' A Brief Study of the History of the Slovak Catholics of the ByzantineSlavonic Rite," Slovak Studies 3(1963) : 199-224. Slovak Institute, Rome, Italy . Light, Ivan H. Ethnic Enterprise in America. Berkeley: University of California Press , 1972 . Macartney , C. A. Hungary and Her Successors . New York : Oxford University Press , 1937. Nelli, Humbert S. The Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930: A Study in Ethnic Mobility . New York : Oxford University Press, 1970. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and/ts People . New York: Robert Speller and Sons , 1960. Roucek , Joseph S. "Problems of Assimilation: A Study of Czecho-Slovaks in the United States ," Sociology and Social Research XVIl (1932-33) : 62-71. Roucek , Joseph S. " The Passing of American Czechoshivaks ," American Journal of Sociology 39(1933-34) : 611-626 . Roucek , Joseph S. " Czechoslovak Americans ," In Our Racial and National Minorities. �SLOVAKIA 101 Francis J . Brown and Joseph S. Roucek , eds . New York: Prentice-Hall, 1937, pp. 230246 . Slovak Catholic Parishes and Institutions in the United States and Canada. Cleveland, Ohio: The First Catholic Slovak Union, 1966 (Jednota Printery, Middletown, Penna.) . Stein , Howard F . " An Ethno-Historical Study of Slovak-American Identity." Doctoral dissertation , University of Pittsburgh , 1972. Stein, Howard F. " Cultural Specificity in Patterns of Mental Illness and Health: A Slovak-American Case Study, " Family Process 12(March 1973): 69-82. Stein, Howard F. '' Envy and the Evil Eye among Slovak-Americans: An Exploration into the Psychological Ontogeny of Belief and Ritual," Ethos 2(1)(Spring 1974) : 16-46. Stein , Howard F. " Structural Change in Slovak Kinship: An Ethnohistoric Inquiry," Ethnology 14(1)(January 1976): 99-108 . Stein , Howard F. " A Dialectic Model of Illness and Health Attitudes and Behavior among Slovak-Americans ," International Journal of Mental Health 6(2)(Summer 1976) : 117-137. Stein , Howard F. " The Slovak-American 'Swaddling Ethos' : Homeostat for Family Dynamics and Cultural Continuity, " Family Process 17 (March 1978) : 32-46. (a) Stein, Howard F. ''Aging and Death among Slovak-Americans: A Study in the Thematic Unity of the Life Cycle ," The Journal of Psychological Anthropology 1(3)(Summer 1978) : 297-320. (b) Stein, Howard F. "The White Ethnic Movement, Pan-Ism, and the Restoration of Early Symbosis: The Psychohistory of a Group-Fantasy," The Journal of Psychohistory 6(3)(Winter 1979) : 319-360. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F . Hill. The Ethnic Imperative: Ewmining the New White Ethnic Mo vement. University Park , Penna .: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F. Hill. " Adaptive Modalities Among Slovak- and PolishAmericans : Some Issues in Cultural Continuity and Change ," Anthropology 3(1-2) (1979) : 96-107. Stolarik , M. Mark . " Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 18701918." Doctoral dissertation , University of Minnesota , 1974. Wallace , A. F. C. Religion: An Anthropological View . New York: Random House, 1966. Yurchak , Peter Paul . The Slovaks . Whiting, Indiana: Obrana Press, 1946. Zatko , James J . " Slovaks in the U.S.A., 1900-1914," Slovakia 16(39)(1966) : 41-62 (Slovak League of America). �� SLOVAKIA 53 An Ethnohistqry of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions HOW ARD F. STEIN INTRODUCTION: ETHNICITY, INSTITUTIONS AND THE STUDY OF MEANING The study of ethnicity is necessarily a study of systems of meaning and how that meaning is communicated. Ethnicity is far more than a matter of social mobility, group competition for scarce resources, acculturation, and the like. This paper focuses on what might be called the "life histories" of Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations as institutionalized expressors of a century of changing groupidentity and those meanings that represent the underlying group-identity. Special emphasis is placed on identifying precisely what about ethnic identity is communicated by these institutions. The central argument is that Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations perform important psychosocial functions - not merely social structural ones. Indeed, I propose that the former determines and sustains, and explains, the revitalization or atrophy of the latter. Another way of putting it is that the ''expressive'' dimension of ethnicity is inherent in the "instrumental" roles performed by fraternal and religious organizations. The world of the symbolic is never separated from the world of the practical. The term "ethnic fraternal" is used here in the sense of mutual benefit, self-help, voluntary associations (see Anderson 1971) that trace to diverse mid-nineteenth century immigrant populations to the U.S. However, the meaning of ethnic fraternalism should not be ac• A paper presented as part of a panel on ''Ethnicity as Communication in Southeastern Europe: A Comparative Approach,'' at the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. �54 SLOVAKIA cepted as self-evident, since ethnic voluntary associations, like the religious institutions which they founded, have undergone considerable change of function, and indeed have served multiple, often contradictory functions. In both instances it will be necessary to specify the meaning of persistance and change alike. Elsewhere I have addressed issues of Slovak-American cultural continuity and change in identity at the levels of personality structure, family dynamics, child-rearing patterns, kinship structure, projective system, health and illness attitudes, psychopathology, and ethos (Stein _1973, 1974, 1975,_1976, 1978a; _Stein and Hill 197~, _19~_). No attempt~ here made at a comprehensive history of Slovaks in Europe or the United States. The reader is referred to two groups of works on Slovaks and Slovak-Americans. One genre can be regarded as "official histories," and includes works by Yurchak (1946), Kirschbaum (1960), O~do (1960), Zatko (1966), and Krajsa (1978); and the journals Slovak Studies and Slovakia. The second group consists of disparate studies whose common denominator is the absence of adherence to any prevailing ideology. Representatives of this genre include Balch (1910); Macartney (1937); Kerner (1940); Bue (1957); Roucek (1932-33, 1933-34, 1937); Stolarik (1974); Barton (1975); and Stein (1972). The sources in the first group reflect a particular point of view, namely, the alliance of Slovak Roman Catholicism with political nationalism (i.e., the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Slovak League of America). This also reminds us that traditionally among the majority of Slovaks, ethnicity and religion were fused. Slovak Studies is the publication of the Slovak Institute, Rome, and Slovakia has long been the official publication of the Slovak League. One could legitimately see the Slovak Republic as an expansion onto the level of the state of what had long been a fact at the local level: namely, the political importance of the clergy. Many past and present Slovak League leaders, scholars, and political activists on behalf of Slovak national autonomy in Europe are former leaders and intelligentsia of the short-lived Slovak Republic (1939-1945). That their genre of historiography would be ethno-national apologia is to be expected. However, the visibility of the Slovak League on the American scene in official American political circles has more to do with their anti-communism and their courtship by American political leaders than with cultural, political, or demographic fa~s intrinsic to the League. This highlights the oft neglected fact that American sociopolitical factors often heighten ethnicity, even help preserve it - through a not particularly laudable duplicitous manipulation of loyalties and fears. Among Slovak-Americans, as among all peoples, official histories �SLOVAKIA 55 are those sacred myths of the past held and recorded by the putative leadership. Throughout this essay, I shall emphasize whose perspective on the past is being stated as I discuss those institutions that have been deeply concerned v,:ith the cultural sense of time. This leads to a final word of warning: jus\ as ''culture'' is inseparable from the people who constitute it, likewise for social "institutions." An "institution" is only a conventional shorthand. What this paper is about is the history of group consensus and conflict, continuity and change. The very inclusion of this essay in Slovakia attests to changes not only in ''editorial policy" or editorship, but to a more pervasive change in Slovak ethnicity itself in which there is greater openness to self-scrutiny. It is less necessary, shall I say, to toe a "party line." Neither Slovakia, nor Slovak ethnicity, is static. The focus of this paper is on large-scale social institutions as vehicles of continuity and change in meaning systems. Among SlovakAmericans, religious and fraternal organizations have served for nearly a century as articulators of cultural meaning, first reflecting the relatively uniform cultural system brought from Slovakia, later becoming increasingly removed from the very real pluralism of the Slovak-American population for whom they claim to speak. Both ethnographic research in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania (conducted intensively 1970-1972, and intermittently through the present) and documentary study have provided both an understanding of the dynamics within local churches and fraternal society lodges, and a picture of Slovak-American religion and voluntary association on the national scale. Ethnographic study in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania, especially the mill-cities of McKeesport and Duquesne, include participant obsevation at, and interviews with members of, the following religious and fraternal groups: parishes of Slovak Roman Catholic Latin Rite, Slovak and Ruthenian Roman Catholic Byzantine Rite, Slovak Independent Catholic Rite, Slovak Lutheran Rite; the First Catholic Slovak Union, Zivena, the Slovak League, Slovak Catholic Sokol, Sokol USA, National Slovak Society, Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Evangelical Union. I obtained valuable ethnographic and demographic data from interviews and documentary sources at the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, and with officers of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Zion Synod-Lutheran Church of America. A careful study of old and recent fraternal newspapers and annual Kalendars, often stored not in official archives but in cabinets and basements, permitted comparison of ethnohistory recon- �56 SLOVAKIA structed from informants' current memory and self-presentation, with cultural meanings preserved in print.* Finally, actuarial data provided by the national offices of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and United Societies of USA permitted a comparison to be made between a necessarily selected sample in which values, attitudes, expectations, criteria and policies of admission and exclusion, and the like were expressed; and statistics of actual participation in or withdrawal from fraternal associations based on trends in membership as reflected in the purchasing and cashing-in of life insurance policies. Ethnographic research both at the local and supra-level simultaneously complemented, explained, and tested the data obtained from tables of parish and fraternal society membership. The reader is referred to the following Tables 1-4 which identify both on the national level and in the region of ethnographic study the major Slovak-American religious and fraternal institutions. ETHNOGRAPHIC BASE LINE The Slovak-American institutions discussed here stem from the migration of over some half-million Slovak peasants and landless peasants from 1880 until the mid-1920's (Zatko 1966: 45), that is, from the period of the Magyar development of a monetary, technologized, labor intensive economy in the 1870's, to the exclusionary American Emergency Quota Laws of 1921-24 and the Immigration Act of 1924, and the National Origins Act of 1929. Roughly 85 percent of the immigrants were Latin or Byzantine Rite Catholics, and 15 percent were Lutherans and Calvinists. The highest rate of migration was from the most impoverished and overpopulated regions of Slovakia, namely, the foothills of the Tatra and Carpathian Mountains (Jansak 1930). As an overall pattern, the earliest Slovaks came to the anthracite coal mining district of eastern Pennsylvania, while later Slovaks came to the mill towns in the "Steel Valley" of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and westward (Cleveland, Gary, Chicago). The greater Pittsburgh region remains the highest concentration of Slovak-Americans in the U.S. (some 29,000 immigrants; 35,000 foreign stock in 1930 Censu~ Klein 1938: 288; Roucek 1933-34: 614) . It is the location of the national offices of the National • These include Narodne Noviny, Jednota, The Greek Catholic Union Messenger, Prosvita, Katolicky Sokol, Sokol USA Times; annual fraternal yearbooks or Kalenddrs ; and the journals Slovakia (Slovak League) and Slovak Studies (Slovak Institute, Cleveland and Rome). �SLOVAKIA 57 TABLE 1 THE FOUNDING OF SOOVAK-AMERICAN RELIGION IN AMERICA I. Early Slovak Catholic Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Church in the Western Hemisphere, Hazleton, Penna., 1885 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church* . .......... . (Cornerstone) Early Slovak Roman Catholic Churches in the Allentown, Penna. Diocese (anthracite coal mining area)* ................ . . . Bethlehem, Penna., 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius Saint Michael Archangel ... . .... . . . . .. . ..... Summit Hill, Langsford, Penna. , 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius .... . .. .... ....... . .Reading, Penna., 1896 First Slovak Catholic parish school ............ .. . . .Chicago, ID., 1900 Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak Sisterhood: Motherhouse established .................... ... Danville, Pa., 1901 High School for Girls established ........... . .... Danville, Pa., 1922 First Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve St. Michael's Parish ........ Braddock, Pa., 1902 Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the USA (to support students interested in teaching and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns) .... Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1903 Benedictine High School for Boys . .. . . .... . . . ...... Cleveland, 1927 II. Early Slovak Lutheran Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Lutheran Church in the Western Hemisphere: Saints Peter and Paul .............. Freeland, Penna., first services: 1883; Church built: 1886. • Slovak Lutheran Synod (Missouri Synod) ............ 1902 Slovak Zion Synod (left Missouri Synod, joined United Lutheran Church of America founded in 1919) . . ......... . . .. . . . . ..... .. 1920 • Source: Katolicky Sokol, July 21, 1971 (published in Passaic, New Jersey) . Evidently, the founding of the first Slovak church in the western hemisphere is a matter of considerable controversy - and competition. Professor M. Mark Stolarik kindly informed me of the feud between St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and St. Stephen's in Streator, Illinois for the honor of being "the first" (which, incidentally, is a very American preoccupation!) . Professor Stolarik found the St. Stephen records several years ago and deposited them at the Immigrant Archives in Minnesota. Thus St. Stephen's can document its claim to having been founded in 1884. On the other hand, St. Joseph's burned down at the tum of the century, and its records were lost. Thus its claim to having been founded in 1884 cannot be documented . Professor Stolarik suggests that the editor of Katolicky Sokol, John Sciranka, my original source for the 1886 date , tended to favor the Hazleton parish since he was from Pennsylvania (again , ethnicity in a meta-context, this time localism) (personal communication, 9 September 1979) . �Passaic, N.J ., 1906 Cleveland, 1907 Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1911 Slovak Catholic Sokol Slovak League of America Slovak Catholic Federation in America McKeesport, Pa ., 1902 Wilkes-Barre, Pa ., 1892 Freeland, Pa., 1893 New York, 1896 Greek Catholic Union Slovak Evangelical Union (since 1960: United Lut9eran Society) Sokol USA (orig.: Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA) United Societies of USA (Sobranije) Cleveland, 1892 Cleveland, 1890 Cleveland ? Passaic, N.J . McKeesport Perth Amboy, N.J. Ligonier, Pa. Pittsburgh Cleveland Cleveiand Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious , political, fraternal Insurance, religious , cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, cultural, insurance, political, fraternal Insurance, religious (Greek Catholic), cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, religious (Roman Catholic), cultural, fraternal , insurance Political, cultural, religious Religious, political, cultural MAJOR NATIONALLY-BASED SLOVAK INSTITUTIONS Headquarters Place and Year Functions Pittsburgh, 1890 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal New York, 1891 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union 2ivena Beneficial Society (women's equivalent to National Slovak Society, last joint convention with NSS, 1901) First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) Name National Slovak Society TABLE2 > 7' > ~ r I.I) CX) V, �Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak National Catholic Church, McKeesport, founded 1922; name originally Saints Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church ; changed name to present in the late 1930's for legal purposes due to loss of church building during the Depression; affiliated throughout its history with the Polish National Catholic Church, and in the 1940's with the Congregational Church. St. Mark Lutheran Church, Duquesne, Pa. (serving Duquesne and McKeesport), founded 1913 ; name originally: Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Congregation of Duquesne; church bought 1920; joined Slovak Zion Synod of the United Lutheran Church of America 1934; Sunday school founded, use of English in teaching confirmation class 1940; earlier schism over non-use of English by acculturated families ; name changed to present in the 1950's, accompanied by change in by-laws to open church to Lutherans of all nationalities . St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church , founded 1901 ; name originally "Greek Catholic," changed to " Byzantine" in the 1960's; schism in 1939. SWVAK CHURCHES SERVING THE McKEESPORT AREA Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church, founded 1892; the name "Slovak" officially dropped in the 1960's; first church building purchased and enlarged 1895 ; schism in 1922. ., TABLE3 '° u, 7' > > ~ r Vl �SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE McKEESPORT PENNSYLVANIA AREA IN '' STEEL VALLEY'' Name Year Founded Membership, other comments Slovenskeho N. P. Spolok (Slovak December 16, 1888 Protestant or Catholic, but Slavic Sick Benefit Soc.) preceded the local lodge of the National Slovak Society, with which it merged in 1890 National Slovak Society, Lodge 31 1890 Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic mostly Slovak Jednota (First Catholic Slovak 1892 (women's lodge, Roman Catholic, Slovak Union) , Lodge 60 276 , formed later) Greek Catholic Union, Lodge 2 1892 Mostly Greek Catholic, but also Roman Catholic, Rusin, and Slovak United Societies of USA (Sobranije) , 1902 Schism within the Greek Catholic Union headquarters and Lodge 1 Sokol USA (Slovensky Sokol), Lodge 1903 (ladies assembly Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic 46 11, formed later) mostly Slovak Slovak Evangelical Union, Assembly 1899 Slovak Lutheran 63 (Duquesne , Pa. , serv~g McKeesport as well) Slovak Club , White Street Hall, 1896, sold to Catholic Fellowship, men's club , social, drinking McKeesport War Veterans 1970 activities First Federal Savings and Loan 1914 Association formed to assist Slovak workers Association of Homestead in obtaining funds to purchase a home ; Federal Charter 1937 ; branch offices in McKeesport (1964), Clairton (1969) ; and Braddock (1969) ; serves Monongahela Valley Communities; (originally names: First Slovak Building and Loan Association) TABLE4 > ;;,;; < > l/1 r 0 ~ �SLOVAKIA 61 Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies of USA. The town of Munhall, located in the Steel Valley, is the site of an eparchate or diocese of. the Byzantine Catholic Church. The Greek Catholic Union, founded iq. 1892 in Wilkes-Barre, Penna. , the heart of the anthracite mining region, moved its headquarters in 1910 to the Steel Valley. Although one's place of settlement was greatly influenced by the availability of desirable work, the type of work one sought, and the reasons for choosing that work (originally, to amass greater wealth so that one could return to one's home and village and live better with higher status), it was also strongly influenced by the location of prior immigrant kinsmen, village associates, and even more remotely "related" compatriots of the same geographic, political, and dialect district or iupa - who in tum could advise prospective emigrants of the labor market. Mining and factory towns were not arbitrarily populated by people identifying with the abstract term ' 'Slovak.'' Instead, members of the same village or of adjacent villages commonly sought to live with one another in the New World. Indeed, "ethnicity" changed meanings in the process of settlement in the United States: expanding from more localized, inter-village loyalties, and reciprocal obligation, to supra-local ties based on common religion, dialect, and finally to the emergence in America of an encompassing sense of national "Slovakness" that heretofore had never existed (cf. Gould 1970). It was only after a national sense of identity became established (and this, tenuously, because of the intense factionalism among Slovaks) that the appeal of . President Wilson and Secretary of State House during World War I to Slovak nationalism was possible. A document such as the ' ' Pittsburgh Pact" was thus heretofore unthinkable. Any conceptually neat separation of religion (or churches) from fratemalism is heuristically spurious. Indeed, the history of Slovak religion and mutual benefit societies encompasses the spectrum of alliance and schism, and between them, conflict. The history of the relationship between the two types of associations is the history of each. Moreover, both types of organizations are firmly rooted in east-central European social structure. The village organization functioned much like a vastly extended family, in which kin and extra-kin ties of reciprocity were part of the fabric of everyday life . A group-psychology of community solidarity bound the village tightly together. Even the collapse of manorialism in the mid-19th century did not obliterate this essentially pre-Magyar ethno-psychology. One might say that it functioned preadaptively in the American host environment, and facilitated the earliest " insurance" and cultural- �62 SLOVAKIA perpetuative efforts. After all, the extended family was one's life, accident, and sickness "insurance." There was litsrally no conception of the "individual" apart from the family, church, and village group. Fitzpatrick (1966) correctly identifies Euro-American ethnic communities as bridges or "beachheads" to the wider host society (see also Nelli, 1970). Likewise, Anderson notes "the capacity voluntary associations have to facilitate the transition of individuals and societies to participation in the modem world" (1971:216). He further proposes that ' 'the new associations seem founded to meet needs not previously the responsibility of any older organization" (Ibid.). As this paper will emphasize, however, the new associations built on the firm foundations of elements within traditional organizations; the change lay in the repatterning of those elements - a repatteming which, I might add, has been continuous. I wish to stress that there is nothing automatic, inherently ''natural,' ' or inevitable about the Slovak-American adaptation. The need for "survival" does not explain how or why a particular "survival strategy" for "problem solving" is adopted. Stated differently, it is not the stimulus situation of the stress, but the meaning of the stress and the individual or group characteristic response to it that determines the type of adaptation that will be made (La Barre, 1972; Stein and Hill, 1979). One must inquire both into the nature of the new environment and into the cultural tools a group adapts with. "Necessity" by itself does not explain the "invention" (see Light 1972) . The Slovak-American inventions, themselves variations on traditional psychosocial organization, values, and worldview, must be regarded as preadaptations within the cultural repertoire by which the Slovaks recapitulated much of the Old World in the New (see Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) . The traditional ethos determined both how new " necessities" were perceived and the group-organizational responses based on those perceptions. I cannot here pursue in detail the thorny question as to just what " is" a Slovak. Suffice it to say that the approach taken in this paper is essentially " emic": that is, Slovak based on self-identification and / or ancestry. Thus, for instance, there are several thousand Slovak-Americans, Catholic and Lutheran, whose most ~ediate ancestry traces to Croatia rather than northern Hungary. In the mid:17th century aftermath of the Austro-Hungarian expulsion of the Turks, Maria Theresa invited those peoples inhabiting the already overpopulated Hungarian northlands to migrate to the newly opened land. For the most part, these Slovaks remained Slovaks. Identifying the "ethnic" boundary between Slovaks and Rusins or �SLOVAKIA 63 Ruthenians of far eastern Slovakia, southern Galicia, and the western Ukraine is a far stickier matter (see Stein, 1972) . Indeed, many who are Rusin in ancestry, but who lived in what was geopolitically Slovakia, became accultured insidiously through daily contact with the more westernized Slovaks, through the influence of the Latin and Byzantine Rite Roman Catholic Churches, through the centralizing tendencies of Vienna, and last but not least through affiliation and identification with Slovaks following migration to the United States - that is, many became Slovaks in the U.S. I Over at least the past three centuries, the "ethnic boundary" between Slovaks and Rusins has been progressing further eastward. Had the great immigration taken place two centuries ago, virtually all the immigrants would have been of Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox faith and Rusin ethnicity! To the religious conflict must be added, especially since the World War I era, a conflict of nationalisms and proto-nationalisms. Among the permutations of the conflict: (1) Many Ukrainian nationalists insist that eastern ''Slovaks'' and "Rusins" do not exist, but in fact are Ukrainians; (2) Slovakia has undertaken a program of attempting to Slovakize the remaining Rusins; (3) Both the conflict over ethnic identity and the gradual process of Slovakization of Rusins has taken place in the U.S. (a) in such organizations as the Greek Catholic Union and the United Societies of USA, and (b) through the continued process of Latinization whereby many Greek or Byzantine Catholics joined Slovak Latin Rite parishes. A considerable official literature (see Lacko 1963) prepared by the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio and Rome, Italy is devoted to demonstrating that Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, in Europe and America, are bona fide Slovaks and Catholics. Many Slovak peasant immigrants and their children passionately argued the same point (Stein 1972). The author's justification for including such organizations as Byzantine Rite churches, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies as Slovak is that (a) by self-identification many of their officers, priests, and members speak of themselves as Slovaks, and (b) ethnicity is a process, not a static given. THE FOUNDING OF SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS For the most part, the Slovak-American fraternal societies began in the 1880's through the early 1900's as self-help, mutual assistance organizations. The arrangement of regular social activities such as dances , plays, gymnastic groups, and literary clubs, and the organiza- �64 SLOVAKIA tion, construction, and support of Slovak parishes followed later. In all earnestness I emphasize that the link between fraternal and church lay in their division of labor: the fraternal association would first establish insurance in this world; the church would become the guarantor of insurance in the next world. The most immediate needs were mortuary funds, land for the burial of the dead, and death-sickness-and-accident insurance for workers and their families in the U.S. and Slovakia. The new "foreign" dead were often unwelcome in established cemetaries. Slovak burial societies were formed to purchase separate tracts of land, often on the periphery of the town, a considerable distance from the burial sites of the dominant population. Slovak work life was chronically uncertain by the absence of stable unionization in the steel mills until 1936 and thereafter. Wages were low (though admittedly, the immigrant laborers earning a living unheard of in their villages of origin). Periods of steady work fluctuated with periods of layoff. Working conditions were contemptously hazardous. The management of the factories and mines provided no assistance for the injured or for the families of workers killed or maimed on the job. The urban Slovak-American "peasantry" experienced much the same basic insecurity as did they and their progenitors on the manorial latifundia or as landless workers. In one sense, conditions were worse, because in the American capitalistentrepreneurial system there was no personal bond of reciprocity and obligation between manorial lord and serf - although, however, the political system of patronage in the urban wards perpetuated at least an attenuated version of this function. For those immigrants who discovered themselves to be outside the civil and moral community of those recognized as ''Americans,'' the organization of burial-deathaccident-and-sick benefit societies was a means of reconstructing a community. In employment as with religion, Slavic-Americans were for the most part seen as outside the domain of civic and religious responsibilities. This led in tum to a defensive attitude toward American society, even as the belief in the American Dream strongly persisted. Exclusion from without led to a degree of defensive self-exclusion from within. The "enclave mentality," heir to a heightened self-" consciousness of kind," was a product of ethnic-American conflict, not simple cultural transplantation. I am tempted to suggest that much on the organizational level which we might mistake for w~at was traditionally native has a distinctively nativistic quality to it. , For instance, in one multi-Slavic fraternal club, the early by-laws �SLOVAKIA 65 specified that only members of Slavic ethnic groups could qualify as members and be permitted on the premises of the club. This qualification arose as a response to the fact that representatives of the mill management would attend meetings incognito, sit at the bar, listen for comments by dissident millworkers, and report them to the management which would summarily fire them for potential insubordination. A first-generation Catholic Slovak-American who came to the United States in the late 1920's said of the Slovak Club of McKeesport, Pennsylvania (a large mill town): The Slovak Club 's By-Laws were written in 1896. Only Slavs were accepted. You had to: you didn 't know who' s your enemy in those days. Johnny Bulls, or the Irish, might be in there, before the ByLaws were adopted . If you said anything against somebody, they report you. The only way to make sure you could speak your mind and not be afraid was to make the By-Laws . Ethnic " elective affinity" was more out of forced circumstance than choice . Those who were regarded and treated as the same created a survival strategy, becoming far more homogeneous in the process than they might had the constraints been fewer . Let me give two brief examples of the hierarchy of functions in the early fraternals . My first example is Lodge No. 2 of the Greek Catholic Union. Prior to regulation of insurance fraternals by the actuarial rules of the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department in the 1920' s, a member would pay $1.00 monthly dues for the mortuary fund and for death benefits to family , the latter of which is derived by subtracting the mortuary costs from the principal. The $1.00 formal dues would be collected from every member regardless of age or age of joining. In addition to the formally recorded $1.00 , he would pay 3 cents a month for relief benefit , so that, for instance, if he lost an arm in a mill accident he would receive $500 . An additional local assessment was 5 cents monthly for sickness benefit, which provided for food and bought medicine when the member could not work because of poor health. Today, this latter has become a " flower fund " to provide flowers at the funeral of a member or a member 's spouse. Any further needs were met by proportionate assessment of the membership . A second example is that of the Slovak Sick Benefit Society, organized in McKeesport in 1888, and which in 1890 merged with the founding of Lodge No. 31 of the National Slovak Society. This local organization collected monthly dues of $1.00 for males . In addition to the regular dues , if a man died , the men paid $1.00 ; if a woman died, the women paid 50 cents extra - for funeral expenses , given to the sur- �66 SLOVAKIA vivor of the deceased. At that time, the sick benefit was $6.00 a week for 13 weeks . After 13 weeks, up to the 21st week, $3.00 a week was given. After the 21st, nothing. The main economic function was to assist those who became sick or suffered an accident in the mill, since at this time there existed neither a union nor a commitment by management to provide such benefits. The Society also had something of an ambulatory service: two members of the society visited the sick person, or went to the scene of the accident, and took him to the hospital, to his home, or where he could be given proper care. While in their initial phase, ethnic fraternals were a response to the often hostile host environment, voluntary associations were long an inescapable part of the American social landscape. As Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 1830's, resiliently self-reliant Americans were also habitual joiners. This may help to explain how and why initially exclusive self-preservation societies became internally acculturated clubs and lodges at the local and national levels. That is to say, they became largely American cultural organizations with ethnic ancestry. Criteria for membership became ethnically less restrictive. At the same time, there occurred a gradual yet massive attrition of membership in the totemic Slovak-ethnic associations, and an equally gradual yet dramatic increase in membership by the same Slovak-Americans in lower middle class totemic American clubs such as Eagles, Moose, Elks; such service related groups as Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Catholic War Veterans ; employment related union clubs; and finally local public or private restaurant-bar-entertainment clubs. While there has certainly been, especially in the 1940's and 1960's, considerable compartmentalizing of membership, dual allegiance, something of voluntaristic "double descent, " at the present time American fratemalism has already been the dominant trend. In fact many Slovak-Americans with whom I worked who still maintain their fraternal insurance policies do so for economic reasons; their fraternal affiliation lies elsewhere. Originally, in the ethnic enclave, one's kinship network, resources, and the fraternal were one' s insurance. When the ethnic community network itself was one 's guaranteed insurance, there was no need for a separate entity labeled " insurance, " let alone insurance policies outside that community. Only as many ties within the corporate ethnic community were attenuated or severed cl.id the need arise for American style individual insurance coverage. And only since World War II did the originally multiple functional fraternal societies become primarily insurance companies, that is, businesses. In both cases, American as well as ethnic insurance companies served both instrumental (eco- �SLOVAKIA 67 nomic) and expressive (ethos) functions: security by affiliation in the ethnic sense, and self-reliance in the American sense. THE PROBLEM OF PERPETUATION AND ACCULTURATION IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS During the first and second decades of each of the fraternal organizations, the emphasis gradually shifted from immediate self-help requirements to more long-range, future-oriented plans associated with revitalizing Slovak culture in America. Whereas the initial years were preoccupeid with self-preservation, the subsequent years became concerned with perpetuation. The insurance / protective aspects were incorporated in a wider institutional framework that elaborated on the traditional cultural model. Once Slovak immigrants decided to make America their permanent home, churches were founded and supported, Sokol gymnastic programs were initiated, and so forth. It quickly became evident to the founding generation that something must be done to enlist the younger generation in these activities or institutions lest Slovak culture disappear with the passing of the first generation. The younger generation must be socialized into the new institutions and activities the immigrant parents had founded. Thus each fraternal organization instituted a juvenile branch or age grade to prepare the younger generation for adult membership. There were thus established two age sets within each fraternal, the adult and the juvenile. Subsequently, most fraternals also added a Sokol or gymnastic branch (if they were not already Sokol fraternals), originally intended as a middle age grade, but which became an adult unit on par with the "General" or "Adult" branch. The lower age limit for transfer from juvenile to the adult branch seems to be 16-18 in the Greek Catholic Union, and the upper age limit is 25 in the National Slovak Society. Typically, a parent would buy a life insurance policy for an infant shortly after birth and pay for the policy until the child's majority. At that time the former junior member would become a responsible adult member, transfer his or her policy to the adult branch, and begin paying for it himself or herself. Thus was the problem of continuity initially solved. For the third and fourth generations continuity was not so readily assured. Many of the second and third generations themselves withdrew or terminated their own policies and did not enroll their children. Many immigrant and second generation informants spoke bitterly of how they felt that officers of their fraternals had used their position for �68 SLOVAKIA self-advancement (internal mobility?), pocketed some of the dues, especially during the pre-1920 days prior to state-enforced bookkeeping, and terminated members' policies or foreclosed on home mortgages during the Great Depression days when dues were not forthcoming (the internal transformation from personalized ties to impersonalized business venture). In some families where the children had been dutifully enrolled in infancy, the children took advantage of the fact that the parents paid for the juvenile policies, and upon reaching majority or "going out on their own," they turned in the policy for cash value, and enrolled themselves later in large "American" insurance companies. With large-scale industrial unionization in the mid- and late-1930's and the opening up of "American" insurance corporations to the now'' American'' descendants of the ''foreigners,'' many of the purely economic insurance functions fulfilled by the ethnic fraternals were replaced by more attractive, sounder economic policies elsewhere. As the lodges have been losing young and elderly members, the middle-aged members have become the core of their lodges, and those who will be perpetuating them will, like their counterparts in the Americanized Slovak churches, be those who have transformed their lodges and their athletics according to the model of the American prototype. With the great decrease in membership and hence in lodge population, lodge consolidation (GCU, United Societies, NSS) and the widening of intervals between meetings have taken place. Where a lodge meeting until the late 1930's was an enormous and lively social affair, often coordinated with a meal or a play in Slovak, since the Second World War it has become a cut-and-dry business meeting, where members stream in and out, pay their dues, often bring the dues of a friend or two with him (or with her), the older ones stopping to chat with a friend or two in Slovak - and then leave. The monthly business meeting of Jednota Lodge No. 60 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania usually keeps ten listeners besides the six officers and collectors at their long table. During the monthly meetings of the Sokol, the ULS, and the NSS, a table of officers sits in a room of empty chairs in the Slovak Club. Occasionally members drift in and out. The local lodge of the United Societies no longer meets; members brin~ in their dues or mail them in. Likewise for lodges of the GCU. The ULS lodge in Duquesne in 1970 changed its monthly meeting to bimonthly, because, as one officer said: "There's no use sitting down there at the empty church all afternoon every month waiting for a few people to show up." In the early 1970's, over 75 percent of the 1,300 GCU lodges were inactive. For the important annual meeting at which officials were to be elected at GCU Homestead Lodge No. 2 in 1971, only 15 of the 160 members attended. �SLOVAKIA 69 \ To this should be added that only one of the Slovak fraternal lodges in McKeesport presently has any social or athletic program. Jednota Ladies' Lodge No. 276 has a bowling team, which members from Lodge No. 60 and the nearby borough of Port Vue can join. Lodge No. 60 dropped its bowling team in 1956. Bookkeeping changes have consolidated the Sokol and General Branches of the lodges. Today they function as little more than local insurance agents and collectors. All the national offices of the Slovak fratemals modernized and streamlined their policies to make membership attractive to those of the younger generation for whom Slovakness was not a major attraction, and further, to attract non-Slovaks. To a considerable extent, present-day Slovak fratemals are primarily modem insurance com· panies which would like to stay in business. The fact that all of them are far over the required solvency guarantees nothing about the future, for which they are greatly concerned. As the national president of the GCU remarked to me: The way things are now, it's only a matter of time before the GCU is finished. Sure we have an excellent solvency. But without new members, it's just on borrowed time. You just can't rely on monetary figures alone to tell you how we're doing. Of course we're in good financial shape, but that's because today people buy bigger policies - you can't pay for a funeral for $1000 today. Most of our policies are naturally larger, and the figure they give for assets ... would lead you to believe that we're doing great. That's the way the older ones felt. They always looked at the status quo and never at anything else. (1972) Of course the schism in the 1930's cost the GCU half of its more than 135,000 membership, which crisis did not occur in the other Slovak (and Slovak / Rusin) organizations. Nevertheless the same gradual decline in activity and membership has been the experience and plague of every Slovak fraternal. Slovak-American officials at the national level frequently speak of consolidating the adult, juvenile, and Sokol branches for fiscal reasons and because of poor attendance at meetings. They likewise speak of merging lodges for similar reasons, with the hope that perhaps with greater numbers the fraternal spirit may be rekindled. But they are pessimistic and in offhand, tentative ways consider the possibility of merging not only lodges within a given fraternal, but combining many Slovak-American fratemals under a single economic umbrella - anything that will help the solvency problem and postpone the inevitable disappearance of insurance fratemalism. Everywhere in Slovak-American fratemalism, the number of purchased insurance certificates is far �70 SLOVAKIA fewer than the number of deaths, maturities, disabilities, expirations, surrenders, and lapses of policies. Beyond founding the churches, many of the church-affiliated fraternals remain a major support of the church, both financially and by requiring that their members are practitioners of the faith in good standing (for instance, Jednota). Lodge meetings are held in the church (Jednota, United Societies, Slovak Catholic Sokol, GCU), rather than the secular Slovak Hall (where the Sokol USA, NSS, and ULS McKeesport lodges meet). Except for the Lutheran group (whose Duquesne counterpart does meet in the Slovak Lutheran church), the non-religious affiliated groups meet in secular settings, while the religiousaffiliated groups meet in church halls under the aegis of the priest. Until World War II, most of the Slovak fraternal groups at the local and national levels supported the political activity of the Slovak League of America, a non-fraternal, political-cultural group organized to publicize and lobby for the cause of Slovak independence (first in relation to the Hungarians, and later the Czechs). Its stress on Catholicity, its demands for Slovak separatism (rather than federated autonomy), and its support for the politically active Slovak priests Hlinka and Tiso of the Slovak People 's Party during the Nazi period alienated from it the support of the non-Catholic Sokols and the National Slovak Society. Presently, the Slovak League is primarily affiliated with, and is somewhat the political arm of, the First Catholic Slovak Union. All, however, collaborated in the period from 1907 (the year of the League's founding) throughout the First World War and in the early postwar period, toward the founding of the (First) Republic of Czecho-Slovakia (as the Slovaks prefer to spell it). The Slovak Catholic priesthood has always been at odds with the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, frequently accusing its members of being atheists and communists. The latter, however, have historically supported Slovak national aspirations, though apart from any religious considerations. This is reflected in the membership of the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, where only Slav-ness, not religion, was a qualification for membership. As a consequence, the Slovak Catholic (Latin and Byzantine Rite) religious dissidents, as well as Slovak Protestants , tended to gravitate to the Slovensky Sokol, and the NSS rather than to Jednota or the Katolicky Sokol. Furthermore, the -0verlap in membership equally relfects this distinction. Members would mosi; likely belong to Katolicky Sokol. Slovak Lutherans , of course , would join the Slovensky Sokol and the NSS. The above politico-religious concerns , however, refer only to the �SLOVAKIA 71 \ older and middle age groups, who are the mainstay of the fraternal organizations. For the younger age group, under 36, Slovak national concerns are for the most part a matter of ancestry rather than immediacy. Apart from religious issues, criteria of membership in Slovak fraternals have during the past decades gradually become less exclusivistic. In the early by-laws, Slovak birth or descent was usually specified (together with a particular religious affiliation, where relevant). By the period following World War I, membership was widened to those of Slavic origin or ancestry (with religious specificity, where relevant). In 1937 the NSS extended membership to non-Slovak spouses married to Slovak members and their children. In the 1930's, the GCU extended membership to spouses so long as the spouse was Catholic. In the 1960's, membership in the Catholic organization was opened to Catholics of any nationality, while in the non-religious affiliated Slovak-American fratemals membership was opened to "anyone," implicitly or explicitly referring to whites of Christian faith. A young officer of the GCU said that he would like to see a change in bylaws that would open the organization to all Christians, removing the restriction to Catholics. Accompanying the opening of membership has been a gradual change in the organizations' names, first from the full length Slovak name to a shortened name, normally one word from the full name (Jednota from the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sobranije from the Greek Catholic Union). Then from the 1930's and on, the English title became more important and today predominates. Names became less European-sounding: the Slovak Evangelical Union became in 1960 the United Lutheran Society; the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA became Sokol USA. The young official of the GCU mentioned above suggested that if membership were opened to all Christians, he would like to see the name of the organization officially changed to the initials GCU only, and later "we might call it the Greater Beneficial Union / the name changed from German Beneficial Union / no, that's the GBU ... but you know what I mean.'' The direction then, would be that of an American-sounding name. Similar to this trend has been that from Slovak (or Rusin and Eastern Slovak in the Greek Catholic organizations) to English in the official publications or newspapers of fratemals. The newspapers themselves were founded shortly after the organization of the fratemals and were entirely in Slovak (with the above distinction). At the beginning of the 1930's, under pressure of the American-born membership, pages began to be devoted to stories, articles, and announcements in the �72 SLOVAKIA English language. It should be added, however, that from the days of World War I, all of the papers and English-language sections were on American history, patriotism, the American constitution, government, and citizenship. By the 1950's, 50 percent and more of the space was in the English language. For instance, after the 1964 Milwaukee Convention of Sokol USA, Slovensky Sokol devoted 76 percent of its space to English material. At the 1966 National Convention in Tampa, through an act of the General Assembly of the convention, the name of the official publication was changed from Slovensky Sokol to Sokol Times, and the paper is now entirely English-language, as is that of the United Societies, Prosvita (Enlightenment). Nevertheless, such papers as Jednota, Katolicky Sokol, and the GCU Messenger are half-English, halfSlovak; Narodne Noviny is about 25 percent Slovak. What I emphasize here is the overall direction of change. The annual Kalendar or Yearbook of the Greek Catholic Union provides an excellent and generalizable source by which changes since the first decade of the 20th century can be observed and traced. I examined the annual Kalendar of the GCU spanning the years 1903 through 1972 (with considerable gaps in the 1930's and 1940's due to schism within the society over the issue of clerical celibacy). Although the GCU was founded in 1892, the oldest available Kalendar in storage was that of 1903. The following table gives the title on the cover, a summary of advertisements which reflect contemporary issues (migration, home owning, etc.), the nature of written characters for non-English sections (Latin or Cyrillic), subjects of early essays on Americanization (1903-1932), and the language employed by the exarch / bishop in his introductory message. By the late 1960's, at least half of the Kalendar (totaling in the 1960's 90 pages) was in English. (See Table 6). To summarize the table: Through the 1930's, there were advertisements in the Kalendar for such goods and services as banks, saloons, hotel, liquors, a variety of medicinal cures, boat tickets, home building (financing, mortgages, titles, etc.), shipping from overseas, etc. Essays were written on such subjects as American history (including praiseworthy accounts of American founding heroes and legendary leaders), an explanation of American government and how to participate in it, why and how to obtain citizenship, descriptions of the nature of the population and geography of the United States, accounts of farming in the United States and of technolo~cal innovations from the zeppelin through the airplane. Considerable space was likewise devoted to a description of the Slovak-Rusin homeland, culture, religious �SLOVAKIA 73 \ customs, etc. Although much of the writing through the 1930's was in eastern Slovak-Rusin dialect and written in either or both Cyrillic and Latin characters, English was used in essays on American history and government as early as 1905, when the article was printed in both languages. Americanization, more specifically, bridge-building between the insular ethnic world and the more expanding American world, was one of the major early agendas of the fraternals. Americanization was also one of the major points of stress between traditionalists and acculturationists that led to attrition of membership and schism in churches and fraternals alike. On the one hand, the Polish National Catholic Church and the Slovak National Catholic Church, a variety of independent Rusin-eastern, Slovak-western, and Ukrainian Orthodox churches, and the United Societies of USA (among others) broke with their Americanizing-Irishizing-Latinizing denationalizing parent organizations and became bastions of tradition (e.g., in liturgy, in customs, etc.) - only to acculturate internally. On the other hand, even the most traditionalist societies zealously urged Americanization both by exhortation and by the example of its leadership - including the clergy. SCHISM, DECLINE, AND CULTURE Let me use several nodal points in the history of the Greek Catholic Union to illustrate the convulsions to which conflict between the acculturationists and traditionalists led. The GCU schism of 1902 led to the founding of a new fraternal association, the United Societies of USA (Sobranije). At the 1902 Convention of the Greek Catholic Union, there was strong debate over whether or not the largely Magyarone RusinSlovak clergy leadership would be permitted to retain their official position, since they insisted on remaining citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary. The convention overwhelmingly voted that henceforth all officers of the GCU would have to be American citizens. Moreover, there was a long-standing resentment against domination of Slovak or Rusin parishioners by a Magyar or Magyarone clergy. In Hungary, the laity could do nothing about it. But in America, former peasants could vote out those who were either of the Hungarian aristocracy or had used the church - and ethnic assimilation - as a means of social mobility. The orientation toward a secular leadership made the process complete: the Byzantine Catholic laity of the fraternal would be a strong supporter of the Church but would not be its tool. The United Societies of USA, conversely, retained priests among �.. .. ... .. .. .. . .. .. • • ---- ___________ KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOIJC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES. GEORGE BATYKO) Message by Advertisements Written Exarch I Characters Bishop Year Cyrillic Slovak Rus. Eng. Early Americanization Topics Cover Title - -- - - - - - - Amerikansko-Russko- J ·1903 Banks• , Saloons, Slovensky Kalendar Hotels , Liquors , Medical Cures , • Boat Tickets• Am. History (Rusin) 1904 • Amerikansky-Russko- 1905 Am. Government (Rusin & English) • Slovensky Kalendar Am. fanning, airplane, zeppelin 1909 (Eng.) Amerikansko-Russko- 1914 Banking-Shipping•, Am . Hist. (Rus .), population • Slovensky Kalendar Cures, Liquors of U. S. (Eng.) Banking•• Sokola Sojedinenija Citizenship / naturalization / 1921 • • govt. (Eng.) ,, Am. Hist., govt., loyalty, how Banking** 1924 • to use checking (Eng.) Kai. Soj . Gr. Kaft. 1926 Banking**, Financing, Russkich Bratstv. Home Building, y • • Religious Publications Am . Hist. , govt. (Rus.) , Cit. / 1932 Title & Mortgage Nat. (Eng.) Guarantee co., • • Banks , Boat Tick...,.. ets, Medical Cures K. Gr. Kaft. Sod . none 1953 S. S. A. • 1955 • • TABLE5 > A > < r 0 V, .:,. '-I �" " " " " " 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Gr. Kaft. Sod . S.S. A . " " " " " " " " " " Message by Exarch I B ishop • • . . . • . • ..• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . .• . Cyrillic_ Slovak Eng . . Early Americanization Topics - -- - - - Rus. Written Characters • Rovnianek (Pittsburgh) in particular •• Money orders, drafts, credit, savings , import, interest *** Diamond Jubilee Almanac GCU Calendar GCU of USA*** Gr. Kaft. Sod . v S. S. A. GCU Calendar " " " " " 1956 D. Gr . Kaft. Sod. S.S. A. " First Federal S&L of Homestead none Year -- Cover Title Advertisements KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOLIC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES . GEORGE BATYKO) TABLE 5 (Continued) ., Vl 'I )> A < )> r 0 V) �76 SLOVAKIA its officials through the present; its birth dates from when a number of delegates walked out of the GCU convention in 1902 and founded its first church-affiliated lodge in McKeesport. At the height of its membership in the mid-1920's, United Societies counted some 27,000 in its adult and juvenile branches. By 1970, the last year for which actuarial figures were made available to me, membership had declined to 5,600; since 1930, membership enrollment by young adults has precipitously declined . (See the following Tables 6 -9 assembled from the actuarial records of the United Societies of USA, public domain.) Within the GCU during the intervening years, a second, even more dramatic schism took place in the 1930's over the issue of priestly celibacy - reflecting the conflict between the traditionalists, who argued in favor of a married priesthood and the acculturationists or ''Latinizers ," who advocated clerical celibacy. While no documented figures were available to me, a number of informants agreed that some 60,000 to 70,000 members, or roughly half the membership, defected. The GCU had been organized in 1892; the Juvenile Branch in 1906; the Gymnastic Branch in 1910. It totals some 1,300 lodges and is licensed as an insurance corporation in 12 states (United Societies, in 6). At the height of membership in 1929, the GCU numbered some 60,000 members in its General or Adult Branch, 20,000 in its Falcon Branch, and 65,000 in its Juvenile Branch. The cataclysm which cost the GCU half its membership occurred in 1929. As early as 1924, the Pope had dispatched Bishop Takach back to the United States with instructions that married priests , common in the Byzantine Rite in Europe, were not to be ordained. However, ordination continued for several years through what were described as "loopholes. " In 1929 came a specific papal decree, Cum Data, forbidding the ordination of married priests in the United States. This finalization led to the immediate defection of thousands of GCU members. If this were not earthquake enough, during the 1920's all ethnic fratemals in Pennsylvania were brought under the increasingly strict regulation of the Insurance Department, which consequence was an immediate precipitous drop in the membership of all Slovak-American insurance-related fratemals. Members could no longer be assessed equally, and amounts collected varied from month to month on the basis of the past month's claims, but were rate\f according to the National Fraternal Congress table of "attained age a~ June, l, 1933." That is, members were required to pay on the basis of age, with premiums increasing with age . The new rates were adopted in June 1932 by the GCU. The National Slovak Society and the men 's and ladies' divisions �0 4 5 12 35 51 68 51 42 10 12 28 49 69 83 82 77 88 75 0 70 1 85+ 0 0 0 1 ., 0 1 1 0 6 1 4 7 18 29 15 35 33 34 69 80 0 1 In the Adult Branches, the Falcon and Main Branches have always been combined for bookkeeping purposes . 2 This figure gives the total membership in United Societies . It should be noted that at age 16, one is eligible to transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch (Main or Falcon) . One may transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch between the 16th and 18th birthday. 3 The report for 1950 was missing, so the 1949 figures were used instead . 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. This means that it is no longer possible to compare membership at ages 16 and 18 in the Juvenile Branch with that in the Adult Branch. 5 An e xplanation for the increase lies in the adoption by the United Societies of the Byzantine Life Savings policy in August, 1968. It is a policy that is sold by agents of the United Societies, an effort to expand the boundaries of fratemalism on a more traditionally commercial basis . It is a 21-year savings program, which one may enter up to age 45 . At the end of the 21 years, the money is returned to the policy owner. Its advantage is that it is insured savings, although the insurance coverage decreases with each year. For the older people , it provides the certainty of a little income . United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports (Penna., Ohio, New Jersey , West Virginia, etc.) Membership: Adult and Juvenile ADULT: MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES! Membership per attained age categories Total : Adult & Total : Year Juvenile2 Adult 55 60 65 16 18 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 46 16 3 8652 135 128 131 236 272 367 279 185 1924 565 275 212 1926 346 517 1928 55 28 1930 19339 10159 320 372 342 114 135 227 254 290 233 191 70 153 186 227 165 122 30 7472 61 127 177 120 1935 13393 36 41 86 85 51 41 111 152 192 135 92 1940 8857 5464 7 59 70 51 73 130 151 145 49 76 106 107 99 1945 7399 5235 18 19493 48 67 69 86 63 57 58 146 133 130 6285 4739 4 18 19554 43 72 44 46 54 82 78 82 56 65 106 107 5472 25 76 89 47 43 5290 68 52 44 15 55 57 97 1960 73 78 42 37 17 27 53 46 41 1965 4812 90 63 50 19705 47 45 5628 101 60 52 38 99 107 129 118 40 27 - TABLES "" )> A < )> Vl r 0 �,,.. - 63 60 101 52 44 5456 91 613 237 231 18 68 90 16 348 418 191 299 153 93 72 6 This figure is for age 17, as it is the last listed, no figure being given for age 18 in the Juvenile Branch. 7 See Note . 4 on previous page . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Membership: Adult and Juvenile JUVENILE BRANCH Membership per attained age categories Total Year Juvenile 0 1 2 10 1928 201 282 549 672 1930 9180 183 426 647 1935 5921 301 456 1940 3393 45 47 48 195 1945 2164 32 81 64 134 1949 1546 28 28 40 62 48 81 51 50 19557 1960 133 150 84 69 1965 33 74 80 88 1970 9 31 30 83 TABLE7 > )> ;ii;;: < r 0 V') 0:, " �1 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted Ond Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. W - Written Rev. - Revived Rec . - Received Iner. - Increased Mat. - Maturity Surr. - Surrender Dec . - Decrease Exp. - Expiry Other - non-specified (However, for 1935, I would suspect that the 81 in this category belong elsewhere, probably in 'Surrender.') United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches ADULT: (se e below for abbreviations) - - MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES Benefit Certificates . . . In force In force Dec . 31 Dec. 31 Year last yr. W this yr. Death Lapse Rev . Rec. Iner. Surr. Dec. Exp. Other -Mat. 1925 14908 2220 15574 133 1524 103 1926 15574 3833 18141 145 1121 1928 10704 11102 114 10313 1930 527 77 10159 . 652 1 1935 7534 279 80 7472 89 332 81 5621 1940 80 15 5464 98 154 1945 5296 139 4 5235 93 91 20 1949 4864 47 4739 113 23 35 1 19551 5356 360 5472 105 19 86 34 5514 1960 217 5290 108 248 41 44 1965 4907 160 4812 103 74 16 36 26 1970 5054 599 193 5628 91 91 30 5 1 TABLES ~ "'° 7' > > < Vl r 0 �1702 81 16 723 2g3 Transfer 1 The figures for the Juvenile Branch list only up to age 16, so it is ambiguous as to whether Juveniles past their 16th birthday are included in tne figure of 9401. 2 transfer to Falcon Branch . 3 transfer to Senior (Main) Branch. 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches JUVENILE BRANCH: Benefit Certificates In force In force Dec . 31 Received Dec . 31 Terminated b1: last yr. by transfer Increased this yr. Year Written Revived Death Lapse 19281 9401 884 49 42 1930 9239 9180 810 968 1935 6384 597 5921 11 7 470 1940 3740 136 10 3393 223 1945 2356 115 2164 12 1949 1636 60 1546 1 120 19554 1960 1965 ,,, . 1970 - TABLE9 > 7' > ~ r (./') ~ �SLOVAKIA 81 of the First Catholic Slov~ Union (Jednota) had been the first to comply in 1930. The state requirement of solvency was reflected in high premiums for the older members who, in the Depression years, could not pay. Each insurance company had to make up the deficit. The 1929 law required that all fraternal societies re-rate their policies within five years. Not that this external policing had not been attempted before. But now, like the papal decree on celibacy, the law was final. Between 1892 and 1909 or 1910, each member of the GCU had been assessed 50 cents, 60 cents, or 75 cents a month, depending on how much was customarily collected at a given lodge. There was no uniformity of policy even within the GCU. In 1909 or 1910, the GCU lodges went under an '' Assessment System,'' such that the amount due from each member was determined by the claims of the past month. Thus the assessment varied from month to month, but was internally regulated by the lodge. Around 1910, the state began to appear in the picture, proposing that members of fraternals pay according to age. Some fraternals put a lien on each member's policy, but this did not sufficiently raise revenues. In 1918 , the National Fraternal Congress Table of Mortality provided a uniform schedule according to which each member was to be rated according to the age at which he or she had joined the organization. But, even where this table was applied, it did not bring lodges or national offices anywhere approaching solvency. In Pennsylvania, the Insurance Department saw that the fraternals were functionally decentralized and operated on a day-to-day economic calculus - which, incidentally, was the traitional Slovak way of pooling resources in the extended family. It applied pressure for greater fraternal centralization and economic foresight. As of 1924, new members were to be rated according to the American Experience Table of Rates. However, the old members could continue to pay the prior National Fraternal Congress rate. This, too, did not greatly move the GCU and other Slovak-American fraternals toward solvency. Finally, the 1929 Pennsylvania law was implemented, and its effect paradoxical: it "worked" with amazing effectiveness according to the canons of American economic planning, but utterly disrupted the Slovak way of doing business. To summarize, then : the most compelling factors in declining membership within the Slovak-American fraternals were (a) the increasing cultural Americanization of their members and the availability of fraternal and insurance options within the cultural mainstream; (b) the increased influence of external (e .g., state) forces in the management of the internal affairs of the associations; (c) the devastating in- �82 SLOVAKIA fluence of the Great Depression over members' abilities to keep up payment of premiums on policies (undoubtedly influenced by " b " ); (d) the fraternal officials ' internal acculturation of the associations into "American" institutions (self-motivated as well as impelled by "b"). There remains an extremely potent factor in fraternal schism and attrition much less obvious to the observer's eye than those already discussed, one which the national president of a Slovak-American fraternal in his early 70' s poignantly articulated: ... we are still declining, there is an explanation for it. There was nothing ever done in this society. There was feeble attempts made to try to get the younger generation to become interested in our / fraternal society / . . .. we now lose, on an average of 1200 members a year .... you take in our generation, our parents were interested in our society and as soon as kids were born they put them in the lodge, the mother or father would always make sure that they would come to the meeting once a month and pay their dues. Even after they got married, the would pay their dues , do you follow me? Now, after they were on their own, had their own families they would say: "Here is your policy. Do you want to keep it. We pay till now. You can make your wife your beneficiary. " Lot of them kept it, and a lot of them turned around and cashed whatever they could get for it. See, where the old people wouldn't do that, and this younger generation isn't like the older generation. They say: " I don't need this or that." Now once again I say, it's not all of them, but the majority. They aren't worried so much like the old people were about their future. All they care is they get a new car, or good times, and when they are in trouble they come to their parents to help them out. Shortly thereafter, he spoke of local lodge meetings: The younger kids, they come, some of them come, some come and just pay their dues. They're in a hurry. They're always in a hurry. You see , I'll tell you. I think the biggest dam fault in all our fraternals. We used to have meetings every month at every lodge. I know I went as a younster, we came to the League, as a young fellow, 18, 19 years old, 20, 21. We would go to the Assemblies. All these old timers come to the meetings. It was always in the Slovak language, and if you\wanted the floor or ask permission to say something, and if you couldn""t. explain yourself well in the Slovak language, say in butchered up language, Slovak and English mixed together, the president of �SLOVAKIA 83 _ _ _ _ says: "Sit down you snot nose you. You can't express yourself in Slovak, you can sit down. You are out of order." Well, naturally these younger people think, they say "Oh, my goodness gracious." You get red in the face, these young people, then they don't know what to do. Then they sit through it and first chance that they got to go home, "They won't get me back here with a bull rope." Instead of being nice to them and courteous, ''OK, we understand you, go ahead and say in English what you want to say. We want you to come." And once you drive them away, oh boy, it's hard to bring them back. That's been the trouble all these fratemals, whether it's the Slovak Catholic, whether it's the National Slovak Society or the. First Catholic Slovak Union. It's the same condition and a lot of those old timers, when they held office, they thought they were supposed to be there till they die. The younger people, they need to bring these people in . . . . Another official, participating in the interview, later interjected: ... That old fellow who would come to the conventions, and make a rousing speech, "We have got to get our young people to take over our offices in our local assemblies, in the national,'' yet he wouldn 't give up his damn job .... (from field notes, June 1978) The chronic, occasionally acute conflict (expressed institutionally in schism) which these officers articulate is a generational conflict be- tween fathers and sons, once contained within the traditional familiar and manorial system, but now run openly rife in the expressively more permissive American cultural setting. We have already seen this conflict in another form: the 1902 schism within the GCU which led to the founding of the United Societies of USA, precipitated by the issue of allegiance to the U.S. versus allegiance to the parental-land and representatives of its authority. This conflict at the macro-institutional level is dynamically identical with the deeply traditional family struggle in Slovak culture: parental holding on versus letting go of authority, power, status, property, and roles. What I have discussed elsewhere in terms of traditional and Slovak-American personality, family dynamics, and culture change (Stein 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1976, 1978a, 1978b, 1979, Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) is dynamically identical and isomorphic with the conflict at the macro-institutional level. Traditionally as well as in the New World, unquestioning respect for and obedience to the will and authority of elders was paramount. In the official cultural ethos, the father's word and will were absolute; �84 SLOVAKIA deference was due to him no matter what. With the breakdown of the manorial order in Slovakia between 1848 and the great migration of 1880-1920 , sons began demanding a greater say in the running of family affairs . If fathers refused to relinquish some of their traditional prerogatives , sons now had options from setting up separate households to emigration . The vastly extended " joint family " diminished into the " stem family " (Goldschmidt and Kunkel 1971) in which frequently only a son or two, and daughter or two would live with or near the parents (cf. Koenig 1937) . The children now were able to place demands upon the parents , and to leave if dissatisfied. This is precisely what happened openly in the U.S., which official ethos was based on revolutionary separation from parents who, as the motto goes , exacted " taxation without representation, " an experience that strikes at the heart of the Slovak experience as well. Of course, this never was a matter of either / or. As I have demonstrated in the above cited works , moves centrifugal toward autonomy have evoked enormous ambivalence , guilt, restitution, and centripetal countervailing moves on the part of parents. Nonetheless , the above officials have identified as a decisive ingredient in the attrition of the young from Slovak-American fratemals the demand by the young for respect by the elders, a reversal of tradition that is at the same time traditionally and quintessentially '' American.'' It is thus not enough to say that the young defectors had been " Americanized ," and that the diehards remained doggedly "traditional. '' The elder officials of the Slovak-American fratemals could not mobilize the constraints they once yielded under the much hated manorial and Magyar yoke to compel those who they contemptuously regarded as " snotty nosed" youth to speak their language: Slovak. It should further be noted that language was wielded by the officials as a tool of power - but an impotent tool. Ironically, the youth, in the 1910's and 1920' s , attempted to express their interest in ethnicity in English, but were dismissed as out of order by parental-clergy-fraternal-elder figures who sought to safe-guard their venerable Slovak ethnicity by passing it on through institutional measures (churches, gynmastics , literary clubs). However, the fact of institutionalization of tradition was disqualified by the attitude of the founders toward those who would succeed them - which very " success " aroused their fear and countervailing animosity toward the Slovak-American youth. The very nature of many officers ' traditionalism led to the ardent Americanization by the young, whose consequence for the fratemals was decline in membership. ' �SLOVAKIA 85 ATHLETIC PROGRAMS IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS: INTERNAL CHANGE AND CONTINUITY Similar directional change can be seen in the history of athletic programs within the Slovak-American fraternals. The baseline was the Slovak Sokol (Falcon) or gymnastic society. The earliest Sokols had been founded in Bohemia in 1862 by Jindrich Fuegner and Miroslav Tyrs , derived from the German Turnvereine . The Sokols were used in Europe both as vehicles for nativism and Pan-Slavic solidarity. In the U.S. , they tended to follow ethnic lines and intra-ethnic schisms. Initially most of the fraternal organizations were divided into full membership branches: general (adult), juvenile (up to ages 16-18) , and Sokol. Between the ages of 16 and 18, one transferred from the juvenile branch to either the general or the Sokol branch. The Sokol branch stressed group gymnastics. Beyond local activities, each branch combined with other lodges, organizations, and conducted district, regional, national, and international slets (mass calisthenic displays) . Separate Sokol / insurance fraternals later developed. During the first decades of the twentieth century, baseball attracted considerable interest in fraternal and church groups , and if not competed for time with the gymnastic activity, it at least paralleled it. By the 1930's, Sokol activity began a slow decline, while baseball was attracting more interest. And in the mid and late 1930' s, the first fraternal bowling leagues were formed, later organized into district, regional, and national competition along the same lines as were the gymnastics. With the preparation for and American entry into World War II Sokol programs were drastically cut when the young Sokols and Sokolettes and instructors took part in the war. Great hopes were placed on a revival following the war, but there was no such revival. Quite the reverse . Those lodges which were discontinued during the war were never revived. ' ' At least fifty percent of the former gymnastically-active lodges became dormant ; numerous Sokol halls were lost; and most of the prewar instructors and directors disappeared from the physical education field . The indifference and apathy on the part of .. . Sokol membership , and officers as well, also were responsible for this decline ." (Andrew Venglarcik, Jr., " President's Column," Sokol Times, Jan . 14, 1972 , p. 3). Despite efforts by the Supreme Lodge of Sokol USA and other control bodies to induce renewal by the appropriation of larger funds for the Sokols , promises of salaries and the payment of travel expenses, there was little positive response on the part �86 SLOVAK IA of the membership . The Sokol USA slet held in 1966 was a veritable miniature compared with those of the 1920's. The influence of World War II was pervasive on both those who participated in it and in the home communities. Two facts are especially noteworthy: (a) that the virtual collapse of Sokol gynmastics was merely one small aspect of this transformation from Slovak to American, and (b) that the fact of the war did not so much cause the change as it rapidly accelerated a process already under way. Baseball, already popular before the war, was equally popular during the war in the informal games by American soldiers at recreation in training or overseas. Although the soldiers returned with baseball, they did not return it to their fraternal lodges, but instead to their industrial teams, American Legion teams, war veterans ' teams, and so forth . At the Sokol lodges, bowling became the sport. Only in the 1960's did local bowling lodge teams begin to decline. From the late 1940's and early 1950's bowling began to compete with golf, which was subsequently organized in districts, regions, and nationally. From the mid-1960 's , golf became the major activity, all of this taking place as the elderly are passing on, the young either not joining or cashing in their policies when they mature , the lodges becoming smaller and more difficult to justify and maintain. What is the meaning of the transformation in athletic activities? What has changed, and what has remained? The only remnant is that of group competition. Slets displayed competitive gymnastic groups, and baseball, bowling, and golf were organized as competitive tournaments at the various levels . But there is a gradual incorporation into the group of increasing individualism, in contrast with the "mechanical solidarity" of group gymnastics . In all of these, what the individual does is for the sake of the group effort. But the individual as a separate entity is increasingly emphasized. The team-orientation of a baseball team is far greater than that of the bowling team, because, as in the group gymnastic display, all of the members ' (or at least the playing members ' ) actions must be coordinated. This is not the case in bowling or golf, where the group is cumulative and sequential, rather than synchronized. In bowling and golf, individual efforts (and accomplishments) are not directly coordinated with tho'se of others, although they are added to them. In these '' individualistic' •· sports, individual actions are apart from the group , not subsumed under group effort as they necessarily are in the slet and in sports like baseball. Psychologically, the meaning of these sports differs greatly from the earlier " team" sports , where the individual could never be " taken out" of the group . �SLOVAKIA 87 \ This point has been well made by Andrew J. Valusek, President of Sokol USA: '' ... we believe in mass training more than emphasis on individual excellence, even though outstanding Sokol athletes are honored and play an important role in the life and achievements of the movement itself (Souvenir Book, 15th Sokol USA Slet, July 1-3, 1966, New York). This transformation in atheltics reflects what is simultaneously a cultural and psychological transformation: from Slovak to American, from group-oriented to individual-oriented, from coordinated interdependence to self-reliant independence. Furthermore, the incorporation of American athletic activities represented a new social status for the group . The lodge members had adopted within an ethnic framework typically mainstream American social activities. Increasingly, ancestral ethnicity was the basis for association, while categories of American culture dominated the content of the activity. MEN'S CLUB AND SECRET SOCIETY My final consideration in the history of the Slovak-American fraternals is its vital ' 'latent'' function as an exclusive men's club. This refers, of course, to male fraternal organizations or a compartmentalized activity of a male fraternal. The men's club provided and safeguarded a haven and refuge from women, family, and responsibility. It occasioned regularized " rituals of rebellion" (Gluckman 1954; Wallace 1966). This is not a matter of the writer's interpretations but derives from informants ' statements as well as the writer's observations. In Slovakia and Ruthenia, the village tavern had fulfilled this release function. In those Slovak-American organizations whose meetings were held under the strict supervision of the priest, the conclusion of a meeting was frequently followed by a visit to the Slovak Club . Many fraternals held their lodge meetings in one of the rooms at the Slovak Club. At the club , heavy drinking, card and craps playing, mournful and boisterous Slovak folk song, and " men' s talk" occupied the hours and filled the air. Abetted by the influences of "boilermakers'' (a shot of whiskey with a beer as chaser), the unspeakable literally emptied into the open. Taboos were cavalierly broken - at least in word. Built on shared experiences and conflicts, the male associations offered one of the few opportunities for male solidarity. Both in Europe and in the first several decades in the U.S., Saturday night was the ritual occasion for the unbottling of the week's pent up burdens. In the U.S. , the male solidarity of Slovak-American fraternal and the Slovak Club came to be predominantly associated with the immi- �88 SLOVAKIA grant generation. With the second and later generations, from the 1940's and on, this function became transferred to union halls, service veterans' clubs, American fraternal orders, and local bars, whether located adjacent to the mill or in one's neighborhood. These became places where men from varied ethnic backgrounds (though as exclusively white as they were exclusively male) could commiserate and boast of extracurricular feats on the war front and on the home front alike, out of reach of female domination and ridicule. In the original Slovak tavern the American Slovak Club, and later supra-ethnic American adaptations, lusty fiction compensated for social realities too miserable to acknowledge, and over which one felt no control. Through group support, one was able, without too great a burden on the conscience, to take a temporary moral holiday. And a man knew that later confession and communion could always undo - again temporarily what he had dared to think or say or do under the influence of potent spirits. SLOVAK-AMERICAN CHURCHES: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TRENDS A detailed history of Slovak-American parishes at the local and national levels, over the past century, exactly duplicates the history of the fraternals . For this reason, and for economy of space, I would like to review the major trends and give a brief ''life history'' of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, which history will embody these trends. Each of the churches in which I conducted fieldwork (Latin Rite, Byzantine Rite, Independent Rite Catholic, and Lutheran) either experienced the convulsion of schism or was a product of schism. Each of these parishes experiences the on-going drama of conflict between traditionalists and acculturationists. And in each of these parishes, the resolution is identical: (a) outward mobility of dissident acculturationists (and, in some cases, traditionalists for whom even the majority of parish traditionalists have compromised too much); (b) internal acculturation and inter-marriage, creating supra-ethnic denominationalized parishes ; (c) the "territorialization" of "nationality '' parishes (this language comes from khe Catholic diocesan context, but is univerally applicable) . The same directional change is evidenced since the 1930's in Slo- �SLOVAKIA " 89 vak-American churches as in fratemals: that is, away from ethnic exclusiveness and insularity. Initially, religion, like fratemalism, was an inseparable functional component of ethnicity. Today, in the context of an individual's increasingly personal community" (Gould 1970: 148), a traditional social structural view is empirically invalidated. "Religion" and "ethnicity" have become increasingly separate domains of one's life. This is true even for those originally nationality parishes which, in the 1960's or early 1970's, still maintained a large membership and which could afford to build a new parish further "up the hill" or out in suburbia. I think, for instance, of two parishes in Duquesne, Pennsylvania: Holy Trinity (Slovak) Roman Catholic Church, which, in the late 1960's, built a dazzlingly modem church in the suburb of West Mifflin in which many of the second and third generation lived, but which became de jure a supra-ethnic territorial parish in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh; and Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, originally located in the same neighborhood as Holy Trinity, but which built a modem church building in the mid-1960's a mile or two further up the hill, in a stable white, middle-class, poly-ethnic neighborhood. Cross-cutting denominational lines is the decisive influence of World War Il in accelerating, though not causing, the Americanization process within Slovak-American parishes, and with it, division or further schism. The ubiquity of this process I have discovered from discussions with Latin and Byzantine Rite Catholic, Lutheran, and Independent Catholic Slovak-American clergymen and parishioners. A Slovak Lutheran minister in his late forties, who grew up in Johnstown, Penna., relates his experience there and generalizes from it: In my church in Johnstown, there was no English until 1942 - at least until 1942, when I left for World War II. When I left, no English had been introduced. But after war, the young people coming back demanded that English be adopted as a separate service. The effect of the war was to put people of all different backgrounds together, and the common language there was English. The men thought and spoke and felt in English, so that when they got home after the war, their native towns and churches were like a foreign country. The delicate questions, then, as always, was how to contain or try to contain change within continuity. In McKeesport, Penna., Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church had been founded in 1895 as a "nationality" parish within the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese (Holy Trinity 1970; Slovak Catholic Par- �90 SLOVAKIA ishes and Institutions, 1955). In 1921 the church had a membership of some 1, 700 individuals and 325 families. In that year, the bishop appointed a priest of Alsatian-German ancestry to succeed the Slovak priest who many elderly parishioners allege returned to Slovakia under dubious circumstances (e.g. , with church funds?). Not so much the new priest's ethnicity as his antagonistic, condescendingly anti-Slovak style precipitated a schism in which some 300 families left to found Sts . Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, later renamed Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This priest remained the pastor of the church until his death in 1963, and was succeeded by a second-generation Slovak-American priest who remained pastor until his retirement in the mid-1970's. This period witnessed considerable Americanization of everything from liturgy to architecture to the aesthetics of the sanctuary. The immense wood-spires gave way to marble. The dusty baldachino was taken down in the 1960' s. The sanctuary of the church has fewer and fewer statues and candles. The interior became increasingly lighter and brightly lit. The Slovak mass on Sunday morning (one mass out of the four) , attended mostly by the older people, was phased out by the late 1960's. At the Diamond Jubilee Celebration (75 yrs.) in 1970, no Slovak was used in the special mass. (As I left the service, I overheard one man , perhaps in this 60 's, exclaim to a friend: " Couldn 't he have said something in Slovak?'') In 1975, a young third-generation Slovak-American priest became pastor and initiated weekly Charismatic Renewal Services , held in the church social hall and open to and attended by Catholics from parishes throughout McKeesport. Thus, what began as an exclusively ethnic parish has become internally a multi-ethnic territorial Roman Catholic parish though with explicitly acknowledged ties to an ethnic past. Moreover, it is the site for decidedly contemporary American cultic activity that stresses the direct, personal religious experience. The possible conflict between the priest and Eucharist-centererd formalism of the traditional mass (now in the vernacular English) and the participatory Charismatic Service of heightened self-expression and testimonial has at least for the moment been settled by compartmentalization. At the present time (see Table 10), the membership is large enough (roughly 1,800 members) , and its >decline due to the greater proportion of deaths over baptisms gradual e:eough to assure the parish at least several decades of "life." But, clearly the nature of the religious experience has changed decisively over the past 85 years . The word ' 'Slovak '' was officially dropped from the name of the church in �SLOVAKIA 91 \ the 1960's. • The parish is becoming increasingly working-class Catholic in its expressive function. The so-called Latinization and Irishization of the church has most recently been succeeded by a new type of American religious nativism: here , however, the change is induced far less from without than from within. To date, St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, and St. Mark Lutheran Church have solved the generational gap between traditionalists and acculturationists through separate services. Sts. Cyril and Methodius alternates Sundays with English and Slovak services. At St. Mark, the Slovak service typically takes place early on Sunday, followed by the English service . At the much larger St. Nicholas, the Slavonic Mass is one of three masses offered on Sunday morning, the other two in English (for detailed histories of these parishes , see Stein 1972). If at Holy Trinity, " Latinization" mediated by " Irishization " underlay much internal conflict, at St. Nicholas a less direct though powerful Latinization has taken place, here mediated by the supra-local hierarchy from Byzantine Catholic bishop through Rome. Just as in Latin Rite Slovak-American parishes, the conglomerate of IrishizationLatinization-Americanization was a means of social mobility for the priesthood ; likewise within Byzantine Rite Slovak-American parishes, Latinization-Americanization, bypassing the Latin Rite, Irish-dominated Church , was a means of social mobility for its priesthood. This, however, was not original to the American context. For centuries, both Byzantine and Latin Rite Slovak priests frequently used Magyarization as a means of mobility in Slovakia. Likewise, in Europe as in America, Germanization was a means of social mobility for Slovak Lutheran clergy. In all cases , the process in America was continuous with that in Europe: only the specific content or reference group(s) changed. • Let me furthe r pursue the issue of " What' s in a name? " , the importance of name as personal meaning and identity, from the point of view of baptismal records in this parish . Both in traditional Slovakia, and in parish records through the early 1920' s, baptismal names we re largely Biblical , or reflected more eastern Slavic influence . Thus, most males were named Michael, John, Thomas , Andrew , George, Paul, Joseph, Stephen , Be rnard , Albert, Rudolph, Charles, and Ivan ; and females were named Martha, Helen , Margaret , Mary, Anna , Elizabeth , and Ivana. American names, including the addition of a middle name, began to appear sporadically in the late 1910's , but grew in the 1920's and thereafter . For instance : Ella Sue, Stanley J oseph , Ethel Elizabeth, Emma Marie , Virginia , Robert William , George Edward (all before 1930) , Anna Mae, Rose Marie , Dorothy Mae , Virginia Louise, Patricia J ane , Lucille Diane , Gary Michael, William John , and so forth . �SLOVAKIA 92 TABLE 10 Diocese of Pittsburgh Holy Trinity (Slovak) Catholic Church Allegheny County McKeesport, PA Church reports at five year intervals (1896-1971): Year 1896 1901 1906 1911 1916 1921 1926 1931 1936 1941 1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1974+ Souls (approximate)• 600 Families (approximate)• 180 905 210 1060 250 1200 1300 1800 2500 2700 300 300 400 600 600 600 600 600 500 600 600 610 675 667 2900 2886 3170 3180 3500 3500 2725 2540 2140 Baptisms 144 151 175 177 160 140 137 131 86 72 127 86 78 66 41 26 16 Deaths 50 . 67 109 30 48 50 30 45 38 37 24 36 39 40 35 37 50 • Priest' s estimate derived from traditional annual blessing of homes after Epiphany. + Last year data available. Moreover, this was hardly a process imposed exclusively from without or by the pastor. In the absence of schism, and in the aftermath of schism for those who chose to remain loyal to church and pastor, the direction taken by the pastor coincided with the direction sought by a majority of the congregation, through passive assent if not active work toward change. The matter is somewhat different for Sts. Cyril and Methodius, an independent Slovak Catholic church that has literally struggled for survival since its creation in 1921. Beginning with some 300 zealous families as Sts. Peter and Paul, it has now barely 100 members. In the 1920's it ambitiously built a new church, only to lose it to the bank in 1937. Just as, prior to building its own edifi<z, the church held services in Slovak Hall and in churches where it was welcomed, likewise after 1937, it held services at the YWCA and the Baptist Mission. In order to be exempt from any past or future debts incurred under its original �SLOVAKIA 93 \ name , Sts. Peter and Paul changed its name to Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the late 1930's . In its early period, the church had been served by a priest ordained by the Czecho-Slovak Independent Church in Slovakia. Later, when no priest could be found, Sts. Cyril and Methodius became affiliated with the parallel nativistic Polish National Catholic movement which had begun in Scranton, Penna. in 1897 (Fox, n .d.). Services were conducted at the local, inner-city Polish National Catholic Church , served by a Polish-American priest who said mass in Polish, while responsorials and hymns were sung in Slovak by the congregation. During the late 1960's, the Polish church began a building program in suburban McKeesport. At the same time, a Swedish Evangelical Free Church was vacating its church on the "hill" and moving to a more outlying district - where its members tended to be living, and away from the area in which blacks were now living in increasing numbers . The Slovak Independent church voted to purchase the Swedish church outright in 1967. So the church now had a home, but few members. Many had, in the intervening year, returned to Holy Trinity. Others joined Catholic or Protestant churches near their homes . Still others gravitated in increasing numbers to the Polish National Catholic Church: an institution which acted both to safeguard the Slovak church and as an agent of acculturation to the PNCC tradition. Indeed , one of the greatest areas of chronic conflict within Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been those who resist and resent the PNCC influence and those who accept it. From the outset, the Slovak National Catholic Church movement has been numerically small and politically weak in comparison with the PNCC, which now claims several hundreds of thousands of members in some 140 churches in the U.S. alone - and which movement diffused in the 1920's back to the mother country . Thus the direction of change in Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been toward PNCC and American acculturation. Like St. Mark, whose ' 'life history '' I present immediately below in detail rather than fragment , the membership of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is highly skewed toward the end of the life cycle , unbalanced by a substantial middle-aged population to compensate for the outward migration of young adults and the virtually non-existent birth-rate. While these examples are sufficient to illustrate the trend of culture change , I would like to tum to the history of St. Mark Lutheran Church , which should provide a depth missing in the breadth of the " trends " I have covered for the other churches . �94 SLOVAKIA ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH: AN INSTITUTIONAL ''LIFE HISTORY'' St. Mark's was founded in 1913 by 25 members from the Slovak Evangelical Union Assembly 53 (a fraternal organization) organized in 1899 in Duquesne. The church was named the Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne. Between 1913 and 1919, ''lacking funds to either build or buy a place for a church site, the Church council called upon the nearby existing Grace Reformed Church ... for permission to use the church for services" (50th Anniversary Book, St. Mark Ev. Lutheran Church, Oct. 27, 1963) . Toward the end of the decade , Grace Reformed Church's growth compelled it to seek larger quarters elsewhere in Duquesne, making the building available for purchase. Slovak Lutherans from Duquesne and from the nearby communities of McKeesport and Glassport purchased the church building. In 1920, the parish was able to send a call for its first full-time pastor. In 1934, after no prior synodical affiliation, the church joined the Slovak Zion Synod, Lutheran Church of America, in which it has been a member ever since. In the 1930's, the Slovak Lutheran parish in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, experienced a schism between the more Americanized members and the traditionalists. The more Americanized members wanted English introduced into the service, and wanted to establish a Sunday School for their children in which English was the language of instruction. The more adamant Slovaks refused to permit any change. Between one-third and one-half of the congregation (over 150 members) left. They took up membership at the nearby German Lutheran and Engish Lutheran churches. The loss of membership in the 1930's precipitated a compromise initiated in 1940: an English-language Sunday School was founded, and English was adopted in the Vacation Bible School and in the Confirmation Class. The services, however, remained entirely in Slovak. The Second World War acted as a great catalyst of change toward the more rapid Americanization of the parish - not merely of this parish but thoughout Slovak Lutheran parishes. The younger members, many of them returning veterans, insisted on a separate English service. This structural change solved in part the probl~m of the different intergenerational linguistic and cultural orientatibns. Each age set, indeed cultural set, would have its own separate service. The Sunday morning Slovak service at the Duquesne parish is now a much shortened version of the traditional service. In this way, it has been adopted to the Ameri- �SLOVAKIA 95 can time-sense (e.g., hymns of an original 16-20 stanzas now reduced to 4-6). For occasions such •s Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday, and Confirmation, joint services are held, with roughly half in English and half in Slovak, equally distributed throughout the service. In the 1960's, further measures were taken to Americanize the church. A majority of the younger members felt that the word "Slovak" in its name , as with the lengthy European-sounding name as a whole, discouraged non-Slovaks from joining. The younger age set wished to become an integrated member of the American Lutheran community rather than remain outside it. As a reflection of this attitude change, the name was changed from Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne to the more conventional St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, or simply St. Mark Lutheran Church. The church was named in honor of a saint because, as the pastor put it, ''most American churches are called Saint this or Saint that.'' Accompanying the change in name were concomitant changes in the by-laws whose effect was intended to parallel and validate the change in name. Whereas previously membership was restricted to Slovak Lutherans and their spouses (through conversion to Lutheranism), now membership was opened to all Lutherans irrespective of nationality background. For all practical purposes the church became ''two churches' ' : Slovak Lutheran and American Lutheran, the former using the Slovak liturgy, and the latter utilizing the Common Service Book of 1917 (United Lutheran Church of America) until the mid-1960's, then the authorized Service Book and Hymnal (Lutheran Church of America, 1968). However, the opening up of the church to new membership, together with the standardization of the liturgy, failed to attract new members or to retain the young. The Slovak population of Duquesne, like that of McKeesport and all other local milltowns on the Monongahela, had largely been moving to outlying districts, first up on ''the hill,'' later further out to "suburbs. " Mobility of membership to nearby " American Lutheran" churches almost inevitably followed. In the same area of Duquesne as St. Mark Church were former Slovak Roman Catholic (Holy Trinity, Duquesne) and Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Catholic (Sts. Peter and Paul) churches . Sts. Peter and Paul had completed a new church far up on the hill in early 1960, and Holy Trinity completed a new church out in the suburb of West Mifflin in 1970. During the period from the 1940' s through the 1960' s, as the Slovaks moved " up and out," the area rapidly became settled by blacks , and the area quickly became unpopular even in the eyes of those Slovaks who remained and attended the Lutheran Church (which could not �96 SLOVAKIA afford to build elsewhere). The church could hardly retain its own members, let alone attract outsiders to what was quickly becoming called a deteriorated and unstable area. The former Slovak Catholic Holy Trinity Church building and rectory were given by the diocesan bishop to a local black church group, and the nearby vacated Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Church became a plaything for vandals. Many Catholic and Lutheran Slovak-Americans who had bought their first homes here or had grown up in this neighborhood said in disgust that this was no longer a place fit for a white man to live. It is significant that, despite all the vast changes that have taken place in the church, the original German-made oak tryptich altar, baptismal, and pulpit (of the 1920's) are retained by the church to the present. From time to time younger parishioners have suggested that the ancient pipe organ be replaced by a modern electric organ, but there has never been a concerted demand for such a replacement. I suspect that underlying this lack of pressure for costly remodeling and rennovation is first, the smallness of the congregation and hence the lack of large amounts of funds for such purposes, and second, the younger generation's relative lack of long-term future commitment to the parish and hence their acquiescence to the traditional preferences of the older generation . At present, an average of ten of those parishioners aged 60 and over attend the Slovak service; while between 40 and 50 of mostly younger parishioners and their families attend the English. Only a few elderly people are accompanied in the Slovak service by their children and grandchildren. However, many grandparents attend the English service with their children. Unexceptionably, the three-generation service is the English. A maximum of 15 attend the Slovak service, while at the English it approximates 60. The parish is rapidly losing members at both ends of the age range , the elder through deaths , and the younger with their families by moving away or joining more American Lutheran churches . Between 1960 and the end of 1970, the church lost 26 members over age 50 (out of a total of 32) of whom 14 were over age 70. Several parents in their 30 's and 40 's have told me of their intention of joining elsewhere after their own parents, stalwart members , pass on .* \ • Rarely have Slovak-ethnic organizations later becom~ stable supra-ethnic co=unity institutions . The direction of change seems one way . Ethnic parishes have declined dramatically in Slovak-American membership . The ethnic fratemals ' efforts at modernizing fis cally simply came too late . Moreover, the fratemals ' renewed efforts at in- �SLOVAKIA 97 , CONCLUSION This paper has examined religion and fraternal association among Slovak-Americans as institutional forms for the communication of cultural meaning. Although I have focused on a single Euro-American population, the perspectives and findings of this study should be applicable to and testable by data from comparable populations. Historical, documentary, ethnographic, and demographic data were adduced both to illustrate cultural patterns of communication and to offer the reader material by which my generalizations might be evaluated. I have emphasized that (a) there is much in Slovak-American adaptation that is built upon, indeed derived from, preadaptive characteristics of traditional culture which cannot be reduced to the demands of the host environment or to adaptive tools available in it; (b) the overall trend and categories of change in fraternals and churches is identical; (c) the study of institutional meaning is never removed, nor can it be abstracted from, the personal meanings of its participants who invest in social structures; (d) what from one point of view appears to be patently instrumental functions can be discerned simultaneously from another point of view as expressive functions (i.e., complementary); (e) the American cultural system was adopted by Slovak-Americans to achieve both traditional ends (often in new "language" or cultural content) and anti-traditional ends, the seeds of which were sown (as latent possibilities) in traditional Slovak family and social conflict; (f) the distinction between traditional and modern, and continuity and change, cannot be concluded on the basis of mere appearance, but must be detennined by the meanings communicated by the cultural actors; hence (g) continuity in form, function, and meaning can often be expressed, not despite, but strurnental change in service of ethnic, that is, expressive, revitalization was a futile attempt to reassemble functions that had already been severed by the membership for expressive reasons . One conspicuous exception is the Benedictine High School in Cleveland , Ohio . Another is the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Homestead, Pennsylvania (with branches in McKeesport and Clairton, also mill towns) , originally founded in 1914 by Slovak workers to assist in providing common funds for Slovak families now able and eager to purchase homes in the "hill" regions of the town up and away from their rented flats in the " lowland" or " bottoms " close to the mill . Perhaps a compelling reason for the success of the S & L association lies in its offer of supra-ethnic' ' social security '' resources from the beginning. That is, being primarily a financial institution, it stood the best chance of flourishing in the American cultural environment in which instrumental (e .g. , economic) functions were compartmentalized from expressive ones. �98 SLOVAKIA through a change in symbolic content; (h) although unmistakable trends of change have been noted, at any given moment the identified distinctive features of change may perform complementary or contradictory institutional functions; (i) the process of Americanization or acculturation cannot be seen as a unitary process directed either from within or from without the ethnic community, but must be analyzed in terms of sources of impetus for Americanization. The study of ethnicity is not the study of "tribes" as though they and their conceptually reified cultures persist statically unchanged. Rather, the study of ethnicity is the study of human relationships, the meanings which people attach to those relationships, the communication of those meanings in idiosyncratic or institutionalized forms, the process by which changed meanings lead to changes in relationships and how in tum ethnicity and thus identity itself comes to be redefined. Certainly the nativistic "New Ethnicity" advocated by many fraternal leaders and Slovak-American intelligentsia (Stein and Hill 1977) is not at all the unself-conscious native ethnicity of the pre-immigrant period. My research among some three- and four-generation SlovakAmerican families and institutions leads to to the inexorable conclusion that Slovak-American ethnicity over the past century has dramatically changed from a relatively homogeneous public expression of community form, function, structure, meaning, and relationship to a far more heterogeneous, individualized, private matter. This privatization of ethnicity had led many scholars to conclude that ethnicity has disappeared. This is nonsense: it has been repattemed, some elements retained, others given up. Although the American ethos has replaced the ethnic ethos as the core of personal and group identity, the spheres of life and the levels of the personality at which this replacement has occurred must be demonstrated and explained. What has unmistakably declined and is disappearing is the full complement of institutions which characteristically define a traditional community (cf. Arensberg and Kimball 1965) . However, as I have suggested in my previously cited works, unconsciously communicated loyalties, conflicts, values , expectation, and worldview in the intimate interior of even ethnically intermarried families results in continuities in surprising guises (e.g., the steel mill experienced as the old manorial latifundia: see Stein and Hill 1979; Hamey 1975) . , On the other hand, ethnic ties are often.maintained in the absence of conspicuously ethnic content - and here "conspicuity" refers all too often to the preoccupations and categories of the observer. Ethnicity takes on an especially "hidden" quality (Hill and May 1973) when the �SLOVAKIA 99 observer expects tradition~ meanings to take traditional representational forms. The more subtle, out-of-awareness (Hall 1977) aspects of ethnicity are the most intractible because they are pre-verbally ta.ken for granted and cannot be verbalized. Thus, for instance, I shall know that without a doubt a Slovak-American woman or man has acculturated more toward the core of the metaphoric personal ''onion'' when children - or the ethnographer! - are forcibly lavished copious quantities of food, when I am invited to visit with a family in their ''living room" or "dining room" instead of the kitchen; or when the implicit roles of maternal dominance and paternal distance in the home have become less pronounced, and the affective atmosphere affectively less brittle. Likewise, the inclusion of members from other ethnic groups within formerly exclusive tradition-maintaining fraternal and religious institutions, and the increasingly widespread phenomenon of intermarriage, are expressions of the simultaneous of group- or "ethnic" - and ego-boundaries. The formerly "other," often despised and alien, is now included within the possibilities of the "self." This fact requires a reassessment of our received wisdom about structural assimilation, namely, that inclusion is an act governed or regulated by the more mainstreamed "Americans" - that is, that it operates as a one-way process. Rather, inclusion is reciprocally a dynamic from within the ethnic group. Finally, this paper further confirms the tenet that ethnicity is a process operating at many levels, and is not a lineal continuum whose starting and terminal points can easily be plotted in terms of preconceived categories of "passing," "acculturation," "mobility," or "assimilation." It is the author's hope that future studies will not only provide greater breadth and depth in the study of Slovak-Americans, but will offer a comparative framework for the study of emigrant Slovaks in other nations (indeed, other regions of the U.S.), the internal transformation of Slovakia in the post-World War I period, and other European emigrant populations in their new contexts. 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Czechoslovakia . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1940. Kirschbaum , Joseph M. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Europe. New York: Robert Speller and Sons, 1960. Klein, Philip . A Social Study of Pittsburgh. New York : Columbia University Press, 1938. Koenig, Samuel. " Marriage and the Family among the Galician Ukrainians, " In Studies in the Science of Society . George P. Murdock, ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937 , pp. 299-318 . Krajsa, Joseph C., Chairman, Editorial Board. Slovaks in America . Middletown, Penn.: The Slovak League of America, 1978. La Barre, Weston . The Ghost Dance: The Origins of Religion . New York: Dell, 1972. Lacko, Michael. '' A Brief Study of the History of the Slovak Catholics of the ByzantineSlavonic Rite," Slovak Studies 3(1963) : 199-224. Slovak Institute, Rome, Italy . Light, Ivan H. Ethnic Enterprise in America. Berkeley: University of California Press , 1972 . Macartney , C. A. Hungary and Her Successors . New York : Oxford University Press , 1937. Nelli, Humbert S. The Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930: A Study in Ethnic Mobility . New York : Oxford University Press, 1970. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and/ts People . New York: Robert Speller and Sons , 1960. Roucek , Joseph S. "Problems of Assimilation: A Study of Czecho-Slovaks in the United States ," Sociology and Social Research XVIl (1932-33) : 62-71. Roucek , Joseph S. " The Passing of American Czechoshivaks ," American Journal of Sociology 39(1933-34) : 611-626 . Roucek , Joseph S. " Czechoslovak Americans ," In Our Racial and National Minorities. �SLOVAKIA 101 Francis J . Brown and Joseph S. Roucek , eds . New York: Prentice-Hall, 1937, pp. 230246 . Slovak Catholic Parishes and Institutions in the United States and Canada. Cleveland, Ohio: The First Catholic Slovak Union, 1966 (Jednota Printery, Middletown, Penna.) . Stein , Howard F . " An Ethno-Historical Study of Slovak-American Identity." Doctoral dissertation , University of Pittsburgh , 1972. Stein, Howard F. " Cultural Specificity in Patterns of Mental Illness and Health: A Slovak-American Case Study, " Family Process 12(March 1973): 69-82. Stein, Howard F. '' Envy and the Evil Eye among Slovak-Americans: An Exploration into the Psychological Ontogeny of Belief and Ritual," Ethos 2(1)(Spring 1974) : 16-46. Stein , Howard F. " Structural Change in Slovak Kinship: An Ethnohistoric Inquiry," Ethnology 14(1)(January 1976): 99-108 . Stein , Howard F. " A Dialectic Model of Illness and Health Attitudes and Behavior among Slovak-Americans ," International Journal of Mental Health 6(2)(Summer 1976) : 117-137. Stein , Howard F. " The Slovak-American 'Swaddling Ethos' : Homeostat for Family Dynamics and Cultural Continuity, " Family Process 17 (March 1978) : 32-46. (a) Stein, Howard F. ''Aging and Death among Slovak-Americans: A Study in the Thematic Unity of the Life Cycle ," The Journal of Psychological Anthropology 1(3)(Summer 1978) : 297-320. (b) Stein, Howard F. "The White Ethnic Movement, Pan-Ism, and the Restoration of Early Symbosis: The Psychohistory of a Group-Fantasy," The Journal of Psychohistory 6(3)(Winter 1979) : 319-360. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F . Hill. The Ethnic Imperative: Ewmining the New White Ethnic Mo vement. University Park , Penna .: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F. Hill. " Adaptive Modalities Among Slovak- and PolishAmericans : Some Issues in Cultural Continuity and Change ," Anthropology 3(1-2) (1979) : 96-107. Stolarik , M. Mark . " Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 18701918." Doctoral dissertation , University of Minnesota , 1974. Wallace , A. F. C. Religion: An Anthropological View . New York: Random House, 1966. Yurchak , Peter Paul . The Slovaks . Whiting, Indiana: Obrana Press, 1946. Zatko , James J . " Slovaks in the U.S.A., 1900-1914," Slovakia 16(39)(1966) : 41-62 (Slovak League of America). �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 53 An Ethnohistqry of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions HOW ARD F. STEIN INTRODUCTION: ETHNICITY, INSTITUTIONS AND THE STUDY OF MEANING The study of ethnicity is necessarily a study of systems of meaning and how that meaning is communicated. Ethnicity is far more than a matter of social mobility, group competition for scarce resources, acculturation, and the like. This paper focuses on what might be called the "life histories" of Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations as institutionalized expressors of a century of changing groupidentity and those meanings that represent the underlying group-identity. Special emphasis is placed on identifying precisely what about ethnic identity is communicated by these institutions. The central argument is that Slovak-American fraternal and religious associations perform important psychosocial functions - not merely social structural ones. Indeed, I propose that the former determines and sustains, and explains, the revitalization or atrophy of the latter. Another way of putting it is that the ''expressive'' dimension of ethnicity is inherent in the "instrumental" roles performed by fraternal and religious organizations. The world of the symbolic is never separated from the world of the practical. The term "ethnic fraternal" is used here in the sense of mutual benefit, self-help, voluntary associations (see Anderson 1971) that trace to diverse mid-nineteenth century immigrant populations to the U.S. However, the meaning of ethnic fraternalism should not be ac• A paper presented as part of a panel on ''Ethnicity as Communication in Southeastern Europe: A Comparative Approach,'' at the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, New Haven, October, 1979. 54 SLOVAKIA cepted as self-evident, since ethnic voluntary associations, like the religious institutions which they founded, have undergone considerable change of function, and indeed have served multiple, often contradictory functions. In both instances it will be necessary to specify the meaning of persistance and change alike. Elsewhere I have addressed issues of Slovak-American cultural continuity and change in identity at the levels of personality structure, family dynamics, child-rearing patterns, kinship structure, projective system, health and illness attitudes, psychopathology, and ethos (Stein _1973, 1974, 1975,_1976, 1978a; _Stein and Hill 197~, _19~_). No attempt~ here made at a comprehensive history of Slovaks in Europe or the United States. The reader is referred to two groups of works on Slovaks and Slovak-Americans. One genre can be regarded as "official histories," and includes works by Yurchak (1946), Kirschbaum (1960), O~do (1960), Zatko (1966), and Krajsa (1978); and the journals Slovak Studies and Slovakia. The second group consists of disparate studies whose common denominator is the absence of adherence to any prevailing ideology. Representatives of this genre include Balch (1910); Macartney (1937); Kerner (1940); Bue (1957); Roucek (1932-33, 1933-34, 1937); Stolarik (1974); Barton (1975); and Stein (1972). The sources in the first group reflect a particular point of view, namely, the alliance of Slovak Roman Catholicism with political nationalism (i.e., the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Slovak League of America). This also reminds us that traditionally among the majority of Slovaks, ethnicity and religion were fused. Slovak Studies is the publication of the Slovak Institute, Rome, and Slovakia has long been the official publication of the Slovak League. One could legitimately see the Slovak Republic as an expansion onto the level of the state of what had long been a fact at the local level: namely, the political importance of the clergy. Many past and present Slovak League leaders, scholars, and political activists on behalf of Slovak national autonomy in Europe are former leaders and intelligentsia of the short-lived Slovak Republic (1939-1945). That their genre of historiography would be ethno-national apologia is to be expected. However, the visibility of the Slovak League on the American scene in official American political circles has more to do with their anti-communism and their courtship by American political leaders than with cultural, political, or demographic fa~s intrinsic to the League. This highlights the oft neglected fact that American sociopolitical factors often heighten ethnicity, even help preserve it - through a not particularly laudable duplicitous manipulation of loyalties and fears. Among Slovak-Americans, as among all peoples, official histories SLOVAKIA 55 are those sacred myths of the past held and recorded by the putative leadership. Throughout this essay, I shall emphasize whose perspective on the past is being stated as I discuss those institutions that have been deeply concerned v,:ith the cultural sense of time. This leads to a final word of warning: jus\ as ''culture'' is inseparable from the people who constitute it, likewise for social "institutions." An "institution" is only a conventional shorthand. What this paper is about is the history of group consensus and conflict, continuity and change. The very inclusion of this essay in Slovakia attests to changes not only in ''editorial policy" or editorship, but to a more pervasive change in Slovak ethnicity itself in which there is greater openness to self-scrutiny. It is less necessary, shall I say, to toe a "party line." Neither Slovakia, nor Slovak ethnicity, is static. The focus of this paper is on large-scale social institutions as vehicles of continuity and change in meaning systems. Among SlovakAmericans, religious and fraternal organizations have served for nearly a century as articulators of cultural meaning, first reflecting the relatively uniform cultural system brought from Slovakia, later becoming increasingly removed from the very real pluralism of the Slovak-American population for whom they claim to speak. Both ethnographic research in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania (conducted intensively 1970-1972, and intermittently through the present) and documentary study have provided both an understanding of the dynamics within local churches and fraternal society lodges, and a picture of Slovak-American religion and voluntary association on the national scale. Ethnographic study in the Steel Valley of western Pennsylvania, especially the mill-cities of McKeesport and Duquesne, include participant obsevation at, and interviews with members of, the following religious and fraternal groups: parishes of Slovak Roman Catholic Latin Rite, Slovak and Ruthenian Roman Catholic Byzantine Rite, Slovak Independent Catholic Rite, Slovak Lutheran Rite; the First Catholic Slovak Union, Zivena, the Slovak League, Slovak Catholic Sokol, Sokol USA, National Slovak Society, Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Evangelical Union. I obtained valuable ethnographic and demographic data from interviews and documentary sources at the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, and with officers of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, United Societies of USA, and the Slovak Zion Synod-Lutheran Church of America. A careful study of old and recent fraternal newspapers and annual Kalendars, often stored not in official archives but in cabinets and basements, permitted comparison of ethnohistory recon- 56 SLOVAKIA structed from informants' current memory and self-presentation, with cultural meanings preserved in print.* Finally, actuarial data provided by the national offices of the National Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and United Societies of USA permitted a comparison to be made between a necessarily selected sample in which values, attitudes, expectations, criteria and policies of admission and exclusion, and the like were expressed; and statistics of actual participation in or withdrawal from fraternal associations based on trends in membership as reflected in the purchasing and cashing-in of life insurance policies. Ethnographic research both at the local and supra-level simultaneously complemented, explained, and tested the data obtained from tables of parish and fraternal society membership. The reader is referred to the following Tables 1-4 which identify both on the national level and in the region of ethnographic study the major Slovak-American religious and fraternal institutions. ETHNOGRAPHIC BASE LINE The Slovak-American institutions discussed here stem from the migration of over some half-million Slovak peasants and landless peasants from 1880 until the mid-1920's (Zatko 1966: 45), that is, from the period of the Magyar development of a monetary, technologized, labor intensive economy in the 1870's, to the exclusionary American Emergency Quota Laws of 1921-24 and the Immigration Act of 1924, and the National Origins Act of 1929. Roughly 85 percent of the immigrants were Latin or Byzantine Rite Catholics, and 15 percent were Lutherans and Calvinists. The highest rate of migration was from the most impoverished and overpopulated regions of Slovakia, namely, the foothills of the Tatra and Carpathian Mountains (Jansak 1930). As an overall pattern, the earliest Slovaks came to the anthracite coal mining district of eastern Pennsylvania, while later Slovaks came to the mill towns in the "Steel Valley" of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and westward (Cleveland, Gary, Chicago). The greater Pittsburgh region remains the highest concentration of Slovak-Americans in the U.S. (some 29,000 immigrants; 35,000 foreign stock in 1930 Censu~ Klein 1938: 288; Roucek 1933-34: 614) . It is the location of the national offices of the National • These include Narodne Noviny, Jednota, The Greek Catholic Union Messenger, Prosvita, Katolicky Sokol, Sokol USA Times; annual fraternal yearbooks or Kalenddrs ; and the journals Slovakia (Slovak League) and Slovak Studies (Slovak Institute, Cleveland and Rome). SLOVAKIA 57 TABLE 1 THE FOUNDING OF SOOVAK-AMERICAN RELIGION IN AMERICA I. Early Slovak Catholic Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Church in the Western Hemisphere, Hazleton, Penna., 1885 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church* . .......... . (Cornerstone) Early Slovak Roman Catholic Churches in the Allentown, Penna. Diocese (anthracite coal mining area)* ................ . . . Bethlehem, Penna., 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius Saint Michael Archangel ... . .... . . . . .. . ..... Summit Hill, Langsford, Penna. , 1891 Saints Cyril and Methodius .... . .. .... ....... . .Reading, Penna., 1896 First Slovak Catholic parish school ............ .. . . .Chicago, ID., 1900 Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak Sisterhood: Motherhouse established .................... ... Danville, Pa., 1901 High School for Girls established ........... . .... Danville, Pa., 1922 First Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve St. Michael's Parish ........ Braddock, Pa., 1902 Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the USA (to support students interested in teaching and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns) .... Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1903 Benedictine High School for Boys . .. . . .... . . . ...... Cleveland, 1927 II. Early Slovak Lutheran Institutional History in America Name Place and Year Founded First Slovak Lutheran Church in the Western Hemisphere: Saints Peter and Paul .............. Freeland, Penna., first services: 1883; Church built: 1886. • Slovak Lutheran Synod (Missouri Synod) ............ 1902 Slovak Zion Synod (left Missouri Synod, joined United Lutheran Church of America founded in 1919) . . ......... . . .. . . . . ..... .. 1920 • Source: Katolicky Sokol, July 21, 1971 (published in Passaic, New Jersey) . Evidently, the founding of the first Slovak church in the western hemisphere is a matter of considerable controversy - and competition. Professor M. Mark Stolarik kindly informed me of the feud between St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and St. Stephen's in Streator, Illinois for the honor of being "the first" (which, incidentally, is a very American preoccupation!) . Professor Stolarik found the St. Stephen records several years ago and deposited them at the Immigrant Archives in Minnesota. Thus St. Stephen's can document its claim to having been founded in 1884. On the other hand, St. Joseph's burned down at the tum of the century, and its records were lost. Thus its claim to having been founded in 1884 cannot be documented . Professor Stolarik suggests that the editor of Katolicky Sokol, John Sciranka, my original source for the 1886 date , tended to favor the Hazleton parish since he was from Pennsylvania (again , ethnicity in a meta-context, this time localism) (personal communication, 9 September 1979) . Passaic, N.J ., 1906 Cleveland, 1907 Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1911 Slovak Catholic Sokol Slovak League of America Slovak Catholic Federation in America McKeesport, Pa ., 1902 Wilkes-Barre, Pa ., 1892 Freeland, Pa., 1893 New York, 1896 Greek Catholic Union Slovak Evangelical Union (since 1960: United Lut9eran Society) Sokol USA (orig.: Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA) United Societies of USA (Sobranije) Cleveland, 1892 Cleveland, 1890 Cleveland ? Passaic, N.J . McKeesport Perth Amboy, N.J. Ligonier, Pa. Pittsburgh Cleveland Cleveiand Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious (Roman Catholic), political, cultural, fraternal Insurance, religious , political, fraternal Insurance, religious , cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, cultural, insurance, political, fraternal Insurance, religious (Greek Catholic), cultural, political, fraternal Gymnastic, religious (Roman Catholic), cultural, fraternal , insurance Political, cultural, religious Religious, political, cultural MAJOR NATIONALLY-BASED SLOVAK INSTITUTIONS Headquarters Place and Year Functions Pittsburgh, 1890 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal New York, 1891 Pittsburgh Insurance, cultural, political, fraternal First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union 2ivena Beneficial Society (women's equivalent to National Slovak Society, last joint convention with NSS, 1901) First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) Name National Slovak Society TABLE2 > 7' > ~ r I.I) CX) V, Saints Cyril and Methodius Slovak National Catholic Church, McKeesport, founded 1922; name originally Saints Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church ; changed name to present in the late 1930's for legal purposes due to loss of church building during the Depression; affiliated throughout its history with the Polish National Catholic Church, and in the 1940's with the Congregational Church. St. Mark Lutheran Church, Duquesne, Pa. (serving Duquesne and McKeesport), founded 1913 ; name originally: Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Congregation of Duquesne; church bought 1920; joined Slovak Zion Synod of the United Lutheran Church of America 1934; Sunday school founded, use of English in teaching confirmation class 1940; earlier schism over non-use of English by acculturated families ; name changed to present in the 1950's, accompanied by change in by-laws to open church to Lutherans of all nationalities . St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church , founded 1901 ; name originally "Greek Catholic," changed to " Byzantine" in the 1960's; schism in 1939. SWVAK CHURCHES SERVING THE McKEESPORT AREA Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church, founded 1892; the name "Slovak" officially dropped in the 1960's; first church building purchased and enlarged 1895 ; schism in 1922. ., TABLE3 '° u, 7' > > ~ r Vl SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE McKEESPORT PENNSYLVANIA AREA IN '' STEEL VALLEY'' Name Year Founded Membership, other comments Slovenskeho N. P. Spolok (Slovak December 16, 1888 Protestant or Catholic, but Slavic Sick Benefit Soc.) preceded the local lodge of the National Slovak Society, with which it merged in 1890 National Slovak Society, Lodge 31 1890 Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic mostly Slovak Jednota (First Catholic Slovak 1892 (women's lodge, Roman Catholic, Slovak Union) , Lodge 60 276 , formed later) Greek Catholic Union, Lodge 2 1892 Mostly Greek Catholic, but also Roman Catholic, Rusin, and Slovak United Societies of USA (Sobranije) , 1902 Schism within the Greek Catholic Union headquarters and Lodge 1 Sokol USA (Slovensky Sokol), Lodge 1903 (ladies assembly Protestant or Catholic , but Slavic 46 11, formed later) mostly Slovak Slovak Evangelical Union, Assembly 1899 Slovak Lutheran 63 (Duquesne , Pa. , serv~g McKeesport as well) Slovak Club , White Street Hall, 1896, sold to Catholic Fellowship, men's club , social, drinking McKeesport War Veterans 1970 activities First Federal Savings and Loan 1914 Association formed to assist Slovak workers Association of Homestead in obtaining funds to purchase a home ; Federal Charter 1937 ; branch offices in McKeesport (1964), Clairton (1969) ; and Braddock (1969) ; serves Monongahela Valley Communities; (originally names: First Slovak Building and Loan Association) TABLE4 > ;;,;; < > l/1 r 0 ~ SLOVAKIA 61 Slovak Society, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies of USA. The town of Munhall, located in the Steel Valley, is the site of an eparchate or diocese of. the Byzantine Catholic Church. The Greek Catholic Union, founded iq. 1892 in Wilkes-Barre, Penna. , the heart of the anthracite mining region, moved its headquarters in 1910 to the Steel Valley. Although one's place of settlement was greatly influenced by the availability of desirable work, the type of work one sought, and the reasons for choosing that work (originally, to amass greater wealth so that one could return to one's home and village and live better with higher status), it was also strongly influenced by the location of prior immigrant kinsmen, village associates, and even more remotely "related" compatriots of the same geographic, political, and dialect district or iupa - who in tum could advise prospective emigrants of the labor market. Mining and factory towns were not arbitrarily populated by people identifying with the abstract term ' 'Slovak.'' Instead, members of the same village or of adjacent villages commonly sought to live with one another in the New World. Indeed, "ethnicity" changed meanings in the process of settlement in the United States: expanding from more localized, inter-village loyalties, and reciprocal obligation, to supra-local ties based on common religion, dialect, and finally to the emergence in America of an encompassing sense of national "Slovakness" that heretofore had never existed (cf. Gould 1970). It was only after a national sense of identity became established (and this, tenuously, because of the intense factionalism among Slovaks) that the appeal of . President Wilson and Secretary of State House during World War I to Slovak nationalism was possible. A document such as the ' ' Pittsburgh Pact" was thus heretofore unthinkable. Any conceptually neat separation of religion (or churches) from fratemalism is heuristically spurious. Indeed, the history of Slovak religion and mutual benefit societies encompasses the spectrum of alliance and schism, and between them, conflict. The history of the relationship between the two types of associations is the history of each. Moreover, both types of organizations are firmly rooted in east-central European social structure. The village organization functioned much like a vastly extended family, in which kin and extra-kin ties of reciprocity were part of the fabric of everyday life . A group-psychology of community solidarity bound the village tightly together. Even the collapse of manorialism in the mid-19th century did not obliterate this essentially pre-Magyar ethno-psychology. One might say that it functioned preadaptively in the American host environment, and facilitated the earliest " insurance" and cultural- 62 SLOVAKIA perpetuative efforts. After all, the extended family was one's life, accident, and sickness "insurance." There was litsrally no conception of the "individual" apart from the family, church, and village group. Fitzpatrick (1966) correctly identifies Euro-American ethnic communities as bridges or "beachheads" to the wider host society (see also Nelli, 1970). Likewise, Anderson notes "the capacity voluntary associations have to facilitate the transition of individuals and societies to participation in the modem world" (1971:216). He further proposes that ' 'the new associations seem founded to meet needs not previously the responsibility of any older organization" (Ibid.). As this paper will emphasize, however, the new associations built on the firm foundations of elements within traditional organizations; the change lay in the repatterning of those elements - a repatteming which, I might add, has been continuous. I wish to stress that there is nothing automatic, inherently ''natural,' ' or inevitable about the Slovak-American adaptation. The need for "survival" does not explain how or why a particular "survival strategy" for "problem solving" is adopted. Stated differently, it is not the stimulus situation of the stress, but the meaning of the stress and the individual or group characteristic response to it that determines the type of adaptation that will be made (La Barre, 1972; Stein and Hill, 1979). One must inquire both into the nature of the new environment and into the cultural tools a group adapts with. "Necessity" by itself does not explain the "invention" (see Light 1972) . The Slovak-American inventions, themselves variations on traditional psychosocial organization, values, and worldview, must be regarded as preadaptations within the cultural repertoire by which the Slovaks recapitulated much of the Old World in the New (see Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) . The traditional ethos determined both how new " necessities" were perceived and the group-organizational responses based on those perceptions. I cannot here pursue in detail the thorny question as to just what " is" a Slovak. Suffice it to say that the approach taken in this paper is essentially " emic": that is, Slovak based on self-identification and / or ancestry. Thus, for instance, there are several thousand Slovak-Americans, Catholic and Lutheran, whose most ~ediate ancestry traces to Croatia rather than northern Hungary. In the mid:17th century aftermath of the Austro-Hungarian expulsion of the Turks, Maria Theresa invited those peoples inhabiting the already overpopulated Hungarian northlands to migrate to the newly opened land. For the most part, these Slovaks remained Slovaks. Identifying the "ethnic" boundary between Slovaks and Rusins or SLOVAKIA 63 Ruthenians of far eastern Slovakia, southern Galicia, and the western Ukraine is a far stickier matter (see Stein, 1972) . Indeed, many who are Rusin in ancestry, but who lived in what was geopolitically Slovakia, became accultured insidiously through daily contact with the more westernized Slovaks, through the influence of the Latin and Byzantine Rite Roman Catholic Churches, through the centralizing tendencies of Vienna, and last but not least through affiliation and identification with Slovaks following migration to the United States - that is, many became Slovaks in the U.S. I Over at least the past three centuries, the "ethnic boundary" between Slovaks and Rusins has been progressing further eastward. Had the great immigration taken place two centuries ago, virtually all the immigrants would have been of Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox faith and Rusin ethnicity! To the religious conflict must be added, especially since the World War I era, a conflict of nationalisms and proto-nationalisms. Among the permutations of the conflict: (1) Many Ukrainian nationalists insist that eastern ''Slovaks'' and "Rusins" do not exist, but in fact are Ukrainians; (2) Slovakia has undertaken a program of attempting to Slovakize the remaining Rusins; (3) Both the conflict over ethnic identity and the gradual process of Slovakization of Rusins has taken place in the U.S. (a) in such organizations as the Greek Catholic Union and the United Societies of USA, and (b) through the continued process of Latinization whereby many Greek or Byzantine Catholics joined Slovak Latin Rite parishes. A considerable official literature (see Lacko 1963) prepared by the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio and Rome, Italy is devoted to demonstrating that Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, in Europe and America, are bona fide Slovaks and Catholics. Many Slovak peasant immigrants and their children passionately argued the same point (Stein 1972). The author's justification for including such organizations as Byzantine Rite churches, the Greek Catholic Union, and the United Societies as Slovak is that (a) by self-identification many of their officers, priests, and members speak of themselves as Slovaks, and (b) ethnicity is a process, not a static given. THE FOUNDING OF SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS For the most part, the Slovak-American fraternal societies began in the 1880's through the early 1900's as self-help, mutual assistance organizations. The arrangement of regular social activities such as dances , plays, gymnastic groups, and literary clubs, and the organiza- 64 SLOVAKIA tion, construction, and support of Slovak parishes followed later. In all earnestness I emphasize that the link between fraternal and church lay in their division of labor: the fraternal association would first establish insurance in this world; the church would become the guarantor of insurance in the next world. The most immediate needs were mortuary funds, land for the burial of the dead, and death-sickness-and-accident insurance for workers and their families in the U.S. and Slovakia. The new "foreign" dead were often unwelcome in established cemetaries. Slovak burial societies were formed to purchase separate tracts of land, often on the periphery of the town, a considerable distance from the burial sites of the dominant population. Slovak work life was chronically uncertain by the absence of stable unionization in the steel mills until 1936 and thereafter. Wages were low (though admittedly, the immigrant laborers earning a living unheard of in their villages of origin). Periods of steady work fluctuated with periods of layoff. Working conditions were contemptously hazardous. The management of the factories and mines provided no assistance for the injured or for the families of workers killed or maimed on the job. The urban Slovak-American "peasantry" experienced much the same basic insecurity as did they and their progenitors on the manorial latifundia or as landless workers. In one sense, conditions were worse, because in the American capitalistentrepreneurial system there was no personal bond of reciprocity and obligation between manorial lord and serf - although, however, the political system of patronage in the urban wards perpetuated at least an attenuated version of this function. For those immigrants who discovered themselves to be outside the civil and moral community of those recognized as ''Americans,'' the organization of burial-deathaccident-and-sick benefit societies was a means of reconstructing a community. In employment as with religion, Slavic-Americans were for the most part seen as outside the domain of civic and religious responsibilities. This led in tum to a defensive attitude toward American society, even as the belief in the American Dream strongly persisted. Exclusion from without led to a degree of defensive self-exclusion from within. The "enclave mentality," heir to a heightened self-" consciousness of kind," was a product of ethnic-American conflict, not simple cultural transplantation. I am tempted to suggest that much on the organizational level which we might mistake for w~at was traditionally native has a distinctively nativistic quality to it. , For instance, in one multi-Slavic fraternal club, the early by-laws SLOVAKIA 65 specified that only members of Slavic ethnic groups could qualify as members and be permitted on the premises of the club. This qualification arose as a response to the fact that representatives of the mill management would attend meetings incognito, sit at the bar, listen for comments by dissident millworkers, and report them to the management which would summarily fire them for potential insubordination. A first-generation Catholic Slovak-American who came to the United States in the late 1920's said of the Slovak Club of McKeesport, Pennsylvania (a large mill town): The Slovak Club 's By-Laws were written in 1896. Only Slavs were accepted. You had to: you didn 't know who' s your enemy in those days. Johnny Bulls, or the Irish, might be in there, before the ByLaws were adopted . If you said anything against somebody, they report you. The only way to make sure you could speak your mind and not be afraid was to make the By-Laws . Ethnic " elective affinity" was more out of forced circumstance than choice . Those who were regarded and treated as the same created a survival strategy, becoming far more homogeneous in the process than they might had the constraints been fewer . Let me give two brief examples of the hierarchy of functions in the early fraternals . My first example is Lodge No. 2 of the Greek Catholic Union. Prior to regulation of insurance fraternals by the actuarial rules of the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department in the 1920' s, a member would pay $1.00 monthly dues for the mortuary fund and for death benefits to family , the latter of which is derived by subtracting the mortuary costs from the principal. The $1.00 formal dues would be collected from every member regardless of age or age of joining. In addition to the formally recorded $1.00 , he would pay 3 cents a month for relief benefit , so that, for instance, if he lost an arm in a mill accident he would receive $500 . An additional local assessment was 5 cents monthly for sickness benefit, which provided for food and bought medicine when the member could not work because of poor health. Today, this latter has become a " flower fund " to provide flowers at the funeral of a member or a member 's spouse. Any further needs were met by proportionate assessment of the membership . A second example is that of the Slovak Sick Benefit Society, organized in McKeesport in 1888, and which in 1890 merged with the founding of Lodge No. 31 of the National Slovak Society. This local organization collected monthly dues of $1.00 for males . In addition to the regular dues , if a man died , the men paid $1.00 ; if a woman died, the women paid 50 cents extra - for funeral expenses , given to the sur- 66 SLOVAKIA vivor of the deceased. At that time, the sick benefit was $6.00 a week for 13 weeks . After 13 weeks, up to the 21st week, $3.00 a week was given. After the 21st, nothing. The main economic function was to assist those who became sick or suffered an accident in the mill, since at this time there existed neither a union nor a commitment by management to provide such benefits. The Society also had something of an ambulatory service: two members of the society visited the sick person, or went to the scene of the accident, and took him to the hospital, to his home, or where he could be given proper care. While in their initial phase, ethnic fraternals were a response to the often hostile host environment, voluntary associations were long an inescapable part of the American social landscape. As Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the 1830's, resiliently self-reliant Americans were also habitual joiners. This may help to explain how and why initially exclusive self-preservation societies became internally acculturated clubs and lodges at the local and national levels. That is to say, they became largely American cultural organizations with ethnic ancestry. Criteria for membership became ethnically less restrictive. At the same time, there occurred a gradual yet massive attrition of membership in the totemic Slovak-ethnic associations, and an equally gradual yet dramatic increase in membership by the same Slovak-Americans in lower middle class totemic American clubs such as Eagles, Moose, Elks; such service related groups as Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Catholic War Veterans ; employment related union clubs; and finally local public or private restaurant-bar-entertainment clubs. While there has certainly been, especially in the 1940's and 1960's, considerable compartmentalizing of membership, dual allegiance, something of voluntaristic "double descent, " at the present time American fratemalism has already been the dominant trend. In fact many Slovak-Americans with whom I worked who still maintain their fraternal insurance policies do so for economic reasons; their fraternal affiliation lies elsewhere. Originally, in the ethnic enclave, one's kinship network, resources, and the fraternal were one' s insurance. When the ethnic community network itself was one 's guaranteed insurance, there was no need for a separate entity labeled " insurance, " let alone insurance policies outside that community. Only as many ties within the corporate ethnic community were attenuated or severed cl.id the need arise for American style individual insurance coverage. And only since World War II did the originally multiple functional fraternal societies become primarily insurance companies, that is, businesses. In both cases, American as well as ethnic insurance companies served both instrumental (eco- SLOVAKIA 67 nomic) and expressive (ethos) functions: security by affiliation in the ethnic sense, and self-reliance in the American sense. THE PROBLEM OF PERPETUATION AND ACCULTURATION IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS During the first and second decades of each of the fraternal organizations, the emphasis gradually shifted from immediate self-help requirements to more long-range, future-oriented plans associated with revitalizing Slovak culture in America. Whereas the initial years were preoccupeid with self-preservation, the subsequent years became concerned with perpetuation. The insurance / protective aspects were incorporated in a wider institutional framework that elaborated on the traditional cultural model. Once Slovak immigrants decided to make America their permanent home, churches were founded and supported, Sokol gymnastic programs were initiated, and so forth. It quickly became evident to the founding generation that something must be done to enlist the younger generation in these activities or institutions lest Slovak culture disappear with the passing of the first generation. The younger generation must be socialized into the new institutions and activities the immigrant parents had founded. Thus each fraternal organization instituted a juvenile branch or age grade to prepare the younger generation for adult membership. There were thus established two age sets within each fraternal, the adult and the juvenile. Subsequently, most fraternals also added a Sokol or gymnastic branch (if they were not already Sokol fraternals), originally intended as a middle age grade, but which became an adult unit on par with the "General" or "Adult" branch. The lower age limit for transfer from juvenile to the adult branch seems to be 16-18 in the Greek Catholic Union, and the upper age limit is 25 in the National Slovak Society. Typically, a parent would buy a life insurance policy for an infant shortly after birth and pay for the policy until the child's majority. At that time the former junior member would become a responsible adult member, transfer his or her policy to the adult branch, and begin paying for it himself or herself. Thus was the problem of continuity initially solved. For the third and fourth generations continuity was not so readily assured. Many of the second and third generations themselves withdrew or terminated their own policies and did not enroll their children. Many immigrant and second generation informants spoke bitterly of how they felt that officers of their fraternals had used their position for 68 SLOVAKIA self-advancement (internal mobility?), pocketed some of the dues, especially during the pre-1920 days prior to state-enforced bookkeeping, and terminated members' policies or foreclosed on home mortgages during the Great Depression days when dues were not forthcoming (the internal transformation from personalized ties to impersonalized business venture). In some families where the children had been dutifully enrolled in infancy, the children took advantage of the fact that the parents paid for the juvenile policies, and upon reaching majority or "going out on their own," they turned in the policy for cash value, and enrolled themselves later in large "American" insurance companies. With large-scale industrial unionization in the mid- and late-1930's and the opening up of "American" insurance corporations to the now'' American'' descendants of the ''foreigners,'' many of the purely economic insurance functions fulfilled by the ethnic fraternals were replaced by more attractive, sounder economic policies elsewhere. As the lodges have been losing young and elderly members, the middle-aged members have become the core of their lodges, and those who will be perpetuating them will, like their counterparts in the Americanized Slovak churches, be those who have transformed their lodges and their athletics according to the model of the American prototype. With the great decrease in membership and hence in lodge population, lodge consolidation (GCU, United Societies, NSS) and the widening of intervals between meetings have taken place. Where a lodge meeting until the late 1930's was an enormous and lively social affair, often coordinated with a meal or a play in Slovak, since the Second World War it has become a cut-and-dry business meeting, where members stream in and out, pay their dues, often bring the dues of a friend or two with him (or with her), the older ones stopping to chat with a friend or two in Slovak - and then leave. The monthly business meeting of Jednota Lodge No. 60 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania usually keeps ten listeners besides the six officers and collectors at their long table. During the monthly meetings of the Sokol, the ULS, and the NSS, a table of officers sits in a room of empty chairs in the Slovak Club. Occasionally members drift in and out. The local lodge of the United Societies no longer meets; members brin~ in their dues or mail them in. Likewise for lodges of the GCU. The ULS lodge in Duquesne in 1970 changed its monthly meeting to bimonthly, because, as one officer said: "There's no use sitting down there at the empty church all afternoon every month waiting for a few people to show up." In the early 1970's, over 75 percent of the 1,300 GCU lodges were inactive. For the important annual meeting at which officials were to be elected at GCU Homestead Lodge No. 2 in 1971, only 15 of the 160 members attended. SLOVAKIA 69 \ To this should be added that only one of the Slovak fraternal lodges in McKeesport presently has any social or athletic program. Jednota Ladies' Lodge No. 276 has a bowling team, which members from Lodge No. 60 and the nearby borough of Port Vue can join. Lodge No. 60 dropped its bowling team in 1956. Bookkeeping changes have consolidated the Sokol and General Branches of the lodges. Today they function as little more than local insurance agents and collectors. All the national offices of the Slovak fratemals modernized and streamlined their policies to make membership attractive to those of the younger generation for whom Slovakness was not a major attraction, and further, to attract non-Slovaks. To a considerable extent, present-day Slovak fratemals are primarily modem insurance com· panies which would like to stay in business. The fact that all of them are far over the required solvency guarantees nothing about the future, for which they are greatly concerned. As the national president of the GCU remarked to me: The way things are now, it's only a matter of time before the GCU is finished. Sure we have an excellent solvency. But without new members, it's just on borrowed time. You just can't rely on monetary figures alone to tell you how we're doing. Of course we're in good financial shape, but that's because today people buy bigger policies - you can't pay for a funeral for $1000 today. Most of our policies are naturally larger, and the figure they give for assets ... would lead you to believe that we're doing great. That's the way the older ones felt. They always looked at the status quo and never at anything else. (1972) Of course the schism in the 1930's cost the GCU half of its more than 135,000 membership, which crisis did not occur in the other Slovak (and Slovak / Rusin) organizations. Nevertheless the same gradual decline in activity and membership has been the experience and plague of every Slovak fraternal. Slovak-American officials at the national level frequently speak of consolidating the adult, juvenile, and Sokol branches for fiscal reasons and because of poor attendance at meetings. They likewise speak of merging lodges for similar reasons, with the hope that perhaps with greater numbers the fraternal spirit may be rekindled. But they are pessimistic and in offhand, tentative ways consider the possibility of merging not only lodges within a given fraternal, but combining many Slovak-American fratemals under a single economic umbrella - anything that will help the solvency problem and postpone the inevitable disappearance of insurance fratemalism. Everywhere in Slovak-American fratemalism, the number of purchased insurance certificates is far 70 SLOVAKIA fewer than the number of deaths, maturities, disabilities, expirations, surrenders, and lapses of policies. Beyond founding the churches, many of the church-affiliated fraternals remain a major support of the church, both financially and by requiring that their members are practitioners of the faith in good standing (for instance, Jednota). Lodge meetings are held in the church (Jednota, United Societies, Slovak Catholic Sokol, GCU), rather than the secular Slovak Hall (where the Sokol USA, NSS, and ULS McKeesport lodges meet). Except for the Lutheran group (whose Duquesne counterpart does meet in the Slovak Lutheran church), the non-religious affiliated groups meet in secular settings, while the religiousaffiliated groups meet in church halls under the aegis of the priest. Until World War II, most of the Slovak fraternal groups at the local and national levels supported the political activity of the Slovak League of America, a non-fraternal, political-cultural group organized to publicize and lobby for the cause of Slovak independence (first in relation to the Hungarians, and later the Czechs). Its stress on Catholicity, its demands for Slovak separatism (rather than federated autonomy), and its support for the politically active Slovak priests Hlinka and Tiso of the Slovak People 's Party during the Nazi period alienated from it the support of the non-Catholic Sokols and the National Slovak Society. Presently, the Slovak League is primarily affiliated with, and is somewhat the political arm of, the First Catholic Slovak Union. All, however, collaborated in the period from 1907 (the year of the League's founding) throughout the First World War and in the early postwar period, toward the founding of the (First) Republic of Czecho-Slovakia (as the Slovaks prefer to spell it). The Slovak Catholic priesthood has always been at odds with the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, frequently accusing its members of being atheists and communists. The latter, however, have historically supported Slovak national aspirations, though apart from any religious considerations. This is reflected in the membership of the non-Catholic Sokols and the NSS, where only Slav-ness, not religion, was a qualification for membership. As a consequence, the Slovak Catholic (Latin and Byzantine Rite) religious dissidents, as well as Slovak Protestants , tended to gravitate to the Slovensky Sokol, and the NSS rather than to Jednota or the Katolicky Sokol. Furthermore, the -0verlap in membership equally relfects this distinction. Members would mosi; likely belong to Katolicky Sokol. Slovak Lutherans , of course , would join the Slovensky Sokol and the NSS. The above politico-religious concerns , however, refer only to the SLOVAKIA 71 \ older and middle age groups, who are the mainstay of the fraternal organizations. For the younger age group, under 36, Slovak national concerns are for the most part a matter of ancestry rather than immediacy. Apart from religious issues, criteria of membership in Slovak fraternals have during the past decades gradually become less exclusivistic. In the early by-laws, Slovak birth or descent was usually specified (together with a particular religious affiliation, where relevant). By the period following World War I, membership was widened to those of Slavic origin or ancestry (with religious specificity, where relevant). In 1937 the NSS extended membership to non-Slovak spouses married to Slovak members and their children. In the 1930's, the GCU extended membership to spouses so long as the spouse was Catholic. In the 1960's, membership in the Catholic organization was opened to Catholics of any nationality, while in the non-religious affiliated Slovak-American fratemals membership was opened to "anyone," implicitly or explicitly referring to whites of Christian faith. A young officer of the GCU said that he would like to see a change in bylaws that would open the organization to all Christians, removing the restriction to Catholics. Accompanying the opening of membership has been a gradual change in the organizations' names, first from the full length Slovak name to a shortened name, normally one word from the full name (Jednota from the First Catholic Slovak Union, Sobranije from the Greek Catholic Union). Then from the 1930's and on, the English title became more important and today predominates. Names became less European-sounding: the Slovak Evangelical Union became in 1960 the United Lutheran Society; the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol of the USA became Sokol USA. The young official of the GCU mentioned above suggested that if membership were opened to all Christians, he would like to see the name of the organization officially changed to the initials GCU only, and later "we might call it the Greater Beneficial Union / the name changed from German Beneficial Union / no, that's the GBU ... but you know what I mean.'' The direction then, would be that of an American-sounding name. Similar to this trend has been that from Slovak (or Rusin and Eastern Slovak in the Greek Catholic organizations) to English in the official publications or newspapers of fratemals. The newspapers themselves were founded shortly after the organization of the fratemals and were entirely in Slovak (with the above distinction). At the beginning of the 1930's, under pressure of the American-born membership, pages began to be devoted to stories, articles, and announcements in the 72 SLOVAKIA English language. It should be added, however, that from the days of World War I, all of the papers and English-language sections were on American history, patriotism, the American constitution, government, and citizenship. By the 1950's, 50 percent and more of the space was in the English language. For instance, after the 1964 Milwaukee Convention of Sokol USA, Slovensky Sokol devoted 76 percent of its space to English material. At the 1966 National Convention in Tampa, through an act of the General Assembly of the convention, the name of the official publication was changed from Slovensky Sokol to Sokol Times, and the paper is now entirely English-language, as is that of the United Societies, Prosvita (Enlightenment). Nevertheless, such papers as Jednota, Katolicky Sokol, and the GCU Messenger are half-English, halfSlovak; Narodne Noviny is about 25 percent Slovak. What I emphasize here is the overall direction of change. The annual Kalendar or Yearbook of the Greek Catholic Union provides an excellent and generalizable source by which changes since the first decade of the 20th century can be observed and traced. I examined the annual Kalendar of the GCU spanning the years 1903 through 1972 (with considerable gaps in the 1930's and 1940's due to schism within the society over the issue of clerical celibacy). Although the GCU was founded in 1892, the oldest available Kalendar in storage was that of 1903. The following table gives the title on the cover, a summary of advertisements which reflect contemporary issues (migration, home owning, etc.), the nature of written characters for non-English sections (Latin or Cyrillic), subjects of early essays on Americanization (1903-1932), and the language employed by the exarch / bishop in his introductory message. By the late 1960's, at least half of the Kalendar (totaling in the 1960's 90 pages) was in English. (See Table 6). To summarize the table: Through the 1930's, there were advertisements in the Kalendar for such goods and services as banks, saloons, hotel, liquors, a variety of medicinal cures, boat tickets, home building (financing, mortgages, titles, etc.), shipping from overseas, etc. Essays were written on such subjects as American history (including praiseworthy accounts of American founding heroes and legendary leaders), an explanation of American government and how to participate in it, why and how to obtain citizenship, descriptions of the nature of the population and geography of the United States, accounts of farming in the United States and of technolo~cal innovations from the zeppelin through the airplane. Considerable space was likewise devoted to a description of the Slovak-Rusin homeland, culture, religious SLOVAKIA 73 \ customs, etc. Although much of the writing through the 1930's was in eastern Slovak-Rusin dialect and written in either or both Cyrillic and Latin characters, English was used in essays on American history and government as early as 1905, when the article was printed in both languages. Americanization, more specifically, bridge-building between the insular ethnic world and the more expanding American world, was one of the major early agendas of the fraternals. Americanization was also one of the major points of stress between traditionalists and acculturationists that led to attrition of membership and schism in churches and fraternals alike. On the one hand, the Polish National Catholic Church and the Slovak National Catholic Church, a variety of independent Rusin-eastern, Slovak-western, and Ukrainian Orthodox churches, and the United Societies of USA (among others) broke with their Americanizing-Irishizing-Latinizing denationalizing parent organizations and became bastions of tradition (e.g., in liturgy, in customs, etc.) - only to acculturate internally. On the other hand, even the most traditionalist societies zealously urged Americanization both by exhortation and by the example of its leadership - including the clergy. SCHISM, DECLINE, AND CULTURE Let me use several nodal points in the history of the Greek Catholic Union to illustrate the convulsions to which conflict between the acculturationists and traditionalists led. The GCU schism of 1902 led to the founding of a new fraternal association, the United Societies of USA (Sobranije). At the 1902 Convention of the Greek Catholic Union, there was strong debate over whether or not the largely Magyarone RusinSlovak clergy leadership would be permitted to retain their official position, since they insisted on remaining citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary. The convention overwhelmingly voted that henceforth all officers of the GCU would have to be American citizens. Moreover, there was a long-standing resentment against domination of Slovak or Rusin parishioners by a Magyar or Magyarone clergy. In Hungary, the laity could do nothing about it. But in America, former peasants could vote out those who were either of the Hungarian aristocracy or had used the church - and ethnic assimilation - as a means of social mobility. The orientation toward a secular leadership made the process complete: the Byzantine Catholic laity of the fraternal would be a strong supporter of the Church but would not be its tool. The United Societies of USA, conversely, retained priests among .. .. ... .. .. .. . .. .. • • ---- ___________ KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOIJC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES. GEORGE BATYKO) Message by Advertisements Written Exarch I Characters Bishop Year Cyrillic Slovak Rus. Eng. Early Americanization Topics Cover Title - -- - - - - - - Amerikansko-Russko- J ·1903 Banks• , Saloons, Slovensky Kalendar Hotels , Liquors , Medical Cures , • Boat Tickets• Am. History (Rusin) 1904 • Amerikansky-Russko- 1905 Am. Government (Rusin & English) • Slovensky Kalendar Am. fanning, airplane, zeppelin 1909 (Eng.) Amerikansko-Russko- 1914 Banking-Shipping•, Am . Hist. (Rus .), population • Slovensky Kalendar Cures, Liquors of U. S. (Eng.) Banking•• Sokola Sojedinenija Citizenship / naturalization / 1921 • • govt. (Eng.) ,, Am. Hist., govt., loyalty, how Banking** 1924 • to use checking (Eng.) Kai. Soj . Gr. Kaft. 1926 Banking**, Financing, Russkich Bratstv. Home Building, y • • Religious Publications Am . Hist. , govt. (Rus.) , Cit. / 1932 Title & Mortgage Nat. (Eng.) Guarantee co., • • Banks , Boat Tick...,.. ets, Medical Cures K. Gr. Kaft. Sod . none 1953 S. S. A. • 1955 • • TABLE5 > A > < r 0 V, .:,. '-I " " " " " " 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Gr. Kaft. Sod . S.S. A . " " " " " " " " " " Message by Exarch I B ishop • • . . . • . • ..• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . .• . Cyrillic_ Slovak Eng . . Early Americanization Topics - -- - - - Rus. Written Characters • Rovnianek (Pittsburgh) in particular •• Money orders, drafts, credit, savings , import, interest *** Diamond Jubilee Almanac GCU Calendar GCU of USA*** Gr. Kaft. Sod . v S. S. A. GCU Calendar " " " " " 1956 D. Gr . Kaft. Sod. S.S. A. " First Federal S&L of Homestead none Year -- Cover Title Advertisements KALENDARS (YEARBOOKS) OF THE GREEK CATHOLIC UNION (COURTESY OF PRES . GEORGE BATYKO) TABLE 5 (Continued) ., Vl 'I )> A < )> r 0 V) 76 SLOVAKIA its officials through the present; its birth dates from when a number of delegates walked out of the GCU convention in 1902 and founded its first church-affiliated lodge in McKeesport. At the height of its membership in the mid-1920's, United Societies counted some 27,000 in its adult and juvenile branches. By 1970, the last year for which actuarial figures were made available to me, membership had declined to 5,600; since 1930, membership enrollment by young adults has precipitously declined . (See the following Tables 6 -9 assembled from the actuarial records of the United Societies of USA, public domain.) Within the GCU during the intervening years, a second, even more dramatic schism took place in the 1930's over the issue of priestly celibacy - reflecting the conflict between the traditionalists, who argued in favor of a married priesthood and the acculturationists or ''Latinizers ," who advocated clerical celibacy. While no documented figures were available to me, a number of informants agreed that some 60,000 to 70,000 members, or roughly half the membership, defected. The GCU had been organized in 1892; the Juvenile Branch in 1906; the Gymnastic Branch in 1910. It totals some 1,300 lodges and is licensed as an insurance corporation in 12 states (United Societies, in 6). At the height of membership in 1929, the GCU numbered some 60,000 members in its General or Adult Branch, 20,000 in its Falcon Branch, and 65,000 in its Juvenile Branch. The cataclysm which cost the GCU half its membership occurred in 1929. As early as 1924, the Pope had dispatched Bishop Takach back to the United States with instructions that married priests , common in the Byzantine Rite in Europe, were not to be ordained. However, ordination continued for several years through what were described as "loopholes. " In 1929 came a specific papal decree, Cum Data, forbidding the ordination of married priests in the United States. This finalization led to the immediate defection of thousands of GCU members. If this were not earthquake enough, during the 1920's all ethnic fratemals in Pennsylvania were brought under the increasingly strict regulation of the Insurance Department, which consequence was an immediate precipitous drop in the membership of all Slovak-American insurance-related fratemals. Members could no longer be assessed equally, and amounts collected varied from month to month on the basis of the past month's claims, but were rate\f according to the National Fraternal Congress table of "attained age a~ June, l, 1933." That is, members were required to pay on the basis of age, with premiums increasing with age . The new rates were adopted in June 1932 by the GCU. The National Slovak Society and the men 's and ladies' divisions 0 4 5 12 35 51 68 51 42 10 12 28 49 69 83 82 77 88 75 0 70 1 85+ 0 0 0 1 ., 0 1 1 0 6 1 4 7 18 29 15 35 33 34 69 80 0 1 In the Adult Branches, the Falcon and Main Branches have always been combined for bookkeeping purposes . 2 This figure gives the total membership in United Societies . It should be noted that at age 16, one is eligible to transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch (Main or Falcon) . One may transfer from the Juvenile Branch to the Adult Branch between the 16th and 18th birthday. 3 The report for 1950 was missing, so the 1949 figures were used instead . 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. This means that it is no longer possible to compare membership at ages 16 and 18 in the Juvenile Branch with that in the Adult Branch. 5 An e xplanation for the increase lies in the adoption by the United Societies of the Byzantine Life Savings policy in August, 1968. It is a policy that is sold by agents of the United Societies, an effort to expand the boundaries of fratemalism on a more traditionally commercial basis . It is a 21-year savings program, which one may enter up to age 45 . At the end of the 21 years, the money is returned to the policy owner. Its advantage is that it is insured savings, although the insurance coverage decreases with each year. For the older people , it provides the certainty of a little income . United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports (Penna., Ohio, New Jersey , West Virginia, etc.) Membership: Adult and Juvenile ADULT: MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES! Membership per attained age categories Total : Adult & Total : Year Juvenile2 Adult 55 60 65 16 18 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 46 16 3 8652 135 128 131 236 272 367 279 185 1924 565 275 212 1926 346 517 1928 55 28 1930 19339 10159 320 372 342 114 135 227 254 290 233 191 70 153 186 227 165 122 30 7472 61 127 177 120 1935 13393 36 41 86 85 51 41 111 152 192 135 92 1940 8857 5464 7 59 70 51 73 130 151 145 49 76 106 107 99 1945 7399 5235 18 19493 48 67 69 86 63 57 58 146 133 130 6285 4739 4 18 19554 43 72 44 46 54 82 78 82 56 65 106 107 5472 25 76 89 47 43 5290 68 52 44 15 55 57 97 1960 73 78 42 37 17 27 53 46 41 1965 4812 90 63 50 19705 47 45 5628 101 60 52 38 99 107 129 118 40 27 - TABLES "" )> A < )> Vl r 0 ,,.. - 63 60 101 52 44 5456 91 613 237 231 18 68 90 16 348 418 191 299 153 93 72 6 This figure is for age 17, as it is the last listed, no figure being given for age 18 in the Juvenile Branch. 7 See Note . 4 on previous page . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Membership: Adult and Juvenile JUVENILE BRANCH Membership per attained age categories Total Year Juvenile 0 1 2 10 1928 201 282 549 672 1930 9180 183 426 647 1935 5921 301 456 1940 3393 45 47 48 195 1945 2164 32 81 64 134 1949 1546 28 28 40 62 48 81 51 50 19557 1960 133 150 84 69 1965 33 74 80 88 1970 9 31 30 83 TABLE7 > )> ;ii;;: < r 0 V') 0:, " 1 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted Ond Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches. W - Written Rev. - Revived Rec . - Received Iner. - Increased Mat. - Maturity Surr. - Surrender Dec . - Decrease Exp. - Expiry Other - non-specified (However, for 1935, I would suspect that the 81 in this category belong elsewhere, probably in 'Surrender.') United Societies of the USA : Annual State Insurance Dept. Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches ADULT: (se e below for abbreviations) - - MAIN AND FALCON BRANCHES Benefit Certificates . . . In force In force Dec . 31 Dec. 31 Year last yr. W this yr. Death Lapse Rev . Rec. Iner. Surr. Dec. Exp. Other -Mat. 1925 14908 2220 15574 133 1524 103 1926 15574 3833 18141 145 1121 1928 10704 11102 114 10313 1930 527 77 10159 . 652 1 1935 7534 279 80 7472 89 332 81 5621 1940 80 15 5464 98 154 1945 5296 139 4 5235 93 91 20 1949 4864 47 4739 113 23 35 1 19551 5356 360 5472 105 19 86 34 5514 1960 217 5290 108 248 41 44 1965 4907 160 4812 103 74 16 36 26 1970 5054 599 193 5628 91 91 30 5 1 TABLES ~ "'° 7' > > < Vl r 0 1702 81 16 723 2g3 Transfer 1 The figures for the Juvenile Branch list only up to age 16, so it is ambiguous as to whether Juveniles past their 16th birthday are included in tne figure of 9401. 2 transfer to Falcon Branch . 3 transfer to Senior (Main) Branch. 4 Beginning with 1955, the United Societies adopted One Fund Bookkeeping, using a single ledger system and combining figures for Juvenile and Adult Branches . United Societies of the USA: Annual State Insurance Dept . Reports Exhibit of Certificates: Adult and Juvenile Branches JUVENILE BRANCH: Benefit Certificates In force In force Dec . 31 Received Dec . 31 Terminated b1: last yr. by transfer Increased this yr. Year Written Revived Death Lapse 19281 9401 884 49 42 1930 9239 9180 810 968 1935 6384 597 5921 11 7 470 1940 3740 136 10 3393 223 1945 2356 115 2164 12 1949 1636 60 1546 1 120 19554 1960 1965 ,,, . 1970 - TABLE9 > 7' > ~ r (./') ~ SLOVAKIA 81 of the First Catholic Slov~ Union (Jednota) had been the first to comply in 1930. The state requirement of solvency was reflected in high premiums for the older members who, in the Depression years, could not pay. Each insurance company had to make up the deficit. The 1929 law required that all fraternal societies re-rate their policies within five years. Not that this external policing had not been attempted before. But now, like the papal decree on celibacy, the law was final. Between 1892 and 1909 or 1910, each member of the GCU had been assessed 50 cents, 60 cents, or 75 cents a month, depending on how much was customarily collected at a given lodge. There was no uniformity of policy even within the GCU. In 1909 or 1910, the GCU lodges went under an '' Assessment System,'' such that the amount due from each member was determined by the claims of the past month. Thus the assessment varied from month to month, but was internally regulated by the lodge. Around 1910, the state began to appear in the picture, proposing that members of fraternals pay according to age. Some fraternals put a lien on each member's policy, but this did not sufficiently raise revenues. In 1918 , the National Fraternal Congress Table of Mortality provided a uniform schedule according to which each member was to be rated according to the age at which he or she had joined the organization. But, even where this table was applied, it did not bring lodges or national offices anywhere approaching solvency. In Pennsylvania, the Insurance Department saw that the fraternals were functionally decentralized and operated on a day-to-day economic calculus - which, incidentally, was the traitional Slovak way of pooling resources in the extended family. It applied pressure for greater fraternal centralization and economic foresight. As of 1924, new members were to be rated according to the American Experience Table of Rates. However, the old members could continue to pay the prior National Fraternal Congress rate. This, too, did not greatly move the GCU and other Slovak-American fraternals toward solvency. Finally, the 1929 Pennsylvania law was implemented, and its effect paradoxical: it "worked" with amazing effectiveness according to the canons of American economic planning, but utterly disrupted the Slovak way of doing business. To summarize, then : the most compelling factors in declining membership within the Slovak-American fraternals were (a) the increasing cultural Americanization of their members and the availability of fraternal and insurance options within the cultural mainstream; (b) the increased influence of external (e .g., state) forces in the management of the internal affairs of the associations; (c) the devastating in- 82 SLOVAKIA fluence of the Great Depression over members' abilities to keep up payment of premiums on policies (undoubtedly influenced by " b " ); (d) the fraternal officials ' internal acculturation of the associations into "American" institutions (self-motivated as well as impelled by "b"). There remains an extremely potent factor in fraternal schism and attrition much less obvious to the observer's eye than those already discussed, one which the national president of a Slovak-American fraternal in his early 70' s poignantly articulated: ... we are still declining, there is an explanation for it. There was nothing ever done in this society. There was feeble attempts made to try to get the younger generation to become interested in our / fraternal society / . . .. we now lose, on an average of 1200 members a year .... you take in our generation, our parents were interested in our society and as soon as kids were born they put them in the lodge, the mother or father would always make sure that they would come to the meeting once a month and pay their dues. Even after they got married, the would pay their dues , do you follow me? Now, after they were on their own, had their own families they would say: "Here is your policy. Do you want to keep it. We pay till now. You can make your wife your beneficiary. " Lot of them kept it, and a lot of them turned around and cashed whatever they could get for it. See, where the old people wouldn't do that, and this younger generation isn't like the older generation. They say: " I don't need this or that." Now once again I say, it's not all of them, but the majority. They aren't worried so much like the old people were about their future. All they care is they get a new car, or good times, and when they are in trouble they come to their parents to help them out. Shortly thereafter, he spoke of local lodge meetings: The younger kids, they come, some of them come, some come and just pay their dues. They're in a hurry. They're always in a hurry. You see , I'll tell you. I think the biggest dam fault in all our fraternals. We used to have meetings every month at every lodge. I know I went as a younster, we came to the League, as a young fellow, 18, 19 years old, 20, 21. We would go to the Assemblies. All these old timers come to the meetings. It was always in the Slovak language, and if you\wanted the floor or ask permission to say something, and if you couldn""t. explain yourself well in the Slovak language, say in butchered up language, Slovak and English mixed together, the president of SLOVAKIA 83 _ _ _ _ says: "Sit down you snot nose you. You can't express yourself in Slovak, you can sit down. You are out of order." Well, naturally these younger people think, they say "Oh, my goodness gracious." You get red in the face, these young people, then they don't know what to do. Then they sit through it and first chance that they got to go home, "They won't get me back here with a bull rope." Instead of being nice to them and courteous, ''OK, we understand you, go ahead and say in English what you want to say. We want you to come." And once you drive them away, oh boy, it's hard to bring them back. That's been the trouble all these fratemals, whether it's the Slovak Catholic, whether it's the National Slovak Society or the. First Catholic Slovak Union. It's the same condition and a lot of those old timers, when they held office, they thought they were supposed to be there till they die. The younger people, they need to bring these people in . . . . Another official, participating in the interview, later interjected: ... That old fellow who would come to the conventions, and make a rousing speech, "We have got to get our young people to take over our offices in our local assemblies, in the national,'' yet he wouldn 't give up his damn job .... (from field notes, June 1978) The chronic, occasionally acute conflict (expressed institutionally in schism) which these officers articulate is a generational conflict be- tween fathers and sons, once contained within the traditional familiar and manorial system, but now run openly rife in the expressively more permissive American cultural setting. We have already seen this conflict in another form: the 1902 schism within the GCU which led to the founding of the United Societies of USA, precipitated by the issue of allegiance to the U.S. versus allegiance to the parental-land and representatives of its authority. This conflict at the macro-institutional level is dynamically identical with the deeply traditional family struggle in Slovak culture: parental holding on versus letting go of authority, power, status, property, and roles. What I have discussed elsewhere in terms of traditional and Slovak-American personality, family dynamics, and culture change (Stein 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1976, 1978a, 1978b, 1979, Stein and Hill 1977, 1979) is dynamically identical and isomorphic with the conflict at the macro-institutional level. Traditionally as well as in the New World, unquestioning respect for and obedience to the will and authority of elders was paramount. In the official cultural ethos, the father's word and will were absolute; 84 SLOVAKIA deference was due to him no matter what. With the breakdown of the manorial order in Slovakia between 1848 and the great migration of 1880-1920 , sons began demanding a greater say in the running of family affairs . If fathers refused to relinquish some of their traditional prerogatives , sons now had options from setting up separate households to emigration . The vastly extended " joint family " diminished into the " stem family " (Goldschmidt and Kunkel 1971) in which frequently only a son or two, and daughter or two would live with or near the parents (cf. Koenig 1937) . The children now were able to place demands upon the parents , and to leave if dissatisfied. This is precisely what happened openly in the U.S., which official ethos was based on revolutionary separation from parents who, as the motto goes , exacted " taxation without representation, " an experience that strikes at the heart of the Slovak experience as well. Of course, this never was a matter of either / or. As I have demonstrated in the above cited works , moves centrifugal toward autonomy have evoked enormous ambivalence , guilt, restitution, and centripetal countervailing moves on the part of parents. Nonetheless , the above officials have identified as a decisive ingredient in the attrition of the young from Slovak-American fratemals the demand by the young for respect by the elders, a reversal of tradition that is at the same time traditionally and quintessentially '' American.'' It is thus not enough to say that the young defectors had been " Americanized ," and that the diehards remained doggedly "traditional. '' The elder officials of the Slovak-American fratemals could not mobilize the constraints they once yielded under the much hated manorial and Magyar yoke to compel those who they contemptuously regarded as " snotty nosed" youth to speak their language: Slovak. It should further be noted that language was wielded by the officials as a tool of power - but an impotent tool. Ironically, the youth, in the 1910's and 1920' s , attempted to express their interest in ethnicity in English, but were dismissed as out of order by parental-clergy-fraternal-elder figures who sought to safe-guard their venerable Slovak ethnicity by passing it on through institutional measures (churches, gynmastics , literary clubs). However, the fact of institutionalization of tradition was disqualified by the attitude of the founders toward those who would succeed them - which very " success " aroused their fear and countervailing animosity toward the Slovak-American youth. The very nature of many officers ' traditionalism led to the ardent Americanization by the young, whose consequence for the fratemals was decline in membership. ' SLOVAKIA 85 ATHLETIC PROGRAMS IN SLOVAK-AMERICAN FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS: INTERNAL CHANGE AND CONTINUITY Similar directional change can be seen in the history of athletic programs within the Slovak-American fraternals. The baseline was the Slovak Sokol (Falcon) or gymnastic society. The earliest Sokols had been founded in Bohemia in 1862 by Jindrich Fuegner and Miroslav Tyrs , derived from the German Turnvereine . The Sokols were used in Europe both as vehicles for nativism and Pan-Slavic solidarity. In the U.S. , they tended to follow ethnic lines and intra-ethnic schisms. Initially most of the fraternal organizations were divided into full membership branches: general (adult), juvenile (up to ages 16-18) , and Sokol. Between the ages of 16 and 18, one transferred from the juvenile branch to either the general or the Sokol branch. The Sokol branch stressed group gymnastics. Beyond local activities, each branch combined with other lodges, organizations, and conducted district, regional, national, and international slets (mass calisthenic displays) . Separate Sokol / insurance fraternals later developed. During the first decades of the twentieth century, baseball attracted considerable interest in fraternal and church groups , and if not competed for time with the gymnastic activity, it at least paralleled it. By the 1930's, Sokol activity began a slow decline, while baseball was attracting more interest. And in the mid and late 1930' s, the first fraternal bowling leagues were formed, later organized into district, regional, and national competition along the same lines as were the gymnastics. With the preparation for and American entry into World War II Sokol programs were drastically cut when the young Sokols and Sokolettes and instructors took part in the war. Great hopes were placed on a revival following the war, but there was no such revival. Quite the reverse . Those lodges which were discontinued during the war were never revived. ' ' At least fifty percent of the former gymnastically-active lodges became dormant ; numerous Sokol halls were lost; and most of the prewar instructors and directors disappeared from the physical education field . The indifference and apathy on the part of .. . Sokol membership , and officers as well, also were responsible for this decline ." (Andrew Venglarcik, Jr., " President's Column," Sokol Times, Jan . 14, 1972 , p. 3). Despite efforts by the Supreme Lodge of Sokol USA and other control bodies to induce renewal by the appropriation of larger funds for the Sokols , promises of salaries and the payment of travel expenses, there was little positive response on the part 86 SLOVAK IA of the membership . The Sokol USA slet held in 1966 was a veritable miniature compared with those of the 1920's. The influence of World War II was pervasive on both those who participated in it and in the home communities. Two facts are especially noteworthy: (a) that the virtual collapse of Sokol gynmastics was merely one small aspect of this transformation from Slovak to American, and (b) that the fact of the war did not so much cause the change as it rapidly accelerated a process already under way. Baseball, already popular before the war, was equally popular during the war in the informal games by American soldiers at recreation in training or overseas. Although the soldiers returned with baseball, they did not return it to their fraternal lodges, but instead to their industrial teams, American Legion teams, war veterans ' teams, and so forth . At the Sokol lodges, bowling became the sport. Only in the 1960's did local bowling lodge teams begin to decline. From the late 1940's and early 1950's bowling began to compete with golf, which was subsequently organized in districts, regions, and nationally. From the mid-1960 's , golf became the major activity, all of this taking place as the elderly are passing on, the young either not joining or cashing in their policies when they mature , the lodges becoming smaller and more difficult to justify and maintain. What is the meaning of the transformation in athletic activities? What has changed, and what has remained? The only remnant is that of group competition. Slets displayed competitive gymnastic groups, and baseball, bowling, and golf were organized as competitive tournaments at the various levels . But there is a gradual incorporation into the group of increasing individualism, in contrast with the "mechanical solidarity" of group gymnastics . In all of these, what the individual does is for the sake of the group effort. But the individual as a separate entity is increasingly emphasized. The team-orientation of a baseball team is far greater than that of the bowling team, because, as in the group gymnastic display, all of the members ' (or at least the playing members ' ) actions must be coordinated. This is not the case in bowling or golf, where the group is cumulative and sequential, rather than synchronized. In bowling and golf, individual efforts (and accomplishments) are not directly coordinated with tho'se of others, although they are added to them. In these '' individualistic' •· sports, individual actions are apart from the group , not subsumed under group effort as they necessarily are in the slet and in sports like baseball. Psychologically, the meaning of these sports differs greatly from the earlier " team" sports , where the individual could never be " taken out" of the group . SLOVAKIA 87 \ This point has been well made by Andrew J. Valusek, President of Sokol USA: '' ... we believe in mass training more than emphasis on individual excellence, even though outstanding Sokol athletes are honored and play an important role in the life and achievements of the movement itself (Souvenir Book, 15th Sokol USA Slet, July 1-3, 1966, New York). This transformation in atheltics reflects what is simultaneously a cultural and psychological transformation: from Slovak to American, from group-oriented to individual-oriented, from coordinated interdependence to self-reliant independence. Furthermore, the incorporation of American athletic activities represented a new social status for the group . The lodge members had adopted within an ethnic framework typically mainstream American social activities. Increasingly, ancestral ethnicity was the basis for association, while categories of American culture dominated the content of the activity. MEN'S CLUB AND SECRET SOCIETY My final consideration in the history of the Slovak-American fraternals is its vital ' 'latent'' function as an exclusive men's club. This refers, of course, to male fraternal organizations or a compartmentalized activity of a male fraternal. The men's club provided and safeguarded a haven and refuge from women, family, and responsibility. It occasioned regularized " rituals of rebellion" (Gluckman 1954; Wallace 1966). This is not a matter of the writer's interpretations but derives from informants ' statements as well as the writer's observations. In Slovakia and Ruthenia, the village tavern had fulfilled this release function. In those Slovak-American organizations whose meetings were held under the strict supervision of the priest, the conclusion of a meeting was frequently followed by a visit to the Slovak Club . Many fraternals held their lodge meetings in one of the rooms at the Slovak Club. At the club , heavy drinking, card and craps playing, mournful and boisterous Slovak folk song, and " men' s talk" occupied the hours and filled the air. Abetted by the influences of "boilermakers'' (a shot of whiskey with a beer as chaser), the unspeakable literally emptied into the open. Taboos were cavalierly broken - at least in word. Built on shared experiences and conflicts, the male associations offered one of the few opportunities for male solidarity. Both in Europe and in the first several decades in the U.S., Saturday night was the ritual occasion for the unbottling of the week's pent up burdens. In the U.S. , the male solidarity of Slovak-American fraternal and the Slovak Club came to be predominantly associated with the immi- 88 SLOVAKIA grant generation. With the second and later generations, from the 1940's and on, this function became transferred to union halls, service veterans' clubs, American fraternal orders, and local bars, whether located adjacent to the mill or in one's neighborhood. These became places where men from varied ethnic backgrounds (though as exclusively white as they were exclusively male) could commiserate and boast of extracurricular feats on the war front and on the home front alike, out of reach of female domination and ridicule. In the original Slovak tavern the American Slovak Club, and later supra-ethnic American adaptations, lusty fiction compensated for social realities too miserable to acknowledge, and over which one felt no control. Through group support, one was able, without too great a burden on the conscience, to take a temporary moral holiday. And a man knew that later confession and communion could always undo - again temporarily what he had dared to think or say or do under the influence of potent spirits. SLOVAK-AMERICAN CHURCHES: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TRENDS A detailed history of Slovak-American parishes at the local and national levels, over the past century, exactly duplicates the history of the fraternals . For this reason, and for economy of space, I would like to review the major trends and give a brief ''life history'' of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, which history will embody these trends. Each of the churches in which I conducted fieldwork (Latin Rite, Byzantine Rite, Independent Rite Catholic, and Lutheran) either experienced the convulsion of schism or was a product of schism. Each of these parishes experiences the on-going drama of conflict between traditionalists and acculturationists. And in each of these parishes, the resolution is identical: (a) outward mobility of dissident acculturationists (and, in some cases, traditionalists for whom even the majority of parish traditionalists have compromised too much); (b) internal acculturation and inter-marriage, creating supra-ethnic denominationalized parishes ; (c) the "territorialization" of "nationality '' parishes (this language comes from khe Catholic diocesan context, but is univerally applicable) . The same directional change is evidenced since the 1930's in Slo- SLOVAKIA " 89 vak-American churches as in fratemals: that is, away from ethnic exclusiveness and insularity. Initially, religion, like fratemalism, was an inseparable functional component of ethnicity. Today, in the context of an individual's increasingly personal community" (Gould 1970: 148), a traditional social structural view is empirically invalidated. "Religion" and "ethnicity" have become increasingly separate domains of one's life. This is true even for those originally nationality parishes which, in the 1960's or early 1970's, still maintained a large membership and which could afford to build a new parish further "up the hill" or out in suburbia. I think, for instance, of two parishes in Duquesne, Pennsylvania: Holy Trinity (Slovak) Roman Catholic Church, which, in the late 1960's, built a dazzlingly modem church in the suburb of West Mifflin in which many of the second and third generation lived, but which became de jure a supra-ethnic territorial parish in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh; and Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, originally located in the same neighborhood as Holy Trinity, but which built a modem church building in the mid-1960's a mile or two further up the hill, in a stable white, middle-class, poly-ethnic neighborhood. Cross-cutting denominational lines is the decisive influence of World War Il in accelerating, though not causing, the Americanization process within Slovak-American parishes, and with it, division or further schism. The ubiquity of this process I have discovered from discussions with Latin and Byzantine Rite Catholic, Lutheran, and Independent Catholic Slovak-American clergymen and parishioners. A Slovak Lutheran minister in his late forties, who grew up in Johnstown, Penna., relates his experience there and generalizes from it: In my church in Johnstown, there was no English until 1942 - at least until 1942, when I left for World War II. When I left, no English had been introduced. But after war, the young people coming back demanded that English be adopted as a separate service. The effect of the war was to put people of all different backgrounds together, and the common language there was English. The men thought and spoke and felt in English, so that when they got home after the war, their native towns and churches were like a foreign country. The delicate questions, then, as always, was how to contain or try to contain change within continuity. In McKeesport, Penna., Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church had been founded in 1895 as a "nationality" parish within the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese (Holy Trinity 1970; Slovak Catholic Par- 90 SLOVAKIA ishes and Institutions, 1955). In 1921 the church had a membership of some 1, 700 individuals and 325 families. In that year, the bishop appointed a priest of Alsatian-German ancestry to succeed the Slovak priest who many elderly parishioners allege returned to Slovakia under dubious circumstances (e.g. , with church funds?). Not so much the new priest's ethnicity as his antagonistic, condescendingly anti-Slovak style precipitated a schism in which some 300 families left to found Sts . Peter and Paul Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, later renamed Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This priest remained the pastor of the church until his death in 1963, and was succeeded by a second-generation Slovak-American priest who remained pastor until his retirement in the mid-1970's. This period witnessed considerable Americanization of everything from liturgy to architecture to the aesthetics of the sanctuary. The immense wood-spires gave way to marble. The dusty baldachino was taken down in the 1960' s. The sanctuary of the church has fewer and fewer statues and candles. The interior became increasingly lighter and brightly lit. The Slovak mass on Sunday morning (one mass out of the four) , attended mostly by the older people, was phased out by the late 1960's. At the Diamond Jubilee Celebration (75 yrs.) in 1970, no Slovak was used in the special mass. (As I left the service, I overheard one man , perhaps in this 60 's, exclaim to a friend: " Couldn 't he have said something in Slovak?'') In 1975, a young third-generation Slovak-American priest became pastor and initiated weekly Charismatic Renewal Services , held in the church social hall and open to and attended by Catholics from parishes throughout McKeesport. Thus, what began as an exclusively ethnic parish has become internally a multi-ethnic territorial Roman Catholic parish though with explicitly acknowledged ties to an ethnic past. Moreover, it is the site for decidedly contemporary American cultic activity that stresses the direct, personal religious experience. The possible conflict between the priest and Eucharist-centererd formalism of the traditional mass (now in the vernacular English) and the participatory Charismatic Service of heightened self-expression and testimonial has at least for the moment been settled by compartmentalization. At the present time (see Table 10), the membership is large enough (roughly 1,800 members) , and its >decline due to the greater proportion of deaths over baptisms gradual e:eough to assure the parish at least several decades of "life." But, clearly the nature of the religious experience has changed decisively over the past 85 years . The word ' 'Slovak '' was officially dropped from the name of the church in SLOVAKIA 91 \ the 1960's. • The parish is becoming increasingly working-class Catholic in its expressive function. The so-called Latinization and Irishization of the church has most recently been succeeded by a new type of American religious nativism: here , however, the change is induced far less from without than from within. To date, St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Independent National Catholic Church, and St. Mark Lutheran Church have solved the generational gap between traditionalists and acculturationists through separate services. Sts. Cyril and Methodius alternates Sundays with English and Slovak services. At St. Mark, the Slovak service typically takes place early on Sunday, followed by the English service . At the much larger St. Nicholas, the Slavonic Mass is one of three masses offered on Sunday morning, the other two in English (for detailed histories of these parishes , see Stein 1972). If at Holy Trinity, " Latinization" mediated by " Irishization " underlay much internal conflict, at St. Nicholas a less direct though powerful Latinization has taken place, here mediated by the supra-local hierarchy from Byzantine Catholic bishop through Rome. Just as in Latin Rite Slovak-American parishes, the conglomerate of IrishizationLatinization-Americanization was a means of social mobility for the priesthood ; likewise within Byzantine Rite Slovak-American parishes, Latinization-Americanization, bypassing the Latin Rite, Irish-dominated Church , was a means of social mobility for its priesthood. This, however, was not original to the American context. For centuries, both Byzantine and Latin Rite Slovak priests frequently used Magyarization as a means of mobility in Slovakia. Likewise, in Europe as in America, Germanization was a means of social mobility for Slovak Lutheran clergy. In all cases , the process in America was continuous with that in Europe: only the specific content or reference group(s) changed. • Let me furthe r pursue the issue of " What' s in a name? " , the importance of name as personal meaning and identity, from the point of view of baptismal records in this parish . Both in traditional Slovakia, and in parish records through the early 1920' s, baptismal names we re largely Biblical , or reflected more eastern Slavic influence . Thus, most males were named Michael, John, Thomas , Andrew , George, Paul, Joseph, Stephen , Be rnard , Albert, Rudolph, Charles, and Ivan ; and females were named Martha, Helen , Margaret , Mary, Anna , Elizabeth , and Ivana. American names, including the addition of a middle name, began to appear sporadically in the late 1910's , but grew in the 1920's and thereafter . For instance : Ella Sue, Stanley J oseph , Ethel Elizabeth, Emma Marie , Virginia , Robert William , George Edward (all before 1930) , Anna Mae, Rose Marie , Dorothy Mae , Virginia Louise, Patricia J ane , Lucille Diane , Gary Michael, William John , and so forth . SLOVAKIA 92 TABLE 10 Diocese of Pittsburgh Holy Trinity (Slovak) Catholic Church Allegheny County McKeesport, PA Church reports at five year intervals (1896-1971): Year 1896 1901 1906 1911 1916 1921 1926 1931 1936 1941 1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1974+ Souls (approximate)• 600 Families (approximate)• 180 905 210 1060 250 1200 1300 1800 2500 2700 300 300 400 600 600 600 600 600 500 600 600 610 675 667 2900 2886 3170 3180 3500 3500 2725 2540 2140 Baptisms 144 151 175 177 160 140 137 131 86 72 127 86 78 66 41 26 16 Deaths 50 . 67 109 30 48 50 30 45 38 37 24 36 39 40 35 37 50 • Priest' s estimate derived from traditional annual blessing of homes after Epiphany. + Last year data available. Moreover, this was hardly a process imposed exclusively from without or by the pastor. In the absence of schism, and in the aftermath of schism for those who chose to remain loyal to church and pastor, the direction taken by the pastor coincided with the direction sought by a majority of the congregation, through passive assent if not active work toward change. The matter is somewhat different for Sts. Cyril and Methodius, an independent Slovak Catholic church that has literally struggled for survival since its creation in 1921. Beginning with some 300 zealous families as Sts. Peter and Paul, it has now barely 100 members. In the 1920's it ambitiously built a new church, only to lose it to the bank in 1937. Just as, prior to building its own edifi<z, the church held services in Slovak Hall and in churches where it was welcomed, likewise after 1937, it held services at the YWCA and the Baptist Mission. In order to be exempt from any past or future debts incurred under its original SLOVAKIA 93 \ name , Sts. Peter and Paul changed its name to Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the late 1930's . In its early period, the church had been served by a priest ordained by the Czecho-Slovak Independent Church in Slovakia. Later, when no priest could be found, Sts. Cyril and Methodius became affiliated with the parallel nativistic Polish National Catholic movement which had begun in Scranton, Penna. in 1897 (Fox, n .d.). Services were conducted at the local, inner-city Polish National Catholic Church , served by a Polish-American priest who said mass in Polish, while responsorials and hymns were sung in Slovak by the congregation. During the late 1960's, the Polish church began a building program in suburban McKeesport. At the same time, a Swedish Evangelical Free Church was vacating its church on the "hill" and moving to a more outlying district - where its members tended to be living, and away from the area in which blacks were now living in increasing numbers . The Slovak Independent church voted to purchase the Swedish church outright in 1967. So the church now had a home, but few members. Many had, in the intervening year, returned to Holy Trinity. Others joined Catholic or Protestant churches near their homes . Still others gravitated in increasing numbers to the Polish National Catholic Church: an institution which acted both to safeguard the Slovak church and as an agent of acculturation to the PNCC tradition. Indeed , one of the greatest areas of chronic conflict within Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been those who resist and resent the PNCC influence and those who accept it. From the outset, the Slovak National Catholic Church movement has been numerically small and politically weak in comparison with the PNCC, which now claims several hundreds of thousands of members in some 140 churches in the U.S. alone - and which movement diffused in the 1920's back to the mother country . Thus the direction of change in Sts. Cyril and Methodius has been toward PNCC and American acculturation. Like St. Mark, whose ' 'life history '' I present immediately below in detail rather than fragment , the membership of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is highly skewed toward the end of the life cycle , unbalanced by a substantial middle-aged population to compensate for the outward migration of young adults and the virtually non-existent birth-rate. While these examples are sufficient to illustrate the trend of culture change , I would like to tum to the history of St. Mark Lutheran Church , which should provide a depth missing in the breadth of the " trends " I have covered for the other churches . 94 SLOVAKIA ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH: AN INSTITUTIONAL ''LIFE HISTORY'' St. Mark's was founded in 1913 by 25 members from the Slovak Evangelical Union Assembly 53 (a fraternal organization) organized in 1899 in Duquesne. The church was named the Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne. Between 1913 and 1919, ''lacking funds to either build or buy a place for a church site, the Church council called upon the nearby existing Grace Reformed Church ... for permission to use the church for services" (50th Anniversary Book, St. Mark Ev. Lutheran Church, Oct. 27, 1963) . Toward the end of the decade , Grace Reformed Church's growth compelled it to seek larger quarters elsewhere in Duquesne, making the building available for purchase. Slovak Lutherans from Duquesne and from the nearby communities of McKeesport and Glassport purchased the church building. In 1920, the parish was able to send a call for its first full-time pastor. In 1934, after no prior synodical affiliation, the church joined the Slovak Zion Synod, Lutheran Church of America, in which it has been a member ever since. In the 1930's, the Slovak Lutheran parish in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, experienced a schism between the more Americanized members and the traditionalists. The more Americanized members wanted English introduced into the service, and wanted to establish a Sunday School for their children in which English was the language of instruction. The more adamant Slovaks refused to permit any change. Between one-third and one-half of the congregation (over 150 members) left. They took up membership at the nearby German Lutheran and Engish Lutheran churches. The loss of membership in the 1930's precipitated a compromise initiated in 1940: an English-language Sunday School was founded, and English was adopted in the Vacation Bible School and in the Confirmation Class. The services, however, remained entirely in Slovak. The Second World War acted as a great catalyst of change toward the more rapid Americanization of the parish - not merely of this parish but thoughout Slovak Lutheran parishes. The younger members, many of them returning veterans, insisted on a separate English service. This structural change solved in part the probl~m of the different intergenerational linguistic and cultural orientatibns. Each age set, indeed cultural set, would have its own separate service. The Sunday morning Slovak service at the Duquesne parish is now a much shortened version of the traditional service. In this way, it has been adopted to the Ameri- SLOVAKIA 95 can time-sense (e.g., hymns of an original 16-20 stanzas now reduced to 4-6). For occasions such •s Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday, and Confirmation, joint services are held, with roughly half in English and half in Slovak, equally distributed throughout the service. In the 1960's, further measures were taken to Americanize the church. A majority of the younger members felt that the word "Slovak" in its name , as with the lengthy European-sounding name as a whole, discouraged non-Slovaks from joining. The younger age set wished to become an integrated member of the American Lutheran community rather than remain outside it. As a reflection of this attitude change, the name was changed from Slovak Evangelical Augsburg Lutheran Congregation of Duquesne to the more conventional St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, or simply St. Mark Lutheran Church. The church was named in honor of a saint because, as the pastor put it, ''most American churches are called Saint this or Saint that.'' Accompanying the change in name were concomitant changes in the by-laws whose effect was intended to parallel and validate the change in name. Whereas previously membership was restricted to Slovak Lutherans and their spouses (through conversion to Lutheranism), now membership was opened to all Lutherans irrespective of nationality background. For all practical purposes the church became ''two churches' ' : Slovak Lutheran and American Lutheran, the former using the Slovak liturgy, and the latter utilizing the Common Service Book of 1917 (United Lutheran Church of America) until the mid-1960's, then the authorized Service Book and Hymnal (Lutheran Church of America, 1968). However, the opening up of the church to new membership, together with the standardization of the liturgy, failed to attract new members or to retain the young. The Slovak population of Duquesne, like that of McKeesport and all other local milltowns on the Monongahela, had largely been moving to outlying districts, first up on ''the hill,'' later further out to "suburbs. " Mobility of membership to nearby " American Lutheran" churches almost inevitably followed. In the same area of Duquesne as St. Mark Church were former Slovak Roman Catholic (Holy Trinity, Duquesne) and Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Catholic (Sts. Peter and Paul) churches . Sts. Peter and Paul had completed a new church far up on the hill in early 1960, and Holy Trinity completed a new church out in the suburb of West Mifflin in 1970. During the period from the 1940' s through the 1960' s, as the Slovaks moved " up and out," the area rapidly became settled by blacks , and the area quickly became unpopular even in the eyes of those Slovaks who remained and attended the Lutheran Church (which could not 96 SLOVAKIA afford to build elsewhere). The church could hardly retain its own members, let alone attract outsiders to what was quickly becoming called a deteriorated and unstable area. The former Slovak Catholic Holy Trinity Church building and rectory were given by the diocesan bishop to a local black church group, and the nearby vacated Slovak / Rusin Byzantine Church became a plaything for vandals. Many Catholic and Lutheran Slovak-Americans who had bought their first homes here or had grown up in this neighborhood said in disgust that this was no longer a place fit for a white man to live. It is significant that, despite all the vast changes that have taken place in the church, the original German-made oak tryptich altar, baptismal, and pulpit (of the 1920's) are retained by the church to the present. From time to time younger parishioners have suggested that the ancient pipe organ be replaced by a modern electric organ, but there has never been a concerted demand for such a replacement. I suspect that underlying this lack of pressure for costly remodeling and rennovation is first, the smallness of the congregation and hence the lack of large amounts of funds for such purposes, and second, the younger generation's relative lack of long-term future commitment to the parish and hence their acquiescence to the traditional preferences of the older generation . At present, an average of ten of those parishioners aged 60 and over attend the Slovak service; while between 40 and 50 of mostly younger parishioners and their families attend the English. Only a few elderly people are accompanied in the Slovak service by their children and grandchildren. However, many grandparents attend the English service with their children. Unexceptionably, the three-generation service is the English. A maximum of 15 attend the Slovak service, while at the English it approximates 60. The parish is rapidly losing members at both ends of the age range , the elder through deaths , and the younger with their families by moving away or joining more American Lutheran churches . Between 1960 and the end of 1970, the church lost 26 members over age 50 (out of a total of 32) of whom 14 were over age 70. Several parents in their 30 's and 40 's have told me of their intention of joining elsewhere after their own parents, stalwart members , pass on .* \ • Rarely have Slovak-ethnic organizations later becom~ stable supra-ethnic co=unity institutions . The direction of change seems one way . Ethnic parishes have declined dramatically in Slovak-American membership . The ethnic fratemals ' efforts at modernizing fis cally simply came too late . Moreover, the fratemals ' renewed efforts at in- SLOVAKIA 97 , CONCLUSION This paper has examined religion and fraternal association among Slovak-Americans as institutional forms for the communication of cultural meaning. Although I have focused on a single Euro-American population, the perspectives and findings of this study should be applicable to and testable by data from comparable populations. Historical, documentary, ethnographic, and demographic data were adduced both to illustrate cultural patterns of communication and to offer the reader material by which my generalizations might be evaluated. I have emphasized that (a) there is much in Slovak-American adaptation that is built upon, indeed derived from, preadaptive characteristics of traditional culture which cannot be reduced to the demands of the host environment or to adaptive tools available in it; (b) the overall trend and categories of change in fraternals and churches is identical; (c) the study of institutional meaning is never removed, nor can it be abstracted from, the personal meanings of its participants who invest in social structures; (d) what from one point of view appears to be patently instrumental functions can be discerned simultaneously from another point of view as expressive functions (i.e., complementary); (e) the American cultural system was adopted by Slovak-Americans to achieve both traditional ends (often in new "language" or cultural content) and anti-traditional ends, the seeds of which were sown (as latent possibilities) in traditional Slovak family and social conflict; (f) the distinction between traditional and modern, and continuity and change, cannot be concluded on the basis of mere appearance, but must be detennined by the meanings communicated by the cultural actors; hence (g) continuity in form, function, and meaning can often be expressed, not despite, but strurnental change in service of ethnic, that is, expressive, revitalization was a futile attempt to reassemble functions that had already been severed by the membership for expressive reasons . One conspicuous exception is the Benedictine High School in Cleveland , Ohio . Another is the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Homestead, Pennsylvania (with branches in McKeesport and Clairton, also mill towns) , originally founded in 1914 by Slovak workers to assist in providing common funds for Slovak families now able and eager to purchase homes in the "hill" regions of the town up and away from their rented flats in the " lowland" or " bottoms " close to the mill . Perhaps a compelling reason for the success of the S & L association lies in its offer of supra-ethnic' ' social security '' resources from the beginning. That is, being primarily a financial institution, it stood the best chance of flourishing in the American cultural environment in which instrumental (e .g. , economic) functions were compartmentalized from expressive ones. 98 SLOVAKIA through a change in symbolic content; (h) although unmistakable trends of change have been noted, at any given moment the identified distinctive features of change may perform complementary or contradictory institutional functions; (i) the process of Americanization or acculturation cannot be seen as a unitary process directed either from within or from without the ethnic community, but must be analyzed in terms of sources of impetus for Americanization. The study of ethnicity is not the study of "tribes" as though they and their conceptually reified cultures persist statically unchanged. Rather, the study of ethnicity is the study of human relationships, the meanings which people attach to those relationships, the communication of those meanings in idiosyncratic or institutionalized forms, the process by which changed meanings lead to changes in relationships and how in tum ethnicity and thus identity itself comes to be redefined. Certainly the nativistic "New Ethnicity" advocated by many fraternal leaders and Slovak-American intelligentsia (Stein and Hill 1977) is not at all the unself-conscious native ethnicity of the pre-immigrant period. My research among some three- and four-generation SlovakAmerican families and institutions leads to to the inexorable conclusion that Slovak-American ethnicity over the past century has dramatically changed from a relatively homogeneous public expression of community form, function, structure, meaning, and relationship to a far more heterogeneous, individualized, private matter. This privatization of ethnicity had led many scholars to conclude that ethnicity has disappeared. This is nonsense: it has been repattemed, some elements retained, others given up. Although the American ethos has replaced the ethnic ethos as the core of personal and group identity, the spheres of life and the levels of the personality at which this replacement has occurred must be demonstrated and explained. What has unmistakably declined and is disappearing is the full complement of institutions which characteristically define a traditional community (cf. Arensberg and Kimball 1965) . However, as I have suggested in my previously cited works, unconsciously communicated loyalties, conflicts, values , expectation, and worldview in the intimate interior of even ethnically intermarried families results in continuities in surprising guises (e.g., the steel mill experienced as the old manorial latifundia: see Stein and Hill 1979; Hamey 1975) . , On the other hand, ethnic ties are often.maintained in the absence of conspicuously ethnic content - and here "conspicuity" refers all too often to the preoccupations and categories of the observer. Ethnicity takes on an especially "hidden" quality (Hill and May 1973) when the SLOVAKIA 99 observer expects tradition~ meanings to take traditional representational forms. The more subtle, out-of-awareness (Hall 1977) aspects of ethnicity are the most intractible because they are pre-verbally ta.ken for granted and cannot be verbalized. Thus, for instance, I shall know that without a doubt a Slovak-American woman or man has acculturated more toward the core of the metaphoric personal ''onion'' when children - or the ethnographer! - are forcibly lavished copious quantities of food, when I am invited to visit with a family in their ''living room" or "dining room" instead of the kitchen; or when the implicit roles of maternal dominance and paternal distance in the home have become less pronounced, and the affective atmosphere affectively less brittle. Likewise, the inclusion of members from other ethnic groups within formerly exclusive tradition-maintaining fraternal and religious institutions, and the increasingly widespread phenomenon of intermarriage, are expressions of the simultaneous of group- or "ethnic" - and ego-boundaries. The formerly "other," often despised and alien, is now included within the possibilities of the "self." This fact requires a reassessment of our received wisdom about structural assimilation, namely, that inclusion is an act governed or regulated by the more mainstreamed "Americans" - that is, that it operates as a one-way process. Rather, inclusion is reciprocally a dynamic from within the ethnic group. Finally, this paper further confirms the tenet that ethnicity is a process operating at many levels, and is not a lineal continuum whose starting and terminal points can easily be plotted in terms of preconceived categories of "passing," "acculturation," "mobility," or "assimilation." It is the author's hope that future studies will not only provide greater breadth and depth in the study of Slovak-Americans, but will offer a comparative framework for the study of emigrant Slovaks in other nations (indeed, other regions of the U.S.), the internal transformation of Slovakia in the post-World War I period, and other European emigrant populations in their new contexts. Such studies will determine precisely how limited or widespread is the trend of culture change discussed in this paper. REFERENCES Anderson, Robert T. "Voluntary Associations in History," American Anthropologist 73(1971): 209-222. Arensberg, Conrad M. and Solon T. Kimball. Culture and Community . New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1966. 100 SLOVAKIA Balch, Emily Greene. Our Slavic Fellow Citizens . New York : Amo Press, 1969 (orig. 1910) . Barton , Josef J . Peasants and Strangers : Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 1890-1950. Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press, 1976. Bue, Bonaventure S. " Slovak Nationalism: Its Origins, Conflicts and Objectives." Master's thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1967. Fitzpatrick , Joseph P. " The Importance of ' Community' in the Process of Immigrant Assimilation, " International Migration Review 1(1)(1966) : 6-16. Fox, Paul. The Polish National Catholic Church . Scranton , Penna: School of Christian Living, n.d . Gluckman, Max. Rituals of Rebellion in South-East Africa . Manchester: Manchester University Press , 1964. Goldschmidt, Walter and E. J . Kunkel. " The Structure of the Peasant Family," American Anthropologist 73(1971): 1068-1076. Gould, Harold A. ' 'Some Preliminary Observations Concerning the Anthropology of Industrialization,'' In Peasants in Cities: Readings in the Anthropology of Urbanization . William Mangin, ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970, pp. 137-149. Hall, Edward. Beyond Culture . Garden City, New York : Doubleday 1/ Anchor, 1977. Hamey, Robert F. "Ambiente and Social Class in North American Little Italies," Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism 2(2)(1976): 208-224. Hill, Robert F. and J . Thomas May. " Exploring Hidden Ethnicity: Problems and Methods ," American Society of Ethnohistory , Central State University, Edmond , Oklahoma, October 1973. Jansak Stefan. "The Land Question in Slovakia (I), " The Slavonic Review 8(1930) : 612626. Kerner, Robert J ., ed . Czechoslovakia . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1940. Kirschbaum , Joseph M. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Europe. New York: Robert Speller and Sons, 1960. Klein, Philip . A Social Study of Pittsburgh. New York : Columbia University Press, 1938. Koenig, Samuel. " Marriage and the Family among the Galician Ukrainians, " In Studies in the Science of Society . George P. Murdock, ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937 , pp. 299-318 . Krajsa, Joseph C., Chairman, Editorial Board. Slovaks in America . Middletown, Penn.: The Slovak League of America, 1978. La Barre, Weston . The Ghost Dance: The Origins of Religion . New York: Dell, 1972. Lacko, Michael. '' A Brief Study of the History of the Slovak Catholics of the ByzantineSlavonic Rite," Slovak Studies 3(1963) : 199-224. Slovak Institute, Rome, Italy . Light, Ivan H. Ethnic Enterprise in America. Berkeley: University of California Press , 1972 . Macartney , C. A. Hungary and Her Successors . New York : Oxford University Press , 1937. Nelli, Humbert S. The Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930: A Study in Ethnic Mobility . New York : Oxford University Press, 1970. Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and/ts People . New York: Robert Speller and Sons , 1960. Roucek , Joseph S. "Problems of Assimilation: A Study of Czecho-Slovaks in the United States ," Sociology and Social Research XVIl (1932-33) : 62-71. Roucek , Joseph S. " The Passing of American Czechoshivaks ," American Journal of Sociology 39(1933-34) : 611-626 . Roucek , Joseph S. " Czechoslovak Americans ," In Our Racial and National Minorities. SLOVAKIA 101 Francis J . Brown and Joseph S. Roucek , eds . New York: Prentice-Hall, 1937, pp. 230246 . Slovak Catholic Parishes and Institutions in the United States and Canada. Cleveland, Ohio: The First Catholic Slovak Union, 1966 (Jednota Printery, Middletown, Penna.) . Stein , Howard F . " An Ethno-Historical Study of Slovak-American Identity." Doctoral dissertation , University of Pittsburgh , 1972. Stein, Howard F. " Cultural Specificity in Patterns of Mental Illness and Health: A Slovak-American Case Study, " Family Process 12(March 1973): 69-82. Stein, Howard F. '' Envy and the Evil Eye among Slovak-Americans: An Exploration into the Psychological Ontogeny of Belief and Ritual," Ethos 2(1)(Spring 1974) : 16-46. Stein , Howard F. " Structural Change in Slovak Kinship: An Ethnohistoric Inquiry," Ethnology 14(1)(January 1976): 99-108 . Stein , Howard F. " A Dialectic Model of Illness and Health Attitudes and Behavior among Slovak-Americans ," International Journal of Mental Health 6(2)(Summer 1976) : 117-137. Stein , Howard F. " The Slovak-American 'Swaddling Ethos' : Homeostat for Family Dynamics and Cultural Continuity, " Family Process 17 (March 1978) : 32-46. (a) Stein, Howard F. ''Aging and Death among Slovak-Americans: A Study in the Thematic Unity of the Life Cycle ," The Journal of Psychological Anthropology 1(3)(Summer 1978) : 297-320. (b) Stein, Howard F. "The White Ethnic Movement, Pan-Ism, and the Restoration of Early Symbosis: The Psychohistory of a Group-Fantasy," The Journal of Psychohistory 6(3)(Winter 1979) : 319-360. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F . Hill. The Ethnic Imperative: Ewmining the New White Ethnic Mo vement. University Park , Penna .: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977. Stein, Howard F. and Robert F. Hill. " Adaptive Modalities Among Slovak- and PolishAmericans : Some Issues in Cultural Continuity and Change ," Anthropology 3(1-2) (1979) : 96-107. Stolarik , M. Mark . " Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 18701918." Doctoral dissertation , University of Minnesota , 1974. Wallace , A. F. C. Religion: An Anthropological View . New York: Random House, 1966. Yurchak , Peter Paul . The Slovaks . Whiting, Indiana: Obrana Press, 1946. Zatko , James J . " Slovaks in the U.S.A., 1900-1914," Slovakia 16(39)(1966) : 41-62 (Slovak League of America).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource An Ethnohistory of Slovak-American Religious and Fraternal Associations: A Study in Cultural Meaning, Group Identity, and Social Institutions Description An account of the resource Howard F. Stein Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 53-101 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stein, Howard F. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/31714ad1d6b23fd43bd6f8538cf2d938.pdf b187a10d4dac6e68a438fb9bf008f94f PDF Text Text \ LITERATURE ��SLOVAKIA 105 Excerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner, 1906-1933 VASIL S. KOBAN CHAPTER 1 - ONE MORE SPRAG Thursday, May 24, 1906 It was just after two o'clock when Michal Kohan , mule skinner at Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, started down the incline pulling the three coal cars out of the mine behind two mules. " You got three sprags on the three cars, Kelly? " he asked in Rusin . He put up three fingers so Kelly could not fail to understand. Kelly, an Irishman just turned sixteen and starting on his new job in the mines, rubbed his alcohol-bleared head. ''Sure , sure , begorrah, I got enough sprags, '' he said in a half stupor. He put up two fingers and shook them at Michal . The mules would never hold the downhill run of the three coal cars unless there were enough tapered wooden sprags between the wheels to drag on the cars like brakes and hold them back. " You need three!" Michal yelled in Rusin. "Three, you lummox! Or else she 'll never hold ." The Irishman waved cheerfully, " G'wan!" (Two fingers) Michal fumed: (Three fingers!) Kelly laughed: (Two fingers!) Michal withheld his curse because the cars were already starting down , and he had to whip the mules to keep them ahead. As the cars gathered speed Michal struggled to keep the mules ahead of the surging coal projectiles. "Prekliaty blbec/" Michal yelled. "She won't hold, you idiot! " The cars gathered momentum and pushed up against the struggling mules , Michal slashing away at them with the whip to push them ahead . "Son of a bitch! " he yelled. " You 'll kill them! " '' Harrarrarrahh ! ' ' he yelled at the mules , urging them on to do the impossible. The Irish kid just laughed. �106 SLOVAKIA As Michal got half-way down the grade he saw it would be impossible to hold the cars back with only two sprags. He did the only thing left for him to do. He leaped for his life. The coal cars smashed into the mules and ground them into instant hamburger of broken flesh and spitting blood. The mules screamed and clawed for what seemed like hours, but which only lasted a few seconds. They were soon mangled mounds of bloody mash. Michal lay beside the track, his leg caught under the coal cars as they passed by. "God damn bastard!" he yelled in outraged disbelief at what had happened. Then he blacked out. Michal woke up in a lily-white hospital room in Johnstown, three miles downriver from Conemaugh and site of the famous Johnstown flood of 1889. Michal looked around dazedly, his heart mounting in his throat. He was only 21, and had been in America since he was 15 in 1900. This was his first experience in a hospital. A pert little nurse in a peaked cap came in to take his pulse and speak to him reassuringly in his native Rusin. "Nurse, I --" "Now, now, just be calm. You survived the accident," she said cheerfully, '' and that 's most of the battle right there I ' ' " How - how long have I been here?" "Just a day or two," she shrugged. "You were kept under sedation. " Michal plucked at the white sheet with his fingers , his little mustache twitching nervously. "How long will I be here? I have to get back to work. I have to pay my rent.'' The nurse smiled. "That will take a little while ," she said. " But don 't worry about the time or the expense. The Cambria Coal Mine is taking care of everything. ' ' Michal frowned. " But -- " " Ohl" she exclaimed, glad to change the subject , "you have visitors.'' She stepped aside and the little round face of Marienka Kinda appeared, followed by her husband Ivan, grumpy and straight-backed. " How are you , Michal? " she asked .with concern in Slovak, her only language. \ , '' All right , I think. But why did you come here just for me? I will be out in a few hours at the most. " Marienka smiled through her tears, and Ivan grumped, "Sure, �SLOVAKIA 107 son, just a short time. But you have to do what the doctors tell you. My God, what is that sickly swe~ smell_around here?" The nurse left nervously to seek the doctor. Ivan stuck his nose up, sniffed, and marched around the room like the old Hussar he was - a veteran of the Austrian Emperor's army. Michal had met Marienka, along with Marienka's sister, Jacka, on the ship taking them to America six years before. Marienka had left Ivan in the United States to see her sick father in Slovakia and had returned with her younger sister. Michal fell in love with Jacka at first sight. So he boarded with the Kindas to be near his love while he worked as a mule skinner in the coal mine. "Where's Jacka?" "Uh -- she had to make sandwiches for the men," Marienka said hastily. "And besides, you'll be out of here so fast it would not give Jacka time to come over!" The door opened and a doctor in a white jacket hurried in, '' sluchatko'' hanging from his side pocket to indicate the badge of this profession. He wrinkled his nose and tugged at his little beard, then pulled back the bedclothes to examine Michal's leg. "Hmmm," he said, "this doesn't look good at all." It was in English, so Ivan could understand only dimly. The nurse hurried over to interpret. They did not have Slovak or Rusin doctors to talk to the immigrants in their own language. "Nurse," said the doctor, sighing, "you'll have to tell this young man his leg has to go.'' He palpated the pulpy black right leg, drew a line with his finger above the knee. "Right here," the doctor said. "Now you tell him," and he hurried away. The nurse gulped. Then she took a deep breath and told Michal the doctor's decision in halting Rusin. ''Cut off my leg? No, never! Oh, God, no!'' Michal tried to struggle out of bed to run away, to get away from here where they would take away his leg and his chance to make a living and to marry Jacka. Marienka and Ivan moved quickly to hold him down. "Please, Michal," said Marienka in great concern. "If it must be done to save your life, then it will be for the best. You'll see that everything will turn out all right.'' But Michal's face froze in a faraway look. The look of death. Where he came from, most of the people who had their legs cut off �108 SLOVAKIA - died. And the rest were beggars and the laughingstock of the uneasy townspeople. One-legged people were better off dead. And Michal wanted to die. There was nothing left for him, even in America. Nothing. CHAPTER2 - ONE LEG, PEGLEG Friday, May 25 , 1906 Michal came out of a daze like dragging himself doggedly out of the depths of a deep coal mine, with a white light shining at the top. He groped his way up and up, his brain hitching itself from one ladder rung to the other, until he finally broke out into the light and found himself in the brightly lit hospital room, whiter still than it had been the first time. And there was the tugging, nagging, pulling pain in his right leg, straight down to his toes. He tried to feel them, but his mind swirled as he sat up. He gasped and fell back on the pillows, sweating. A little boy ran in the room, tugging at his mother's hand. "Where's daddy?" he said in English. She pulled him back into the hall. "Otec is down further," she said in Slovak. But the boy broke away and staggerred onto Michal's bed, right over his right leg. Michal howled in pain . The mother hastily pulled the child away with abject Slovak humiliation, and said in English: " Don 't you know this man had his leg taken off?'' The child stared , and ran to her in tears . Michal could only make out half the conversation , but he was more concerned with the pain in his leg. The little nurse hurried in and clucked about Michal like a mother hen. "You will be fine in a little while, just you see." ''But my leg - it hurts so much, '' Michal said . The nurse looked at the blank space where his leg had been , and she looked at Michal's intense face. "You have to know," she said deliberately, ''that the doctor had to stop the anesthetics and that you feel the pain of your leg being taken off. You have a stump right above your right knee , and it is the nerve there that hurts you and makes you think you still have the leg." Michal was horrified. " Then my leg is. gone!" For the first time the word "operation" really struck home to ltm, an<l he knew that now he was only half a man. ''I can't live with one leg,'' he· sobbed. ''I can't work, I can't get married, I can 't make a living, I can't do anything." �SLOVAKIA 109 \ He hid his face in his hands and sobbed like a broken-hearted little boy . The nurse left him alone for a while. She let him cry it out . It would be better for him . Then she gently put her arm around his shoulder and cradled his head against her breast. " You will be fine , my priatel'," she said softly. " Just give yourself a little time. You will get a new leg and you will walk almost as well as you ever did. And you will live and marry and have children and enjoy life . You'll see. " Just then the door flew open and a giant of a man strode in, all 6 feet 4 inches of him; he looked around briefly, saw Michal Kohan , and strode over. He stuck out a hammy paw. " McCloskey's the name ," he roared . "Mike McCloskey . I'm your superintendent at Mine No. 1, in case you forgot .'' The flustered nurse translated the gist of what he said. Michal smiled at McCloskey and for an instant a flicker of happiness came over him, but then he remembered the situation and became glum again. McCloskey pulled up a chair. ' 'Don't let this get you down, Bonnie Michal. We 've got a place for you at the mine for the rest of your life. We 'll find you a job you can do well - and you 're set, believe me ." The nurse translated breathlessly. · '' And I see the company has got you a private room and nurse , and you 're getting the best of everything. The company doesn 't usually do this, my lad, you can bet; those bastards wouldn't pay for their mothers ' funeral if they could get away with it. But I went to bat for you - you fully deserve it - and I'll see you come off as well as possible from all this. But I hate to talk to you through an interpreter. You 're the kind of determined man I like to chaw with man-to-man. ' ' And maybe you can get chances for promotion. Now, if you could talk my language - really talk my language , English - we could boost you some more, eh lad? '' He winked , got up as abruptly as he sat down, and barrelled out of the room with a roar and a laugh and a mighty wave of his hand . The nurse beamed. " You see , Michal , things aren 't as bad as you thought, " she said. " You 'll have a job , and you can get better jobs as you learn more English and learn how to get along in America - the real land of opportunity . '' Michal looked up at her. ''You really believe America is the land of opportunity, no matter what happens to you?" " Of course , or I wouldn 't be here . I'd still be slopping hogs in Galicia. " The days wore on. Michal clung to the new idea of a job and maybe �110 SLOVAKIA - maybe a chance to make something of himself. Maybe it wasn't too late, and if he learned English . . . Michal's thoughts went back to his origins , and how far he had travelled since. He was born in Habowa, a little village in the Galician area of Austria, one of four children - two boys and two girls. At 12 he was put out as a servant on a farm, to work from sunup to sundown. He remembered how he cried, not wanting to leave home, but it was a way of life for the poor peasants of the 1880s. Then at 15, in 1900, he had a chance to put his meager resources together and migrate to America. He boarded in Marienka Kinda's house - Marienka, who was nine years older - and stuck close to his love, Jacka. In 1905 he and other Galicians put up some money and proudly helped build the Russian Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist, in Conemaugh. He was beginning to feel a real part of the community. Now he had lost his leg, and McCloskey said he could learn English and work again. He clung to the idea as his leg stump sometimes almost pulled him from the bed with throbbing and pain. And he had Marienka, who came to visit him religiously, and held his hand shyly. " Come, Marienka," said Michal jokingly. "You 're a married woman, you know.'' "Veru , and you had better remember, too ," she said, smiling, and patted his arm. "But I must take care of my star boarder. And remember," she added, her eyes twinkling, "Jacka is still there making the sandwiches for the men." "Oh, she asked about me? " Michal asked eagerly. Marienka looked away . ' 'She talks about you, and the other men. You know how busy she is. " " And so are you, Marienka. But you find time to see me ." Michal was now convinced he would really have to impress Jacka with his new knowledge of English to get her to notice him. The next morning, after his breakfast and bath, Michal grimly decided to start on the long road back. He took the crutches from behind his bed, eased himself up , and sat on the bed with his left leg dangling close to the floor . Then he slipped on the crutches and turned around, facing the bed, and eased himself upright, standing wobbily on his left leg and his two crutches. The blood drained from his head and. he swayed dizzily. He felt himself falling when a strong arm caught his elbow and pushed him back, sprawling across the bed . �SLOVAKIA 111 \ A young black-haired girl with an oval face stood there glaring at him and stomping her foot in anger. " Don't you ever do that again without someone to help you! ' ' she cried. Michal looked at her and realized that she had spoken Rusin. "You are Rusin? " he asked. " Oh!" she said, her hand flying to her mouth . " I forget myself and speak Rusin when I get angry. I really want to speak American English, I mean - as much as I can . I'm an English teacher, you know. " Michal's ears perked up and he pulled himself up painfully on the bed , his eyes staying on her oval face all the while . " You - you speak English well? " ' ' Perfectly, '' she said, with a proud toss of her head. She answered his unspoken question, "I came here from Eastern Galicia with my family in 1890, when I was four . So I spoke Rusin and Slovak at home and learned English almost from the cradle. Now I teach it to the children here and to any adult who wants to learn English and become a part of this great America - with all its challenges and its benefits and its great heart." She lowered her eyes shyly. " I speak too much when I speak about being part of America.'' " No , no, go on, go on ," said Michal, bobbing his head in agreement as a plan to learn English formed in his mind. Here was McCloskey' s idea come true! " Would - would you teach me English? " '' Of course ,'' she said. ' 'Oh - my name is Tressa Hruska. ' ' '' And mine is Michal Ko ban.'' '' I will give you a short lesson right now, Michal, and when you can leave the hospital you can come and learn in my little school in Conemaugh while you get better so you can go back to work . Michal agreed enthusiastically with this little animated doll of a girl. A heaven-sent opportunity to get ahead and make a new life for himself! ' ' All right.'' Tressa was suddenly all business. ' 'I give you one lesson here - and I teach English a special way so you can learn fast.'' She switched to English. " Do you know what this is? " she asked, patting the bed . Michal stared. " I don 't know what you said. Please translate it for me into Rusin. " Tressa crossed her arms and glared at Michal. "No, Michal , I translate nothing. You have to learn from - like they say here scratch." �112 SLOVAKIA Michal looked bewildered again, so she returned to Rusin. ''Okay, okay - I will explain once in Rusin, and then you will learn by doing." " Huh?" Tressa said with some patience: "Michal, when you learned Rusin did you translate from anything?" ' ' No - I did not know any language. ''Correct. So now you do the same thing. You learn English just as you learned Rusin, and you will learn it just as well - with perhaps a small accent." Michal nodded slowly. "I see. It makes sense. But it would be so much easier to '' - no, it wouldn't,' ' she finished firmly. ' 'Now, watch.'' And she slipped into English. Tressa patted the bed and said slowly : "Michal, this is a B-E-D." And she motioned for him to repeat. " Dis - Bett," said Michal in English. " This is a bed." " This is - bed. " '' Good! Great!' ' She clapped her hands in enthusiasm. ''Now, this is a bed post." " Na-o-w, dis is - " " - This is - " ''This is a bed host . ' ' "Bed post." '' Bed post. ' ' Tressa squealed in delight and clapped her hands . Michal was making a very good student. She looked around, then bent to the floor and patted her hand on the floor. " This is the floor - f-1-o-o-r, " she said distinctly and spelled it out. Michal saw her lovely round rear end, with her dress hitched up as she bent in concentration towards the floor, and he said distinctly in Rusin : ''This is a pretty panty . '' " No - this is .. . ! " Tressa suddenly realized what had happened and straightened up in confusion , her face flaming a dark, brilliant red. Michal laughed heartily for the first time since the accident. Then Tressa broke down and smiled, giggled , and soon both were laughing hysterically. People from the ward across the hall shuffled over in their bathrobes to see what was going on in th'is crazy room. �SLOVAKIA 113 CHAPTER 3 - JACKA DECIDES Monday, September 10 Summer arrived and turned into fall before Michal could go home. He returned that day to Marienka Kinda's boarding house, carefully placing one crutch ahead of the other as the doctors had told him, keeping weight off his pegleg. A farmer had given him a buggy lift almost to the door, so he was that much ahead. He squared his shoulders and tried to walk with great decision, heartened by the fact that he would soon see Jacka for the first time in months. As he started in the door it was suddenly opened wide, and Jacka swept out on Adam Drotar's arm. Caught by surprise as she brushed past him, Michal dropped one crutch to grasp the porch post as he staggered to one side. "Sorry, Michal," Jacka said. "I didn't see you." "H-Hello, Jacka," Michal said shyly. Jacka stared through him. "You're going back to work in those things?" she said. ''Oh yes. And soon. But I'll get rid of these crutches with a little more practice - you'll see." "I'm sure," she said mechanically. Then Jacka turned away and smiled at Adam as he swept her down the steps and into the street. Michal stared after them for a long time, a lump forming in his throat and tears in his eyes, wondering if he would ever be worthy of Jacka truly becoming his friend and, and - wife. Just wait till he got his English diploma, he thought. Then Jacka would know he was truly someone important and she would come to him. He stood there staring at the rapidly disappearing figures who were laughing at some private joke. The laughter finally died down, and Michal still kept staring after them. ''Michal.'' Michal turned around. Marienka stood at the door, all round and rosy-cheeked. She was a truly handsome girl, with a twinkle in her eye that was lost on Michal. "Come in and take a rest," she said. " You shouldn 't stand up so long at the beginning." Michal nodded and reluctantly allowed himself to be taken inside , where he sank into the living-room chair usually occupied by Marienka' s husband , Ivan, who was now away at work. Michal propped his chin in the palm of his hand. "Marienka, will Jacka ever - like me? " Marienka cleared her throat but before she �114 SLOVAKIA could answer, Michal had answered himself. "Yes she will, when I learn English well and will be an important man in the mines. Then she will like me - won't she?" Marienka patted his arm. "Of course," she said. "What's there not to like about you?'' The next days were hectic. Michal went down by hitched buggy ride to Tressa's little schoolhouse in Conemaugh, a mile away from Marienka's boarding house. When he reached the door he straightened up , took both crutches in his left hand, and opened the door and walked in as straight as possible on his pegleg, trying not to wince at the pain. "Here's Pegleg Mike! " yelled two of the children. Tressa looked around from the blackboard, and she spoke sharply to the two children: "That's not a polite way to talk. Now apologize to Mr. Kohan." The children looked contrite. "We' re sorry, Mr. Ko ban." Michal waved a hand. "It's nothing. And it's true, isn't it? I do have a pegleg. But this won't stop me from succeeding in America. When you grow up things will happen to you too, but they should never stop you from succeeding in this fine country.'' The children looked even more contrite. Tressa's face broke into a broad smile. "Well said, Michal!" she exclaimed. "Come in and make yourself at home at one of the desks in the back. Use two of them if you want.' ' There were 22 children of various ages in the room, all following schooling of their own, each in different classes following different subjects under Tressa's supervision. They learned not only from the books and the teacher, but also from each other, as they watched others in the throes of learning Eng_lish, history, arithmetic, and a brush-up on customs of the Old World. There were children from every possible group in Central, Western, and Eastern Europe - Slovaks, Irish, Rusins, Poles, Germans all learning to be Americans and take advantage of the glorious American opportunity to better themselves . Now they stared at Michal and snickered. ''Children! ' ' Now they simply stared, but with their hands over their mouths. "Michal Kohan is a little older than most of you" - laughter ' 'but give him credit, because he too wants to be part of the American dream, and he has as much right to do it as any of you have ." Anger rose in Tressa's throat. "And don't you forge6'_ it!" �SLOVAKIA 115 '' Sit down, Michal,'' Tressa indicated, '' and I will be with you in a moment. Michal eased himself into a little chair and put his crutches out of sight on the floor. Tressa had spoken Rusin to him, but her words to the children were in English, so he had understood little but the snickers. No matter. Only his job and Jacka mattered. He had to learn English for them. " Michal got an hour's special instruction that day and stayed the rest of the time listening to the children recite their lessons and learning the cadence and rhythm of English. He was surprised to catch the meaning of a word or two and to feel the English idiom as they babbled on. It was a weary day. Michal felt his leg throbbing as it wore on, and he finally made his excuses and left. Outside, weary beyond words at dragging himself along, he decided to try something new. He put both crutches under his left shoulder and took the pressure off his right leg by bearing down on his left side. It seemed crazy - it was just what the doctors had told him not to do - but it worked! The doctors told him he would have to use both crutches for a long while, but Michal was forever trying things out for himself. Why not take advantage of the newness of America and try out new things? He found that now he could work his way down the street much better, and with a minimum of pain. "Hey, Michal! Wait a minute!" Michal did not recognize the Slovak voice, so he turned around. A fattish man with white hair hobbled up to him on a pegleg just like his, but on the left leg. "You don't know me, Michal, but I heard about you in town. I've been retired for a while and - here, let's go in this "karchma" and talk. I want to ask you something." Puzzled, Michal followed. The tavern was a mishmash of Old World nationalities even more pronounced than in the schoolhouse, but with a definite bent toward the Slovak. Stale beer smells and the choking pile and cigarette smoke filled the polluted air as they made their way to their chairs. Michal wondered what the man wanted, but he felt he would have to order a drink. He fingered the change in his pocket and tried to count them with his fingers. "Slivovica," ordered the white-haired man. Michal nodded the same. At least he knew he could drink plum brandy, the Slovak national drink. �116 SLOVAKIA The waiter waved his towel, disappeared and reappeared as if by magic with the two drinks. You never got served so fast when you ordered food, thought Michal . " So, Michal, " the man said, putting a hand on his arm. "My name ' s Bodnak, and I come from a region of Galicia not too far from where I hear you come from . Habowa, isn't it?' ' Michal nodded, but said nothing. " Well, what I want to say was - I notice you limp too, and because of a pegleg on your right side. Right? ' ' "Yes. " ''Well, I had my left leg amputated above the knee , another stupid mine accident , and I wear a pegleg too. " Michal looked down and noticed his pegleg for the first time. He had been so preoccupied with his own problem he had failed to recognize the other man's . And he thought he was the only pegleg in the world. Bodnak leaned over. " Maybe we can help each other, friend ." He took a slurp of slivovica. " I need new shoes, and I'm sure you 'll be needing shoes too pretty soon. What do you wear? '' "Size eight, " said Michal. Bodnak slapped him delightedly on the back . " Good! Good! I thought so! So do I," he enthused. " Don 't you realize we can buy one pair of shoes for both of us and save a lot of money each time?' ' The light dawned on Michal. Of course! "A very good idea," he said . ' 'Then we have only to worry about some way to keep our peglegs from slipping so much. Bodnak winked broadly . " Easily fixed , my friend . I've had this problem for years, and I've worked out the angles. I just take the rubber from an old bicycle tire on the tip , and that old tire will last for up to a year!' ' Michal returned home all fired up and at last ready to face life again. He had learned more English, his shoe problem had been solved, and he could walk with only one crutch! And all this had happened in one day . Soon he could use only a cane for support - then nothing! Exhilaration surged through him as life pumped back into his tired body and mind. The next weeks were a growing revelation to Michal as he learned more and more English, until he found he could talk English to the English group of miners and be actual~y understood. Tressa 's patience was remarkable. \ " You feel the table ," she said. ''I feel the table ,' ' said Michal, feeling the table . �SLOVAKIA 117 \ "Very good!" She clapped her hands in glee. "Now how do you feel about your English?'' Michal looked bewildered. ' 'Feel table - feel English? How can I feel English?" "No," said Tressa. "Feel is also an emotion, something inside us.'' "How can that be?" asked Michal. "How can the same word 'feel' mean touch the table and touch English?" Tressa laughed. ''That's one of the problems about studying a new language . Things don 't always make sense. There are many words like that in Rusin, too, but you've never thought about it, and you take them for granted. English is the same!" Six weeks later Michal was walking with only a cane, and using it very little, and his leg was almost healed. He could speak English so well that Tressa had met him that morning with the announcement that this was his last day in class because he had earned his "Diploma" in English. · She whisked out a Diploma from behind her back, all inscribed with '' MICHAL KO BAN'' on it and attesting to the fact that Michal could speak English! "Of course you can always come back for questions and help whenever you need it," said Tressa in English, "but now you can speak English well enough to get along. And this Diploma is your going-away present . '' Michal shook hands delightedly with her, then hurried away to tell the great news to Jacka. He shot through the door , almost falling as he balanced on one leg, and danced the surprised Marienka around in a Slovak knee-slapper. " I have my Diploma! " he shouted. " Now I can speak English. I will run up and tell Jacka and she will be proud of me.'' '' . .. but Michal, '' said Marienka. Michal did not hear her. He hurried up the steps , pulling himself up hand over hand on the railing, and hurried to Jacka's room and knocked on the door. ' 'Jacka , Jacka! I have something wonderful to tell you! ' ' No answer. " Jacka! Look at my English Diploma! " He pushed the door open, diploma in hand, with Marienka right behind him, and stared dumbfounded at the empty room, stripped of all clothes . Even the curtains had been taken down. �118 SLOVAKIA Michal turned to Marienka like a hurt little boy whose mother isn 't home to hear of his success in school. " What . . . what? " " Michal," said Marienka softly , her hand on his arm . " Jacka is gone. " " Gone? " " Jacka ran away today with Adam Drotar to get married and go with him to the iron ore mines in Minnesota. '' CHAPTER 4 - BONEY COME , BONEY STAY Monday, Junell, 1906 Michal turned without a word and shuffled out towards his own room at the rear. He closed the door behind the anxious, hovering Marienka, and sat down heavily on the bed. He stared out the window at the gathering gray sky, the black roofs and the black streets and the black lawns and the black feelings he had about the coal-black town of Conemaugh. Life was a bucket of coal ash. The girl of his dreams had gone had left him for another man. Or was she ever his except in his own imagination? He was worthless and useless. Why had he come to America? Why had he bothered to do anything with his life? What dreams were there in America that he could fulfill? It was all a farce . A sham. A deception! He was 21, in a strange country, with nothing to look forward to but a bleak future of shattered dreams. He lay back on the bed , covered his eyes, and his jumbled thoughts turned to new crazy, jumbled dreams. He slept fitfully until the gray dawn struggled to show itself about the ugly piles of slag everywhere in town. Michal woke up with a start to the tune of a bird singing squeakily outside his window . The coal dust had gotten to its little lungs , and the best it could do was a poor imitation of a chirp . But the bird tried! And Michal would try too. His natural positive attitude reasserted itself. He looked again on the bright side of t~ ngs. He had his health, a chance for a job in the mines , and the ability to speak the language of the land of opportunity - English! · Heartened , he got up , washed and dressed , and went down to breakfast with the boarders - all miners getting ready for work . �SLOVAKIA 119 Marienka had to work overtime making the sandwiches and preparing the table, because Jacka had left her job as completely as she had left Michal. ''I'll help you, Marienka,'' he said. And he pitched in, feeding the hungry men at the table and hurrying to fill their dinner pails with sandwiches and the precious water they would need in the mine. Ivan, Marienka's husband, was the first to leave for his job in the mine. His life was divided between working at the mine and working overtime drinking at the ''karchma'' in town. He loved to tell the stories of his days as a horse soldier in the Emperor's army and regale the men with well-told tales through the evening - while ignoring work at home. After the last man had left, Marienka was alone with Michal and her three sons: young Michal, 13; Mikulas, 11; and Janik, nine. The three boys adored Michal and wanted to stay and play with him. But they had to go to school. "And don't forget to learn English well," Michal called after them. "It will be the foundation of all your success in life." "I'm glad you sound better," said Marienka. "I was really worried last night. " Michal looked at her. "It is strange to have someone worry about me." Marienka blushed. ''Oh - you know what I mean.'' Michal sighed. "Yes, I know. I only wish Jacka had worried just a little. She is my first love, and I will never forget her - but that part of my life is over. Now I start out all over, really start out, with a new language and a new chance in the land of opportunity. America doesn't give you only one chance to get ahead. It gives you many. And if you miss the first one - why, then, you can take the next, and the next." Michal laughed. "Maybe then you can start out by being my sandwich-maker," said Marienka. "And I will give you a discount on your rent, too," she said, winking. After all, he wasn't getting much disability pay from the company, even with McCloskey's help. Michal sobered up. ''Thank you, Marienka, but no thank you.'' He put a hand on her shoulder in a friendly fashion . '' I must get away from here,'' he said. '' From this house. I will get another room where I can forget these events more quickly , but of course I will never forget your kindness. Already I sense a kind of distant dislike of some men, because of my pegleg, and I have to work that out in my own mind and fight it and get the better of myself in my own way.'' �120 SLOVAKIA Marienka nodded. ''If that is to be, then let it be .'' Michal got a room in a boarding house a few blocks from Marienka and Ivan, and within a half mile of Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh. The next morning he checked his carbide lamp, with the kernels of carbon at the bottom, all about half the size of a peanut. He put some water in the top and watched the water drip onto the kernels, forming a gas. Then he lit the gas and checked the flame coming out about three inches through a fine hole in the center of the reflector. There was no glass in the front - a constant danger of fire. But this was one of the dangers of a coal miner's life. He got paid well for this dangerous work six days a week, and who else among working men could command so much money? Many men got killed and maimed for life, but they still kept working in the mines, because it was the best way they could provide for their families - at least while they could work. Michal felt the old pride in his work returning as he adjusted the lamp and watched it flare brightly. Then he switched it down, put it on his head, and dressed in his miner's clothes so he could feel more and more like the miner he was going to continue to be! After all, McCloskey had promised him a job for life - and he had to start by looking the part, even with his pegleg. He cocked his lamp at a jaunty angle, squared his shoulders, and stepped out the door. "Ahh, there's my little bairn Michal," yelled McCloskey when he looked up to see the slight man with a mustache walk steadily up to him. "It's a fine man you look like," he said, grabbing Michal by both his shoulders. "And I feel fine," said Michal in good English. McCloskey's eyes opened wide. "You talk great! You talk real English!'' Michal bobbed his head happily. "That I do. I do that," he said. '' How could you learn in so short a time?'' ''I had a good teacher,'' said Michal. ''Tressa Hruska.'' "And I have a good job for you," McCloskey winked, "just like I promised. How would you like to be a mule skinner?" Michal's jaw dropped. That he could never do. McCloskey laughed. "No, no, not the k\nd you think . That's the old-fashioned method. Now we have just started to use modern mule skinners. But we don't call them mule skinners anymore, even though they haul the men and the coal into and out of the mine just like before. �SLOVAKIA 121 ' ' Now we call them Hoist Engineers . '' Michal look bewildered. "What 's a Hoist Engineer? " McCloskey gestured to him. "Come on , Michal. I'll show you. It's the perfect job for you. It 'll put you right in the middle of the men, many of them Rusins and Slovaks , and you can talk to them and interpret to the supers , and act as a go-between while you do your job. It'll be a very important step up in the mine. ' ' The two men walked into the dry drift mine, and up - slowly. Michal tried not to look tired and he tried not to puff, but it wasn't easy. " Take it easy, lad, " said McCloskey. " We'll soon be there . You see , the man who had this job was just here for a short time, and he didn't know the ropes too well - and couldn 't speak English - so you'll be the perfect man. " They arrived at a clearing in the mine, with a huge machine hung with ropes and levers standing there like an iron monster. ' ' With this you can control the coal cars going down the slope to the outside , and you also bring the men up in the morning and let them down at night. You have to be here very early so you can do that, and when they get to your hoist they disperse to the various coal rooms along the pathways. "So this is called the Hoist , and you will be the Hoist Engineer." ''It is like being a mule skinner, but without the mules! '' "Right!" McCloskey laughed. And Michal worked the levers to and fro, testing the machinery for cars going up and down until he soon had them working almost to perfection . "See, it's easy! I knew you were the man . Now you 've got yourself a good job, just like I promised you," said McCloskey . He winked. "Don 't tell them, but you'll soon get a raise." Michal's eyes widened. He could put away more money, and maybe make some of his new dreams come true. America was truly going to be the land of opportunity! CHAPTER 5 - CA VE IN! Tuesday, December 7, 1909 ''Cave-in!' ' The cry roared and pounded through Conemaugh like the cold wind of death. Everyone knew what it meant - it meant only one thing - and the women and children surged out of their homes and hurried to the billowing clouds that pointed to the position of the mine. �122 SLOVAKIA Marienka was in the Catholic church for the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. She heard the terrible cry and her throat tightened. "Oh Jesus, Mary, Joseph," she cried, crossing herself quickly, "please don 't make it serious. Please!" Then she hurried to the house and gathered her children together, as the women did in these times of stress. Michal, Janik, and Mikulas, with Jozef toddling at her heels. She swept up the baby Jurko and held him at her breast as she hurried the children down to the mine site. The large crowd already there saw Marienka at a distance and parted for her like the Red Sea for Moses - except that this was not an escape for Marienka. It was a descent into hell. Her heart pounding, she made her way through, feeling more and more dread as she approached her goal. A hand took her arm, and she looked up into Michal Koban's sympathetic eyes. "Thank God you're safe," cried Marienka. "I'm glad nothing happened to you! " ' ' Marienka, '' said Michal quietly, ''nothing happened to the other men either. Most of them. They had all moved on to new passages this morning - all except Ivan." Marienka felt faint. The boys cried at her side, and she shushed them. Ivan had been told to stay on at the old passage to pound out the props before moving on. So Michal nodded. " Ivan knocked out a prop and the roof fell in on him. I'm so sorry. But there may still be a chance. " There was a commotion at the entrance of the dust-choked mine, and two men came out carrying a stretcher. Marienka ran up to them, leaving the children with Michal. "Don't look, Mrs . Kinda," one of the men said. "He was - pretty badly mangled by the cave-in. He 's dead." Michal came up and put an arm on her sobbing shoulder, and gathered the five children around him as Marienka wept uncontrollably. He took Jurko from his mother' s failing arm. " Janik, hold on to Jozef," he said. "Yes , otec ," said Janik without thinking. Otec was the Slovak name for father. Slovak wakes seemed to have been developed by the Devil himself, with the express purpose of causing the wife and family of the deceased as much trouble and mental anguish as possible . Of course, it really wasn 't done that way ,on purpose. It was simply ''tradition,'• and tradition has to be served\ Ivan was laid out in the small living room ; with flowers all around �SLOVAKIA 123 \ the casket, and exposed for viewing to all the friends and relatives and any curious stranger in town. They would come up to the casket, genuflect, and kneel on the prie-dieu and pray while gazing at the mortal remains of the exposed. And at the photo behind the casket of Ivan Kinda in full Hussar regalia. Then they would get up and turn to their friends and whisper, ''He looks so natural, almost as if he were sleeping." This was too painful for Marienka to see. She had ushered her children in to see their "otec" at the begining, and then told them to stay away. The large kitchen then became the center of activities for three days and nights. People straggled in at all hours, paid their respects to the deceased, then quickly returned to the kitchen for a meal and to hear various ribald and obscene stories told by several expert storytellers. Marienka spent her time at the hot stove, damp hair hanging down in strands over her forehead, and made eggs and little Slovak pancakes, and cutting "kolace" and ladling out the butter, and setting the table, and clearing the table, and washing the dishes, and setting up the table, and ... It was an endless round of senseless meal-serving, night and day, for three days. "Marienka, you've got to take a rest," Michal said, after hours of feeding starving miners. He had helped a lot. And so had the three older boys - Michal, Mikulas, and Janik. Marienka shook her head. "I can't," she said. "I have to feed them as come in and view Ivan. It is the tradition." ''Damn the tradition!'' Michal exploded. ''You go to bed right now and get some sleep. I'll handle this for a while." Marienka allowed herself to be led away, protesting feebly, stumbling, bleary-eyed. But she knew she was exhausted, so she did not protest too much. "So Michal, you already take over, eh?" roared a miner as he saw Michal put on the apron. Michal had a hot answer ready, but he just turned beet-red and doggedly said nothing. ' 'Lemme have three eggs, sunny-side up, lots of Slovak bread and butter, and - make it six pancakes. I've got to remember poor Ivan Kinda the best way I can, by eating." Michal seethed. "You'll remember him with a bump on your noggin from my skillet if you don't shut up." "Oh, ho ," the miner said amiably. "We do have a temper, don't �124 SLOVAKIA we? Maybe you 'll feel better when I tell you this joke about the miner and the Irish whore. Seems she spread out her goodies - ' ' he winked - "on the table, when ... " " Oh, shut up!" growled Michal, his mustache bristling. "Don't you realize a man is lying dead in the next room, and his family is going through a trying time. They 'll be destitute after this. Haven't you stopped to think of that? " The miner sobered up, and several others joined in. "We know all that, Michal," they said, with some care in their voices. " We know, but we laugh so we will not cry. Who knows - tomorrow it may happen to us." Michal bit his lip. They were right. He had no right to lecture them. They meant well. They were just rough men living a rough life, and the wake was a traditional part of their lives, where the people could come together and joke and laugh so they could forget what had happened . But they remembered still. Marienka somehow got through the next three days, and Michal escorted her and the children to the funeral in the little Catholic church Marienka and Ivan had helped to build in 1901. That afternoon was also a trial. The women of Conemaugh, which was 90 percent Slavic, came parading into the house to see Marienka and leave their condolences and their little Slovak "kolace" - jelly rolls with nuts and apples - that they had cooked for the occasion . '' God bless you, Marienka.'' · " May God be with you, Marienka." '' Everything will be all right , Marienka. God will provide.' ' Marienka nodded mechanically to all, as if in a daze. Finally the ordeal was over and the house was empty. Too empty. Even Jurko wasn't crying. And Jozef played quietly in the comer. The other three boys were in school. Michal stopped by after work . '' How are things going? '' he asked. " All right, " said Marienka, forcing a smile . " The insurance company paid for all the funeral expenses , plus $50 left. But no benefits , of course. '' " Of course . Nice of them. Now they pay nothing. You get no widow ' s benefits and you 're entirely on your own ." ''I have five children to help me ,'' Marienka grinned . Michal did not grin. " What I meant to .say is, what with the children and - and everything - you will neec:N o get something to - to tide you over a bit.'' · ' '' Michal - '' �SLOVAKIA 125 " - No, please. He heh;! up a hand. "What I meant is the children will need food and things while you get yourself together , and I thought - " His hand went into his pocket , and he took out a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief. " Well, here 's a little something to help you. '' " Michal! " Marienka cried as she took the bundle dumbly. This was the first useful gesture anyone had made to her since Ivan 's death. Tears welled in her eyes, finally trickled down her cheeks. She took out her hankie and blew mightily. The three boys poured through the door and happily embraced Michal . " Put that away - quickly," said Michal . And he got up. At the door he paused. ''Things aren't easy for a widow woman without a man to support her, " he said. "I mean , people will look down on you , just as they have looked down on me for my pegleg . What I want to say is , I understand what will happen. And I know you can pull through it . I know . ' ' He took her hand. " I'll see you again, Marienka, God willing. " Mikulas piped up, in his boyish soprano . "Why don 't you and matka marry, and you can stay here with us always? '' Marienka choked. The boys all laughed and clapped . They danced around the bewildered couple with their flaming cheeks . ' ' Boys , stop it! ' ' commanded Marienka in her voice that they knew had to be obeyed . They stopped and stood with their hands behind their backs, trying to look regretful. " Now go outside this minute ," commanded Marienka, " and don 't you dare say a word about this to anybody, hear? '' The boys filed out, and Michal started to follow. '' Not you, Michal! I'm sorry for their actions . It was really uncalled for ." Michal shrugged, a string in his heart still tugging for his old love, Jacka . " People will talk about single people ," he said . " People always talk. It is the way of the world .'' � \ LITERATURE ��SLOVAKIA 105 Excerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner, 1906-1933 VASIL S. KOBAN CHAPTER 1 - ONE MORE SPRAG Thursday, May 24, 1906 It was just after two o'clock when Michal Kohan , mule skinner at Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, started down the incline pulling the three coal cars out of the mine behind two mules. " You got three sprags on the three cars, Kelly? " he asked in Rusin . He put up three fingers so Kelly could not fail to understand. Kelly, an Irishman just turned sixteen and starting on his new job in the mines, rubbed his alcohol-bleared head. ''Sure , sure , begorrah, I got enough sprags, '' he said in a half stupor. He put up two fingers and shook them at Michal . The mules would never hold the downhill run of the three coal cars unless there were enough tapered wooden sprags between the wheels to drag on the cars like brakes and hold them back. " You need three!" Michal yelled in Rusin. "Three, you lummox! Or else she 'll never hold ." The Irishman waved cheerfully, " G'wan!" (Two fingers) Michal fumed: (Three fingers!) Kelly laughed: (Two fingers!) Michal withheld his curse because the cars were already starting down , and he had to whip the mules to keep them ahead. As the cars gathered speed Michal struggled to keep the mules ahead of the surging coal projectiles. "Prekliaty blbec/" Michal yelled. "She won't hold, you idiot! " The cars gathered momentum and pushed up against the struggling mules , Michal slashing away at them with the whip to push them ahead . "Son of a bitch! " he yelled. " You 'll kill them! " '' Harrarrarrahh ! ' ' he yelled at the mules , urging them on to do the impossible. The Irish kid just laughed. �106 SLOVAKIA As Michal got half-way down the grade he saw it would be impossible to hold the cars back with only two sprags. He did the only thing left for him to do. He leaped for his life. The coal cars smashed into the mules and ground them into instant hamburger of broken flesh and spitting blood. The mules screamed and clawed for what seemed like hours, but which only lasted a few seconds. They were soon mangled mounds of bloody mash. Michal lay beside the track, his leg caught under the coal cars as they passed by. "God damn bastard!" he yelled in outraged disbelief at what had happened. Then he blacked out. Michal woke up in a lily-white hospital room in Johnstown, three miles downriver from Conemaugh and site of the famous Johnstown flood of 1889. Michal looked around dazedly, his heart mounting in his throat. He was only 21, and had been in America since he was 15 in 1900. This was his first experience in a hospital. A pert little nurse in a peaked cap came in to take his pulse and speak to him reassuringly in his native Rusin. "Nurse, I --" "Now, now, just be calm. You survived the accident," she said cheerfully, '' and that 's most of the battle right there I ' ' " How - how long have I been here?" "Just a day or two," she shrugged. "You were kept under sedation. " Michal plucked at the white sheet with his fingers , his little mustache twitching nervously. "How long will I be here? I have to get back to work. I have to pay my rent.'' The nurse smiled. "That will take a little while ," she said. " But don 't worry about the time or the expense. The Cambria Coal Mine is taking care of everything. ' ' Michal frowned. " But -- " " Ohl" she exclaimed, glad to change the subject , "you have visitors.'' She stepped aside and the little round face of Marienka Kinda appeared, followed by her husband Ivan, grumpy and straight-backed. " How are you , Michal? " she asked .with concern in Slovak, her only language. \ , '' All right , I think. But why did you come here just for me? I will be out in a few hours at the most. " Marienka smiled through her tears, and Ivan grumped, "Sure, �SLOVAKIA 107 son, just a short time. But you have to do what the doctors tell you. My God, what is that sickly swe~ smell_around here?" The nurse left nervously to seek the doctor. Ivan stuck his nose up, sniffed, and marched around the room like the old Hussar he was - a veteran of the Austrian Emperor's army. Michal had met Marienka, along with Marienka's sister, Jacka, on the ship taking them to America six years before. Marienka had left Ivan in the United States to see her sick father in Slovakia and had returned with her younger sister. Michal fell in love with Jacka at first sight. So he boarded with the Kindas to be near his love while he worked as a mule skinner in the coal mine. "Where's Jacka?" "Uh -- she had to make sandwiches for the men," Marienka said hastily. "And besides, you'll be out of here so fast it would not give Jacka time to come over!" The door opened and a doctor in a white jacket hurried in, '' sluchatko'' hanging from his side pocket to indicate the badge of this profession. He wrinkled his nose and tugged at his little beard, then pulled back the bedclothes to examine Michal's leg. "Hmmm," he said, "this doesn't look good at all." It was in English, so Ivan could understand only dimly. The nurse hurried over to interpret. They did not have Slovak or Rusin doctors to talk to the immigrants in their own language. "Nurse," said the doctor, sighing, "you'll have to tell this young man his leg has to go.'' He palpated the pulpy black right leg, drew a line with his finger above the knee. "Right here," the doctor said. "Now you tell him," and he hurried away. The nurse gulped. Then she took a deep breath and told Michal the doctor's decision in halting Rusin. ''Cut off my leg? No, never! Oh, God, no!'' Michal tried to struggle out of bed to run away, to get away from here where they would take away his leg and his chance to make a living and to marry Jacka. Marienka and Ivan moved quickly to hold him down. "Please, Michal," said Marienka in great concern. "If it must be done to save your life, then it will be for the best. You'll see that everything will turn out all right.'' But Michal's face froze in a faraway look. The look of death. Where he came from, most of the people who had their legs cut off �108 SLOVAKIA - died. And the rest were beggars and the laughingstock of the uneasy townspeople. One-legged people were better off dead. And Michal wanted to die. There was nothing left for him, even in America. Nothing. CHAPTER2 - ONE LEG, PEGLEG Friday, May 25 , 1906 Michal came out of a daze like dragging himself doggedly out of the depths of a deep coal mine, with a white light shining at the top. He groped his way up and up, his brain hitching itself from one ladder rung to the other, until he finally broke out into the light and found himself in the brightly lit hospital room, whiter still than it had been the first time. And there was the tugging, nagging, pulling pain in his right leg, straight down to his toes. He tried to feel them, but his mind swirled as he sat up. He gasped and fell back on the pillows, sweating. A little boy ran in the room, tugging at his mother's hand. "Where's daddy?" he said in English. She pulled him back into the hall. "Otec is down further," she said in Slovak. But the boy broke away and staggerred onto Michal's bed, right over his right leg. Michal howled in pain . The mother hastily pulled the child away with abject Slovak humiliation, and said in English: " Don 't you know this man had his leg taken off?'' The child stared , and ran to her in tears . Michal could only make out half the conversation , but he was more concerned with the pain in his leg. The little nurse hurried in and clucked about Michal like a mother hen. "You will be fine in a little while, just you see." ''But my leg - it hurts so much, '' Michal said . The nurse looked at the blank space where his leg had been , and she looked at Michal's intense face. "You have to know," she said deliberately, ''that the doctor had to stop the anesthetics and that you feel the pain of your leg being taken off. You have a stump right above your right knee , and it is the nerve there that hurts you and makes you think you still have the leg." Michal was horrified. " Then my leg is. gone!" For the first time the word "operation" really struck home to ltm, an<l he knew that now he was only half a man. ''I can't live with one leg,'' he· sobbed. ''I can't work, I can't get married, I can 't make a living, I can't do anything." �SLOVAKIA 109 \ He hid his face in his hands and sobbed like a broken-hearted little boy . The nurse left him alone for a while. She let him cry it out . It would be better for him . Then she gently put her arm around his shoulder and cradled his head against her breast. " You will be fine , my priatel'," she said softly. " Just give yourself a little time. You will get a new leg and you will walk almost as well as you ever did. And you will live and marry and have children and enjoy life . You'll see. " Just then the door flew open and a giant of a man strode in, all 6 feet 4 inches of him; he looked around briefly, saw Michal Kohan , and strode over. He stuck out a hammy paw. " McCloskey's the name ," he roared . "Mike McCloskey . I'm your superintendent at Mine No. 1, in case you forgot .'' The flustered nurse translated the gist of what he said. Michal smiled at McCloskey and for an instant a flicker of happiness came over him, but then he remembered the situation and became glum again. McCloskey pulled up a chair. ' 'Don't let this get you down, Bonnie Michal. We 've got a place for you at the mine for the rest of your life. We 'll find you a job you can do well - and you 're set, believe me ." The nurse translated breathlessly. · '' And I see the company has got you a private room and nurse , and you 're getting the best of everything. The company doesn 't usually do this, my lad, you can bet; those bastards wouldn't pay for their mothers ' funeral if they could get away with it. But I went to bat for you - you fully deserve it - and I'll see you come off as well as possible from all this. But I hate to talk to you through an interpreter. You 're the kind of determined man I like to chaw with man-to-man. ' ' And maybe you can get chances for promotion. Now, if you could talk my language - really talk my language , English - we could boost you some more, eh lad? '' He winked , got up as abruptly as he sat down, and barrelled out of the room with a roar and a laugh and a mighty wave of his hand . The nurse beamed. " You see , Michal , things aren 't as bad as you thought, " she said. " You 'll have a job , and you can get better jobs as you learn more English and learn how to get along in America - the real land of opportunity . '' Michal looked up at her. ''You really believe America is the land of opportunity, no matter what happens to you?" " Of course , or I wouldn 't be here . I'd still be slopping hogs in Galicia. " The days wore on. Michal clung to the new idea of a job and maybe �110 SLOVAKIA - maybe a chance to make something of himself. Maybe it wasn't too late, and if he learned English . . . Michal's thoughts went back to his origins , and how far he had travelled since. He was born in Habowa, a little village in the Galician area of Austria, one of four children - two boys and two girls. At 12 he was put out as a servant on a farm, to work from sunup to sundown. He remembered how he cried, not wanting to leave home, but it was a way of life for the poor peasants of the 1880s. Then at 15, in 1900, he had a chance to put his meager resources together and migrate to America. He boarded in Marienka Kinda's house - Marienka, who was nine years older - and stuck close to his love, Jacka. In 1905 he and other Galicians put up some money and proudly helped build the Russian Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist, in Conemaugh. He was beginning to feel a real part of the community. Now he had lost his leg, and McCloskey said he could learn English and work again. He clung to the idea as his leg stump sometimes almost pulled him from the bed with throbbing and pain. And he had Marienka, who came to visit him religiously, and held his hand shyly. " Come, Marienka," said Michal jokingly. "You 're a married woman, you know.'' "Veru , and you had better remember, too ," she said, smiling, and patted his arm. "But I must take care of my star boarder. And remember," she added, her eyes twinkling, "Jacka is still there making the sandwiches for the men." "Oh, she asked about me? " Michal asked eagerly. Marienka looked away . ' 'She talks about you, and the other men. You know how busy she is. " " And so are you, Marienka. But you find time to see me ." Michal was now convinced he would really have to impress Jacka with his new knowledge of English to get her to notice him. The next morning, after his breakfast and bath, Michal grimly decided to start on the long road back. He took the crutches from behind his bed, eased himself up , and sat on the bed with his left leg dangling close to the floor . Then he slipped on the crutches and turned around, facing the bed, and eased himself upright, standing wobbily on his left leg and his two crutches. The blood drained from his head and. he swayed dizzily. He felt himself falling when a strong arm caught his elbow and pushed him back, sprawling across the bed . �SLOVAKIA 111 \ A young black-haired girl with an oval face stood there glaring at him and stomping her foot in anger. " Don't you ever do that again without someone to help you! ' ' she cried. Michal looked at her and realized that she had spoken Rusin. "You are Rusin? " he asked. " Oh!" she said, her hand flying to her mouth . " I forget myself and speak Rusin when I get angry. I really want to speak American English, I mean - as much as I can . I'm an English teacher, you know. " Michal's ears perked up and he pulled himself up painfully on the bed , his eyes staying on her oval face all the while . " You - you speak English well? " ' ' Perfectly, '' she said, with a proud toss of her head. She answered his unspoken question, "I came here from Eastern Galicia with my family in 1890, when I was four . So I spoke Rusin and Slovak at home and learned English almost from the cradle. Now I teach it to the children here and to any adult who wants to learn English and become a part of this great America - with all its challenges and its benefits and its great heart." She lowered her eyes shyly. " I speak too much when I speak about being part of America.'' " No , no, go on, go on ," said Michal, bobbing his head in agreement as a plan to learn English formed in his mind. Here was McCloskey' s idea come true! " Would - would you teach me English? " '' Of course ,'' she said. ' 'Oh - my name is Tressa Hruska. ' ' '' And mine is Michal Ko ban.'' '' I will give you a short lesson right now, Michal, and when you can leave the hospital you can come and learn in my little school in Conemaugh while you get better so you can go back to work . Michal agreed enthusiastically with this little animated doll of a girl. A heaven-sent opportunity to get ahead and make a new life for himself! ' ' All right.'' Tressa was suddenly all business. ' 'I give you one lesson here - and I teach English a special way so you can learn fast.'' She switched to English. " Do you know what this is? " she asked, patting the bed . Michal stared. " I don 't know what you said. Please translate it for me into Rusin. " Tressa crossed her arms and glared at Michal. "No, Michal , I translate nothing. You have to learn from - like they say here scratch." �112 SLOVAKIA Michal looked bewildered again, so she returned to Rusin. ''Okay, okay - I will explain once in Rusin, and then you will learn by doing." " Huh?" Tressa said with some patience: "Michal, when you learned Rusin did you translate from anything?" ' ' No - I did not know any language. ''Correct. So now you do the same thing. You learn English just as you learned Rusin, and you will learn it just as well - with perhaps a small accent." Michal nodded slowly. "I see. It makes sense. But it would be so much easier to '' - no, it wouldn't,' ' she finished firmly. ' 'Now, watch.'' And she slipped into English. Tressa patted the bed and said slowly : "Michal, this is a B-E-D." And she motioned for him to repeat. " Dis - Bett," said Michal in English. " This is a bed." " This is - bed. " '' Good! Great!' ' She clapped her hands in enthusiasm. ''Now, this is a bed post." " Na-o-w, dis is - " " - This is - " ''This is a bed host . ' ' "Bed post." '' Bed post. ' ' Tressa squealed in delight and clapped her hands . Michal was making a very good student. She looked around, then bent to the floor and patted her hand on the floor. " This is the floor - f-1-o-o-r, " she said distinctly and spelled it out. Michal saw her lovely round rear end, with her dress hitched up as she bent in concentration towards the floor, and he said distinctly in Rusin : ''This is a pretty panty . '' " No - this is .. . ! " Tressa suddenly realized what had happened and straightened up in confusion , her face flaming a dark, brilliant red. Michal laughed heartily for the first time since the accident. Then Tressa broke down and smiled, giggled , and soon both were laughing hysterically. People from the ward across the hall shuffled over in their bathrobes to see what was going on in th'is crazy room. �SLOVAKIA 113 CHAPTER 3 - JACKA DECIDES Monday, September 10 Summer arrived and turned into fall before Michal could go home. He returned that day to Marienka Kinda's boarding house, carefully placing one crutch ahead of the other as the doctors had told him, keeping weight off his pegleg. A farmer had given him a buggy lift almost to the door, so he was that much ahead. He squared his shoulders and tried to walk with great decision, heartened by the fact that he would soon see Jacka for the first time in months. As he started in the door it was suddenly opened wide, and Jacka swept out on Adam Drotar's arm. Caught by surprise as she brushed past him, Michal dropped one crutch to grasp the porch post as he staggered to one side. "Sorry, Michal," Jacka said. "I didn't see you." "H-Hello, Jacka," Michal said shyly. Jacka stared through him. "You're going back to work in those things?" she said. ''Oh yes. And soon. But I'll get rid of these crutches with a little more practice - you'll see." "I'm sure," she said mechanically. Then Jacka turned away and smiled at Adam as he swept her down the steps and into the street. Michal stared after them for a long time, a lump forming in his throat and tears in his eyes, wondering if he would ever be worthy of Jacka truly becoming his friend and, and - wife. Just wait till he got his English diploma, he thought. Then Jacka would know he was truly someone important and she would come to him. He stood there staring at the rapidly disappearing figures who were laughing at some private joke. The laughter finally died down, and Michal still kept staring after them. ''Michal.'' Michal turned around. Marienka stood at the door, all round and rosy-cheeked. She was a truly handsome girl, with a twinkle in her eye that was lost on Michal. "Come in and take a rest," she said. " You shouldn 't stand up so long at the beginning." Michal nodded and reluctantly allowed himself to be taken inside , where he sank into the living-room chair usually occupied by Marienka' s husband , Ivan, who was now away at work. Michal propped his chin in the palm of his hand. "Marienka, will Jacka ever - like me? " Marienka cleared her throat but before she �114 SLOVAKIA could answer, Michal had answered himself. "Yes she will, when I learn English well and will be an important man in the mines. Then she will like me - won't she?" Marienka patted his arm. "Of course," she said. "What's there not to like about you?'' The next days were hectic. Michal went down by hitched buggy ride to Tressa's little schoolhouse in Conemaugh, a mile away from Marienka's boarding house. When he reached the door he straightened up , took both crutches in his left hand, and opened the door and walked in as straight as possible on his pegleg, trying not to wince at the pain. "Here's Pegleg Mike! " yelled two of the children. Tressa looked around from the blackboard, and she spoke sharply to the two children: "That's not a polite way to talk. Now apologize to Mr. Kohan." The children looked contrite. "We' re sorry, Mr. Ko ban." Michal waved a hand. "It's nothing. And it's true, isn't it? I do have a pegleg. But this won't stop me from succeeding in America. When you grow up things will happen to you too, but they should never stop you from succeeding in this fine country.'' The children looked even more contrite. Tressa's face broke into a broad smile. "Well said, Michal!" she exclaimed. "Come in and make yourself at home at one of the desks in the back. Use two of them if you want.' ' There were 22 children of various ages in the room, all following schooling of their own, each in different classes following different subjects under Tressa's supervision. They learned not only from the books and the teacher, but also from each other, as they watched others in the throes of learning Eng_lish, history, arithmetic, and a brush-up on customs of the Old World. There were children from every possible group in Central, Western, and Eastern Europe - Slovaks, Irish, Rusins, Poles, Germans all learning to be Americans and take advantage of the glorious American opportunity to better themselves . Now they stared at Michal and snickered. ''Children! ' ' Now they simply stared, but with their hands over their mouths. "Michal Kohan is a little older than most of you" - laughter ' 'but give him credit, because he too wants to be part of the American dream, and he has as much right to do it as any of you have ." Anger rose in Tressa's throat. "And don't you forge6'_ it!" �SLOVAKIA 115 '' Sit down, Michal,'' Tressa indicated, '' and I will be with you in a moment. Michal eased himself into a little chair and put his crutches out of sight on the floor. Tressa had spoken Rusin to him, but her words to the children were in English, so he had understood little but the snickers. No matter. Only his job and Jacka mattered. He had to learn English for them. " Michal got an hour's special instruction that day and stayed the rest of the time listening to the children recite their lessons and learning the cadence and rhythm of English. He was surprised to catch the meaning of a word or two and to feel the English idiom as they babbled on. It was a weary day. Michal felt his leg throbbing as it wore on, and he finally made his excuses and left. Outside, weary beyond words at dragging himself along, he decided to try something new. He put both crutches under his left shoulder and took the pressure off his right leg by bearing down on his left side. It seemed crazy - it was just what the doctors had told him not to do - but it worked! The doctors told him he would have to use both crutches for a long while, but Michal was forever trying things out for himself. Why not take advantage of the newness of America and try out new things? He found that now he could work his way down the street much better, and with a minimum of pain. "Hey, Michal! Wait a minute!" Michal did not recognize the Slovak voice, so he turned around. A fattish man with white hair hobbled up to him on a pegleg just like his, but on the left leg. "You don't know me, Michal, but I heard about you in town. I've been retired for a while and - here, let's go in this "karchma" and talk. I want to ask you something." Puzzled, Michal followed. The tavern was a mishmash of Old World nationalities even more pronounced than in the schoolhouse, but with a definite bent toward the Slovak. Stale beer smells and the choking pile and cigarette smoke filled the polluted air as they made their way to their chairs. Michal wondered what the man wanted, but he felt he would have to order a drink. He fingered the change in his pocket and tried to count them with his fingers. "Slivovica," ordered the white-haired man. Michal nodded the same. At least he knew he could drink plum brandy, the Slovak national drink. �116 SLOVAKIA The waiter waved his towel, disappeared and reappeared as if by magic with the two drinks. You never got served so fast when you ordered food, thought Michal . " So, Michal, " the man said, putting a hand on his arm. "My name ' s Bodnak, and I come from a region of Galicia not too far from where I hear you come from . Habowa, isn't it?' ' Michal nodded, but said nothing. " Well, what I want to say was - I notice you limp too, and because of a pegleg on your right side. Right? ' ' "Yes. " ''Well, I had my left leg amputated above the knee , another stupid mine accident , and I wear a pegleg too. " Michal looked down and noticed his pegleg for the first time. He had been so preoccupied with his own problem he had failed to recognize the other man's . And he thought he was the only pegleg in the world. Bodnak leaned over. " Maybe we can help each other, friend ." He took a slurp of slivovica. " I need new shoes, and I'm sure you 'll be needing shoes too pretty soon. What do you wear? '' "Size eight, " said Michal. Bodnak slapped him delightedly on the back . " Good! Good! I thought so! So do I," he enthused. " Don 't you realize we can buy one pair of shoes for both of us and save a lot of money each time?' ' The light dawned on Michal. Of course! "A very good idea," he said . ' 'Then we have only to worry about some way to keep our peglegs from slipping so much. Bodnak winked broadly . " Easily fixed , my friend . I've had this problem for years, and I've worked out the angles. I just take the rubber from an old bicycle tire on the tip , and that old tire will last for up to a year!' ' Michal returned home all fired up and at last ready to face life again. He had learned more English, his shoe problem had been solved, and he could walk with only one crutch! And all this had happened in one day . Soon he could use only a cane for support - then nothing! Exhilaration surged through him as life pumped back into his tired body and mind. The next weeks were a growing revelation to Michal as he learned more and more English, until he found he could talk English to the English group of miners and be actual~y understood. Tressa 's patience was remarkable. \ " You feel the table ," she said. ''I feel the table ,' ' said Michal, feeling the table . �SLOVAKIA 117 \ "Very good!" She clapped her hands in glee. "Now how do you feel about your English?'' Michal looked bewildered. ' 'Feel table - feel English? How can I feel English?" "No," said Tressa. "Feel is also an emotion, something inside us.'' "How can that be?" asked Michal. "How can the same word 'feel' mean touch the table and touch English?" Tressa laughed. ''That's one of the problems about studying a new language . Things don 't always make sense. There are many words like that in Rusin, too, but you've never thought about it, and you take them for granted. English is the same!" Six weeks later Michal was walking with only a cane, and using it very little, and his leg was almost healed. He could speak English so well that Tressa had met him that morning with the announcement that this was his last day in class because he had earned his "Diploma" in English. · She whisked out a Diploma from behind her back, all inscribed with '' MICHAL KO BAN'' on it and attesting to the fact that Michal could speak English! "Of course you can always come back for questions and help whenever you need it," said Tressa in English, "but now you can speak English well enough to get along. And this Diploma is your going-away present . '' Michal shook hands delightedly with her, then hurried away to tell the great news to Jacka. He shot through the door , almost falling as he balanced on one leg, and danced the surprised Marienka around in a Slovak knee-slapper. " I have my Diploma! " he shouted. " Now I can speak English. I will run up and tell Jacka and she will be proud of me.'' '' . .. but Michal, '' said Marienka. Michal did not hear her. He hurried up the steps , pulling himself up hand over hand on the railing, and hurried to Jacka's room and knocked on the door. ' 'Jacka , Jacka! I have something wonderful to tell you! ' ' No answer. " Jacka! Look at my English Diploma! " He pushed the door open, diploma in hand, with Marienka right behind him, and stared dumbfounded at the empty room, stripped of all clothes . Even the curtains had been taken down. �118 SLOVAKIA Michal turned to Marienka like a hurt little boy whose mother isn 't home to hear of his success in school. " What . . . what? " " Michal," said Marienka softly , her hand on his arm . " Jacka is gone. " " Gone? " " Jacka ran away today with Adam Drotar to get married and go with him to the iron ore mines in Minnesota. '' CHAPTER 4 - BONEY COME , BONEY STAY Monday, Junell, 1906 Michal turned without a word and shuffled out towards his own room at the rear. He closed the door behind the anxious, hovering Marienka, and sat down heavily on the bed. He stared out the window at the gathering gray sky, the black roofs and the black streets and the black lawns and the black feelings he had about the coal-black town of Conemaugh. Life was a bucket of coal ash. The girl of his dreams had gone had left him for another man. Or was she ever his except in his own imagination? He was worthless and useless. Why had he come to America? Why had he bothered to do anything with his life? What dreams were there in America that he could fulfill? It was all a farce . A sham. A deception! He was 21, in a strange country, with nothing to look forward to but a bleak future of shattered dreams. He lay back on the bed , covered his eyes, and his jumbled thoughts turned to new crazy, jumbled dreams. He slept fitfully until the gray dawn struggled to show itself about the ugly piles of slag everywhere in town. Michal woke up with a start to the tune of a bird singing squeakily outside his window . The coal dust had gotten to its little lungs , and the best it could do was a poor imitation of a chirp . But the bird tried! And Michal would try too. His natural positive attitude reasserted itself. He looked again on the bright side of t~ ngs. He had his health, a chance for a job in the mines , and the ability to speak the language of the land of opportunity - English! · Heartened , he got up , washed and dressed , and went down to breakfast with the boarders - all miners getting ready for work . �SLOVAKIA 119 Marienka had to work overtime making the sandwiches and preparing the table, because Jacka had left her job as completely as she had left Michal. ''I'll help you, Marienka,'' he said. And he pitched in, feeding the hungry men at the table and hurrying to fill their dinner pails with sandwiches and the precious water they would need in the mine. Ivan, Marienka's husband, was the first to leave for his job in the mine. His life was divided between working at the mine and working overtime drinking at the ''karchma'' in town. He loved to tell the stories of his days as a horse soldier in the Emperor's army and regale the men with well-told tales through the evening - while ignoring work at home. After the last man had left, Marienka was alone with Michal and her three sons: young Michal, 13; Mikulas, 11; and Janik, nine. The three boys adored Michal and wanted to stay and play with him. But they had to go to school. "And don't forget to learn English well," Michal called after them. "It will be the foundation of all your success in life." "I'm glad you sound better," said Marienka. "I was really worried last night. " Michal looked at her. "It is strange to have someone worry about me." Marienka blushed. ''Oh - you know what I mean.'' Michal sighed. "Yes, I know. I only wish Jacka had worried just a little. She is my first love, and I will never forget her - but that part of my life is over. Now I start out all over, really start out, with a new language and a new chance in the land of opportunity. America doesn't give you only one chance to get ahead. It gives you many. And if you miss the first one - why, then, you can take the next, and the next." Michal laughed. "Maybe then you can start out by being my sandwich-maker," said Marienka. "And I will give you a discount on your rent, too," she said, winking. After all, he wasn't getting much disability pay from the company, even with McCloskey's help. Michal sobered up. ''Thank you, Marienka, but no thank you.'' He put a hand on her shoulder in a friendly fashion . '' I must get away from here,'' he said. '' From this house. I will get another room where I can forget these events more quickly , but of course I will never forget your kindness. Already I sense a kind of distant dislike of some men, because of my pegleg, and I have to work that out in my own mind and fight it and get the better of myself in my own way.'' �120 SLOVAKIA Marienka nodded. ''If that is to be, then let it be .'' Michal got a room in a boarding house a few blocks from Marienka and Ivan, and within a half mile of Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh. The next morning he checked his carbide lamp, with the kernels of carbon at the bottom, all about half the size of a peanut. He put some water in the top and watched the water drip onto the kernels, forming a gas. Then he lit the gas and checked the flame coming out about three inches through a fine hole in the center of the reflector. There was no glass in the front - a constant danger of fire. But this was one of the dangers of a coal miner's life. He got paid well for this dangerous work six days a week, and who else among working men could command so much money? Many men got killed and maimed for life, but they still kept working in the mines, because it was the best way they could provide for their families - at least while they could work. Michal felt the old pride in his work returning as he adjusted the lamp and watched it flare brightly. Then he switched it down, put it on his head, and dressed in his miner's clothes so he could feel more and more like the miner he was going to continue to be! After all, McCloskey had promised him a job for life - and he had to start by looking the part, even with his pegleg. He cocked his lamp at a jaunty angle, squared his shoulders, and stepped out the door. "Ahh, there's my little bairn Michal," yelled McCloskey when he looked up to see the slight man with a mustache walk steadily up to him. "It's a fine man you look like," he said, grabbing Michal by both his shoulders. "And I feel fine," said Michal in good English. McCloskey's eyes opened wide. "You talk great! You talk real English!'' Michal bobbed his head happily. "That I do. I do that," he said. '' How could you learn in so short a time?'' ''I had a good teacher,'' said Michal. ''Tressa Hruska.'' "And I have a good job for you," McCloskey winked, "just like I promised. How would you like to be a mule skinner?" Michal's jaw dropped. That he could never do. McCloskey laughed. "No, no, not the k\nd you think . That's the old-fashioned method. Now we have just started to use modern mule skinners. But we don't call them mule skinners anymore, even though they haul the men and the coal into and out of the mine just like before. �SLOVAKIA 121 ' ' Now we call them Hoist Engineers . '' Michal look bewildered. "What 's a Hoist Engineer? " McCloskey gestured to him. "Come on , Michal. I'll show you. It's the perfect job for you. It 'll put you right in the middle of the men, many of them Rusins and Slovaks , and you can talk to them and interpret to the supers , and act as a go-between while you do your job. It'll be a very important step up in the mine. ' ' The two men walked into the dry drift mine, and up - slowly. Michal tried not to look tired and he tried not to puff, but it wasn't easy. " Take it easy, lad, " said McCloskey. " We'll soon be there . You see , the man who had this job was just here for a short time, and he didn't know the ropes too well - and couldn 't speak English - so you'll be the perfect man. " They arrived at a clearing in the mine, with a huge machine hung with ropes and levers standing there like an iron monster. ' ' With this you can control the coal cars going down the slope to the outside , and you also bring the men up in the morning and let them down at night. You have to be here very early so you can do that, and when they get to your hoist they disperse to the various coal rooms along the pathways. "So this is called the Hoist , and you will be the Hoist Engineer." ''It is like being a mule skinner, but without the mules! '' "Right!" McCloskey laughed. And Michal worked the levers to and fro, testing the machinery for cars going up and down until he soon had them working almost to perfection . "See, it's easy! I knew you were the man . Now you 've got yourself a good job, just like I promised you," said McCloskey . He winked. "Don 't tell them, but you'll soon get a raise." Michal's eyes widened. He could put away more money, and maybe make some of his new dreams come true. America was truly going to be the land of opportunity! CHAPTER 5 - CA VE IN! Tuesday, December 7, 1909 ''Cave-in!' ' The cry roared and pounded through Conemaugh like the cold wind of death. Everyone knew what it meant - it meant only one thing - and the women and children surged out of their homes and hurried to the billowing clouds that pointed to the position of the mine. �122 SLOVAKIA Marienka was in the Catholic church for the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. She heard the terrible cry and her throat tightened. "Oh Jesus, Mary, Joseph," she cried, crossing herself quickly, "please don 't make it serious. Please!" Then she hurried to the house and gathered her children together, as the women did in these times of stress. Michal, Janik, and Mikulas, with Jozef toddling at her heels. She swept up the baby Jurko and held him at her breast as she hurried the children down to the mine site. The large crowd already there saw Marienka at a distance and parted for her like the Red Sea for Moses - except that this was not an escape for Marienka. It was a descent into hell. Her heart pounding, she made her way through, feeling more and more dread as she approached her goal. A hand took her arm, and she looked up into Michal Koban's sympathetic eyes. "Thank God you're safe," cried Marienka. "I'm glad nothing happened to you! " ' ' Marienka, '' said Michal quietly, ''nothing happened to the other men either. Most of them. They had all moved on to new passages this morning - all except Ivan." Marienka felt faint. The boys cried at her side, and she shushed them. Ivan had been told to stay on at the old passage to pound out the props before moving on. So Michal nodded. " Ivan knocked out a prop and the roof fell in on him. I'm so sorry. But there may still be a chance. " There was a commotion at the entrance of the dust-choked mine, and two men came out carrying a stretcher. Marienka ran up to them, leaving the children with Michal. "Don't look, Mrs . Kinda," one of the men said. "He was - pretty badly mangled by the cave-in. He 's dead." Michal came up and put an arm on her sobbing shoulder, and gathered the five children around him as Marienka wept uncontrollably. He took Jurko from his mother' s failing arm. " Janik, hold on to Jozef," he said. "Yes , otec ," said Janik without thinking. Otec was the Slovak name for father. Slovak wakes seemed to have been developed by the Devil himself, with the express purpose of causing the wife and family of the deceased as much trouble and mental anguish as possible . Of course, it really wasn 't done that way ,on purpose. It was simply ''tradition,'• and tradition has to be served\ Ivan was laid out in the small living room ; with flowers all around �SLOVAKIA 123 \ the casket, and exposed for viewing to all the friends and relatives and any curious stranger in town. They would come up to the casket, genuflect, and kneel on the prie-dieu and pray while gazing at the mortal remains of the exposed. And at the photo behind the casket of Ivan Kinda in full Hussar regalia. Then they would get up and turn to their friends and whisper, ''He looks so natural, almost as if he were sleeping." This was too painful for Marienka to see. She had ushered her children in to see their "otec" at the begining, and then told them to stay away. The large kitchen then became the center of activities for three days and nights. People straggled in at all hours, paid their respects to the deceased, then quickly returned to the kitchen for a meal and to hear various ribald and obscene stories told by several expert storytellers. Marienka spent her time at the hot stove, damp hair hanging down in strands over her forehead, and made eggs and little Slovak pancakes, and cutting "kolace" and ladling out the butter, and setting the table, and clearing the table, and washing the dishes, and setting up the table, and ... It was an endless round of senseless meal-serving, night and day, for three days. "Marienka, you've got to take a rest," Michal said, after hours of feeding starving miners. He had helped a lot. And so had the three older boys - Michal, Mikulas, and Janik. Marienka shook her head. "I can't," she said. "I have to feed them as come in and view Ivan. It is the tradition." ''Damn the tradition!'' Michal exploded. ''You go to bed right now and get some sleep. I'll handle this for a while." Marienka allowed herself to be led away, protesting feebly, stumbling, bleary-eyed. But she knew she was exhausted, so she did not protest too much. "So Michal, you already take over, eh?" roared a miner as he saw Michal put on the apron. Michal had a hot answer ready, but he just turned beet-red and doggedly said nothing. ' 'Lemme have three eggs, sunny-side up, lots of Slovak bread and butter, and - make it six pancakes. I've got to remember poor Ivan Kinda the best way I can, by eating." Michal seethed. "You'll remember him with a bump on your noggin from my skillet if you don't shut up." "Oh, ho ," the miner said amiably. "We do have a temper, don't �124 SLOVAKIA we? Maybe you 'll feel better when I tell you this joke about the miner and the Irish whore. Seems she spread out her goodies - ' ' he winked - "on the table, when ... " " Oh, shut up!" growled Michal, his mustache bristling. "Don't you realize a man is lying dead in the next room, and his family is going through a trying time. They 'll be destitute after this. Haven't you stopped to think of that? " The miner sobered up, and several others joined in. "We know all that, Michal," they said, with some care in their voices. " We know, but we laugh so we will not cry. Who knows - tomorrow it may happen to us." Michal bit his lip. They were right. He had no right to lecture them. They meant well. They were just rough men living a rough life, and the wake was a traditional part of their lives, where the people could come together and joke and laugh so they could forget what had happened . But they remembered still. Marienka somehow got through the next three days, and Michal escorted her and the children to the funeral in the little Catholic church Marienka and Ivan had helped to build in 1901. That afternoon was also a trial. The women of Conemaugh, which was 90 percent Slavic, came parading into the house to see Marienka and leave their condolences and their little Slovak "kolace" - jelly rolls with nuts and apples - that they had cooked for the occasion . '' God bless you, Marienka.'' · " May God be with you, Marienka." '' Everything will be all right , Marienka. God will provide.' ' Marienka nodded mechanically to all, as if in a daze. Finally the ordeal was over and the house was empty. Too empty. Even Jurko wasn't crying. And Jozef played quietly in the comer. The other three boys were in school. Michal stopped by after work . '' How are things going? '' he asked. " All right, " said Marienka, forcing a smile . " The insurance company paid for all the funeral expenses , plus $50 left. But no benefits , of course. '' " Of course . Nice of them. Now they pay nothing. You get no widow ' s benefits and you 're entirely on your own ." ''I have five children to help me ,'' Marienka grinned . Michal did not grin. " What I meant to .say is, what with the children and - and everything - you will neec:N o get something to - to tide you over a bit.'' · ' '' Michal - '' �SLOVAKIA 125 " - No, please. He heh;! up a hand. "What I meant is the children will need food and things while you get yourself together , and I thought - " His hand went into his pocket , and he took out a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief. " Well, here 's a little something to help you. '' " Michal! " Marienka cried as she took the bundle dumbly. This was the first useful gesture anyone had made to her since Ivan 's death. Tears welled in her eyes, finally trickled down her cheeks. She took out her hankie and blew mightily. The three boys poured through the door and happily embraced Michal . " Put that away - quickly," said Michal . And he got up. At the door he paused. ''Things aren't easy for a widow woman without a man to support her, " he said. "I mean , people will look down on you , just as they have looked down on me for my pegleg . What I want to say is , I understand what will happen. And I know you can pull through it . I know . ' ' He took her hand. " I'll see you again, Marienka, God willing. " Mikulas piped up, in his boyish soprano . "Why don 't you and matka marry, and you can stay here with us always? '' Marienka choked. The boys all laughed and clapped . They danced around the bewildered couple with their flaming cheeks . ' ' Boys , stop it! ' ' commanded Marienka in her voice that they knew had to be obeyed . They stopped and stood with their hands behind their backs, trying to look regretful. " Now go outside this minute ," commanded Marienka, " and don 't you dare say a word about this to anybody, hear? '' The boys filed out, and Michal started to follow. '' Not you, Michal! I'm sorry for their actions . It was really uncalled for ." Michal shrugged, a string in his heart still tugging for his old love, Jacka . " People will talk about single people ," he said . " People always talk. It is the way 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 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 \ LITERATURE SLOVAKIA 105 Excerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner, 1906-1933 VASIL S. KOBAN CHAPTER 1 - ONE MORE SPRAG Thursday, May 24, 1906 It was just after two o'clock when Michal Kohan , mule skinner at Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, started down the incline pulling the three coal cars out of the mine behind two mules. " You got three sprags on the three cars, Kelly? " he asked in Rusin . He put up three fingers so Kelly could not fail to understand. Kelly, an Irishman just turned sixteen and starting on his new job in the mines, rubbed his alcohol-bleared head. ''Sure , sure , begorrah, I got enough sprags, '' he said in a half stupor. He put up two fingers and shook them at Michal . The mules would never hold the downhill run of the three coal cars unless there were enough tapered wooden sprags between the wheels to drag on the cars like brakes and hold them back. " You need three!" Michal yelled in Rusin. "Three, you lummox! Or else she 'll never hold ." The Irishman waved cheerfully, " G'wan!" (Two fingers) Michal fumed: (Three fingers!) Kelly laughed: (Two fingers!) Michal withheld his curse because the cars were already starting down , and he had to whip the mules to keep them ahead. As the cars gathered speed Michal struggled to keep the mules ahead of the surging coal projectiles. "Prekliaty blbec/" Michal yelled. "She won't hold, you idiot! " The cars gathered momentum and pushed up against the struggling mules , Michal slashing away at them with the whip to push them ahead . "Son of a bitch! " he yelled. " You 'll kill them! " '' Harrarrarrahh ! ' ' he yelled at the mules , urging them on to do the impossible. The Irish kid just laughed. 106 SLOVAKIA As Michal got half-way down the grade he saw it would be impossible to hold the cars back with only two sprags. He did the only thing left for him to do. He leaped for his life. The coal cars smashed into the mules and ground them into instant hamburger of broken flesh and spitting blood. The mules screamed and clawed for what seemed like hours, but which only lasted a few seconds. They were soon mangled mounds of bloody mash. Michal lay beside the track, his leg caught under the coal cars as they passed by. "God damn bastard!" he yelled in outraged disbelief at what had happened. Then he blacked out. Michal woke up in a lily-white hospital room in Johnstown, three miles downriver from Conemaugh and site of the famous Johnstown flood of 1889. Michal looked around dazedly, his heart mounting in his throat. He was only 21, and had been in America since he was 15 in 1900. This was his first experience in a hospital. A pert little nurse in a peaked cap came in to take his pulse and speak to him reassuringly in his native Rusin. "Nurse, I --" "Now, now, just be calm. You survived the accident," she said cheerfully, '' and that 's most of the battle right there I ' ' " How - how long have I been here?" "Just a day or two," she shrugged. "You were kept under sedation. " Michal plucked at the white sheet with his fingers , his little mustache twitching nervously. "How long will I be here? I have to get back to work. I have to pay my rent.'' The nurse smiled. "That will take a little while ," she said. " But don 't worry about the time or the expense. The Cambria Coal Mine is taking care of everything. ' ' Michal frowned. " But -- " " Ohl" she exclaimed, glad to change the subject , "you have visitors.'' She stepped aside and the little round face of Marienka Kinda appeared, followed by her husband Ivan, grumpy and straight-backed. " How are you , Michal? " she asked .with concern in Slovak, her only language. \ , '' All right , I think. But why did you come here just for me? I will be out in a few hours at the most. " Marienka smiled through her tears, and Ivan grumped, "Sure, SLOVAKIA 107 son, just a short time. But you have to do what the doctors tell you. My God, what is that sickly swe~ smell_around here?" The nurse left nervously to seek the doctor. Ivan stuck his nose up, sniffed, and marched around the room like the old Hussar he was - a veteran of the Austrian Emperor's army. Michal had met Marienka, along with Marienka's sister, Jacka, on the ship taking them to America six years before. Marienka had left Ivan in the United States to see her sick father in Slovakia and had returned with her younger sister. Michal fell in love with Jacka at first sight. So he boarded with the Kindas to be near his love while he worked as a mule skinner in the coal mine. "Where's Jacka?" "Uh -- she had to make sandwiches for the men," Marienka said hastily. "And besides, you'll be out of here so fast it would not give Jacka time to come over!" The door opened and a doctor in a white jacket hurried in, '' sluchatko'' hanging from his side pocket to indicate the badge of this profession. He wrinkled his nose and tugged at his little beard, then pulled back the bedclothes to examine Michal's leg. "Hmmm," he said, "this doesn't look good at all." It was in English, so Ivan could understand only dimly. The nurse hurried over to interpret. They did not have Slovak or Rusin doctors to talk to the immigrants in their own language. "Nurse," said the doctor, sighing, "you'll have to tell this young man his leg has to go.'' He palpated the pulpy black right leg, drew a line with his finger above the knee. "Right here," the doctor said. "Now you tell him," and he hurried away. The nurse gulped. Then she took a deep breath and told Michal the doctor's decision in halting Rusin. ''Cut off my leg? No, never! Oh, God, no!'' Michal tried to struggle out of bed to run away, to get away from here where they would take away his leg and his chance to make a living and to marry Jacka. Marienka and Ivan moved quickly to hold him down. "Please, Michal," said Marienka in great concern. "If it must be done to save your life, then it will be for the best. You'll see that everything will turn out all right.'' But Michal's face froze in a faraway look. The look of death. Where he came from, most of the people who had their legs cut off 108 SLOVAKIA - died. And the rest were beggars and the laughingstock of the uneasy townspeople. One-legged people were better off dead. And Michal wanted to die. There was nothing left for him, even in America. Nothing. CHAPTER2 - ONE LEG, PEGLEG Friday, May 25 , 1906 Michal came out of a daze like dragging himself doggedly out of the depths of a deep coal mine, with a white light shining at the top. He groped his way up and up, his brain hitching itself from one ladder rung to the other, until he finally broke out into the light and found himself in the brightly lit hospital room, whiter still than it had been the first time. And there was the tugging, nagging, pulling pain in his right leg, straight down to his toes. He tried to feel them, but his mind swirled as he sat up. He gasped and fell back on the pillows, sweating. A little boy ran in the room, tugging at his mother's hand. "Where's daddy?" he said in English. She pulled him back into the hall. "Otec is down further," she said in Slovak. But the boy broke away and staggerred onto Michal's bed, right over his right leg. Michal howled in pain . The mother hastily pulled the child away with abject Slovak humiliation, and said in English: " Don 't you know this man had his leg taken off?'' The child stared , and ran to her in tears . Michal could only make out half the conversation , but he was more concerned with the pain in his leg. The little nurse hurried in and clucked about Michal like a mother hen. "You will be fine in a little while, just you see." ''But my leg - it hurts so much, '' Michal said . The nurse looked at the blank space where his leg had been , and she looked at Michal's intense face. "You have to know," she said deliberately, ''that the doctor had to stop the anesthetics and that you feel the pain of your leg being taken off. You have a stump right above your right knee , and it is the nerve there that hurts you and makes you think you still have the leg." Michal was horrified. " Then my leg is. gone!" For the first time the word "operation" really struck home to ltm, an<l he knew that now he was only half a man. ''I can't live with one leg,'' he· sobbed. ''I can't work, I can't get married, I can 't make a living, I can't do anything." SLOVAKIA 109 \ He hid his face in his hands and sobbed like a broken-hearted little boy . The nurse left him alone for a while. She let him cry it out . It would be better for him . Then she gently put her arm around his shoulder and cradled his head against her breast. " You will be fine , my priatel'," she said softly. " Just give yourself a little time. You will get a new leg and you will walk almost as well as you ever did. And you will live and marry and have children and enjoy life . You'll see. " Just then the door flew open and a giant of a man strode in, all 6 feet 4 inches of him; he looked around briefly, saw Michal Kohan , and strode over. He stuck out a hammy paw. " McCloskey's the name ," he roared . "Mike McCloskey . I'm your superintendent at Mine No. 1, in case you forgot .'' The flustered nurse translated the gist of what he said. Michal smiled at McCloskey and for an instant a flicker of happiness came over him, but then he remembered the situation and became glum again. McCloskey pulled up a chair. ' 'Don't let this get you down, Bonnie Michal. We 've got a place for you at the mine for the rest of your life. We 'll find you a job you can do well - and you 're set, believe me ." The nurse translated breathlessly. · '' And I see the company has got you a private room and nurse , and you 're getting the best of everything. The company doesn 't usually do this, my lad, you can bet; those bastards wouldn't pay for their mothers ' funeral if they could get away with it. But I went to bat for you - you fully deserve it - and I'll see you come off as well as possible from all this. But I hate to talk to you through an interpreter. You 're the kind of determined man I like to chaw with man-to-man. ' ' And maybe you can get chances for promotion. Now, if you could talk my language - really talk my language , English - we could boost you some more, eh lad? '' He winked , got up as abruptly as he sat down, and barrelled out of the room with a roar and a laugh and a mighty wave of his hand . The nurse beamed. " You see , Michal , things aren 't as bad as you thought, " she said. " You 'll have a job , and you can get better jobs as you learn more English and learn how to get along in America - the real land of opportunity . '' Michal looked up at her. ''You really believe America is the land of opportunity, no matter what happens to you?" " Of course , or I wouldn 't be here . I'd still be slopping hogs in Galicia. " The days wore on. Michal clung to the new idea of a job and maybe 110 SLOVAKIA - maybe a chance to make something of himself. Maybe it wasn't too late, and if he learned English . . . Michal's thoughts went back to his origins , and how far he had travelled since. He was born in Habowa, a little village in the Galician area of Austria, one of four children - two boys and two girls. At 12 he was put out as a servant on a farm, to work from sunup to sundown. He remembered how he cried, not wanting to leave home, but it was a way of life for the poor peasants of the 1880s. Then at 15, in 1900, he had a chance to put his meager resources together and migrate to America. He boarded in Marienka Kinda's house - Marienka, who was nine years older - and stuck close to his love, Jacka. In 1905 he and other Galicians put up some money and proudly helped build the Russian Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist, in Conemaugh. He was beginning to feel a real part of the community. Now he had lost his leg, and McCloskey said he could learn English and work again. He clung to the idea as his leg stump sometimes almost pulled him from the bed with throbbing and pain. And he had Marienka, who came to visit him religiously, and held his hand shyly. " Come, Marienka," said Michal jokingly. "You 're a married woman, you know.'' "Veru , and you had better remember, too ," she said, smiling, and patted his arm. "But I must take care of my star boarder. And remember," she added, her eyes twinkling, "Jacka is still there making the sandwiches for the men." "Oh, she asked about me? " Michal asked eagerly. Marienka looked away . ' 'She talks about you, and the other men. You know how busy she is. " " And so are you, Marienka. But you find time to see me ." Michal was now convinced he would really have to impress Jacka with his new knowledge of English to get her to notice him. The next morning, after his breakfast and bath, Michal grimly decided to start on the long road back. He took the crutches from behind his bed, eased himself up , and sat on the bed with his left leg dangling close to the floor . Then he slipped on the crutches and turned around, facing the bed, and eased himself upright, standing wobbily on his left leg and his two crutches. The blood drained from his head and. he swayed dizzily. He felt himself falling when a strong arm caught his elbow and pushed him back, sprawling across the bed . SLOVAKIA 111 \ A young black-haired girl with an oval face stood there glaring at him and stomping her foot in anger. " Don't you ever do that again without someone to help you! ' ' she cried. Michal looked at her and realized that she had spoken Rusin. "You are Rusin? " he asked. " Oh!" she said, her hand flying to her mouth . " I forget myself and speak Rusin when I get angry. I really want to speak American English, I mean - as much as I can . I'm an English teacher, you know. " Michal's ears perked up and he pulled himself up painfully on the bed , his eyes staying on her oval face all the while . " You - you speak English well? " ' ' Perfectly, '' she said, with a proud toss of her head. She answered his unspoken question, "I came here from Eastern Galicia with my family in 1890, when I was four . So I spoke Rusin and Slovak at home and learned English almost from the cradle. Now I teach it to the children here and to any adult who wants to learn English and become a part of this great America - with all its challenges and its benefits and its great heart." She lowered her eyes shyly. " I speak too much when I speak about being part of America.'' " No , no, go on, go on ," said Michal, bobbing his head in agreement as a plan to learn English formed in his mind. Here was McCloskey' s idea come true! " Would - would you teach me English? " '' Of course ,'' she said. ' 'Oh - my name is Tressa Hruska. ' ' '' And mine is Michal Ko ban.'' '' I will give you a short lesson right now, Michal, and when you can leave the hospital you can come and learn in my little school in Conemaugh while you get better so you can go back to work . Michal agreed enthusiastically with this little animated doll of a girl. A heaven-sent opportunity to get ahead and make a new life for himself! ' ' All right.'' Tressa was suddenly all business. ' 'I give you one lesson here - and I teach English a special way so you can learn fast.'' She switched to English. " Do you know what this is? " she asked, patting the bed . Michal stared. " I don 't know what you said. Please translate it for me into Rusin. " Tressa crossed her arms and glared at Michal. "No, Michal , I translate nothing. You have to learn from - like they say here scratch." 112 SLOVAKIA Michal looked bewildered again, so she returned to Rusin. ''Okay, okay - I will explain once in Rusin, and then you will learn by doing." " Huh?" Tressa said with some patience: "Michal, when you learned Rusin did you translate from anything?" ' ' No - I did not know any language. ''Correct. So now you do the same thing. You learn English just as you learned Rusin, and you will learn it just as well - with perhaps a small accent." Michal nodded slowly. "I see. It makes sense. But it would be so much easier to '' - no, it wouldn't,' ' she finished firmly. ' 'Now, watch.'' And she slipped into English. Tressa patted the bed and said slowly : "Michal, this is a B-E-D." And she motioned for him to repeat. " Dis - Bett," said Michal in English. " This is a bed." " This is - bed. " '' Good! Great!' ' She clapped her hands in enthusiasm. ''Now, this is a bed post." " Na-o-w, dis is - " " - This is - " ''This is a bed host . ' ' "Bed post." '' Bed post. ' ' Tressa squealed in delight and clapped her hands . Michal was making a very good student. She looked around, then bent to the floor and patted her hand on the floor. " This is the floor - f-1-o-o-r, " she said distinctly and spelled it out. Michal saw her lovely round rear end, with her dress hitched up as she bent in concentration towards the floor, and he said distinctly in Rusin : ''This is a pretty panty . '' " No - this is .. . ! " Tressa suddenly realized what had happened and straightened up in confusion , her face flaming a dark, brilliant red. Michal laughed heartily for the first time since the accident. Then Tressa broke down and smiled, giggled , and soon both were laughing hysterically. People from the ward across the hall shuffled over in their bathrobes to see what was going on in th'is crazy room. SLOVAKIA 113 CHAPTER 3 - JACKA DECIDES Monday, September 10 Summer arrived and turned into fall before Michal could go home. He returned that day to Marienka Kinda's boarding house, carefully placing one crutch ahead of the other as the doctors had told him, keeping weight off his pegleg. A farmer had given him a buggy lift almost to the door, so he was that much ahead. He squared his shoulders and tried to walk with great decision, heartened by the fact that he would soon see Jacka for the first time in months. As he started in the door it was suddenly opened wide, and Jacka swept out on Adam Drotar's arm. Caught by surprise as she brushed past him, Michal dropped one crutch to grasp the porch post as he staggered to one side. "Sorry, Michal," Jacka said. "I didn't see you." "H-Hello, Jacka," Michal said shyly. Jacka stared through him. "You're going back to work in those things?" she said. ''Oh yes. And soon. But I'll get rid of these crutches with a little more practice - you'll see." "I'm sure," she said mechanically. Then Jacka turned away and smiled at Adam as he swept her down the steps and into the street. Michal stared after them for a long time, a lump forming in his throat and tears in his eyes, wondering if he would ever be worthy of Jacka truly becoming his friend and, and - wife. Just wait till he got his English diploma, he thought. Then Jacka would know he was truly someone important and she would come to him. He stood there staring at the rapidly disappearing figures who were laughing at some private joke. The laughter finally died down, and Michal still kept staring after them. ''Michal.'' Michal turned around. Marienka stood at the door, all round and rosy-cheeked. She was a truly handsome girl, with a twinkle in her eye that was lost on Michal. "Come in and take a rest," she said. " You shouldn 't stand up so long at the beginning." Michal nodded and reluctantly allowed himself to be taken inside , where he sank into the living-room chair usually occupied by Marienka' s husband , Ivan, who was now away at work. Michal propped his chin in the palm of his hand. "Marienka, will Jacka ever - like me? " Marienka cleared her throat but before she 114 SLOVAKIA could answer, Michal had answered himself. "Yes she will, when I learn English well and will be an important man in the mines. Then she will like me - won't she?" Marienka patted his arm. "Of course," she said. "What's there not to like about you?'' The next days were hectic. Michal went down by hitched buggy ride to Tressa's little schoolhouse in Conemaugh, a mile away from Marienka's boarding house. When he reached the door he straightened up , took both crutches in his left hand, and opened the door and walked in as straight as possible on his pegleg, trying not to wince at the pain. "Here's Pegleg Mike! " yelled two of the children. Tressa looked around from the blackboard, and she spoke sharply to the two children: "That's not a polite way to talk. Now apologize to Mr. Kohan." The children looked contrite. "We' re sorry, Mr. Ko ban." Michal waved a hand. "It's nothing. And it's true, isn't it? I do have a pegleg. But this won't stop me from succeeding in America. When you grow up things will happen to you too, but they should never stop you from succeeding in this fine country.'' The children looked even more contrite. Tressa's face broke into a broad smile. "Well said, Michal!" she exclaimed. "Come in and make yourself at home at one of the desks in the back. Use two of them if you want.' ' There were 22 children of various ages in the room, all following schooling of their own, each in different classes following different subjects under Tressa's supervision. They learned not only from the books and the teacher, but also from each other, as they watched others in the throes of learning Eng_lish, history, arithmetic, and a brush-up on customs of the Old World. There were children from every possible group in Central, Western, and Eastern Europe - Slovaks, Irish, Rusins, Poles, Germans all learning to be Americans and take advantage of the glorious American opportunity to better themselves . Now they stared at Michal and snickered. ''Children! ' ' Now they simply stared, but with their hands over their mouths. "Michal Kohan is a little older than most of you" - laughter ' 'but give him credit, because he too wants to be part of the American dream, and he has as much right to do it as any of you have ." Anger rose in Tressa's throat. "And don't you forge6'_ it!" SLOVAKIA 115 '' Sit down, Michal,'' Tressa indicated, '' and I will be with you in a moment. Michal eased himself into a little chair and put his crutches out of sight on the floor. Tressa had spoken Rusin to him, but her words to the children were in English, so he had understood little but the snickers. No matter. Only his job and Jacka mattered. He had to learn English for them. " Michal got an hour's special instruction that day and stayed the rest of the time listening to the children recite their lessons and learning the cadence and rhythm of English. He was surprised to catch the meaning of a word or two and to feel the English idiom as they babbled on. It was a weary day. Michal felt his leg throbbing as it wore on, and he finally made his excuses and left. Outside, weary beyond words at dragging himself along, he decided to try something new. He put both crutches under his left shoulder and took the pressure off his right leg by bearing down on his left side. It seemed crazy - it was just what the doctors had told him not to do - but it worked! The doctors told him he would have to use both crutches for a long while, but Michal was forever trying things out for himself. Why not take advantage of the newness of America and try out new things? He found that now he could work his way down the street much better, and with a minimum of pain. "Hey, Michal! Wait a minute!" Michal did not recognize the Slovak voice, so he turned around. A fattish man with white hair hobbled up to him on a pegleg just like his, but on the left leg. "You don't know me, Michal, but I heard about you in town. I've been retired for a while and - here, let's go in this "karchma" and talk. I want to ask you something." Puzzled, Michal followed. The tavern was a mishmash of Old World nationalities even more pronounced than in the schoolhouse, but with a definite bent toward the Slovak. Stale beer smells and the choking pile and cigarette smoke filled the polluted air as they made their way to their chairs. Michal wondered what the man wanted, but he felt he would have to order a drink. He fingered the change in his pocket and tried to count them with his fingers. "Slivovica," ordered the white-haired man. Michal nodded the same. At least he knew he could drink plum brandy, the Slovak national drink. 116 SLOVAKIA The waiter waved his towel, disappeared and reappeared as if by magic with the two drinks. You never got served so fast when you ordered food, thought Michal . " So, Michal, " the man said, putting a hand on his arm. "My name ' s Bodnak, and I come from a region of Galicia not too far from where I hear you come from . Habowa, isn't it?' ' Michal nodded, but said nothing. " Well, what I want to say was - I notice you limp too, and because of a pegleg on your right side. Right? ' ' "Yes. " ''Well, I had my left leg amputated above the knee , another stupid mine accident , and I wear a pegleg too. " Michal looked down and noticed his pegleg for the first time. He had been so preoccupied with his own problem he had failed to recognize the other man's . And he thought he was the only pegleg in the world. Bodnak leaned over. " Maybe we can help each other, friend ." He took a slurp of slivovica. " I need new shoes, and I'm sure you 'll be needing shoes too pretty soon. What do you wear? '' "Size eight, " said Michal. Bodnak slapped him delightedly on the back . " Good! Good! I thought so! So do I," he enthused. " Don 't you realize we can buy one pair of shoes for both of us and save a lot of money each time?' ' The light dawned on Michal. Of course! "A very good idea," he said . ' 'Then we have only to worry about some way to keep our peglegs from slipping so much. Bodnak winked broadly . " Easily fixed , my friend . I've had this problem for years, and I've worked out the angles. I just take the rubber from an old bicycle tire on the tip , and that old tire will last for up to a year!' ' Michal returned home all fired up and at last ready to face life again. He had learned more English, his shoe problem had been solved, and he could walk with only one crutch! And all this had happened in one day . Soon he could use only a cane for support - then nothing! Exhilaration surged through him as life pumped back into his tired body and mind. The next weeks were a growing revelation to Michal as he learned more and more English, until he found he could talk English to the English group of miners and be actual~y understood. Tressa 's patience was remarkable. \ " You feel the table ," she said. ''I feel the table ,' ' said Michal, feeling the table . SLOVAKIA 117 \ "Very good!" She clapped her hands in glee. "Now how do you feel about your English?'' Michal looked bewildered. ' 'Feel table - feel English? How can I feel English?" "No," said Tressa. "Feel is also an emotion, something inside us.'' "How can that be?" asked Michal. "How can the same word 'feel' mean touch the table and touch English?" Tressa laughed. ''That's one of the problems about studying a new language . Things don 't always make sense. There are many words like that in Rusin, too, but you've never thought about it, and you take them for granted. English is the same!" Six weeks later Michal was walking with only a cane, and using it very little, and his leg was almost healed. He could speak English so well that Tressa had met him that morning with the announcement that this was his last day in class because he had earned his "Diploma" in English. · She whisked out a Diploma from behind her back, all inscribed with '' MICHAL KO BAN'' on it and attesting to the fact that Michal could speak English! "Of course you can always come back for questions and help whenever you need it," said Tressa in English, "but now you can speak English well enough to get along. And this Diploma is your going-away present . '' Michal shook hands delightedly with her, then hurried away to tell the great news to Jacka. He shot through the door , almost falling as he balanced on one leg, and danced the surprised Marienka around in a Slovak knee-slapper. " I have my Diploma! " he shouted. " Now I can speak English. I will run up and tell Jacka and she will be proud of me.'' '' . .. but Michal, '' said Marienka. Michal did not hear her. He hurried up the steps , pulling himself up hand over hand on the railing, and hurried to Jacka's room and knocked on the door. ' 'Jacka , Jacka! I have something wonderful to tell you! ' ' No answer. " Jacka! Look at my English Diploma! " He pushed the door open, diploma in hand, with Marienka right behind him, and stared dumbfounded at the empty room, stripped of all clothes . Even the curtains had been taken down. 118 SLOVAKIA Michal turned to Marienka like a hurt little boy whose mother isn 't home to hear of his success in school. " What . . . what? " " Michal," said Marienka softly , her hand on his arm . " Jacka is gone. " " Gone? " " Jacka ran away today with Adam Drotar to get married and go with him to the iron ore mines in Minnesota. '' CHAPTER 4 - BONEY COME , BONEY STAY Monday, Junell, 1906 Michal turned without a word and shuffled out towards his own room at the rear. He closed the door behind the anxious, hovering Marienka, and sat down heavily on the bed. He stared out the window at the gathering gray sky, the black roofs and the black streets and the black lawns and the black feelings he had about the coal-black town of Conemaugh. Life was a bucket of coal ash. The girl of his dreams had gone had left him for another man. Or was she ever his except in his own imagination? He was worthless and useless. Why had he come to America? Why had he bothered to do anything with his life? What dreams were there in America that he could fulfill? It was all a farce . A sham. A deception! He was 21, in a strange country, with nothing to look forward to but a bleak future of shattered dreams. He lay back on the bed , covered his eyes, and his jumbled thoughts turned to new crazy, jumbled dreams. He slept fitfully until the gray dawn struggled to show itself about the ugly piles of slag everywhere in town. Michal woke up with a start to the tune of a bird singing squeakily outside his window . The coal dust had gotten to its little lungs , and the best it could do was a poor imitation of a chirp . But the bird tried! And Michal would try too. His natural positive attitude reasserted itself. He looked again on the bright side of t~ ngs. He had his health, a chance for a job in the mines , and the ability to speak the language of the land of opportunity - English! · Heartened , he got up , washed and dressed , and went down to breakfast with the boarders - all miners getting ready for work . SLOVAKIA 119 Marienka had to work overtime making the sandwiches and preparing the table, because Jacka had left her job as completely as she had left Michal. ''I'll help you, Marienka,'' he said. And he pitched in, feeding the hungry men at the table and hurrying to fill their dinner pails with sandwiches and the precious water they would need in the mine. Ivan, Marienka's husband, was the first to leave for his job in the mine. His life was divided between working at the mine and working overtime drinking at the ''karchma'' in town. He loved to tell the stories of his days as a horse soldier in the Emperor's army and regale the men with well-told tales through the evening - while ignoring work at home. After the last man had left, Marienka was alone with Michal and her three sons: young Michal, 13; Mikulas, 11; and Janik, nine. The three boys adored Michal and wanted to stay and play with him. But they had to go to school. "And don't forget to learn English well," Michal called after them. "It will be the foundation of all your success in life." "I'm glad you sound better," said Marienka. "I was really worried last night. " Michal looked at her. "It is strange to have someone worry about me." Marienka blushed. ''Oh - you know what I mean.'' Michal sighed. "Yes, I know. I only wish Jacka had worried just a little. She is my first love, and I will never forget her - but that part of my life is over. Now I start out all over, really start out, with a new language and a new chance in the land of opportunity. America doesn't give you only one chance to get ahead. It gives you many. And if you miss the first one - why, then, you can take the next, and the next." Michal laughed. "Maybe then you can start out by being my sandwich-maker," said Marienka. "And I will give you a discount on your rent, too," she said, winking. After all, he wasn't getting much disability pay from the company, even with McCloskey's help. Michal sobered up. ''Thank you, Marienka, but no thank you.'' He put a hand on her shoulder in a friendly fashion . '' I must get away from here,'' he said. '' From this house. I will get another room where I can forget these events more quickly , but of course I will never forget your kindness. Already I sense a kind of distant dislike of some men, because of my pegleg, and I have to work that out in my own mind and fight it and get the better of myself in my own way.'' 120 SLOVAKIA Marienka nodded. ''If that is to be, then let it be .'' Michal got a room in a boarding house a few blocks from Marienka and Ivan, and within a half mile of Mine No. 1 in Conemaugh. The next morning he checked his carbide lamp, with the kernels of carbon at the bottom, all about half the size of a peanut. He put some water in the top and watched the water drip onto the kernels, forming a gas. Then he lit the gas and checked the flame coming out about three inches through a fine hole in the center of the reflector. There was no glass in the front - a constant danger of fire. But this was one of the dangers of a coal miner's life. He got paid well for this dangerous work six days a week, and who else among working men could command so much money? Many men got killed and maimed for life, but they still kept working in the mines, because it was the best way they could provide for their families - at least while they could work. Michal felt the old pride in his work returning as he adjusted the lamp and watched it flare brightly. Then he switched it down, put it on his head, and dressed in his miner's clothes so he could feel more and more like the miner he was going to continue to be! After all, McCloskey had promised him a job for life - and he had to start by looking the part, even with his pegleg. He cocked his lamp at a jaunty angle, squared his shoulders, and stepped out the door. "Ahh, there's my little bairn Michal," yelled McCloskey when he looked up to see the slight man with a mustache walk steadily up to him. "It's a fine man you look like," he said, grabbing Michal by both his shoulders. "And I feel fine," said Michal in good English. McCloskey's eyes opened wide. "You talk great! You talk real English!'' Michal bobbed his head happily. "That I do. I do that," he said. '' How could you learn in so short a time?'' ''I had a good teacher,'' said Michal. ''Tressa Hruska.'' "And I have a good job for you," McCloskey winked, "just like I promised. How would you like to be a mule skinner?" Michal's jaw dropped. That he could never do. McCloskey laughed. "No, no, not the k\nd you think . That's the old-fashioned method. Now we have just started to use modern mule skinners. But we don't call them mule skinners anymore, even though they haul the men and the coal into and out of the mine just like before. SLOVAKIA 121 ' ' Now we call them Hoist Engineers . '' Michal look bewildered. "What 's a Hoist Engineer? " McCloskey gestured to him. "Come on , Michal. I'll show you. It's the perfect job for you. It 'll put you right in the middle of the men, many of them Rusins and Slovaks , and you can talk to them and interpret to the supers , and act as a go-between while you do your job. It'll be a very important step up in the mine. ' ' The two men walked into the dry drift mine, and up - slowly. Michal tried not to look tired and he tried not to puff, but it wasn't easy. " Take it easy, lad, " said McCloskey. " We'll soon be there . You see , the man who had this job was just here for a short time, and he didn't know the ropes too well - and couldn 't speak English - so you'll be the perfect man. " They arrived at a clearing in the mine, with a huge machine hung with ropes and levers standing there like an iron monster. ' ' With this you can control the coal cars going down the slope to the outside , and you also bring the men up in the morning and let them down at night. You have to be here very early so you can do that, and when they get to your hoist they disperse to the various coal rooms along the pathways. "So this is called the Hoist , and you will be the Hoist Engineer." ''It is like being a mule skinner, but without the mules! '' "Right!" McCloskey laughed. And Michal worked the levers to and fro, testing the machinery for cars going up and down until he soon had them working almost to perfection . "See, it's easy! I knew you were the man . Now you 've got yourself a good job, just like I promised you," said McCloskey . He winked. "Don 't tell them, but you'll soon get a raise." Michal's eyes widened. He could put away more money, and maybe make some of his new dreams come true. America was truly going to be the land of opportunity! CHAPTER 5 - CA VE IN! Tuesday, December 7, 1909 ''Cave-in!' ' The cry roared and pounded through Conemaugh like the cold wind of death. Everyone knew what it meant - it meant only one thing - and the women and children surged out of their homes and hurried to the billowing clouds that pointed to the position of the mine. 122 SLOVAKIA Marienka was in the Catholic church for the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. She heard the terrible cry and her throat tightened. "Oh Jesus, Mary, Joseph," she cried, crossing herself quickly, "please don 't make it serious. Please!" Then she hurried to the house and gathered her children together, as the women did in these times of stress. Michal, Janik, and Mikulas, with Jozef toddling at her heels. She swept up the baby Jurko and held him at her breast as she hurried the children down to the mine site. The large crowd already there saw Marienka at a distance and parted for her like the Red Sea for Moses - except that this was not an escape for Marienka. It was a descent into hell. Her heart pounding, she made her way through, feeling more and more dread as she approached her goal. A hand took her arm, and she looked up into Michal Koban's sympathetic eyes. "Thank God you're safe," cried Marienka. "I'm glad nothing happened to you! " ' ' Marienka, '' said Michal quietly, ''nothing happened to the other men either. Most of them. They had all moved on to new passages this morning - all except Ivan." Marienka felt faint. The boys cried at her side, and she shushed them. Ivan had been told to stay on at the old passage to pound out the props before moving on. So Michal nodded. " Ivan knocked out a prop and the roof fell in on him. I'm so sorry. But there may still be a chance. " There was a commotion at the entrance of the dust-choked mine, and two men came out carrying a stretcher. Marienka ran up to them, leaving the children with Michal. "Don't look, Mrs . Kinda," one of the men said. "He was - pretty badly mangled by the cave-in. He 's dead." Michal came up and put an arm on her sobbing shoulder, and gathered the five children around him as Marienka wept uncontrollably. He took Jurko from his mother' s failing arm. " Janik, hold on to Jozef," he said. "Yes , otec ," said Janik without thinking. Otec was the Slovak name for father. Slovak wakes seemed to have been developed by the Devil himself, with the express purpose of causing the wife and family of the deceased as much trouble and mental anguish as possible . Of course, it really wasn 't done that way ,on purpose. It was simply ''tradition,'• and tradition has to be served\ Ivan was laid out in the small living room ; with flowers all around SLOVAKIA 123 \ the casket, and exposed for viewing to all the friends and relatives and any curious stranger in town. They would come up to the casket, genuflect, and kneel on the prie-dieu and pray while gazing at the mortal remains of the exposed. And at the photo behind the casket of Ivan Kinda in full Hussar regalia. Then they would get up and turn to their friends and whisper, ''He looks so natural, almost as if he were sleeping." This was too painful for Marienka to see. She had ushered her children in to see their "otec" at the begining, and then told them to stay away. The large kitchen then became the center of activities for three days and nights. People straggled in at all hours, paid their respects to the deceased, then quickly returned to the kitchen for a meal and to hear various ribald and obscene stories told by several expert storytellers. Marienka spent her time at the hot stove, damp hair hanging down in strands over her forehead, and made eggs and little Slovak pancakes, and cutting "kolace" and ladling out the butter, and setting the table, and clearing the table, and washing the dishes, and setting up the table, and ... It was an endless round of senseless meal-serving, night and day, for three days. "Marienka, you've got to take a rest," Michal said, after hours of feeding starving miners. He had helped a lot. And so had the three older boys - Michal, Mikulas, and Janik. Marienka shook her head. "I can't," she said. "I have to feed them as come in and view Ivan. It is the tradition." ''Damn the tradition!'' Michal exploded. ''You go to bed right now and get some sleep. I'll handle this for a while." Marienka allowed herself to be led away, protesting feebly, stumbling, bleary-eyed. But she knew she was exhausted, so she did not protest too much. "So Michal, you already take over, eh?" roared a miner as he saw Michal put on the apron. Michal had a hot answer ready, but he just turned beet-red and doggedly said nothing. ' 'Lemme have three eggs, sunny-side up, lots of Slovak bread and butter, and - make it six pancakes. I've got to remember poor Ivan Kinda the best way I can, by eating." Michal seethed. "You'll remember him with a bump on your noggin from my skillet if you don't shut up." "Oh, ho ," the miner said amiably. "We do have a temper, don't 124 SLOVAKIA we? Maybe you 'll feel better when I tell you this joke about the miner and the Irish whore. Seems she spread out her goodies - ' ' he winked - "on the table, when ... " " Oh, shut up!" growled Michal, his mustache bristling. "Don't you realize a man is lying dead in the next room, and his family is going through a trying time. They 'll be destitute after this. Haven't you stopped to think of that? " The miner sobered up, and several others joined in. "We know all that, Michal," they said, with some care in their voices. " We know, but we laugh so we will not cry. Who knows - tomorrow it may happen to us." Michal bit his lip. They were right. He had no right to lecture them. They meant well. They were just rough men living a rough life, and the wake was a traditional part of their lives, where the people could come together and joke and laugh so they could forget what had happened . But they remembered still. Marienka somehow got through the next three days, and Michal escorted her and the children to the funeral in the little Catholic church Marienka and Ivan had helped to build in 1901. That afternoon was also a trial. The women of Conemaugh, which was 90 percent Slavic, came parading into the house to see Marienka and leave their condolences and their little Slovak "kolace" - jelly rolls with nuts and apples - that they had cooked for the occasion . '' God bless you, Marienka.'' · " May God be with you, Marienka." '' Everything will be all right , Marienka. God will provide.' ' Marienka nodded mechanically to all, as if in a daze. Finally the ordeal was over and the house was empty. Too empty. Even Jurko wasn't crying. And Jozef played quietly in the comer. The other three boys were in school. Michal stopped by after work . '' How are things going? '' he asked. " All right, " said Marienka, forcing a smile . " The insurance company paid for all the funeral expenses , plus $50 left. But no benefits , of course. '' " Of course . Nice of them. Now they pay nothing. You get no widow ' s benefits and you 're entirely on your own ." ''I have five children to help me ,'' Marienka grinned . Michal did not grin. " What I meant to .say is, what with the children and - and everything - you will neec:N o get something to - to tide you over a bit.'' · ' '' Michal - '' SLOVAKIA 125 " - No, please. He heh;! up a hand. "What I meant is the children will need food and things while you get yourself together , and I thought - " His hand went into his pocket , and he took out a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief. " Well, here 's a little something to help you. '' " Michal! " Marienka cried as she took the bundle dumbly. This was the first useful gesture anyone had made to her since Ivan 's death. Tears welled in her eyes, finally trickled down her cheeks. She took out her hankie and blew mightily. The three boys poured through the door and happily embraced Michal . " Put that away - quickly," said Michal . And he got up. At the door he paused. ''Things aren't easy for a widow woman without a man to support her, " he said. "I mean , people will look down on you , just as they have looked down on me for my pegleg . What I want to say is , I understand what will happen. And I know you can pull through it . I know . ' ' He took her hand. " I'll see you again, Marienka, God willing. " Mikulas piped up, in his boyish soprano . "Why don 't you and matka marry, and you can stay here with us always? '' Marienka choked. The boys all laughed and clapped . They danced around the bewildered couple with their flaming cheeks . ' ' Boys , stop it! ' ' commanded Marienka in her voice that they knew had to be obeyed . They stopped and stood with their hands behind their backs, trying to look regretful. " Now go outside this minute ," commanded Marienka, " and don 't you dare say a word about this to anybody, hear? '' The boys filed out, and Michal started to follow. '' Not you, Michal! I'm sorry for their actions . It was really uncalled for ." Michal shrugged, a string in his heart still tugging for his old love, Jacka . " People will talk about single people ," he said . " People always talk. It is the way 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 Exerpt from Michal: Biography of a Galician Coal Miner, 1906-1933 Description An account of the resource Vasil S. Koban Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 105-125 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Koban, Vasil S. (Vasil Stefan), 1918-2007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6e569d0c39e1821f0ee1671443347001.pdf d16efb37ce3186a20087b170159ad16b PDF Text Text 126 SLOVAKIA Babushka SONYA JASON She was in church again this morning. As before, the image in long, dark blue skirt and blouse, navy kerchief covering her head that only accentuated the high Slavic cheekbones and pale blue eyes; so strongly did she resemble my long dead mother that it jarred me deeply. Throughout Divine Liturgy, my spirit prayed but my heart battled tears and homesickness , not only for my mother, but for the wealth of the past. As a child I had always seen at least one old lady at every weekday church service . There still is. Babushka or " little grandmother" we called them and still do. As there can be no Orthodox Liturgy unless a community of worshippers of at least two or three is present, including the celebrant priest , often her efforts to be there on winter or stormy mornings made the difference whether a particular saint would be honored in God's house on his or her feast day in that liturgical year. Today was my name-saint 's day and I set aside pressing duties to drive twenty-five miles to worship and petition not only for my needs but for those of my loved ones and all the world. Standing near the babushka to light a candle , I heard her lips murmur in prayer and noted that her mind was far, far away. She was oblivious to my presence and became immersed at once in the Liturgy and remained so throughout. Whoever she was , she cared only about what she was doing, and this morning, it was the business of prayer and worship. I could feel a spiritual energy emanate from her very presence. Like her, my mother had had a sense of identity so strong that you felt it at once. My very first knowledge of this came the year before I started school. A new little girl whose family had just moved into our coal mining patch the week before timidly wandered over. Warily we sized each other up. " Where did you come from? " Her query did not connote Freudian curiosity about sexual origins or even another town. Rather, it was ordinary for us children to learn the country of parents ' origin. From this , invisible guidelines were established, and if both sets of parents were \ll'om the same country in Europe, frequently friendships of depth were formed at once. �SLOVAKIA 127 " I'm Czech, " I replied. "I'm Polish." But my mother, scrubbing shirt collars on a corrugated washboard set in a galvanized tub in the middle of the kitchen floor , straightened up with a frown . She brushed a tawny tendril off her glistening brow and pushed it back into the knot on top of her head. " Come here ... " she beckoned me with a finger dribbling bubbles of strong laundry soap. " You are Slovak," she corrected. I shrugged. " What 's the difference? " My question was partly puzzlement and partly that indifference of children to the vagaries of their parents. " Difference?" she echoed. Drying arms on her apron after plunging the shirts under suds to soak, she waved my new friend and me inside . We watched her cut thick slices of freshly baked bread from a loaf cooling on the shelf above the kitchen table and butter them . Eagerly we accepted and sat beside her to eat and listen. " You and Mary are sisters . But are you exactly alike? " The bread was warm and delicious and helped me ponder. I was dark and chubby. Mary fair and thin. The comparison made me giggle , but through a mouthful of bread I managed a '' huh uh. '' " Well, it's the same thing. Czechs and Slovaks are brothers and sisters but not the same." She then entertained us with the legend of King Sviitopluk as it has been told to untold generations of Czech and Slovak children . It seems that long ago good King Sviitopluk had two sons , Mojmir II and Sviitopluk II. They were fractious and greedy for each other's share of the kingdom as well as their own. On his deathbed, the old king summoned them and, holding their hands together in brotherly bond , admonished them: '' As long as you remember you are brothers and remain united, all will be well with you. If you forget and fight each other, you will suffer and your people with you. " Their vows of unity evaporated with their tears and hardly was the king in his grave before they began to squabble and conspire for each other's territories. In time, the dire warning came true; Bohemia and Slovakia, united and thriving as the Great Moravian Empire , were overrun and conquered as soon as they were divided. And so they remain to this day, separate in geography and philosophy and fates , although brothers and sisters in spirit. This example of the tragic consequences of sibling rivalry left an indelible impression upon me , but not the story of the Old Country. For �128 SLOVAKIA I was an American . .. and the Old Country meant little to me for many years. Not until that time in mid-life when we come full circle to what and who we are was I able to know and appreciate my mother for the individual she was and relish her memory to the fullest . ' 'I am Slovak-American . . . but you are American-Slovak .. . '' she would point out when we tried to urge supposedly superior ways upon her. Thus she paid tribute to Caesar without judgment. It was fine for us , but for her, she accepted only those changes she cared to adopt and we were not to forget it. And so we grew. Through good times , not so many, and bad times , more numerous, she never lost that sense of identity . Contained in it was a firm faith in Life and God, exemplified for her in her robust Eastern Orthodox faith . Although we lived too far from a church for regular attendance, babies were driven long distances for baptisms and on their name day would be carried to the nearest church for special remembrance. Also, on most holidays , special liturgical prayers were chanted in Slavonic by my father from his frayed prayer book with mother singing the responses. "For our President , for all civil authorities, for every city and country, let us pray to the Lord . . . '' a booming baritone would rise and fall. And back in light, high soprano would come the sung response, " Lord have mercy. " Eagerly I awaited my name day. Leaving brothers and sisters in care of a friend , my mother and I walked the four miles of country road lined with trees flamboyant in fall colors of late September. It was doubly special because we were both named for St. Sophia. At tiny St. John 's, the ikons, candles gleaming in the interior of mellow woods , and perfumed incense accompanying the prayers of intense , bearded Father Michael were awesome. But it was the babushki, those women standing at the front of the church, staunch, solid, and intent upon every word that wended its way upwards over the altar in a trail of incense vapor, that I recall most vividly. Whoever they were they mattered so much that there was no need to ask about them. They just were . When a particular one coaxed me to join her in singing the response , I refused. On the way home , my mother chided me . " But I don 't understand that language \ .. " I protested. " I talk English ." ' Was there a tinge of arrogance or presentiment of falsity that might harm her child that made my mother walk a silent mile with wor- �SLOVAKIA 129 ried face before she spoke? I don't know. But right before we crossed the bridge that led up the hill to the mining patch, she abruptly stopped. "See?" she pointed to the bridge. "That is you." "Me?" "Yes, I am Slovak who came here . . . yet . . . " and she struggled so hard for just the right words, ''I am not 100 percent American. Never." She pointed to her heart. "In here, you not 100 percent. Your children, maybe, but not you, not yet ... " She shook her head vehemently. ' ' But some day you will pray in church in English . . . like you talk." But as the legend of Svatopluk, the words faded almost as soon as spoken, the profound simile of first generation Americans as bridges connecting two cultures seeming wasted on a child. At the beginning of World War II my family moved to the city of Pittsburgh, but my mother remained Slovak-American and who she was all the days of her life. Her native land was a small area in the heartland of Europe, and every army of history had rolled over it again and again. Yet in villages and huts and farms, families such as ours managed to preserve a spark of identity of a people separate from all other peoples. Through centuries of political and economic repression and the contempts of a world that advanced more rapidly, yes even that of sibling Czechs whose German influence helped industrial advances, rural Slovaks as my mother never lost faith in themselves as persons or as a people. Above all, there was a deep faith in God and gratitude for the gift of life itself with all its tragedies. When my three brothers immediately enlisted in the Army she only sighed an agony-filled "vojna . . . vojna . .. "war ... war ... for her native land had suffered its destruction countless times and would again. And now even her adopted land was afflicted. When that dreaded telegram came saying that one of her sons, Nick, was killed in France, her anguish could only weep, ''vojna ... vojna .. . '' and her sorrow was finally assuaged in her church and by her God whom she still trusted as preserver of Life. And then one day we assembled from various parts of the country to weep through a last Liturgy for her. The large spirit had departed the tiny, tired body that had borne twelve children and raised ten by laboring through numberless 18-hour days required to feed, clothe, and nourish physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The depth of our loss was indescribable. She was our strength. Our comfort. Our life. And now she was gone. Even our powerful father �130 SLOVAKIA never quite recovered, and none of us was surprised when he followed her three years later, the light of his life having left this earth. It was years before I returned to the church of my mother. I had a search to make first. In other philosophies . Into the intellect. The emotions . Even at other altars. But that bowl of emptiness that was my inner being remained unfulfilled. I had consciously forgotten St. Sophia' s Day, but my heart must have remembered. Because it was the end of September when I found my way to a tiny Orthodox church in my Los Angeles suburb so much like the St . John's of my childhood, four decades and thousands of miles apart. Intense, bearded Father Sergei welcomed me and sat silently through my tale of bewilderment and woe. I had much of what the world valued, earned with so much effort. Then why hadn't God rewarded me with happiness? Why was I so sad? He smiled gently and touched my hand. '' But you have tried to cut off your roots . Did you think you could truly live like that? '' I drew back in protest. God was universal. God was immense. God was everywhere . Of course . Of course . Of course. He nodded assent to it all. But even before he said it, the ancient teaching of the Bible not to despise the church of one 's mother rose to my memory. So? What could it mean to me in the 1970s? The feeling part. Not the legal, formal , structured part. But that part of my mother's church that was a God of love , of mercy and nonjudgment, of trust in the largesse of life on earth and hereafter, a life so rich in mysteries that no arrogant egotism could hope to fathom it in a lifetime. Oh, how it had sustained her as she lived it and how expansive her life of spirit had been! The many who came to her funeral witnessed to that. Over and over they wept with us , remembering, " She was so kind ," or " When I was sick she came to see me every day and once brought a jar of peaches ,'' this in a depression year that must have emptied her larder of hoarded desserts , and " She always had a word of encouragement for me . . .. '' Together we mourned our loss. Joy despite a hard life and in her God. And I had lost it if indeed I had ever had it, I now bewailed. " But not at all. Why look , her prayers received a miraculous answer. God sent the Holy Spirit to bring you full circle . . . why, you have come home. And do you know sometl\ing? She was right . . . you will pray the Liturgy in English . . . . ' ' \ For he was the same priest who had changed tradition by celebrat- �SLOVAKIA 131 ing Liturgy in English aftet translating words and music from Old Slavonic, beginning just a short time before in this very church. Tears submerged the abutment to the bridge of connection for a time. With them, accumulated dust of the nonsense of years was washed away until once more that inner child emerged to again stand free and adventurous in heart . "Wisdom, " the priest had intoned this morning as he always does preceding the gospel reading. Sophia. The name meant wisdom. And my mother had had it. A peasant surety that was as deep as the intellect , only kinder and warmer. So many others had come to drink of that fountain and never had one gone away again still thirsty. Was my mother unique? Certainly in the individual sense. One of a kind I was sure until the publication of my novel, Concomitant Soldier. In it I had drawn from her qualities to create a key character. Then came the reviews and letters . ' ' Anna is my Italian nonna (grandmother) all over again . " Anna is just like my Swedish moder (mother) .. . " '' Anna is just like my wonderful Tia Roas . . . ' ' And even, "Anna is exactly like my English nanny I loved so much " She was, it seems, not only multi-ethnic, but her number was legion. And she left an imprint upon spirits that truly unites, first, sec~ ond, and third-generation Americans of very persuasion, and fortunate indeed are those families who experienced her grace. For too long, my life had been one of activity but, not united to my feelings and spirit, made every achievement empty. Somehow the babushki I knew, just as my mother, had never been so fragmented, perhaps more common in our day of increasing opportunities in the outer world of action. And today as I become a link in that long chain of babushki, past, present, and those to come , when I light candles and follow ancient prayers of liturgical custom, my spirit will join with those countless others as we add a special petition for the sacred tradition of wholeness to be handed down intact to our daughters and sisters everywhere. Although I don 't possess that intuitive sense of destiny and sure strength of spirit, still there is hope as the Church they served teaches, and maybe if I listen as intently to the still voice from the temple within, something of the mystery of who and why I am in this particular time and place and how to carry my own light into my world today will be revealed. Until then , it is enough merely to try to become my mother's daughter. Amen and amen. �� 126 SLOVAKIA Babushka SONYA JASON She was in church again this morning. As before, the image in long, dark blue skirt and blouse, navy kerchief covering her head that only accentuated the high Slavic cheekbones and pale blue eyes; so strongly did she resemble my long dead mother that it jarred me deeply. Throughout Divine Liturgy, my spirit prayed but my heart battled tears and homesickness , not only for my mother, but for the wealth of the past. As a child I had always seen at least one old lady at every weekday church service . There still is. Babushka or " little grandmother" we called them and still do. As there can be no Orthodox Liturgy unless a community of worshippers of at least two or three is present, including the celebrant priest , often her efforts to be there on winter or stormy mornings made the difference whether a particular saint would be honored in God's house on his or her feast day in that liturgical year. Today was my name-saint 's day and I set aside pressing duties to drive twenty-five miles to worship and petition not only for my needs but for those of my loved ones and all the world. Standing near the babushka to light a candle , I heard her lips murmur in prayer and noted that her mind was far, far away. She was oblivious to my presence and became immersed at once in the Liturgy and remained so throughout. Whoever she was , she cared only about what she was doing, and this morning, it was the business of prayer and worship. I could feel a spiritual energy emanate from her very presence. Like her, my mother had had a sense of identity so strong that you felt it at once. My very first knowledge of this came the year before I started school. A new little girl whose family had just moved into our coal mining patch the week before timidly wandered over. Warily we sized each other up. " Where did you come from? " Her query did not connote Freudian curiosity about sexual origins or even another town. Rather, it was ordinary for us children to learn the country of parents ' origin. From this , invisible guidelines were established, and if both sets of parents were \ll'om the same country in Europe, frequently friendships of depth were formed at once. �SLOVAKIA 127 " I'm Czech, " I replied. "I'm Polish." But my mother, scrubbing shirt collars on a corrugated washboard set in a galvanized tub in the middle of the kitchen floor , straightened up with a frown . She brushed a tawny tendril off her glistening brow and pushed it back into the knot on top of her head. " Come here ... " she beckoned me with a finger dribbling bubbles of strong laundry soap. " You are Slovak," she corrected. I shrugged. " What 's the difference? " My question was partly puzzlement and partly that indifference of children to the vagaries of their parents. " Difference?" she echoed. Drying arms on her apron after plunging the shirts under suds to soak, she waved my new friend and me inside . We watched her cut thick slices of freshly baked bread from a loaf cooling on the shelf above the kitchen table and butter them . Eagerly we accepted and sat beside her to eat and listen. " You and Mary are sisters . But are you exactly alike? " The bread was warm and delicious and helped me ponder. I was dark and chubby. Mary fair and thin. The comparison made me giggle , but through a mouthful of bread I managed a '' huh uh. '' " Well, it's the same thing. Czechs and Slovaks are brothers and sisters but not the same." She then entertained us with the legend of King Sviitopluk as it has been told to untold generations of Czech and Slovak children . It seems that long ago good King Sviitopluk had two sons , Mojmir II and Sviitopluk II. They were fractious and greedy for each other's share of the kingdom as well as their own. On his deathbed, the old king summoned them and, holding their hands together in brotherly bond , admonished them: '' As long as you remember you are brothers and remain united, all will be well with you. If you forget and fight each other, you will suffer and your people with you. " Their vows of unity evaporated with their tears and hardly was the king in his grave before they began to squabble and conspire for each other's territories. In time, the dire warning came true; Bohemia and Slovakia, united and thriving as the Great Moravian Empire , were overrun and conquered as soon as they were divided. And so they remain to this day, separate in geography and philosophy and fates , although brothers and sisters in spirit. This example of the tragic consequences of sibling rivalry left an indelible impression upon me , but not the story of the Old Country. For �128 SLOVAKIA I was an American . .. and the Old Country meant little to me for many years. Not until that time in mid-life when we come full circle to what and who we are was I able to know and appreciate my mother for the individual she was and relish her memory to the fullest . ' 'I am Slovak-American . . . but you are American-Slovak .. . '' she would point out when we tried to urge supposedly superior ways upon her. Thus she paid tribute to Caesar without judgment. It was fine for us , but for her, she accepted only those changes she cared to adopt and we were not to forget it. And so we grew. Through good times , not so many, and bad times , more numerous, she never lost that sense of identity . Contained in it was a firm faith in Life and God, exemplified for her in her robust Eastern Orthodox faith . Although we lived too far from a church for regular attendance, babies were driven long distances for baptisms and on their name day would be carried to the nearest church for special remembrance. Also, on most holidays , special liturgical prayers were chanted in Slavonic by my father from his frayed prayer book with mother singing the responses. "For our President , for all civil authorities, for every city and country, let us pray to the Lord . . . '' a booming baritone would rise and fall. And back in light, high soprano would come the sung response, " Lord have mercy. " Eagerly I awaited my name day. Leaving brothers and sisters in care of a friend , my mother and I walked the four miles of country road lined with trees flamboyant in fall colors of late September. It was doubly special because we were both named for St. Sophia. At tiny St. John 's, the ikons, candles gleaming in the interior of mellow woods , and perfumed incense accompanying the prayers of intense , bearded Father Michael were awesome. But it was the babushki, those women standing at the front of the church, staunch, solid, and intent upon every word that wended its way upwards over the altar in a trail of incense vapor, that I recall most vividly. Whoever they were they mattered so much that there was no need to ask about them. They just were . When a particular one coaxed me to join her in singing the response , I refused. On the way home , my mother chided me . " But I don 't understand that language \ .. " I protested. " I talk English ." ' Was there a tinge of arrogance or presentiment of falsity that might harm her child that made my mother walk a silent mile with wor- �SLOVAKIA 129 ried face before she spoke? I don't know. But right before we crossed the bridge that led up the hill to the mining patch, she abruptly stopped. "See?" she pointed to the bridge. "That is you." "Me?" "Yes, I am Slovak who came here . . . yet . . . " and she struggled so hard for just the right words, ''I am not 100 percent American. Never." She pointed to her heart. "In here, you not 100 percent. Your children, maybe, but not you, not yet ... " She shook her head vehemently. ' ' But some day you will pray in church in English . . . like you talk." But as the legend of Svatopluk, the words faded almost as soon as spoken, the profound simile of first generation Americans as bridges connecting two cultures seeming wasted on a child. At the beginning of World War II my family moved to the city of Pittsburgh, but my mother remained Slovak-American and who she was all the days of her life. Her native land was a small area in the heartland of Europe, and every army of history had rolled over it again and again. Yet in villages and huts and farms, families such as ours managed to preserve a spark of identity of a people separate from all other peoples. Through centuries of political and economic repression and the contempts of a world that advanced more rapidly, yes even that of sibling Czechs whose German influence helped industrial advances, rural Slovaks as my mother never lost faith in themselves as persons or as a people. Above all, there was a deep faith in God and gratitude for the gift of life itself with all its tragedies. When my three brothers immediately enlisted in the Army she only sighed an agony-filled "vojna . . . vojna . .. "war ... war ... for her native land had suffered its destruction countless times and would again. And now even her adopted land was afflicted. When that dreaded telegram came saying that one of her sons, Nick, was killed in France, her anguish could only weep, ''vojna ... vojna .. . '' and her sorrow was finally assuaged in her church and by her God whom she still trusted as preserver of Life. And then one day we assembled from various parts of the country to weep through a last Liturgy for her. The large spirit had departed the tiny, tired body that had borne twelve children and raised ten by laboring through numberless 18-hour days required to feed, clothe, and nourish physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The depth of our loss was indescribable. She was our strength. Our comfort. Our life. And now she was gone. Even our powerful father �130 SLOVAKIA never quite recovered, and none of us was surprised when he followed her three years later, the light of his life having left this earth. It was years before I returned to the church of my mother. I had a search to make first. In other philosophies . Into the intellect. The emotions . Even at other altars. But that bowl of emptiness that was my inner being remained unfulfilled. I had consciously forgotten St. Sophia' s Day, but my heart must have remembered. Because it was the end of September when I found my way to a tiny Orthodox church in my Los Angeles suburb so much like the St . John's of my childhood, four decades and thousands of miles apart. Intense, bearded Father Sergei welcomed me and sat silently through my tale of bewilderment and woe. I had much of what the world valued, earned with so much effort. Then why hadn't God rewarded me with happiness? Why was I so sad? He smiled gently and touched my hand. '' But you have tried to cut off your roots . Did you think you could truly live like that? '' I drew back in protest. God was universal. God was immense. God was everywhere . Of course . Of course . Of course. He nodded assent to it all. But even before he said it, the ancient teaching of the Bible not to despise the church of one 's mother rose to my memory. So? What could it mean to me in the 1970s? The feeling part. Not the legal, formal , structured part. But that part of my mother's church that was a God of love , of mercy and nonjudgment, of trust in the largesse of life on earth and hereafter, a life so rich in mysteries that no arrogant egotism could hope to fathom it in a lifetime. Oh, how it had sustained her as she lived it and how expansive her life of spirit had been! The many who came to her funeral witnessed to that. Over and over they wept with us , remembering, " She was so kind ," or " When I was sick she came to see me every day and once brought a jar of peaches ,'' this in a depression year that must have emptied her larder of hoarded desserts , and " She always had a word of encouragement for me . . .. '' Together we mourned our loss. Joy despite a hard life and in her God. And I had lost it if indeed I had ever had it, I now bewailed. " But not at all. Why look , her prayers received a miraculous answer. God sent the Holy Spirit to bring you full circle . . . why, you have come home. And do you know sometl\ing? She was right . . . you will pray the Liturgy in English . . . . ' ' \ For he was the same priest who had changed tradition by celebrat- �SLOVAKIA 131 ing Liturgy in English aftet translating words and music from Old Slavonic, beginning just a short time before in this very church. Tears submerged the abutment to the bridge of connection for a time. With them, accumulated dust of the nonsense of years was washed away until once more that inner child emerged to again stand free and adventurous in heart . "Wisdom, " the priest had intoned this morning as he always does preceding the gospel reading. Sophia. The name meant wisdom. And my mother had had it. A peasant surety that was as deep as the intellect , only kinder and warmer. So many others had come to drink of that fountain and never had one gone away again still thirsty. Was my mother unique? Certainly in the individual sense. One of a kind I was sure until the publication of my novel, Concomitant Soldier. In it I had drawn from her qualities to create a key character. Then came the reviews and letters . ' ' Anna is my Italian nonna (grandmother) all over again . " Anna is just like my Swedish moder (mother) .. . " '' Anna is just like my wonderful Tia Roas . . . ' ' And even, "Anna is exactly like my English nanny I loved so much " She was, it seems, not only multi-ethnic, but her number was legion. And she left an imprint upon spirits that truly unites, first, sec~ ond, and third-generation Americans of very persuasion, and fortunate indeed are those families who experienced her grace. For too long, my life had been one of activity but, not united to my feelings and spirit, made every achievement empty. Somehow the babushki I knew, just as my mother, had never been so fragmented, perhaps more common in our day of increasing opportunities in the outer world of action. And today as I become a link in that long chain of babushki, past, present, and those to come , when I light candles and follow ancient prayers of liturgical custom, my spirit will join with those countless others as we add a special petition for the sacred tradition of wholeness to be handed down intact to our daughters and sisters everywhere. Although I don 't possess that intuitive sense of destiny and sure strength of spirit, still there is hope as the Church they served teaches, and maybe if I listen as intently to the still voice from the temple within, something of the mystery of who and why I am in this particular time and place and how to carry my own light into my world today will be revealed. Until then , it is enough merely to try to become my mother's daughter. Amen and amen. �� 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 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 126 SLOVAKIA Babushka SONYA JASON She was in church again this morning. As before, the image in long, dark blue skirt and blouse, navy kerchief covering her head that only accentuated the high Slavic cheekbones and pale blue eyes; so strongly did she resemble my long dead mother that it jarred me deeply. Throughout Divine Liturgy, my spirit prayed but my heart battled tears and homesickness , not only for my mother, but for the wealth of the past. As a child I had always seen at least one old lady at every weekday church service . There still is. Babushka or " little grandmother" we called them and still do. As there can be no Orthodox Liturgy unless a community of worshippers of at least two or three is present, including the celebrant priest , often her efforts to be there on winter or stormy mornings made the difference whether a particular saint would be honored in God's house on his or her feast day in that liturgical year. Today was my name-saint 's day and I set aside pressing duties to drive twenty-five miles to worship and petition not only for my needs but for those of my loved ones and all the world. Standing near the babushka to light a candle , I heard her lips murmur in prayer and noted that her mind was far, far away. She was oblivious to my presence and became immersed at once in the Liturgy and remained so throughout. Whoever she was , she cared only about what she was doing, and this morning, it was the business of prayer and worship. I could feel a spiritual energy emanate from her very presence. Like her, my mother had had a sense of identity so strong that you felt it at once. My very first knowledge of this came the year before I started school. A new little girl whose family had just moved into our coal mining patch the week before timidly wandered over. Warily we sized each other up. " Where did you come from? " Her query did not connote Freudian curiosity about sexual origins or even another town. Rather, it was ordinary for us children to learn the country of parents ' origin. From this , invisible guidelines were established, and if both sets of parents were \ll'om the same country in Europe, frequently friendships of depth were formed at once. SLOVAKIA 127 " I'm Czech, " I replied. "I'm Polish." But my mother, scrubbing shirt collars on a corrugated washboard set in a galvanized tub in the middle of the kitchen floor , straightened up with a frown . She brushed a tawny tendril off her glistening brow and pushed it back into the knot on top of her head. " Come here ... " she beckoned me with a finger dribbling bubbles of strong laundry soap. " You are Slovak," she corrected. I shrugged. " What 's the difference? " My question was partly puzzlement and partly that indifference of children to the vagaries of their parents. " Difference?" she echoed. Drying arms on her apron after plunging the shirts under suds to soak, she waved my new friend and me inside . We watched her cut thick slices of freshly baked bread from a loaf cooling on the shelf above the kitchen table and butter them . Eagerly we accepted and sat beside her to eat and listen. " You and Mary are sisters . But are you exactly alike? " The bread was warm and delicious and helped me ponder. I was dark and chubby. Mary fair and thin. The comparison made me giggle , but through a mouthful of bread I managed a '' huh uh. '' " Well, it's the same thing. Czechs and Slovaks are brothers and sisters but not the same." She then entertained us with the legend of King Sviitopluk as it has been told to untold generations of Czech and Slovak children . It seems that long ago good King Sviitopluk had two sons , Mojmir II and Sviitopluk II. They were fractious and greedy for each other's share of the kingdom as well as their own. On his deathbed, the old king summoned them and, holding their hands together in brotherly bond , admonished them: '' As long as you remember you are brothers and remain united, all will be well with you. If you forget and fight each other, you will suffer and your people with you. " Their vows of unity evaporated with their tears and hardly was the king in his grave before they began to squabble and conspire for each other's territories. In time, the dire warning came true; Bohemia and Slovakia, united and thriving as the Great Moravian Empire , were overrun and conquered as soon as they were divided. And so they remain to this day, separate in geography and philosophy and fates , although brothers and sisters in spirit. This example of the tragic consequences of sibling rivalry left an indelible impression upon me , but not the story of the Old Country. For 128 SLOVAKIA I was an American . .. and the Old Country meant little to me for many years. Not until that time in mid-life when we come full circle to what and who we are was I able to know and appreciate my mother for the individual she was and relish her memory to the fullest . ' 'I am Slovak-American . . . but you are American-Slovak .. . '' she would point out when we tried to urge supposedly superior ways upon her. Thus she paid tribute to Caesar without judgment. It was fine for us , but for her, she accepted only those changes she cared to adopt and we were not to forget it. And so we grew. Through good times , not so many, and bad times , more numerous, she never lost that sense of identity . Contained in it was a firm faith in Life and God, exemplified for her in her robust Eastern Orthodox faith . Although we lived too far from a church for regular attendance, babies were driven long distances for baptisms and on their name day would be carried to the nearest church for special remembrance. Also, on most holidays , special liturgical prayers were chanted in Slavonic by my father from his frayed prayer book with mother singing the responses. "For our President , for all civil authorities, for every city and country, let us pray to the Lord . . . '' a booming baritone would rise and fall. And back in light, high soprano would come the sung response, " Lord have mercy. " Eagerly I awaited my name day. Leaving brothers and sisters in care of a friend , my mother and I walked the four miles of country road lined with trees flamboyant in fall colors of late September. It was doubly special because we were both named for St. Sophia. At tiny St. John 's, the ikons, candles gleaming in the interior of mellow woods , and perfumed incense accompanying the prayers of intense , bearded Father Michael were awesome. But it was the babushki, those women standing at the front of the church, staunch, solid, and intent upon every word that wended its way upwards over the altar in a trail of incense vapor, that I recall most vividly. Whoever they were they mattered so much that there was no need to ask about them. They just were . When a particular one coaxed me to join her in singing the response , I refused. On the way home , my mother chided me . " But I don 't understand that language \ .. " I protested. " I talk English ." ' Was there a tinge of arrogance or presentiment of falsity that might harm her child that made my mother walk a silent mile with wor- SLOVAKIA 129 ried face before she spoke? I don't know. But right before we crossed the bridge that led up the hill to the mining patch, she abruptly stopped. "See?" she pointed to the bridge. "That is you." "Me?" "Yes, I am Slovak who came here . . . yet . . . " and she struggled so hard for just the right words, ''I am not 100 percent American. Never." She pointed to her heart. "In here, you not 100 percent. Your children, maybe, but not you, not yet ... " She shook her head vehemently. ' ' But some day you will pray in church in English . . . like you talk." But as the legend of Svatopluk, the words faded almost as soon as spoken, the profound simile of first generation Americans as bridges connecting two cultures seeming wasted on a child. At the beginning of World War II my family moved to the city of Pittsburgh, but my mother remained Slovak-American and who she was all the days of her life. Her native land was a small area in the heartland of Europe, and every army of history had rolled over it again and again. Yet in villages and huts and farms, families such as ours managed to preserve a spark of identity of a people separate from all other peoples. Through centuries of political and economic repression and the contempts of a world that advanced more rapidly, yes even that of sibling Czechs whose German influence helped industrial advances, rural Slovaks as my mother never lost faith in themselves as persons or as a people. Above all, there was a deep faith in God and gratitude for the gift of life itself with all its tragedies. When my three brothers immediately enlisted in the Army she only sighed an agony-filled "vojna . . . vojna . .. "war ... war ... for her native land had suffered its destruction countless times and would again. And now even her adopted land was afflicted. When that dreaded telegram came saying that one of her sons, Nick, was killed in France, her anguish could only weep, ''vojna ... vojna .. . '' and her sorrow was finally assuaged in her church and by her God whom she still trusted as preserver of Life. And then one day we assembled from various parts of the country to weep through a last Liturgy for her. The large spirit had departed the tiny, tired body that had borne twelve children and raised ten by laboring through numberless 18-hour days required to feed, clothe, and nourish physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The depth of our loss was indescribable. She was our strength. Our comfort. Our life. And now she was gone. Even our powerful father 130 SLOVAKIA never quite recovered, and none of us was surprised when he followed her three years later, the light of his life having left this earth. It was years before I returned to the church of my mother. I had a search to make first. In other philosophies . Into the intellect. The emotions . Even at other altars. But that bowl of emptiness that was my inner being remained unfulfilled. I had consciously forgotten St. Sophia' s Day, but my heart must have remembered. Because it was the end of September when I found my way to a tiny Orthodox church in my Los Angeles suburb so much like the St . John's of my childhood, four decades and thousands of miles apart. Intense, bearded Father Sergei welcomed me and sat silently through my tale of bewilderment and woe. I had much of what the world valued, earned with so much effort. Then why hadn't God rewarded me with happiness? Why was I so sad? He smiled gently and touched my hand. '' But you have tried to cut off your roots . Did you think you could truly live like that? '' I drew back in protest. God was universal. God was immense. God was everywhere . Of course . Of course . Of course. He nodded assent to it all. But even before he said it, the ancient teaching of the Bible not to despise the church of one 's mother rose to my memory. So? What could it mean to me in the 1970s? The feeling part. Not the legal, formal , structured part. But that part of my mother's church that was a God of love , of mercy and nonjudgment, of trust in the largesse of life on earth and hereafter, a life so rich in mysteries that no arrogant egotism could hope to fathom it in a lifetime. Oh, how it had sustained her as she lived it and how expansive her life of spirit had been! The many who came to her funeral witnessed to that. Over and over they wept with us , remembering, " She was so kind ," or " When I was sick she came to see me every day and once brought a jar of peaches ,'' this in a depression year that must have emptied her larder of hoarded desserts , and " She always had a word of encouragement for me . . .. '' Together we mourned our loss. Joy despite a hard life and in her God. And I had lost it if indeed I had ever had it, I now bewailed. " But not at all. Why look , her prayers received a miraculous answer. God sent the Holy Spirit to bring you full circle . . . why, you have come home. And do you know sometl\ing? She was right . . . you will pray the Liturgy in English . . . . ' ' \ For he was the same priest who had changed tradition by celebrat- SLOVAKIA 131 ing Liturgy in English aftet translating words and music from Old Slavonic, beginning just a short time before in this very church. Tears submerged the abutment to the bridge of connection for a time. With them, accumulated dust of the nonsense of years was washed away until once more that inner child emerged to again stand free and adventurous in heart . "Wisdom, " the priest had intoned this morning as he always does preceding the gospel reading. Sophia. The name meant wisdom. And my mother had had it. A peasant surety that was as deep as the intellect , only kinder and warmer. So many others had come to drink of that fountain and never had one gone away again still thirsty. Was my mother unique? Certainly in the individual sense. One of a kind I was sure until the publication of my novel, Concomitant Soldier. In it I had drawn from her qualities to create a key character. Then came the reviews and letters . ' ' Anna is my Italian nonna (grandmother) all over again . " Anna is just like my Swedish moder (mother) .. . " '' Anna is just like my wonderful Tia Roas . . . ' ' And even, "Anna is exactly like my English nanny I loved so much " She was, it seems, not only multi-ethnic, but her number was legion. And she left an imprint upon spirits that truly unites, first, sec~ ond, and third-generation Americans of very persuasion, and fortunate indeed are those families who experienced her grace. For too long, my life had been one of activity but, not united to my feelings and spirit, made every achievement empty. Somehow the babushki I knew, just as my mother, had never been so fragmented, perhaps more common in our day of increasing opportunities in the outer world of action. And today as I become a link in that long chain of babushki, past, present, and those to come , when I light candles and follow ancient prayers of liturgical custom, my spirit will join with those countless others as we add a special petition for the sacred tradition of wholeness to be handed down intact to our daughters and sisters everywhere. Although I don 't possess that intuitive sense of destiny and sure strength of spirit, still there is hope as the Church they served teaches, and maybe if I listen as intently to the still voice from the temple within, something of the mystery of who and why I am in this particular time and place and how to carry my own light into my world today will be revealed. Until then , it is enough merely to try to become my mother's daughter. Amen and amen.  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 Babushka Description An account of the resource Sonya Jason Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81 pp. 126-131 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jason, Sonya, 1924- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/12e36433df515cc7aec6093d7ae5416b.pdf dd12c427b51c39393594e7cd883dad8b PDF Text Text REVIEWS ��SLOVAKIA 135 ' Peter Brock The Slovak National Awakening Peterirock. THE SLOVAK NATIONAL AWAKENING: AN ESSAY IN THE INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF EAST CENTRAL EUROPE. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1976. x, 104 pp . This three-chapter monograph with extensive notes, bibliography, and index presents the intellectual growth ' ' of an idea, the Slovak idea of nationality" (p.x). Written primarily to fill a gap on "which scarcely any reliable literature exists in English" (ibid.), Professor Brock's study does precisely that - non-English subsidiary sources are evaluated, unsubstantiated claims of biased scholarship are pointed out, and perennial misunderstandings of specific historical issues are put in proper perspective. With the exception of a few flaws that will be listed below, the book is well-organized and written in a style that favorably ties the author's learning with his common sense. The main thrust of the work, as the author has emphasized at the very outset of the text, was to be found in the interrelationship of the concept of Slovak "cultural-linguistic nationhood" to the concepts of natio hungarica, on the one hand, and the " Czechoslovak idea, " on the other. Slovak national identity, the first component of the uneasy alliance , grew up in its linguistic aspect more or less directly from indigenous traditions, while its scholarly-cultural tenets were repeatedly reexamined under Magyar and Czech influences. Thus one could say that the literature of the Cyrilo-Methodian era had a negligible impact on the Slovak vernacular. Biblittina - almost sacred in Slovak Lutheran religious usage , especially after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) did influence the Slovak vernacular development, but far less than even the most recent , relatively restrained, scholarship has suggested. The so-called Jesuit Slovak, essentially " an amalgam , of several dialects , heavily influenced by Czech, and . . . used by / educated I Protestants as well as Catholics" (p . 6), made no impact on the common speech of the masses whatsoever. In turn the dialect spoken in southwestern Slovakia attained a limited acceptance as a ' ' Slovak literary language " due to the efforts of the Catholic priests Anton Bernolak, Juraj Fandly, and Jan Holly. However, only the dialect of central Slovakia propagated by the Protestant scholar and philosopher, :Cudovit �136 SLOVAKIA Stur, gained the full support of the Slovaks and eventually became the basis for a Slovak literary language. Slovak scholarly-cultural pursuits - as hinted above - were to a great extent products of the cultural and political tensions within central Europe . Natio hungarica , despite its lofty official attributes, was in reality a misnomer, denoting an alliance between the historical determination of the nation-state and Magyar political aspirations. Essentially a shield for aristocratic privileges in the pre-Josephinist era, it became a vehicle for repressive measures against non-Magyar ethnic groups in later decades. The Slovak approach to the concept of natio hungarica underwent a full range of changes from the mytho-historical point of view of Juraj Papanek and Juraj Sklenar in its earlier version to a pragmatic-negative standpoint of the Sturites in its latest variant. The Great Moravian Empire, according to Papanek and Sklenar, was a Slovak national state. The Slovaks , Sklenar claimed, formed after its downfall a voluntary and equal partnership, a natio hungarica, "with the newly arrived Magyars" (p . 8) . In contrast, Kollar 's " pro-Czechoslovak" group ceased to honor the idea of political-cultural union with the Magyars around 1830, while the Sturites refused ever to recognize it in any form. The idea of the socalled Czechoslovak national unity has lingered in one or another shape in some minds up to the present time. However, during the eleven-century long Magyar occupation of the Slovak territory the ties between the Czechs and Slovaks ' 'remained confined to comparatively small sections of the intelligentsia . . . the Slovak peasants and the artisans . . . possessed scarcely any national or even ethnic consciousness that went beyond an elemental love of their mother tongue, usually the only language they could speak'' (p. 20). A stronger interest in the " Czechoslovak idea" came about between 1820 and 1840 when Jan Kollar used it as a bridge between the motley assortment of various Slavic idioms and his axiomatic philosophy of Slavdom. Slavdom, in Kollar ' s visionary system, was but a single nation containing four literary languages - Russian, Polish, lliyrian, and Czechoslovak - that were " worthy" to have a distinct status . All other " smaller" Slavic languages were, by this logic, " unworthy" of a separate existence and were to be channelled into the nearest Slavic idiom. The Slovak language was supposed to be absorbed into Czech. Brock' s study is a well-balanced and honest treatment of one of the most difficult subjects of scholarship. It undmi btedly adds a new dimension to a better understanding of related -ethno-political issues treated , for example , by Robert W. Seton-Watson in his Racial Problems in Hungary (reprinted by Howard Fertig, New York, 1972) , by �SLOVAKIA 137 \ Gilbert L. Oddo in his Slovakia and Its People (published by R. Speller, New York, 1960), and by Joseph F. Zacek in his essay, "Nationalism in Czechoslovakia" (published in Sugar and Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1969; see especially pp. 166-167 and 186-195). On the other hand, Brock's condensed treatment of the entire issue does not give full credii to his familiarity with the problem. Had the book been more broadly conceived (let us say by a treatment of the ''growth'' of Slovak cultural-linguistic nationalism after 1918), it would have considerably contributed to the study of parallels and differences between Magyar and Czech standpoints toward Slovak cultural endeavors from a new angle. My minor but specific objections are directed against the following defects in the work: (1) the use of non-English constructions in the text when English equivalents were available and their non-English counterparts could easily be incorporated in extensive notes; (2) too many errors in non-English references included in the "Notes;" and (3) the "Notes" and "Bibliography" were set in uneven-line endings while the text itself was presented in regular "book-line" endings. Although intended primarily for Slavic scholars, this book merits the attention of English-speaking students of Slovak culture everywhere. It is proof that a foreign-born scholar can present a fair and truthful account of a topic related to the Slovaks and Slovakia in spite of frequent misrepresentations of the issues by biased scholars. Brock's work will stand out as a model for future efforts on similar subjects. Andrej Cintura Riverside, CaUfomia �138 SLOVAKIA Josef Kalvoda Czechoslovakia's Role in Soviet Strategy Josef Kalvoda. CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S ROLE IN SOVIET STRATEGY. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1978. ix, 381 pp. This is a good book with the wrong title. What Professor Kalvoda offers is a history of Czechoslovakia's attitude to and relations with the Soviet Union since World War I. Hence a more appropriate title would have been "Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union," a title general enough to cover the range and wealth of information meticulously assembled and presented. In fact, the author has done Western scholarship a service by examining this topic in depth; until now this subject has been dealt with piecemeal either in studies on the foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic, or in the more recent studies on the liberalization process of Communist Czechoslovakia. The greater part of the study is devoted to an analysis of the attitudes and actions toward the Soviet Union of two of the three founders of the Czechoslovak state, namely T.G. Masaryk and Edvard Benes. Interspersed are chapters on the Slovak Soviet Republic, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and the sovietization of the country. Needless to say, after 1948, the focus changes somewhat insofar as Czechoslovakia has become a satellite of the Soviet Union, and the relationship between the countries is on a completely different level. Still, given the fact that the leadership of Czechoslovakia sought to establish a new framework of relations with the Soviet Union in the liberalization process of 1968, especially on the ideological level, there is a thematic continuity that justifies the fifty-odd year analysis offered here. It is a pity that the author did not fully exploit this aspect of the topic and that his weakest chapters are the last three where he does suggest how Czechoslovakia has played a role in Soviet strategy since 1948 . This latter theme, interesting at it may be, does not tie in well with the preceding chapters and thus breaks up the unity of theme that had been evident, though not explicitly stated, up to that point. One of the interesting points that the author makes and that is generally absent in histories of Czechoslovakia or the Soviet Union is the fact that during the Russian revolution th"ere existed a possibility of using the Czecho-Slovak Legion to smash the Bolsheviks. During the debate on this point, Karel Kramar, one of the Czech leaders, sug- �SLOVAKIA 139 \ gested that a free Czechoslovakia could exist only if there existed a democratic Russia. He urged that the Legion be used against the Bolsheviks to achieve this end. Masaryk disagreed; in fact, he urged early on the recognition of the Bolshevik regime and forbade the use of the Legion against the Red Army. While one cannot answer an historical if, one has to recognize that Kramar had been more perspications than Masaryk. In the interwar period, the attitudes to and relations with the Soviet Union were determined by Edvard Benes, the man to whom Kalvoda quite correctly also ascribes the responsibility for Czechoslovakia eventually becoming a Soviet satellite. The author shows in great detail how Benes gave in to the Soviet leadership and its satraps in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the war. The coup in February 1948 was merely an epilogue to a situation that had been dealt with in December 1943 when Benes, against British advice, signed a Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance, and Post-War Cooperation with the Soviet Union. The consequences need not be elaborated upon. The author left few stones unturned in his research. But what is more striking is his detachment from the subject matter, somehing that most Czech emigre scholars have rarely succeeded in achieving. Thus if one might find fault with the little attention he pays the Slovaks, at least he does not do so out of either indifference or deliberate slight. In fact, the topic does not call for an in-depth examination of Slovakia or the Slovaks; where they do play a role, the author presents the situation as directly as he does the rest of the subject. One has to remember that the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia, however deplorable, was always in the hands of the Czech elite, be it Benes in the First Republic or the Czech leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Kalvoda is not insensitive to the Slovaks, and in his preface he states that he '' never subscribed to the theory of one 'Czechoslovak' nation ... / nor had / taken the existance of the Slovak nation for granted" (p . vii). This is borne out in the study, particularly when he deals with the Slovak Republic and Benes' s attitude toward the Slovak nation during the Second World War. One might suggest, however, that the author could have examined the issue of the federalization of Czechoslovakia and its link to Soviet theory and practice on the nationality problem . Federalization was the only reform that survived the normalization policy after the invasion of August 1968. Czech-Slovak relations have played an important part in Communist Czechoslovakia , and the Soviet Union has not been kept entirely out of them. This should have been analyzed. It is a pity, as was stated above, that the author chose an inappro- �140 SLOVAKIA priate title and thereby missed some opportunities of examining other topics germane to the thrust of his study. Nevertheless, it is a wellwritten and well-documented analysis. Stanislav J. Kirschbaum Glendon College, York University Toronto, Canada �SLOVAKIA 141 \ Doro·thea El Mallakh The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 Dorothea H. El Mallakh. THE SLOVAK AUTONOMY MOVEMENT, 1935-1939: A STUDY IN UNRELENTING NATIONALISM. "East European Monographs, No. LV." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1979. xvi, 260 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. In recent years we have seen the submission of several dissertations dealing with Slovak topics. Others are under preparation. This development is more than welcomed. The study of Slovakia has finally reached maturity and respectability in the Western scholarly community. It is no longer an appendix to the history of the Czechs - as much as we admired the serious and honest treatments by R.W. Seton-Watson and S. Harrison Thomson. Nor is it propagandistic pamphleteering by an assortment of enthusiasts and political refugees - even if we recognize their contributions to the popularization of Slovak annals. Now we are dealing with the fruits of archival research, some of which has been done in the best tradition of Occidental scholarship. In spite of its progress, however, Slovak historiography remains a part of the intellectual ghetto, the quarantine in which East European studies are kept in the United States. Snobbery and arrogance of "Big Nations Research" and of "Continental (i.e., West European) Topics" are a mirror of political realities. The small nations of Eastern Europe, captive in the clutches of major powers for most of their modem life, elicit little interest in the hearts and minds of a cohort of intellectual imperialists. Hence, the obscurity of Slovakia resembles the relative invisibility of other neighboring peoples. These factors are amplified by the shortsightedness and irresponsibility of some students of Slovak history. Partisan zeal and engaged scholarship color much of their writing and publication. In addition, some trained professionals and graduates of good schools continue to undermine the work of others. They preserve the aura of disrepute which cast much blame on historical writing about Slovakia for so long. To the old ills is now added a new one: the rush to publication. In spite of the severe conditions of the academic market, there is slight justification for publication of an unrevised dissertation. A good thesis does not necessarily make a book of quality. And some dissertations are less than good . Dr. El Mallakh studied under some of the best teachers of East �142 SLOVAKIA European history and submitted a competent dissertation. Her book left much to be desired, however. In her major thesis she advances the idea that unfulfilled, if just, national grievances by the Slovaks undermined the stability of the Czechoslovak Republic and assisted the Nazis in setting up the Slovak state. She argues that past historians, while discussing Czechoslovak and Slovak developments, usually "premissed on an anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist vantage point" (p. 11). This is not correct; arguments similar to El Mallakh's which recognized the pains of Slovak nationalism were advanced before she started to write her thesis. The title and topic of The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 are confusing, as the volume strives to encapsule the entire development of Slovak nationalism from the 19th century to the present. By renaming Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (HSPP) with the title of Slovak Autonomy Movement, El Mallakh made the "tudaks" (an expression not existing in the book) into the only bearers of Slovak nationalism. Consequently, she dwarfed the demands and complaints of the Slovak people into the simplistic political program of the single albeit strongest - party. Autonomy was the HSPP 's answer to two of the major problems the Slovak people faced in Czechoslovakia: the lack of recognition of their national individuality and Prague' s centralistic rule over the entire state. The doctrine of a single Czechoslovak nation, which El Mallakh barely mentioned and left unanalyzed, caused significant harm since it offended the mental and emotional consciousness of the Slovak people. El Mallakh apparently was not aware of the 19th-century Czech and Slovak roots of this doctrine. Jan Kollar, the great prophet of Czechoslovakism, appears nowhere in the book. Centralism constituted a serious problem also for day-to-day life during the First Republic. The author discussed this aspect, frequently with skill and erudition. Unfortunately , she failed to evaluate the reasons and long term effects of either Czechoslovakism or centralism on the state. Had she done so, she might perhaps have discovered that autonomy was not necessarily the most effective remedy for Slovakia's sores, but rather a shrewd political platform . As the author stated repeatedly , Slovakia overflowed with the mixed blessing of countless political parties. Some of them represented particular national-ethnic groups; others claizp.ed a territorial or professional character and aspired to speak for a variety of nationalities. Hlinka's People's Party and Razus's National Party were exclusively Slovak. Agrarians, Social Democrats, and Communists catered to a multi-national constituency. Of all the major parties represented in Slovakia and electing more than five members of parliament at any time, �SLOVAKIA 143 probably only the Social\ Democrats stood on an uncompromised Czechoslovak and centralistic platform. The eminently pragmatic Agrarians, although centralistically minded, were willing to compromise - as Milan Hodza later demonstrated. Many a Slovak Agrarian was as nationalistically inspired as any member of the HSPP. The Communists took a stand no less radical than the ":Cudaks." At times, the Communists would outdo Hlinka' s partisans in extremist antiPrague rhetoric. Singling out of one party at the expense of the others slants reality. If El Mallakh felt that the HSPP deserved preferential treatment, she fell short of explaining the obvious popular support it commanded. In her recurring habit, she relied too much on one of the two relevant books of Juraj Kramer without elaborating the issue in depth. There still exists a need for a basic social and sociological study of the HSPP, its territorial basis, and its economic and psychological background. Similarly, the exceptional role of the clergy in Slovakia's history was often noticed but without taking a closer look into the phenomenon. (El Mallakh does not seem to know that Martin Razus was a Protestant pastor, besides having been a poet and writer.) She should also have explained the fluctuating vote of support for the HSPP. The author provided many new details and insights in her description of the HSPP political development but was not courageous enough to venture outside her closely set perimeter. The study obscured so many issues that one wonders whether it was due to a deficiency in information or by purpose. While dealing with the 1933 Nitra festivities, for instance, the writer omitted the ":Cudak" cooperation with the Czech Fascists. The Nitra manifesto of these festivities, part of which is reprinted in the book (p. 60), was a common proclamation of the Czech and Slovak non-governmental right. She is also silent about the participation of French, Italian, and other Fascists in the 1936 conference of the HSPP. The close relations of the Sidor faction with Polish authorities was dealt with in a spotty fashion. The anti-Semitic outrages, the so-called Golemiada of fall 1937, were innocently introduced as "student agitation" (p. 84). There are many more examples of this kind. One of the reasons for the narrow treatment of a fascinating topic was the limited sources of her research. El Mallakh is very proud of the original documents she was provided with by the Prague archives. Her excitement is exaggerated. Several recent dissertations were prepared from Czechoslovak and Slovak, central and regional, archives. In fact, even this reviewer (horrible dictu/) was given access to Slovak archives in 1968 and supplied with mircofilmed documents . The use of archival �144 SLOVAKIA material does not liberate one from the inspection of other primary and secondary sources. Of the primary sources available in the United States, she is missing the Czechoslovak parliamentary procedures, journals like Slovak and Katolicke noviny, several weeklies, quarterlies, and other periodicals. Above all, a reliance on one sort of documentation, much of which originated in police and government offices, must limit its reliability. Regretably, El Mallakh was unwilling to undertake even a partial correction of her dissertation, or to increase her familiarity with Slovak matters through secondary sources . In spite of the late publication of the volume (in 1979, while the dissertation was submitted in 1972) , the bibliography lists nothing printed after 1971. The seventies have seen many new works appear on this subject in the West and in the East. The same series of monographs, which included El Mallakh 's book, carried earlier at least two other relevant publications. If the author was reluctant to update the manuscript, why did she not use the studies of others while preparing the original dissertation? Where are works by Derer, Hoensch, Lipscher, Sidor, Mamatey & Luza, to give but a few? I also have some doubts about the author's comprehension of Czech and Slovak language documents. The text recalls unknown localities such as "Spisske Kapitul" (p. 21; it should be Spisska Kapitula) or " Dolny Vestenic" (p. 84; it should be Dolne Vestenice). An eagle in Slovak is ' 'orol' ' while El Mallakh repeatedly used the Czech term ' ' orel. '' The name of a leading HSPP journal was given as Slovenskej Pravdy (p . 76 ; it should be Slovenska pravda). Spelling mistakes of names and locations were also noticed elsewhere . The book has twenty-two useful appendices . While mostly reprints from otherwise obtainable sources (many are from Macartney), they nonetheless provide a handy collection. Some of the appendices are of marginal importance for the volume , such as the list of Slovak state cabinet members and details on the federalization of Czechoslovakia. El Mallakh dealt with an important topic using heretofore unseen documents. Coming from a neutral and uncommited ethnic background, she has made a significant effort to present a balanced study. Unfortunately, she was not steeped enough in Slovakia's history and affairs, in social life , and in political culture , and therefore numerous issues and details eluded her. Her decisiqn to write a strictly political description based on narrowly defined sou\-ces resulted in a simplistic treatment of a complex topic . Yeshayahu Jelinek Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beersheba, Israel �SLOVAKIA 145 Anthpny X. Sutherland Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia Anthony X. Sutherland. DR. JOZEF TISO AND MODERN SLOVAKIA. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. xii, 141 pp. Using Slovak, Czech, German, and English language sources, Dr. Sutherland presents a balanced and scholarly account of the life, career, accomplishments, and failures of the only president of the Slovak Republic. The author does not have anti-Czech, anti-Protestant, or antiCatholic biases, is neither a Slovak nationalist nor a "Czechoslovak," and approaches the subject matter with the detachment of an impartial observer and a non-involved historian. Needless to say, one cannot do justice to "Slovak Political Tradition " in fifteen pages of printed material; yet Sutherland gives the most essential data on the Great Moravian Empire, its collapse, and the centuries-long life of the Slovaks under Magyar rule. In the nineteenth century two traditions emerged among the educated Slovaks: one represented by Jan Kollar and P . J. Safarik, and the other by Cudovit Stur. The former favored closer cooperation with the Czechs; the latter emphasized a distinct Slovak national identity. However, all the Slovak leaders realized that the struggle for survival of the small nation had to be led on all fronts, including the cultural, economic, and political. In Andrej Hlinka the Slovaks had an articulate political leader who fought for justice for his nation both before and after World War I. The brevity of the first chapter may be responsible for some errors, such as on pp. 18 and 19. In 1916 in Paris the Czech National Council was formed by the two Deputies in the Vienna parliament, T.G. Masaryk and Josef Duerich, with Dr. Edvard Benes as its secretary. Milan R. Stefanik was a co-opted member of the council. On the insistence of American Slovaks the name of the organization was changed to Czecho-Slovak National Council. The Kiev Memorandum was not signed by ''Russian Slovaks and Czecho-Slovak Legionnaires '' but by the representatives of the Alliance of the Czecho-Slovak Associations in Russia, Gustav Kosik for the Slovak League of America, and Stefanik and Duerich for the Paris-based council. These minor inaccuracies, however, do not subtract from the overall value of the book. The author makes it clear that Hlinka was loyal to the Republic established in 1918 and that he objected merely to its anti-Catholic poli- �146 SLOVAKIA cies , the denial of the promised autonomy for the Slovaks, and the behavior of some Czechs in Slovakia. Likewise Dr. Jozef Tiso, with reservations similar to Hlinka's, supported the First Republic until its collapse in October of 1938. In September of 1938 President Benes refused to fight for the territorial integrity of the state , and in March of 1939 the rump Second Republic could not be defended. It would seem that if Benes could give up strategic parts of the state without the consent of parliament and in violation of the Constitution, then no one from his camp should blame Tiso for yielding to pressures in March of 1939 and choosing Slovak independence instead of letting Slovakia be occupied either by Hungary or Germany. Sutherland pictures Tiso as a moderate Slovak patriot whose ideology was a mixture of organic nationalism and Christian socialism. It comes through, however, that despite his ideological-tinged rhetorics in practical politics, Tiso was a pragmatist who made concessions, compromises, and mistakes. It was he who convinced Hlinka in 1935 that the Slovak People's Party should help to elect Benes as president of the state. As it happened, in conversations with Stalin in December of 1943 - long before the Slovak uprising in Banska Bystrica - Benes included Tiso among the Slovaks whom he selected for execution after the war. Ideologist or pragmatist, Tiso, as his nation, was caught in a whirl of events which he could not control. Indeed, a small nation cannot always be the master of its own destiny, as the nations of East Central Europe have learned the hard way. Sutherland's book has accomplished its purpose. It is well-written, concise, brief, well-documented, and easy to read. It has enriched the historiography on Slovakia in English and has made a positive contribution to both scholarship and to our understanding of the short-lived Slovak Republic and its only president. Both students of Central European affairs and interested general readers will benefit greatly by reading it. Josef Kalvoda Saint Joseph College ~est Hartford, Connecticut \ �SLOVAKIA 147 \ Yeshayahu Jelinek The Parish Republic Yeshayahu Jelinek. THE PARISH REPUBUC: HUNKA 'S SLOVAK PEOPLE'S PARTY 1939-1945. "East European Monographs, No. XIV ." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1976. viii, 206 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. Professor Yeshayahu Jelinek's The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slovak People's Party is a revision of a dissertation on the politics and philosophy of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, 1939 to 1945, submitted at Indiana University. It is one of the first scholarly studies in English of the period in Slovak history from 1939 to 1945 written by someone not directly involved in the history of the Slovak state. In this book Jelinek examines in detail the internal history of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, its factions, ideology, and history. By dealing with each of the party' s groups - the clericals, "N astupists," Sidorites, and Hlinka guards, he provides us with an excellent picture of the political background of the Slovak state. Also treated in detail is Populist ideology as it affected all aspects of Slovak life: religion, nationalism , government, and economics. However, if one expects to find a comprehensive history of the Slovak state or detailed biographical information on any of its leading figures, one will be somewhat disappointed . Jelinek 's book is essentially a study of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, so the selection of the title, The Parish Republic , is a bit misleading. Although there is much information on the internal politics of the Populists , there is little on such topics as the Slovak Resistance Movement and the Slovak National Uprising (whose importance Jelinek greatly overemphasizes) and a disappointing, unsystematic account of the Jewish question. In addition to making occasional exaggerations , Jelinek commits a grave error in frequently maintaining that the Slovak state received little popular support . Such generalizations regarding acceptance or rejection of the Slovak state by the people are difficult to document and almost impossible to prove . In his account on " I.:udak" ideology Jelinek frequently uses the term " clerical fascism, " but nowhere does he offer a suitable definition of clerical fascism , or at least what he understands by it. At the end of the book one is left with a confusing picture as to exactly what type of �148 SLOVAKIA state Jelinek thought the Slovak Republic was - whether it was truly fascist or simply an authoritarian state with fascist trappings. The work would have been improved if Jelinek had compared Hlinka's Slovak People's Party with other rightist parties of the period: Rexists, Action Francaise, the Iron Guard, and others. The book is superbly documented, though one may argue that Jelinek relied too heavily on Czechoslovak Communist historians, whose interpretations are predictable, and on German documents. In summary, the book is a good, though somewhat confusing, account of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, its history, and ideology. Despite Jelinek's occasional exaggerations and general negative attitude toward the Populists, the book should be read, though with caution, by anyone searching for a better understanding of Hlinka 's Slovak People 's Party during one of the most controversial periods of Slovak history. Anthony X. Sutherland Stoney Point, New York �SLOVAKIA 149 Andrea Rebichini Chiesa, societ,p e stato in Cecoslovachia Andrea Rebichini. CHIESA, SOCIETA E STATO IN CECOSLOVACHIA, II: 1968-1978. Padova: DESEO-Liviana, 1979. 86 pp. In his two-volume book on the Church, society, and state in Czechoslovakia, Andrea Rebichini describes the religious situation of that country during the period of the last three decades. The first volume , published in 1977, covers the period from 1948 to 1968, and the present volume treats the period from 1968 to 1978. During this relatively short span of years, Czechoslovakia went through many turbulent events which left deep scars on its people. In 1948 there was a ruthless take-over by the Communists ; then, in the late sixties, the liberalization of the Communist rule symbolized by Alexander Dubcek; in August 1968 the brutal occupation of the country by Soviet troops, followed by the so-called "normalization," i.e., by the return to the old Stalinist methods of suppression and tyranny. The vicissitudes of Czechoslovakia have attracted the attention of many scholars, writers of political history, and various reporters . Rebichini is mostly interested in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia during these three decades. He is familiar with the vast literature on postwar Czechoslovakia and has succeeded in putting the Church-State problems of that country into the larger framework of the whole political spectrum of Eastern Europe, dominated by the Soviet Union. In the volume under review, Rebichini uses mostly documentary material coming from Czechoslovakia and translated into Italian by CESEO (Centro Studi Europa Orientale), published monthly in Bologna. Since these documents speak for themselves, Kebichini does not give long analyses or commentaries on them. Clarity, objectivity, and succinctness are the main values of Rebichini' s book. At the beginning of the second volume the author gives the most characteristic aspects of the Dubcek liberalization of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The Catholic Church, as well as other denominations, grasped at this opportunity and quickly developed a feverish activity to free themselves from the shackles of the previous twenty years. For the Catholics, until then cutoff from the Church at large , it meant an attempt to catch up with the reform movement of the Vatican Council and the new theological trends in the post-conciliar �150 SLOVAKIA Church. Bishops, priests, religious, and lay people took up this task in Czechoslovakia. Not even the Soviet occupation could immediately stop this endeavor. According to Rebichini, the turning point in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia was the restoration of the organization of priests collaborating with the neo-Stalinist regime of Gustav Husak. During the Dubcek era the former pro-government organization of the Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy totally collapsed. Toward the end of 1971 it was resurrected under the name of the Federation of the Catholic Clergy - ''Pacem in Terris.' ' Under the guidance and with the support of the new regime, this organization quickly resumed the role of the previous Peace Movement and gradually took control of the Church organization in Czechoslovakia. It seems that because of the growing influence of this organization, most of the Holy See's recent efforts to alleviate the difficult situation of the Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia are being frustrated. In 1975 the Czechoslovak government signed the Helsinki Agreement, thereby .affirming its commitment to human rights, including the freedom of religion. But nothing changed in the course of repression and persecution of those citizens who tried to follow this prerogative of freedom in the religious field. Still, there was a group of brave intellectuals, most of them in the Czech lands, who publicly demanded from the government that it adhere to its commitments to the free exercise of human rights, including the right of free religious expression. The promoters of human rights in Czechoslovakia are working under the name "Charter 77." The Communist regime in Czechoslovakia immediately began a frantic campaign against the signers of "Charter 77" by organizing public protests and collecting signatures against them. Interestingly , almost incredibly, the Church hierarchy, now infiltrated by members of the "Pacem in Terris" and probably under very crude pressure from the government, joined the protest campaign against the signers of "Charter 77. " This, according to Rebichini, is an ominous sign of how terribly the Church of Czechoslovakia is presently enslaved by the Communist regime. Rebichini concludes his treatise on the religious situation in Czechoslovakia with the election of John Paul II as Pope - the first Slavic Pope, the first Pope from behind the ''Iron Curtain.'' He ex: presses the hope that this act of Divine Providence may deeply affect the Church in the satellite countries of Eastern Europe. TeQ_dorik J. Zubek, O.F.M. . Easton, Pennsylvania �SLOVAKIA 151 Vsevlad J. Gajdos Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike Vsevlad J. Gajdos. FRANTISKANI V SLOVENSKEJ UTERAT0RE and Teodorik J. Zubek, SLOVENSKl FRANTISKANI V AMERIKE. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1979. 252 pp. This study provides the specialist interested in Slovak culture, civilization, and religious history with a lot of information on Franciscans of Slovak extraction. It covers the period from the seventeenth century to the present. In the first section, Vsevlad J. Gajdos included a brief survey of Franciscan history and activities in Slovakia. He also commented concisely on Slovak ethnic consciousness among Franciscans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries . Then he described the major struggle of these Franciscans to insure their ethnic distinctiveness and the survival of their religious order. Virtually all the facts presented by Gajdos on this matter appear together for the first time and in a publication outside of Czechoslovakia. These points of information had previously been scattered among various journals published over a long period of time and primarily authored by Gajdos . After the delineation of Franciscan history, activities, and ethnic struggle follow the biographies and bibliographies of one hundred twenty-five Franciscans. In a number of instances, Gajdos has corrected various biographical errors on some of these Franciscans . A number of significant contributions by some of them have also been saved from oblivion or obscurity. For instance, the four large volumes of sermons by Bajan as well as a number of his musical compositions are preserved here . The role of Teodul Zelenic in the Bemolak polemic, Anti-Fandly, is also well-presented. Even the probable identity of the pseudonymous researcher , S. M. Zilinsky, is substantively argued. Among the various Slovak Franciscans covered are authors of literary works, writers of devotional books , sermons, and retreat exhortations; authors of philosophical and theological treatises, textbooks, and polemical writings; and composers of numerous musical compositions . �152 SLOVAKIA · Abrahamffy, Pascha, Bajan, Gavlovic, Simko, Smrtnik, Gazda, Roskovsky, Marmankovic, and Presl readily stand out, but also and especially Celestin Lepacek and Gajdos himself. For, like Gajdo§, Lepacek has also written biographies and works on a number of Slovak Franciscans; his research on Gavlovic's writings would alone guarantee his place in the history of Slovak scholarship. With Lepacek's and his own research, Gajdos has been able to enhance substantially the quality of the biographies and bibliographies. Gajdo§ has concluded his section of this study with concise descriptions of Franciscan publications in Slovakia and some further bibliographical material from Rizner and his own years of research. The American section of the study was authored by Teodorik Zubek and has the same format as that portion written by Gajdos. There is first a survey of Slovak Franciscan history and activities in America, followed by the biographies and bibliographies of twelve prominent Slovak Franciscans who either emigrated to or were born in the United States. Especially noteworthy among this material is the bibliography of the poet Rudolf Dilong; the reference for the unfortunately brief article by Bartolomej Koltner on the Slovak dictionary of 1648; and the reference for Zubek's dissertation done in Slovakia, "Zasahy Jozefa II do zivota slovenskych franti§kanov." The latter appeared as a long article under the title, ''Zasahy osvietenstva do §tudia uhorskych frantiskanov" in Sbornik spolku Zahorskych akademikov so sidlom v Malackach, 1932-1942, II, Trnava; a copy of this work can be found in the library of the University of California, Los Angeles. A number of typographical errors could readily be corrected in a reprinting of this book. The bibliography of Gavlovic is not complete; but, in his research, Lepacek has given as complete a list as is presently possible. In the Gavlovic bibliography there are also a number of minor errors with regard to the number of pages in certain works. In the numerous bibliographical references, there may also be some points in error that will come to light as scholars are able to study personally the various materials listed in the book. On the whole, though, this study is a fairly comprehensive presentation of Slovak Franciscan writings and musical compositions. Gajdos and Zubek have provided the Slovak specialist with another primary reference work tha,,t complements those of Rizner, Misianik, and Ormis. Perhaps, somedat, an E11tglish version of this study will be published for the sake of a larg'er scholarly audience. GeraldJ. Sabo, S.J. John Carroll University Cleve/,and, Ohio �SLOVAKIA 153 \ Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps. Slovenske vystahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, Ill SLOVENS/a VYS'l'AHOVALECTVO. DOKUMENTY I: DO ROKU 1918. Compiled by Franti§ek Bielik and Elo Rako§. Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej adademie vied, 1969. 404 pp. ; DOKUMENTY II; 1919-1939. Bielik and Rako§. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1975. 349 pp.; DOKUMENTY ill: KORESPONDENCIA Z ROKOV 1893-1939. Bielik. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1976. 314 pp. Students of Slovak immigration history will welcome the publication of Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo . These three volumes , devoted to the migration of Slovaks from their homeland, reproduce 380 documents deposited in various depositories in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Austria. This collection gives scholars living outside of these countries access to materials otherwise not readily available to them. One of the compilers' aim is to depict the underlying social, political, and economic factors that spurred Slovak emigration in the years from roughly 1879 to 1939 (Vol. I, pp. 5, 6; Vol II, p . 5). The selection of documents also places Slovak emigration within the broader context of the history of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus, the compilers include documents that demonstrate the impact of Slovak emigration on these homeland countries. In addition, the collection contains documents concerning Slovak immigrant life. Some of these items are official reports; others were generated by Slovak immigrants living in various countries, primarily the United States. Although the documents touch upon a myriad of subjects, the unifying theme of the three volumes is clear: emigration is an important aspect of the history of the Slovak people. Volume I focuses on Slovak emigration from 1879 to 1918 and deals primarily with the causes and consequences of that movement. This volume contains newspaper descriptions of contemporary conditions in Hungary that stimulated emigration. It includes a large number of official and local reports which analyze the causes of emigration, especially from particular regions in northern Hungary. The reports describe attempts by Hungarian officials to stop Slovak emigration. They also reveal a concern over the growing nationalism among Slovak immigrants in the United States. Because of the preponderance of official reports, �154 SLOVAKIA nearly all of the documents in this volume are in Hungarian; only twenty of the 144 items are in Slovak. The second volume covers Slovak emigration from 1919 to 1939. Slightly over two-thirds of its 114 documents are in Slovak, and the remaining are in Czech. Because the compilers try to present materials that describe the underlying causes of Slovak emigration , Volume Il provides information for scholars interested in studying Czechoslovakia between the two World Wars. For example, there are materials outlining the labor, industrial, and economic problems that plagued Czechoslovakia during the postwar years. Unemployment and unfavorable economic conditions encouraged emigration; but, since entry into the United States was restricted, Slovaks turned to other countries . Occasionally the Czechoslovak government tried to stop this exodus . However , the documents provide evidence that the government also saw emigration, and the temporary migration of laborers to nearby European countries , as a means to alleviate some of the country's economic and unemployment problems. In addition, official reports describe the conditions of Slovak immigrants in various countries including: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France , Germany, Mexico , Uruguay, the United States, and others . Volume ill reproduces 122 documents for the period 1893 to 1939. This collection is actually a supplement to the first two volumes and includes more materials written by Slovak immigrants. In fact, almost all of the documents were penned by Slovaks living in the United States. These items addres.s a wide variety of topics ranging from descriptions of Slovak nationalist activities in America to mere notes requesting that European Slovaks write articles for fraternal publications. The documents describe the various activities of American Slovak organizations during World War I and reveal their continued interest in Czechoslovakia after the war. Bielik and Rakos have complied a valuable collection of documents . These documents are useful both to students of Slovak immigration and to scholars interested in the social, economic, and political history of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus , the volumes have a use that extends beyond the study of Slovak immigration . The compilers have designed these volures for scholars. A complete bibliographic citation accompanies each docUtnent. Bielik and Rakos also provide editorial assistance by expfaining unfamiliar references mentioned in the documents . The compilers adopted a chronological format , but some researchers might prefer that they had chosen to categorize the documents topically. A topical approach would have �SLOVAKIA \ 155 lessened the need to plod through the volumes for specific types of documents. However, the compilers do include brief descriptions of every entry in each Table of Contents that facilitate the task of finding desired types of documents. There is no cumulative index, but the indexes included in each volume are useful for locating people, places, and organizations cited in the documents. However, one wishes the compilers had consistently listed persons' first names in the indices and had made more of an effort to provide subject entries. The compilers introduce each document with a brief Slovak and English precis. These precis are helpful but, as is usually the case with annotated descriptions, they do not reveal the variety of information contained within the documents. In general, the Slovak precis are more complete than the English versions. In addition, the English translations are generally dismal. Besides containing numerous grammatical and spelling errors, the English versions often are imprecise and misleading. Similar types of errors can be found in the footnotes. For example, readers will look in vain for a work cited as authored by "Louis Grune Bald" (Vol. I, p. 25). The proper citation should be "Emily Greene Balch." Balch is again slighted in the bibliography at the end of Volume ill where she is listed as "E. Green Bolek" (p. 278). Moreover, Bielik should have described the bibliography as listing '' selected '' works because it is incomplete. It is also dated. With the exception of a few articles printed in fraternal publications, the list does not include works on Slovak immigration published in the United States; nor is it complete for those published in Europe. The deficiencies evident in the bibliography may well be indicative of other shortcomings of these volumes. The compilers explain that while there are numerous documents in Europe archives pertaining to Slovak emigration, they have chosen the " most typical" (Vol. I, p. 6). Yet, although Volume ill includes 122 documents written primarily by Slovak immigrants, there is not a single letter or publication by Father Stefan Furdek. In fact, although the compilers make references to the First Catholic Slovak Union and note it as founded by Furdek, they fail to mention that he was a priest (Vol. I, p. 152). And, with but few exceptions, there is little reference to Slovak clergymen or their writings. Moreover, lengthy surveys of Slovak immigration which introduce Volumes I and ill discuss Slovak immigrant organizations, but there is no analysis of immigrant churches. Thus, this reviewer wonders if the items reproduced are perhaps the ''most typical'' of a select group of documents that ignore subjects such as religion that may be controversial or unpopular in present-day Czechoslovakia . Finally , one may wish to qualify Bielik 's claims regarding docu- �156 SLOVAKIA ments in Volume ill. According to Bielik, the correspondence in this volume describes the "daily struggle for social justice" and "work" of Slovaks living in foreign lands (p. 6). However, most of the letters reproduced were written by prominent Slovak immigrants usually active in the various national organizations. As a result, the correspondence typically describes the life of Slovak immigrants as seen through the eyes of these more prominent men, not as it was experienced by ordinary laborers toiling in American mines and factories and living in tenements or company housing. Moreover, the correspondence offers little insight into the life of Slovak immigrant women. Despite their shortcomings, the three volumes which comprise Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo offer a valuable collection of documents. No student of immigration history can be unhappy when documents maintained in European archives are published and made available for research. But researchers can be unhappy with the possibility that the criteria for selecting documents reflect the biases of the compilers and their government instead of a concern for balanced historical scholarship. June Granatir Alexander Cincinnati, Ohio �SLOVAKIA 157 \Jasil S. Kohan The Sorrows of Marienka Vasil S. Kohan THE SORROWS OF MARIENKA . Middletown, Pennsylvania: EMPAC!, 1979. 201 pp. Too often the Slovak immigrant woman has been depicted as either the long-suffering heroine - bearing children and losing them, making do with the barest of material comforts, and contending with a husband who spends ample time at the krtma (saloon) - or else she is the punitive, angry eminence in the home, doing her duty, saying her rosaries but making everyone suffer for her sacrifices. In Vasil Koban's The Sorrows of Marienka we see another kind of Slovak woman, one that modern women can identify with as well as stare matky (grandmothers) can admire. Indeed, any woman that can march into a Slovak krtma in search of her errant husband, set the place on fire, and never utter a word of apology could earn a place in any feminist Hall of Fame. We follow Marienka from a wedding in Slovakia she did not seek through the death of her husband, who is killed while pulling out the pillars of coal in a depleted mine, one of the most dangerous jobs. Along the way, we find her to be alternately strong and tender, pure and lusty, humorous and sad, tom by doubts and quite sure of herself. In other words, a whole person - no idealized portrait is painted by Kohan, in his first, and let's hope, not last novel. What pleased and excited me about this book was its raw power, its insights into our people , its clear-eyed view of what lives the Slovak immigrants lived on both sides of the Atlantic. A wife backs up her husband 's lie that a wolf bit him when it was only a testy sow; a mother-in-law despises the woman who takes her precious son from her; a wife jumps into a coal car to show her husband how quickly it can be unloaded; Slovaks swindle an unsuspecting and ill Slovak out of a week's pay, posing as mine representatives; still another Slovak absconds with the seven thousand dollars that was to start a new church; a young son, put in the cloakroom as a punishment, eats all the lunches - these are some poignant moments in the Kohan book. Real people, real circumstances where the spirit triumphs in the crucible of daily living. �158 SLOVAKIA A taste of Koban's lovely, native style: "It didn't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle. The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down. In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads on the shoulders of their wool jackets, little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth. ''By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds. The curious light made everything look hollow, the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. "Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street, swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. " She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead, and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she 'd bound in her braids yesterday. " It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else had changed, they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark, curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet , stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church , and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things." As second, third, and fourth-generation Slovaks pursue the American dream , buying their four-bedroom houses , gaining their college degrees , wearing shirts and ties , and learning which fork to use , I would caution them to pause for a moment and look back. Look back, if they can, to see if they know anything about what their forebears experienced . For I think that the dacron polyester world that we so eagerly court, the fleeting values and the soft life, this ravenous hunger we have to be middle-class Americans is sadly misplaced. We have pushed aside the Marienkas of our families , we have not taken the time both to listen to them and to record what they have to say . When a dozen Vasil Kobans rise up - nqt professional writers, but people with a love , respect , and yet a disciplined and discriminating eye turned toward their parents and grandparents - and all of us can fe ast on the books they produce , then I, for one , will be less critical �SLOVAKIA 159 of the headlong quest for Eissimilation, acceptance, and sameness that haunts ethnic groups, ours certainly included. We Slovaks do not have a body of literature about the immigrant experience. We need it more than we need a legion of accountants and computer programmers; we need it if we are to regain our very souls. Paul Wilkes New York City, New York �160 SLOVAKIA Megles, Stolarik & Tybor Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland Susi Megles, Mark Stolarik, and Martina Tybor. SLOVAK AMERICANS AND THEIR, COMMUNITIES OF CLEVELAND. Edited by Karl Bonutti. With an Introduction by Michael Novak. "Ethnic Heritage Studies Monograph Series." Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University, 1978. 217 pp. The Cleveland, Ohio area is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers of Slovaks in America. As is unfortunately the case with other major Slovak-American communities, the Cleveland Slovaks have not received much scholarly attention. The only monograph solely devoted to them is Jan Pankuch's Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovcikov, which was published in 1930 and is now outdated. And although Josef Barton's Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 1890-1950, published in 1975, does analyze the social history of Cleveland's Slovaks in comparison with other ethnic groups, the book does not provide an overall and up-to-date review of the Cleveland Slovak communities. Given the fact that the volume under review was produced under the auspices of the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program of Cleveland State University and with partial support from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Education, Health, and Welfare, one might have expected a fresh, comprehensive, in-depth study of Cleveland's Slovaks. Regrettably, this is not the case. Neither the book's title, nor editor Karl Bonutti's preface, nor Michael Novak's introduction, nor even the "summary" provides the reader with a clear idea of the purpose of the book. What we are offered here is a melange of ''essays'' of varying quality covering a wide range of topics relating to Slovaks in Europe, the United States, and Cleveland. The work is divided into four main parts consisting of twenty-six chapters - "Old World Origins"; "New World Beginnings"; "Organizations and Contributions of Slovak-Americans"; and "The Slovak Community of Cleveland'' - and ten appendices (none of which is referred to in the text). Curiously, the authors of the component parts are not identified. This might not have been possible, for one gets the impression from the inexplicable changes of s~le within individual sec- �SLOVAKIA 161 tions that the work of one author was at times pieced together with that of another. Although a certain amount of unevenness is to be expected in a multi-authored publication, careful editing can often alleviate this problem. Evidence of such editorial control is slight. Constant repetition and overlapping, internal contradictions, the excessive number and short length of chapters , and generally poor organization mar the text. Especially disturbing is the mishandling of Slovak words . Diacritical marks are sometimes omitted; christian names are rendered indiscriminately in either Slovak or English; and clumsy phonetic approximations in English are provided for many but not all Slovak terms . Whoever wrote the section on the history of the Slovaks in the Old World does not seem to be very well acquainted with Slovak or European history. "Austria-Hungary" is more than once referred to as having existed before 1867; the Thirty Years' War is placed in the eighteenth century; and ' 'expressions of / Slovak / national consciousness" are claimed to have been present "quite early in the 17th century" (p. 24). The significance of Protestantism and of the Czech language for the Slovaks is almost totally ignored; Kollar,Safarik, and Stur are not identified as Lutherans, nor is it revealed that they wrote in Czech. Old-fashioned filiopietism rears its head in the section on Slovak immigrants - four pages are devoted to the mysterious '' Slovak Revolutionary War hero," Major Polerecky, who was born in France and whose connections with Slovaks and Slovak consciousness were extremely tenuous, if they existed at all. The section on Cleveland's Slovaks, although perhaps the best contribution, is also disappointing. Too much material relating to Slovak-Americans in general is included, as well as mundane personal reminiscences of one author; and there is scanty treatment of the Cleveland Slovak communities beyond World War II. One wonders why this book was published. In attempting to cover so many topics it in fact does not do justice to even one. Although the book contains a wealth of factual information, most of it can be found better presented in existing works. And the lack of footnotes and a bibliography considerably reduces its value. We have reached the stage where there are competent scholars capable of interpreting the Slovak-American experience and opportunities to make the results of their research available to the American public. In light of this fact, there should be no excuse for such an inferior publication as Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. ThomasD. Marzik (Mrazik) Saint Joseph 's University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ��SLOVAKIA 163 \ Contributors SONYA JASON is a writer who lives and works in California . She is a second-generation Slovak-American from Pennsylvania. OWEN V. JOHNSON, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Indiana University, completed his graduate work at the University of Michigan. He is an expert on interwar Slovakia and has written numerous articles on this subject. STANISLA V J. KIRSCH BA UM is Associate Professor of Political Science at Glendon College, York University. A graduate of the Universities of Ottawa, Toronto, and the Sorbonne, he has published widely in the history and politics of Czechoslovakia in modern times (1939-1980). VASIL S. KOBAN is a writer living and working in Florida . He hails from a Slovak-Rusyn family that settled in Pennsylvania. PAUL R. MAGOCSI, a graduate of Princeton University, holds the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the world's leading authority on the Rusyns and has written the most authoritative books and articles on this ethnic group. HOW ARD F. STEIN, Associate Professor of Medical-Psychiatric Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, received his Ph .D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972 . He has written a large number of books and articles on Slovaks and other ethnic groups in the United States. ��SLOVAKIA 165 Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the managing editor. Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length, and should be submitted in triplicate , typed doublespaced, with generous margins for copyediting. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced, numbered, and placed at the end of the paper. Text and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers . Proper orthography and diacritical marks must be supplied for all foreign words. Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided. Books for review are to be sent to the managing editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged. Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the managing editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced, typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author, full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. ��Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. ���EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK, ESQ. President JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland, Ohio JOSEPH J. TALAFOUS, ESQ. Vice Presidents DANIEL F. TANZONE ANNE Z. SAROSY Executive Committee: Edward J. Behuncik, John A. Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr., George N. Kantor Michael J. Krajsa, Louise M. Yash, Cecelia Sarocky, Joseph R. Kristofik, George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza, President Regional Vice-Presidents: George Lupjan - New York, New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania Joseph Ondis - Ohio David Zelenak - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois, Indiana Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin, Western States John Hvasta - Washington, D.C., Southern States Stanislav Duris Auditors: Anna Blahusiak Joseph Valencik SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S. AND CANADA Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 102,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 50,000 THE NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa . - Membership 21,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 THE PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 10,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa, F.I.C., President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) , \ JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) NARODNE NOVINY (circulatio~ 15,000) FRATERNALLY YOURS, ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 1,800) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 6,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. � REVIEWS ��SLOVAKIA 135 ' Peter Brock The Slovak National Awakening Peterirock. THE SLOVAK NATIONAL AWAKENING: AN ESSAY IN THE INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF EAST CENTRAL EUROPE. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1976. x, 104 pp . This three-chapter monograph with extensive notes, bibliography, and index presents the intellectual growth ' ' of an idea, the Slovak idea of nationality" (p.x). Written primarily to fill a gap on "which scarcely any reliable literature exists in English" (ibid.), Professor Brock's study does precisely that - non-English subsidiary sources are evaluated, unsubstantiated claims of biased scholarship are pointed out, and perennial misunderstandings of specific historical issues are put in proper perspective. With the exception of a few flaws that will be listed below, the book is well-organized and written in a style that favorably ties the author's learning with his common sense. The main thrust of the work, as the author has emphasized at the very outset of the text, was to be found in the interrelationship of the concept of Slovak "cultural-linguistic nationhood" to the concepts of natio hungarica, on the one hand, and the " Czechoslovak idea, " on the other. Slovak national identity, the first component of the uneasy alliance , grew up in its linguistic aspect more or less directly from indigenous traditions, while its scholarly-cultural tenets were repeatedly reexamined under Magyar and Czech influences. Thus one could say that the literature of the Cyrilo-Methodian era had a negligible impact on the Slovak vernacular. Biblittina - almost sacred in Slovak Lutheran religious usage , especially after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) did influence the Slovak vernacular development, but far less than even the most recent , relatively restrained, scholarship has suggested. The so-called Jesuit Slovak, essentially " an amalgam , of several dialects , heavily influenced by Czech, and . . . used by / educated I Protestants as well as Catholics" (p . 6), made no impact on the common speech of the masses whatsoever. In turn the dialect spoken in southwestern Slovakia attained a limited acceptance as a ' ' Slovak literary language " due to the efforts of the Catholic priests Anton Bernolak, Juraj Fandly, and Jan Holly. However, only the dialect of central Slovakia propagated by the Protestant scholar and philosopher, :Cudovit �136 SLOVAKIA Stur, gained the full support of the Slovaks and eventually became the basis for a Slovak literary language. Slovak scholarly-cultural pursuits - as hinted above - were to a great extent products of the cultural and political tensions within central Europe . Natio hungarica , despite its lofty official attributes, was in reality a misnomer, denoting an alliance between the historical determination of the nation-state and Magyar political aspirations. Essentially a shield for aristocratic privileges in the pre-Josephinist era, it became a vehicle for repressive measures against non-Magyar ethnic groups in later decades. The Slovak approach to the concept of natio hungarica underwent a full range of changes from the mytho-historical point of view of Juraj Papanek and Juraj Sklenar in its earlier version to a pragmatic-negative standpoint of the Sturites in its latest variant. The Great Moravian Empire, according to Papanek and Sklenar, was a Slovak national state. The Slovaks , Sklenar claimed, formed after its downfall a voluntary and equal partnership, a natio hungarica, "with the newly arrived Magyars" (p . 8) . In contrast, Kollar 's " pro-Czechoslovak" group ceased to honor the idea of political-cultural union with the Magyars around 1830, while the Sturites refused ever to recognize it in any form. The idea of the socalled Czechoslovak national unity has lingered in one or another shape in some minds up to the present time. However, during the eleven-century long Magyar occupation of the Slovak territory the ties between the Czechs and Slovaks ' 'remained confined to comparatively small sections of the intelligentsia . . . the Slovak peasants and the artisans . . . possessed scarcely any national or even ethnic consciousness that went beyond an elemental love of their mother tongue, usually the only language they could speak'' (p. 20). A stronger interest in the " Czechoslovak idea" came about between 1820 and 1840 when Jan Kollar used it as a bridge between the motley assortment of various Slavic idioms and his axiomatic philosophy of Slavdom. Slavdom, in Kollar ' s visionary system, was but a single nation containing four literary languages - Russian, Polish, lliyrian, and Czechoslovak - that were " worthy" to have a distinct status . All other " smaller" Slavic languages were, by this logic, " unworthy" of a separate existence and were to be channelled into the nearest Slavic idiom. The Slovak language was supposed to be absorbed into Czech. Brock' s study is a well-balanced and honest treatment of one of the most difficult subjects of scholarship. It undmi btedly adds a new dimension to a better understanding of related -ethno-political issues treated , for example , by Robert W. Seton-Watson in his Racial Problems in Hungary (reprinted by Howard Fertig, New York, 1972) , by �SLOVAKIA 137 \ Gilbert L. Oddo in his Slovakia and Its People (published by R. Speller, New York, 1960), and by Joseph F. Zacek in his essay, "Nationalism in Czechoslovakia" (published in Sugar and Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1969; see especially pp. 166-167 and 186-195). On the other hand, Brock's condensed treatment of the entire issue does not give full credii to his familiarity with the problem. Had the book been more broadly conceived (let us say by a treatment of the ''growth'' of Slovak cultural-linguistic nationalism after 1918), it would have considerably contributed to the study of parallels and differences between Magyar and Czech standpoints toward Slovak cultural endeavors from a new angle. My minor but specific objections are directed against the following defects in the work: (1) the use of non-English constructions in the text when English equivalents were available and their non-English counterparts could easily be incorporated in extensive notes; (2) too many errors in non-English references included in the "Notes;" and (3) the "Notes" and "Bibliography" were set in uneven-line endings while the text itself was presented in regular "book-line" endings. Although intended primarily for Slavic scholars, this book merits the attention of English-speaking students of Slovak culture everywhere. It is proof that a foreign-born scholar can present a fair and truthful account of a topic related to the Slovaks and Slovakia in spite of frequent misrepresentations of the issues by biased scholars. Brock's work will stand out as a model for future efforts on similar subjects. Andrej Cintura Riverside, CaUfomia �138 SLOVAKIA Josef Kalvoda Czechoslovakia's Role in Soviet Strategy Josef Kalvoda. CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S ROLE IN SOVIET STRATEGY. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1978. ix, 381 pp. This is a good book with the wrong title. What Professor Kalvoda offers is a history of Czechoslovakia's attitude to and relations with the Soviet Union since World War I. Hence a more appropriate title would have been "Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union," a title general enough to cover the range and wealth of information meticulously assembled and presented. In fact, the author has done Western scholarship a service by examining this topic in depth; until now this subject has been dealt with piecemeal either in studies on the foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic, or in the more recent studies on the liberalization process of Communist Czechoslovakia. The greater part of the study is devoted to an analysis of the attitudes and actions toward the Soviet Union of two of the three founders of the Czechoslovak state, namely T.G. Masaryk and Edvard Benes. Interspersed are chapters on the Slovak Soviet Republic, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and the sovietization of the country. Needless to say, after 1948, the focus changes somewhat insofar as Czechoslovakia has become a satellite of the Soviet Union, and the relationship between the countries is on a completely different level. Still, given the fact that the leadership of Czechoslovakia sought to establish a new framework of relations with the Soviet Union in the liberalization process of 1968, especially on the ideological level, there is a thematic continuity that justifies the fifty-odd year analysis offered here. It is a pity that the author did not fully exploit this aspect of the topic and that his weakest chapters are the last three where he does suggest how Czechoslovakia has played a role in Soviet strategy since 1948 . This latter theme, interesting at it may be, does not tie in well with the preceding chapters and thus breaks up the unity of theme that had been evident, though not explicitly stated, up to that point. One of the interesting points that the author makes and that is generally absent in histories of Czechoslovakia or the Soviet Union is the fact that during the Russian revolution th"ere existed a possibility of using the Czecho-Slovak Legion to smash the Bolsheviks. During the debate on this point, Karel Kramar, one of the Czech leaders, sug- �SLOVAKIA 139 \ gested that a free Czechoslovakia could exist only if there existed a democratic Russia. He urged that the Legion be used against the Bolsheviks to achieve this end. Masaryk disagreed; in fact, he urged early on the recognition of the Bolshevik regime and forbade the use of the Legion against the Red Army. While one cannot answer an historical if, one has to recognize that Kramar had been more perspications than Masaryk. In the interwar period, the attitudes to and relations with the Soviet Union were determined by Edvard Benes, the man to whom Kalvoda quite correctly also ascribes the responsibility for Czechoslovakia eventually becoming a Soviet satellite. The author shows in great detail how Benes gave in to the Soviet leadership and its satraps in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the war. The coup in February 1948 was merely an epilogue to a situation that had been dealt with in December 1943 when Benes, against British advice, signed a Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance, and Post-War Cooperation with the Soviet Union. The consequences need not be elaborated upon. The author left few stones unturned in his research. But what is more striking is his detachment from the subject matter, somehing that most Czech emigre scholars have rarely succeeded in achieving. Thus if one might find fault with the little attention he pays the Slovaks, at least he does not do so out of either indifference or deliberate slight. In fact, the topic does not call for an in-depth examination of Slovakia or the Slovaks; where they do play a role, the author presents the situation as directly as he does the rest of the subject. One has to remember that the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia, however deplorable, was always in the hands of the Czech elite, be it Benes in the First Republic or the Czech leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Kalvoda is not insensitive to the Slovaks, and in his preface he states that he '' never subscribed to the theory of one 'Czechoslovak' nation ... / nor had / taken the existance of the Slovak nation for granted" (p . vii). This is borne out in the study, particularly when he deals with the Slovak Republic and Benes' s attitude toward the Slovak nation during the Second World War. One might suggest, however, that the author could have examined the issue of the federalization of Czechoslovakia and its link to Soviet theory and practice on the nationality problem . Federalization was the only reform that survived the normalization policy after the invasion of August 1968. Czech-Slovak relations have played an important part in Communist Czechoslovakia , and the Soviet Union has not been kept entirely out of them. This should have been analyzed. It is a pity, as was stated above, that the author chose an inappro- �140 SLOVAKIA priate title and thereby missed some opportunities of examining other topics germane to the thrust of his study. Nevertheless, it is a wellwritten and well-documented analysis. Stanislav J. Kirschbaum Glendon College, York University Toronto, Canada �SLOVAKIA 141 \ Doro·thea El Mallakh The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 Dorothea H. El Mallakh. THE SLOVAK AUTONOMY MOVEMENT, 1935-1939: A STUDY IN UNRELENTING NATIONALISM. "East European Monographs, No. LV." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1979. xvi, 260 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. In recent years we have seen the submission of several dissertations dealing with Slovak topics. Others are under preparation. This development is more than welcomed. The study of Slovakia has finally reached maturity and respectability in the Western scholarly community. It is no longer an appendix to the history of the Czechs - as much as we admired the serious and honest treatments by R.W. Seton-Watson and S. Harrison Thomson. Nor is it propagandistic pamphleteering by an assortment of enthusiasts and political refugees - even if we recognize their contributions to the popularization of Slovak annals. Now we are dealing with the fruits of archival research, some of which has been done in the best tradition of Occidental scholarship. In spite of its progress, however, Slovak historiography remains a part of the intellectual ghetto, the quarantine in which East European studies are kept in the United States. Snobbery and arrogance of "Big Nations Research" and of "Continental (i.e., West European) Topics" are a mirror of political realities. The small nations of Eastern Europe, captive in the clutches of major powers for most of their modem life, elicit little interest in the hearts and minds of a cohort of intellectual imperialists. Hence, the obscurity of Slovakia resembles the relative invisibility of other neighboring peoples. These factors are amplified by the shortsightedness and irresponsibility of some students of Slovak history. Partisan zeal and engaged scholarship color much of their writing and publication. In addition, some trained professionals and graduates of good schools continue to undermine the work of others. They preserve the aura of disrepute which cast much blame on historical writing about Slovakia for so long. To the old ills is now added a new one: the rush to publication. In spite of the severe conditions of the academic market, there is slight justification for publication of an unrevised dissertation. A good thesis does not necessarily make a book of quality. And some dissertations are less than good . Dr. El Mallakh studied under some of the best teachers of East �142 SLOVAKIA European history and submitted a competent dissertation. Her book left much to be desired, however. In her major thesis she advances the idea that unfulfilled, if just, national grievances by the Slovaks undermined the stability of the Czechoslovak Republic and assisted the Nazis in setting up the Slovak state. She argues that past historians, while discussing Czechoslovak and Slovak developments, usually "premissed on an anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist vantage point" (p. 11). This is not correct; arguments similar to El Mallakh's which recognized the pains of Slovak nationalism were advanced before she started to write her thesis. The title and topic of The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 are confusing, as the volume strives to encapsule the entire development of Slovak nationalism from the 19th century to the present. By renaming Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (HSPP) with the title of Slovak Autonomy Movement, El Mallakh made the "tudaks" (an expression not existing in the book) into the only bearers of Slovak nationalism. Consequently, she dwarfed the demands and complaints of the Slovak people into the simplistic political program of the single albeit strongest - party. Autonomy was the HSPP 's answer to two of the major problems the Slovak people faced in Czechoslovakia: the lack of recognition of their national individuality and Prague' s centralistic rule over the entire state. The doctrine of a single Czechoslovak nation, which El Mallakh barely mentioned and left unanalyzed, caused significant harm since it offended the mental and emotional consciousness of the Slovak people. El Mallakh apparently was not aware of the 19th-century Czech and Slovak roots of this doctrine. Jan Kollar, the great prophet of Czechoslovakism, appears nowhere in the book. Centralism constituted a serious problem also for day-to-day life during the First Republic. The author discussed this aspect, frequently with skill and erudition. Unfortunately , she failed to evaluate the reasons and long term effects of either Czechoslovakism or centralism on the state. Had she done so, she might perhaps have discovered that autonomy was not necessarily the most effective remedy for Slovakia's sores, but rather a shrewd political platform . As the author stated repeatedly , Slovakia overflowed with the mixed blessing of countless political parties. Some of them represented particular national-ethnic groups; others claizp.ed a territorial or professional character and aspired to speak for a variety of nationalities. Hlinka's People's Party and Razus's National Party were exclusively Slovak. Agrarians, Social Democrats, and Communists catered to a multi-national constituency. Of all the major parties represented in Slovakia and electing more than five members of parliament at any time, �SLOVAKIA 143 probably only the Social\ Democrats stood on an uncompromised Czechoslovak and centralistic platform. The eminently pragmatic Agrarians, although centralistically minded, were willing to compromise - as Milan Hodza later demonstrated. Many a Slovak Agrarian was as nationalistically inspired as any member of the HSPP. The Communists took a stand no less radical than the ":Cudaks." At times, the Communists would outdo Hlinka' s partisans in extremist antiPrague rhetoric. Singling out of one party at the expense of the others slants reality. If El Mallakh felt that the HSPP deserved preferential treatment, she fell short of explaining the obvious popular support it commanded. In her recurring habit, she relied too much on one of the two relevant books of Juraj Kramer without elaborating the issue in depth. There still exists a need for a basic social and sociological study of the HSPP, its territorial basis, and its economic and psychological background. Similarly, the exceptional role of the clergy in Slovakia's history was often noticed but without taking a closer look into the phenomenon. (El Mallakh does not seem to know that Martin Razus was a Protestant pastor, besides having been a poet and writer.) She should also have explained the fluctuating vote of support for the HSPP. The author provided many new details and insights in her description of the HSPP political development but was not courageous enough to venture outside her closely set perimeter. The study obscured so many issues that one wonders whether it was due to a deficiency in information or by purpose. While dealing with the 1933 Nitra festivities, for instance, the writer omitted the ":Cudak" cooperation with the Czech Fascists. The Nitra manifesto of these festivities, part of which is reprinted in the book (p. 60), was a common proclamation of the Czech and Slovak non-governmental right. She is also silent about the participation of French, Italian, and other Fascists in the 1936 conference of the HSPP. The close relations of the Sidor faction with Polish authorities was dealt with in a spotty fashion. The anti-Semitic outrages, the so-called Golemiada of fall 1937, were innocently introduced as "student agitation" (p. 84). There are many more examples of this kind. One of the reasons for the narrow treatment of a fascinating topic was the limited sources of her research. El Mallakh is very proud of the original documents she was provided with by the Prague archives. Her excitement is exaggerated. Several recent dissertations were prepared from Czechoslovak and Slovak, central and regional, archives. In fact, even this reviewer (horrible dictu/) was given access to Slovak archives in 1968 and supplied with mircofilmed documents . The use of archival �144 SLOVAKIA material does not liberate one from the inspection of other primary and secondary sources. Of the primary sources available in the United States, she is missing the Czechoslovak parliamentary procedures, journals like Slovak and Katolicke noviny, several weeklies, quarterlies, and other periodicals. Above all, a reliance on one sort of documentation, much of which originated in police and government offices, must limit its reliability. Regretably, El Mallakh was unwilling to undertake even a partial correction of her dissertation, or to increase her familiarity with Slovak matters through secondary sources . In spite of the late publication of the volume (in 1979, while the dissertation was submitted in 1972) , the bibliography lists nothing printed after 1971. The seventies have seen many new works appear on this subject in the West and in the East. The same series of monographs, which included El Mallakh 's book, carried earlier at least two other relevant publications. If the author was reluctant to update the manuscript, why did she not use the studies of others while preparing the original dissertation? Where are works by Derer, Hoensch, Lipscher, Sidor, Mamatey & Luza, to give but a few? I also have some doubts about the author's comprehension of Czech and Slovak language documents. The text recalls unknown localities such as "Spisske Kapitul" (p. 21; it should be Spisska Kapitula) or " Dolny Vestenic" (p. 84; it should be Dolne Vestenice). An eagle in Slovak is ' 'orol' ' while El Mallakh repeatedly used the Czech term ' ' orel. '' The name of a leading HSPP journal was given as Slovenskej Pravdy (p . 76 ; it should be Slovenska pravda). Spelling mistakes of names and locations were also noticed elsewhere . The book has twenty-two useful appendices . While mostly reprints from otherwise obtainable sources (many are from Macartney), they nonetheless provide a handy collection. Some of the appendices are of marginal importance for the volume , such as the list of Slovak state cabinet members and details on the federalization of Czechoslovakia. El Mallakh dealt with an important topic using heretofore unseen documents. Coming from a neutral and uncommited ethnic background, she has made a significant effort to present a balanced study. Unfortunately, she was not steeped enough in Slovakia's history and affairs, in social life , and in political culture , and therefore numerous issues and details eluded her. Her decisiqn to write a strictly political description based on narrowly defined sou\-ces resulted in a simplistic treatment of a complex topic . Yeshayahu Jelinek Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beersheba, Israel �SLOVAKIA 145 Anthpny X. Sutherland Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia Anthony X. Sutherland. DR. JOZEF TISO AND MODERN SLOVAKIA. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. xii, 141 pp. Using Slovak, Czech, German, and English language sources, Dr. Sutherland presents a balanced and scholarly account of the life, career, accomplishments, and failures of the only president of the Slovak Republic. The author does not have anti-Czech, anti-Protestant, or antiCatholic biases, is neither a Slovak nationalist nor a "Czechoslovak," and approaches the subject matter with the detachment of an impartial observer and a non-involved historian. Needless to say, one cannot do justice to "Slovak Political Tradition " in fifteen pages of printed material; yet Sutherland gives the most essential data on the Great Moravian Empire, its collapse, and the centuries-long life of the Slovaks under Magyar rule. In the nineteenth century two traditions emerged among the educated Slovaks: one represented by Jan Kollar and P . J. Safarik, and the other by Cudovit Stur. The former favored closer cooperation with the Czechs; the latter emphasized a distinct Slovak national identity. However, all the Slovak leaders realized that the struggle for survival of the small nation had to be led on all fronts, including the cultural, economic, and political. In Andrej Hlinka the Slovaks had an articulate political leader who fought for justice for his nation both before and after World War I. The brevity of the first chapter may be responsible for some errors, such as on pp. 18 and 19. In 1916 in Paris the Czech National Council was formed by the two Deputies in the Vienna parliament, T.G. Masaryk and Josef Duerich, with Dr. Edvard Benes as its secretary. Milan R. Stefanik was a co-opted member of the council. On the insistence of American Slovaks the name of the organization was changed to Czecho-Slovak National Council. The Kiev Memorandum was not signed by ''Russian Slovaks and Czecho-Slovak Legionnaires '' but by the representatives of the Alliance of the Czecho-Slovak Associations in Russia, Gustav Kosik for the Slovak League of America, and Stefanik and Duerich for the Paris-based council. These minor inaccuracies, however, do not subtract from the overall value of the book. The author makes it clear that Hlinka was loyal to the Republic established in 1918 and that he objected merely to its anti-Catholic poli- �146 SLOVAKIA cies , the denial of the promised autonomy for the Slovaks, and the behavior of some Czechs in Slovakia. Likewise Dr. Jozef Tiso, with reservations similar to Hlinka's, supported the First Republic until its collapse in October of 1938. In September of 1938 President Benes refused to fight for the territorial integrity of the state , and in March of 1939 the rump Second Republic could not be defended. It would seem that if Benes could give up strategic parts of the state without the consent of parliament and in violation of the Constitution, then no one from his camp should blame Tiso for yielding to pressures in March of 1939 and choosing Slovak independence instead of letting Slovakia be occupied either by Hungary or Germany. Sutherland pictures Tiso as a moderate Slovak patriot whose ideology was a mixture of organic nationalism and Christian socialism. It comes through, however, that despite his ideological-tinged rhetorics in practical politics, Tiso was a pragmatist who made concessions, compromises, and mistakes. It was he who convinced Hlinka in 1935 that the Slovak People's Party should help to elect Benes as president of the state. As it happened, in conversations with Stalin in December of 1943 - long before the Slovak uprising in Banska Bystrica - Benes included Tiso among the Slovaks whom he selected for execution after the war. Ideologist or pragmatist, Tiso, as his nation, was caught in a whirl of events which he could not control. Indeed, a small nation cannot always be the master of its own destiny, as the nations of East Central Europe have learned the hard way. Sutherland's book has accomplished its purpose. It is well-written, concise, brief, well-documented, and easy to read. It has enriched the historiography on Slovakia in English and has made a positive contribution to both scholarship and to our understanding of the short-lived Slovak Republic and its only president. Both students of Central European affairs and interested general readers will benefit greatly by reading it. Josef Kalvoda Saint Joseph College ~est Hartford, Connecticut \ �SLOVAKIA 147 \ Yeshayahu Jelinek The Parish Republic Yeshayahu Jelinek. THE PARISH REPUBUC: HUNKA 'S SLOVAK PEOPLE'S PARTY 1939-1945. "East European Monographs, No. XIV ." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1976. viii, 206 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. Professor Yeshayahu Jelinek's The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slovak People's Party is a revision of a dissertation on the politics and philosophy of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, 1939 to 1945, submitted at Indiana University. It is one of the first scholarly studies in English of the period in Slovak history from 1939 to 1945 written by someone not directly involved in the history of the Slovak state. In this book Jelinek examines in detail the internal history of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, its factions, ideology, and history. By dealing with each of the party' s groups - the clericals, "N astupists," Sidorites, and Hlinka guards, he provides us with an excellent picture of the political background of the Slovak state. Also treated in detail is Populist ideology as it affected all aspects of Slovak life: religion, nationalism , government, and economics. However, if one expects to find a comprehensive history of the Slovak state or detailed biographical information on any of its leading figures, one will be somewhat disappointed . Jelinek 's book is essentially a study of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, so the selection of the title, The Parish Republic , is a bit misleading. Although there is much information on the internal politics of the Populists , there is little on such topics as the Slovak Resistance Movement and the Slovak National Uprising (whose importance Jelinek greatly overemphasizes) and a disappointing, unsystematic account of the Jewish question. In addition to making occasional exaggerations , Jelinek commits a grave error in frequently maintaining that the Slovak state received little popular support . Such generalizations regarding acceptance or rejection of the Slovak state by the people are difficult to document and almost impossible to prove . In his account on " I.:udak" ideology Jelinek frequently uses the term " clerical fascism, " but nowhere does he offer a suitable definition of clerical fascism , or at least what he understands by it. At the end of the book one is left with a confusing picture as to exactly what type of �148 SLOVAKIA state Jelinek thought the Slovak Republic was - whether it was truly fascist or simply an authoritarian state with fascist trappings. The work would have been improved if Jelinek had compared Hlinka's Slovak People's Party with other rightist parties of the period: Rexists, Action Francaise, the Iron Guard, and others. The book is superbly documented, though one may argue that Jelinek relied too heavily on Czechoslovak Communist historians, whose interpretations are predictable, and on German documents. In summary, the book is a good, though somewhat confusing, account of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, its history, and ideology. Despite Jelinek's occasional exaggerations and general negative attitude toward the Populists, the book should be read, though with caution, by anyone searching for a better understanding of Hlinka 's Slovak People 's Party during one of the most controversial periods of Slovak history. Anthony X. Sutherland Stoney Point, New York �SLOVAKIA 149 Andrea Rebichini Chiesa, societ,p e stato in Cecoslovachia Andrea Rebichini. CHIESA, SOCIETA E STATO IN CECOSLOVACHIA, II: 1968-1978. Padova: DESEO-Liviana, 1979. 86 pp. In his two-volume book on the Church, society, and state in Czechoslovakia, Andrea Rebichini describes the religious situation of that country during the period of the last three decades. The first volume , published in 1977, covers the period from 1948 to 1968, and the present volume treats the period from 1968 to 1978. During this relatively short span of years, Czechoslovakia went through many turbulent events which left deep scars on its people. In 1948 there was a ruthless take-over by the Communists ; then, in the late sixties, the liberalization of the Communist rule symbolized by Alexander Dubcek; in August 1968 the brutal occupation of the country by Soviet troops, followed by the so-called "normalization," i.e., by the return to the old Stalinist methods of suppression and tyranny. The vicissitudes of Czechoslovakia have attracted the attention of many scholars, writers of political history, and various reporters . Rebichini is mostly interested in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia during these three decades. He is familiar with the vast literature on postwar Czechoslovakia and has succeeded in putting the Church-State problems of that country into the larger framework of the whole political spectrum of Eastern Europe, dominated by the Soviet Union. In the volume under review, Rebichini uses mostly documentary material coming from Czechoslovakia and translated into Italian by CESEO (Centro Studi Europa Orientale), published monthly in Bologna. Since these documents speak for themselves, Kebichini does not give long analyses or commentaries on them. Clarity, objectivity, and succinctness are the main values of Rebichini' s book. At the beginning of the second volume the author gives the most characteristic aspects of the Dubcek liberalization of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The Catholic Church, as well as other denominations, grasped at this opportunity and quickly developed a feverish activity to free themselves from the shackles of the previous twenty years. For the Catholics, until then cutoff from the Church at large , it meant an attempt to catch up with the reform movement of the Vatican Council and the new theological trends in the post-conciliar �150 SLOVAKIA Church. Bishops, priests, religious, and lay people took up this task in Czechoslovakia. Not even the Soviet occupation could immediately stop this endeavor. According to Rebichini, the turning point in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia was the restoration of the organization of priests collaborating with the neo-Stalinist regime of Gustav Husak. During the Dubcek era the former pro-government organization of the Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy totally collapsed. Toward the end of 1971 it was resurrected under the name of the Federation of the Catholic Clergy - ''Pacem in Terris.' ' Under the guidance and with the support of the new regime, this organization quickly resumed the role of the previous Peace Movement and gradually took control of the Church organization in Czechoslovakia. It seems that because of the growing influence of this organization, most of the Holy See's recent efforts to alleviate the difficult situation of the Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia are being frustrated. In 1975 the Czechoslovak government signed the Helsinki Agreement, thereby .affirming its commitment to human rights, including the freedom of religion. But nothing changed in the course of repression and persecution of those citizens who tried to follow this prerogative of freedom in the religious field. Still, there was a group of brave intellectuals, most of them in the Czech lands, who publicly demanded from the government that it adhere to its commitments to the free exercise of human rights, including the right of free religious expression. The promoters of human rights in Czechoslovakia are working under the name "Charter 77." The Communist regime in Czechoslovakia immediately began a frantic campaign against the signers of "Charter 77" by organizing public protests and collecting signatures against them. Interestingly , almost incredibly, the Church hierarchy, now infiltrated by members of the "Pacem in Terris" and probably under very crude pressure from the government, joined the protest campaign against the signers of "Charter 77. " This, according to Rebichini, is an ominous sign of how terribly the Church of Czechoslovakia is presently enslaved by the Communist regime. Rebichini concludes his treatise on the religious situation in Czechoslovakia with the election of John Paul II as Pope - the first Slavic Pope, the first Pope from behind the ''Iron Curtain.'' He ex: presses the hope that this act of Divine Providence may deeply affect the Church in the satellite countries of Eastern Europe. TeQ_dorik J. Zubek, O.F.M. . Easton, Pennsylvania �SLOVAKIA 151 Vsevlad J. Gajdos Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike Vsevlad J. Gajdos. FRANTISKANI V SLOVENSKEJ UTERAT0RE and Teodorik J. Zubek, SLOVENSKl FRANTISKANI V AMERIKE. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1979. 252 pp. This study provides the specialist interested in Slovak culture, civilization, and religious history with a lot of information on Franciscans of Slovak extraction. It covers the period from the seventeenth century to the present. In the first section, Vsevlad J. Gajdos included a brief survey of Franciscan history and activities in Slovakia. He also commented concisely on Slovak ethnic consciousness among Franciscans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries . Then he described the major struggle of these Franciscans to insure their ethnic distinctiveness and the survival of their religious order. Virtually all the facts presented by Gajdos on this matter appear together for the first time and in a publication outside of Czechoslovakia. These points of information had previously been scattered among various journals published over a long period of time and primarily authored by Gajdos . After the delineation of Franciscan history, activities, and ethnic struggle follow the biographies and bibliographies of one hundred twenty-five Franciscans. In a number of instances, Gajdos has corrected various biographical errors on some of these Franciscans . A number of significant contributions by some of them have also been saved from oblivion or obscurity. For instance, the four large volumes of sermons by Bajan as well as a number of his musical compositions are preserved here . The role of Teodul Zelenic in the Bemolak polemic, Anti-Fandly, is also well-presented. Even the probable identity of the pseudonymous researcher , S. M. Zilinsky, is substantively argued. Among the various Slovak Franciscans covered are authors of literary works, writers of devotional books , sermons, and retreat exhortations; authors of philosophical and theological treatises, textbooks, and polemical writings; and composers of numerous musical compositions . �152 SLOVAKIA · Abrahamffy, Pascha, Bajan, Gavlovic, Simko, Smrtnik, Gazda, Roskovsky, Marmankovic, and Presl readily stand out, but also and especially Celestin Lepacek and Gajdos himself. For, like Gajdo§, Lepacek has also written biographies and works on a number of Slovak Franciscans; his research on Gavlovic's writings would alone guarantee his place in the history of Slovak scholarship. With Lepacek's and his own research, Gajdos has been able to enhance substantially the quality of the biographies and bibliographies. Gajdo§ has concluded his section of this study with concise descriptions of Franciscan publications in Slovakia and some further bibliographical material from Rizner and his own years of research. The American section of the study was authored by Teodorik Zubek and has the same format as that portion written by Gajdos. There is first a survey of Slovak Franciscan history and activities in America, followed by the biographies and bibliographies of twelve prominent Slovak Franciscans who either emigrated to or were born in the United States. Especially noteworthy among this material is the bibliography of the poet Rudolf Dilong; the reference for the unfortunately brief article by Bartolomej Koltner on the Slovak dictionary of 1648; and the reference for Zubek's dissertation done in Slovakia, "Zasahy Jozefa II do zivota slovenskych franti§kanov." The latter appeared as a long article under the title, ''Zasahy osvietenstva do §tudia uhorskych frantiskanov" in Sbornik spolku Zahorskych akademikov so sidlom v Malackach, 1932-1942, II, Trnava; a copy of this work can be found in the library of the University of California, Los Angeles. A number of typographical errors could readily be corrected in a reprinting of this book. The bibliography of Gavlovic is not complete; but, in his research, Lepacek has given as complete a list as is presently possible. In the Gavlovic bibliography there are also a number of minor errors with regard to the number of pages in certain works. In the numerous bibliographical references, there may also be some points in error that will come to light as scholars are able to study personally the various materials listed in the book. On the whole, though, this study is a fairly comprehensive presentation of Slovak Franciscan writings and musical compositions. Gajdos and Zubek have provided the Slovak specialist with another primary reference work tha,,t complements those of Rizner, Misianik, and Ormis. Perhaps, somedat, an E11tglish version of this study will be published for the sake of a larg'er scholarly audience. GeraldJ. Sabo, S.J. John Carroll University Cleve/,and, Ohio �SLOVAKIA 153 \ Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps. Slovenske vystahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, Ill SLOVENS/a VYS'l'AHOVALECTVO. DOKUMENTY I: DO ROKU 1918. Compiled by Franti§ek Bielik and Elo Rako§. Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej adademie vied, 1969. 404 pp. ; DOKUMENTY II; 1919-1939. Bielik and Rako§. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1975. 349 pp.; DOKUMENTY ill: KORESPONDENCIA Z ROKOV 1893-1939. Bielik. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1976. 314 pp. Students of Slovak immigration history will welcome the publication of Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo . These three volumes , devoted to the migration of Slovaks from their homeland, reproduce 380 documents deposited in various depositories in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Austria. This collection gives scholars living outside of these countries access to materials otherwise not readily available to them. One of the compilers' aim is to depict the underlying social, political, and economic factors that spurred Slovak emigration in the years from roughly 1879 to 1939 (Vol. I, pp. 5, 6; Vol II, p . 5). The selection of documents also places Slovak emigration within the broader context of the history of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus, the compilers include documents that demonstrate the impact of Slovak emigration on these homeland countries. In addition, the collection contains documents concerning Slovak immigrant life. Some of these items are official reports; others were generated by Slovak immigrants living in various countries, primarily the United States. Although the documents touch upon a myriad of subjects, the unifying theme of the three volumes is clear: emigration is an important aspect of the history of the Slovak people. Volume I focuses on Slovak emigration from 1879 to 1918 and deals primarily with the causes and consequences of that movement. This volume contains newspaper descriptions of contemporary conditions in Hungary that stimulated emigration. It includes a large number of official and local reports which analyze the causes of emigration, especially from particular regions in northern Hungary. The reports describe attempts by Hungarian officials to stop Slovak emigration. They also reveal a concern over the growing nationalism among Slovak immigrants in the United States. Because of the preponderance of official reports, �154 SLOVAKIA nearly all of the documents in this volume are in Hungarian; only twenty of the 144 items are in Slovak. The second volume covers Slovak emigration from 1919 to 1939. Slightly over two-thirds of its 114 documents are in Slovak, and the remaining are in Czech. Because the compilers try to present materials that describe the underlying causes of Slovak emigration , Volume Il provides information for scholars interested in studying Czechoslovakia between the two World Wars. For example, there are materials outlining the labor, industrial, and economic problems that plagued Czechoslovakia during the postwar years. Unemployment and unfavorable economic conditions encouraged emigration; but, since entry into the United States was restricted, Slovaks turned to other countries . Occasionally the Czechoslovak government tried to stop this exodus . However , the documents provide evidence that the government also saw emigration, and the temporary migration of laborers to nearby European countries , as a means to alleviate some of the country's economic and unemployment problems. In addition, official reports describe the conditions of Slovak immigrants in various countries including: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France , Germany, Mexico , Uruguay, the United States, and others . Volume ill reproduces 122 documents for the period 1893 to 1939. This collection is actually a supplement to the first two volumes and includes more materials written by Slovak immigrants. In fact, almost all of the documents were penned by Slovaks living in the United States. These items addres.s a wide variety of topics ranging from descriptions of Slovak nationalist activities in America to mere notes requesting that European Slovaks write articles for fraternal publications. The documents describe the various activities of American Slovak organizations during World War I and reveal their continued interest in Czechoslovakia after the war. Bielik and Rakos have complied a valuable collection of documents . These documents are useful both to students of Slovak immigration and to scholars interested in the social, economic, and political history of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus , the volumes have a use that extends beyond the study of Slovak immigration . The compilers have designed these volures for scholars. A complete bibliographic citation accompanies each docUtnent. Bielik and Rakos also provide editorial assistance by expfaining unfamiliar references mentioned in the documents . The compilers adopted a chronological format , but some researchers might prefer that they had chosen to categorize the documents topically. A topical approach would have �SLOVAKIA \ 155 lessened the need to plod through the volumes for specific types of documents. However, the compilers do include brief descriptions of every entry in each Table of Contents that facilitate the task of finding desired types of documents. There is no cumulative index, but the indexes included in each volume are useful for locating people, places, and organizations cited in the documents. However, one wishes the compilers had consistently listed persons' first names in the indices and had made more of an effort to provide subject entries. The compilers introduce each document with a brief Slovak and English precis. These precis are helpful but, as is usually the case with annotated descriptions, they do not reveal the variety of information contained within the documents. In general, the Slovak precis are more complete than the English versions. In addition, the English translations are generally dismal. Besides containing numerous grammatical and spelling errors, the English versions often are imprecise and misleading. Similar types of errors can be found in the footnotes. For example, readers will look in vain for a work cited as authored by "Louis Grune Bald" (Vol. I, p. 25). The proper citation should be "Emily Greene Balch." Balch is again slighted in the bibliography at the end of Volume ill where she is listed as "E. Green Bolek" (p. 278). Moreover, Bielik should have described the bibliography as listing '' selected '' works because it is incomplete. It is also dated. With the exception of a few articles printed in fraternal publications, the list does not include works on Slovak immigration published in the United States; nor is it complete for those published in Europe. The deficiencies evident in the bibliography may well be indicative of other shortcomings of these volumes. The compilers explain that while there are numerous documents in Europe archives pertaining to Slovak emigration, they have chosen the " most typical" (Vol. I, p. 6). Yet, although Volume ill includes 122 documents written primarily by Slovak immigrants, there is not a single letter or publication by Father Stefan Furdek. In fact, although the compilers make references to the First Catholic Slovak Union and note it as founded by Furdek, they fail to mention that he was a priest (Vol. I, p. 152). And, with but few exceptions, there is little reference to Slovak clergymen or their writings. Moreover, lengthy surveys of Slovak immigration which introduce Volumes I and ill discuss Slovak immigrant organizations, but there is no analysis of immigrant churches. Thus, this reviewer wonders if the items reproduced are perhaps the ''most typical'' of a select group of documents that ignore subjects such as religion that may be controversial or unpopular in present-day Czechoslovakia . Finally , one may wish to qualify Bielik 's claims regarding docu- �156 SLOVAKIA ments in Volume ill. According to Bielik, the correspondence in this volume describes the "daily struggle for social justice" and "work" of Slovaks living in foreign lands (p. 6). However, most of the letters reproduced were written by prominent Slovak immigrants usually active in the various national organizations. As a result, the correspondence typically describes the life of Slovak immigrants as seen through the eyes of these more prominent men, not as it was experienced by ordinary laborers toiling in American mines and factories and living in tenements or company housing. Moreover, the correspondence offers little insight into the life of Slovak immigrant women. Despite their shortcomings, the three volumes which comprise Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo offer a valuable collection of documents. No student of immigration history can be unhappy when documents maintained in European archives are published and made available for research. But researchers can be unhappy with the possibility that the criteria for selecting documents reflect the biases of the compilers and their government instead of a concern for balanced historical scholarship. June Granatir Alexander Cincinnati, Ohio �SLOVAKIA 157 \Jasil S. Kohan The Sorrows of Marienka Vasil S. Kohan THE SORROWS OF MARIENKA . Middletown, Pennsylvania: EMPAC!, 1979. 201 pp. Too often the Slovak immigrant woman has been depicted as either the long-suffering heroine - bearing children and losing them, making do with the barest of material comforts, and contending with a husband who spends ample time at the krtma (saloon) - or else she is the punitive, angry eminence in the home, doing her duty, saying her rosaries but making everyone suffer for her sacrifices. In Vasil Koban's The Sorrows of Marienka we see another kind of Slovak woman, one that modern women can identify with as well as stare matky (grandmothers) can admire. Indeed, any woman that can march into a Slovak krtma in search of her errant husband, set the place on fire, and never utter a word of apology could earn a place in any feminist Hall of Fame. We follow Marienka from a wedding in Slovakia she did not seek through the death of her husband, who is killed while pulling out the pillars of coal in a depleted mine, one of the most dangerous jobs. Along the way, we find her to be alternately strong and tender, pure and lusty, humorous and sad, tom by doubts and quite sure of herself. In other words, a whole person - no idealized portrait is painted by Kohan, in his first, and let's hope, not last novel. What pleased and excited me about this book was its raw power, its insights into our people , its clear-eyed view of what lives the Slovak immigrants lived on both sides of the Atlantic. A wife backs up her husband 's lie that a wolf bit him when it was only a testy sow; a mother-in-law despises the woman who takes her precious son from her; a wife jumps into a coal car to show her husband how quickly it can be unloaded; Slovaks swindle an unsuspecting and ill Slovak out of a week's pay, posing as mine representatives; still another Slovak absconds with the seven thousand dollars that was to start a new church; a young son, put in the cloakroom as a punishment, eats all the lunches - these are some poignant moments in the Kohan book. Real people, real circumstances where the spirit triumphs in the crucible of daily living. �158 SLOVAKIA A taste of Koban's lovely, native style: "It didn't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle. The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down. In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads on the shoulders of their wool jackets, little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth. ''By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds. The curious light made everything look hollow, the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. "Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street, swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. " She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead, and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she 'd bound in her braids yesterday. " It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else had changed, they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark, curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet , stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church , and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things." As second, third, and fourth-generation Slovaks pursue the American dream , buying their four-bedroom houses , gaining their college degrees , wearing shirts and ties , and learning which fork to use , I would caution them to pause for a moment and look back. Look back, if they can, to see if they know anything about what their forebears experienced . For I think that the dacron polyester world that we so eagerly court, the fleeting values and the soft life, this ravenous hunger we have to be middle-class Americans is sadly misplaced. We have pushed aside the Marienkas of our families , we have not taken the time both to listen to them and to record what they have to say . When a dozen Vasil Kobans rise up - nqt professional writers, but people with a love , respect , and yet a disciplined and discriminating eye turned toward their parents and grandparents - and all of us can fe ast on the books they produce , then I, for one , will be less critical �SLOVAKIA 159 of the headlong quest for Eissimilation, acceptance, and sameness that haunts ethnic groups, ours certainly included. We Slovaks do not have a body of literature about the immigrant experience. We need it more than we need a legion of accountants and computer programmers; we need it if we are to regain our very souls. Paul Wilkes New York City, New York �160 SLOVAKIA Megles, Stolarik & Tybor Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland Susi Megles, Mark Stolarik, and Martina Tybor. SLOVAK AMERICANS AND THEIR, COMMUNITIES OF CLEVELAND. Edited by Karl Bonutti. With an Introduction by Michael Novak. "Ethnic Heritage Studies Monograph Series." Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University, 1978. 217 pp. The Cleveland, Ohio area is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers of Slovaks in America. As is unfortunately the case with other major Slovak-American communities, the Cleveland Slovaks have not received much scholarly attention. The only monograph solely devoted to them is Jan Pankuch's Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovcikov, which was published in 1930 and is now outdated. And although Josef Barton's Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 1890-1950, published in 1975, does analyze the social history of Cleveland's Slovaks in comparison with other ethnic groups, the book does not provide an overall and up-to-date review of the Cleveland Slovak communities. Given the fact that the volume under review was produced under the auspices of the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program of Cleveland State University and with partial support from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Education, Health, and Welfare, one might have expected a fresh, comprehensive, in-depth study of Cleveland's Slovaks. Regrettably, this is not the case. Neither the book's title, nor editor Karl Bonutti's preface, nor Michael Novak's introduction, nor even the "summary" provides the reader with a clear idea of the purpose of the book. What we are offered here is a melange of ''essays'' of varying quality covering a wide range of topics relating to Slovaks in Europe, the United States, and Cleveland. The work is divided into four main parts consisting of twenty-six chapters - "Old World Origins"; "New World Beginnings"; "Organizations and Contributions of Slovak-Americans"; and "The Slovak Community of Cleveland'' - and ten appendices (none of which is referred to in the text). Curiously, the authors of the component parts are not identified. This might not have been possible, for one gets the impression from the inexplicable changes of s~le within individual sec- �SLOVAKIA 161 tions that the work of one author was at times pieced together with that of another. Although a certain amount of unevenness is to be expected in a multi-authored publication, careful editing can often alleviate this problem. Evidence of such editorial control is slight. Constant repetition and overlapping, internal contradictions, the excessive number and short length of chapters , and generally poor organization mar the text. Especially disturbing is the mishandling of Slovak words . Diacritical marks are sometimes omitted; christian names are rendered indiscriminately in either Slovak or English; and clumsy phonetic approximations in English are provided for many but not all Slovak terms . Whoever wrote the section on the history of the Slovaks in the Old World does not seem to be very well acquainted with Slovak or European history. "Austria-Hungary" is more than once referred to as having existed before 1867; the Thirty Years' War is placed in the eighteenth century; and ' 'expressions of / Slovak / national consciousness" are claimed to have been present "quite early in the 17th century" (p. 24). The significance of Protestantism and of the Czech language for the Slovaks is almost totally ignored; Kollar,Safarik, and Stur are not identified as Lutherans, nor is it revealed that they wrote in Czech. Old-fashioned filiopietism rears its head in the section on Slovak immigrants - four pages are devoted to the mysterious '' Slovak Revolutionary War hero," Major Polerecky, who was born in France and whose connections with Slovaks and Slovak consciousness were extremely tenuous, if they existed at all. The section on Cleveland's Slovaks, although perhaps the best contribution, is also disappointing. Too much material relating to Slovak-Americans in general is included, as well as mundane personal reminiscences of one author; and there is scanty treatment of the Cleveland Slovak communities beyond World War II. One wonders why this book was published. In attempting to cover so many topics it in fact does not do justice to even one. Although the book contains a wealth of factual information, most of it can be found better presented in existing works. And the lack of footnotes and a bibliography considerably reduces its value. We have reached the stage where there are competent scholars capable of interpreting the Slovak-American experience and opportunities to make the results of their research available to the American public. In light of this fact, there should be no excuse for such an inferior publication as Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. ThomasD. Marzik (Mrazik) Saint Joseph 's University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ��SLOVAKIA 163 \ Contributors SONYA JASON is a writer who lives and works in California . She is a second-generation Slovak-American from Pennsylvania. OWEN V. JOHNSON, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Indiana University, completed his graduate work at the University of Michigan. He is an expert on interwar Slovakia and has written numerous articles on this subject. STANISLA V J. KIRSCH BA UM is Associate Professor of Political Science at Glendon College, York University. A graduate of the Universities of Ottawa, Toronto, and the Sorbonne, he has published widely in the history and politics of Czechoslovakia in modern times (1939-1980). VASIL S. KOBAN is a writer living and working in Florida . He hails from a Slovak-Rusyn family that settled in Pennsylvania. PAUL R. MAGOCSI, a graduate of Princeton University, holds the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the world's leading authority on the Rusyns and has written the most authoritative books and articles on this ethnic group. HOW ARD F. STEIN, Associate Professor of Medical-Psychiatric Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, received his Ph .D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972 . He has written a large number of books and articles on Slovaks and other ethnic groups in the United States. ��SLOVAKIA 165 Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the managing editor. Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length, and should be submitted in triplicate , typed doublespaced, with generous margins for copyediting. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced, numbered, and placed at the end of the paper. Text and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers . Proper orthography and diacritical marks must be supplied for all foreign words. Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided. Books for review are to be sent to the managing editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged. Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the managing editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced, typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author, full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. ��Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. ���EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK, ESQ. President JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland, Ohio JOSEPH J. TALAFOUS, ESQ. Vice Presidents DANIEL F. TANZONE ANNE Z. SAROSY Executive Committee: Edward J. Behuncik, John A. Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr., George N. Kantor Michael J. Krajsa, Louise M. Yash, Cecelia Sarocky, Joseph R. Kristofik, George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza, President Regional Vice-Presidents: George Lupjan - New York, New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania Joseph Ondis - Ohio David Zelenak - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois, Indiana Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin, Western States John Hvasta - Washington, D.C., Southern States Stanislav Duris Auditors: Anna Blahusiak Joseph Valencik SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S. AND CANADA Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 102,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 50,000 THE NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa . - Membership 21,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 THE PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 10,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa, F.I.C., President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) , \ JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) NARODNE NOVINY (circulatio~ 15,000) FRATERNALLY YOURS, ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 1,800) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 6,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1980-81, Vol. 29 Description An account of the resource Vol. 29 (No. 53-54), 1980-81. 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 1980-81 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 REVIEWS SLOVAKIA 135 ' Peter Brock The Slovak National Awakening Peterirock. THE SLOVAK NATIONAL AWAKENING: AN ESSAY IN THE INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF EAST CENTRAL EUROPE. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1976. x, 104 pp . This three-chapter monograph with extensive notes, bibliography, and index presents the intellectual growth ' ' of an idea, the Slovak idea of nationality" (p.x). Written primarily to fill a gap on "which scarcely any reliable literature exists in English" (ibid.), Professor Brock's study does precisely that - non-English subsidiary sources are evaluated, unsubstantiated claims of biased scholarship are pointed out, and perennial misunderstandings of specific historical issues are put in proper perspective. With the exception of a few flaws that will be listed below, the book is well-organized and written in a style that favorably ties the author's learning with his common sense. The main thrust of the work, as the author has emphasized at the very outset of the text, was to be found in the interrelationship of the concept of Slovak "cultural-linguistic nationhood" to the concepts of natio hungarica, on the one hand, and the " Czechoslovak idea, " on the other. Slovak national identity, the first component of the uneasy alliance , grew up in its linguistic aspect more or less directly from indigenous traditions, while its scholarly-cultural tenets were repeatedly reexamined under Magyar and Czech influences. Thus one could say that the literature of the Cyrilo-Methodian era had a negligible impact on the Slovak vernacular. Biblittina - almost sacred in Slovak Lutheran religious usage , especially after the Battle of White Mountain (1620) did influence the Slovak vernacular development, but far less than even the most recent , relatively restrained, scholarship has suggested. The so-called Jesuit Slovak, essentially " an amalgam , of several dialects , heavily influenced by Czech, and . . . used by / educated I Protestants as well as Catholics" (p . 6), made no impact on the common speech of the masses whatsoever. In turn the dialect spoken in southwestern Slovakia attained a limited acceptance as a ' ' Slovak literary language " due to the efforts of the Catholic priests Anton Bernolak, Juraj Fandly, and Jan Holly. However, only the dialect of central Slovakia propagated by the Protestant scholar and philosopher, :Cudovit 136 SLOVAKIA Stur, gained the full support of the Slovaks and eventually became the basis for a Slovak literary language. Slovak scholarly-cultural pursuits - as hinted above - were to a great extent products of the cultural and political tensions within central Europe . Natio hungarica , despite its lofty official attributes, was in reality a misnomer, denoting an alliance between the historical determination of the nation-state and Magyar political aspirations. Essentially a shield for aristocratic privileges in the pre-Josephinist era, it became a vehicle for repressive measures against non-Magyar ethnic groups in later decades. The Slovak approach to the concept of natio hungarica underwent a full range of changes from the mytho-historical point of view of Juraj Papanek and Juraj Sklenar in its earlier version to a pragmatic-negative standpoint of the Sturites in its latest variant. The Great Moravian Empire, according to Papanek and Sklenar, was a Slovak national state. The Slovaks , Sklenar claimed, formed after its downfall a voluntary and equal partnership, a natio hungarica, "with the newly arrived Magyars" (p . 8) . In contrast, Kollar 's " pro-Czechoslovak" group ceased to honor the idea of political-cultural union with the Magyars around 1830, while the Sturites refused ever to recognize it in any form. The idea of the socalled Czechoslovak national unity has lingered in one or another shape in some minds up to the present time. However, during the eleven-century long Magyar occupation of the Slovak territory the ties between the Czechs and Slovaks ' 'remained confined to comparatively small sections of the intelligentsia . . . the Slovak peasants and the artisans . . . possessed scarcely any national or even ethnic consciousness that went beyond an elemental love of their mother tongue, usually the only language they could speak'' (p. 20). A stronger interest in the " Czechoslovak idea" came about between 1820 and 1840 when Jan Kollar used it as a bridge between the motley assortment of various Slavic idioms and his axiomatic philosophy of Slavdom. Slavdom, in Kollar ' s visionary system, was but a single nation containing four literary languages - Russian, Polish, lliyrian, and Czechoslovak - that were " worthy" to have a distinct status . All other " smaller" Slavic languages were, by this logic, " unworthy" of a separate existence and were to be channelled into the nearest Slavic idiom. The Slovak language was supposed to be absorbed into Czech. Brock' s study is a well-balanced and honest treatment of one of the most difficult subjects of scholarship. It undmi btedly adds a new dimension to a better understanding of related -ethno-political issues treated , for example , by Robert W. Seton-Watson in his Racial Problems in Hungary (reprinted by Howard Fertig, New York, 1972) , by SLOVAKIA 137 \ Gilbert L. Oddo in his Slovakia and Its People (published by R. Speller, New York, 1960), and by Joseph F. Zacek in his essay, "Nationalism in Czechoslovakia" (published in Sugar and Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1969; see especially pp. 166-167 and 186-195). On the other hand, Brock's condensed treatment of the entire issue does not give full credii to his familiarity with the problem. Had the book been more broadly conceived (let us say by a treatment of the ''growth'' of Slovak cultural-linguistic nationalism after 1918), it would have considerably contributed to the study of parallels and differences between Magyar and Czech standpoints toward Slovak cultural endeavors from a new angle. My minor but specific objections are directed against the following defects in the work: (1) the use of non-English constructions in the text when English equivalents were available and their non-English counterparts could easily be incorporated in extensive notes; (2) too many errors in non-English references included in the "Notes;" and (3) the "Notes" and "Bibliography" were set in uneven-line endings while the text itself was presented in regular "book-line" endings. Although intended primarily for Slavic scholars, this book merits the attention of English-speaking students of Slovak culture everywhere. It is proof that a foreign-born scholar can present a fair and truthful account of a topic related to the Slovaks and Slovakia in spite of frequent misrepresentations of the issues by biased scholars. Brock's work will stand out as a model for future efforts on similar subjects. Andrej Cintura Riverside, CaUfomia 138 SLOVAKIA Josef Kalvoda Czechoslovakia's Role in Soviet Strategy Josef Kalvoda. CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S ROLE IN SOVIET STRATEGY. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1978. ix, 381 pp. This is a good book with the wrong title. What Professor Kalvoda offers is a history of Czechoslovakia's attitude to and relations with the Soviet Union since World War I. Hence a more appropriate title would have been "Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union," a title general enough to cover the range and wealth of information meticulously assembled and presented. In fact, the author has done Western scholarship a service by examining this topic in depth; until now this subject has been dealt with piecemeal either in studies on the foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic, or in the more recent studies on the liberalization process of Communist Czechoslovakia. The greater part of the study is devoted to an analysis of the attitudes and actions toward the Soviet Union of two of the three founders of the Czechoslovak state, namely T.G. Masaryk and Edvard Benes. Interspersed are chapters on the Slovak Soviet Republic, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and the sovietization of the country. Needless to say, after 1948, the focus changes somewhat insofar as Czechoslovakia has become a satellite of the Soviet Union, and the relationship between the countries is on a completely different level. Still, given the fact that the leadership of Czechoslovakia sought to establish a new framework of relations with the Soviet Union in the liberalization process of 1968, especially on the ideological level, there is a thematic continuity that justifies the fifty-odd year analysis offered here. It is a pity that the author did not fully exploit this aspect of the topic and that his weakest chapters are the last three where he does suggest how Czechoslovakia has played a role in Soviet strategy since 1948 . This latter theme, interesting at it may be, does not tie in well with the preceding chapters and thus breaks up the unity of theme that had been evident, though not explicitly stated, up to that point. One of the interesting points that the author makes and that is generally absent in histories of Czechoslovakia or the Soviet Union is the fact that during the Russian revolution th"ere existed a possibility of using the Czecho-Slovak Legion to smash the Bolsheviks. During the debate on this point, Karel Kramar, one of the Czech leaders, sug- SLOVAKIA 139 \ gested that a free Czechoslovakia could exist only if there existed a democratic Russia. He urged that the Legion be used against the Bolsheviks to achieve this end. Masaryk disagreed; in fact, he urged early on the recognition of the Bolshevik regime and forbade the use of the Legion against the Red Army. While one cannot answer an historical if, one has to recognize that Kramar had been more perspications than Masaryk. In the interwar period, the attitudes to and relations with the Soviet Union were determined by Edvard Benes, the man to whom Kalvoda quite correctly also ascribes the responsibility for Czechoslovakia eventually becoming a Soviet satellite. The author shows in great detail how Benes gave in to the Soviet leadership and its satraps in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the war. The coup in February 1948 was merely an epilogue to a situation that had been dealt with in December 1943 when Benes, against British advice, signed a Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance, and Post-War Cooperation with the Soviet Union. The consequences need not be elaborated upon. The author left few stones unturned in his research. But what is more striking is his detachment from the subject matter, somehing that most Czech emigre scholars have rarely succeeded in achieving. Thus if one might find fault with the little attention he pays the Slovaks, at least he does not do so out of either indifference or deliberate slight. In fact, the topic does not call for an in-depth examination of Slovakia or the Slovaks; where they do play a role, the author presents the situation as directly as he does the rest of the subject. One has to remember that the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia, however deplorable, was always in the hands of the Czech elite, be it Benes in the First Republic or the Czech leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Kalvoda is not insensitive to the Slovaks, and in his preface he states that he '' never subscribed to the theory of one 'Czechoslovak' nation ... / nor had / taken the existance of the Slovak nation for granted" (p . vii). This is borne out in the study, particularly when he deals with the Slovak Republic and Benes' s attitude toward the Slovak nation during the Second World War. One might suggest, however, that the author could have examined the issue of the federalization of Czechoslovakia and its link to Soviet theory and practice on the nationality problem . Federalization was the only reform that survived the normalization policy after the invasion of August 1968. Czech-Slovak relations have played an important part in Communist Czechoslovakia , and the Soviet Union has not been kept entirely out of them. This should have been analyzed. It is a pity, as was stated above, that the author chose an inappro- 140 SLOVAKIA priate title and thereby missed some opportunities of examining other topics germane to the thrust of his study. Nevertheless, it is a wellwritten and well-documented analysis. Stanislav J. Kirschbaum Glendon College, York University Toronto, Canada SLOVAKIA 141 \ Doro·thea El Mallakh The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 Dorothea H. El Mallakh. THE SLOVAK AUTONOMY MOVEMENT, 1935-1939: A STUDY IN UNRELENTING NATIONALISM. "East European Monographs, No. LV." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1979. xvi, 260 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. In recent years we have seen the submission of several dissertations dealing with Slovak topics. Others are under preparation. This development is more than welcomed. The study of Slovakia has finally reached maturity and respectability in the Western scholarly community. It is no longer an appendix to the history of the Czechs - as much as we admired the serious and honest treatments by R.W. Seton-Watson and S. Harrison Thomson. Nor is it propagandistic pamphleteering by an assortment of enthusiasts and political refugees - even if we recognize their contributions to the popularization of Slovak annals. Now we are dealing with the fruits of archival research, some of which has been done in the best tradition of Occidental scholarship. In spite of its progress, however, Slovak historiography remains a part of the intellectual ghetto, the quarantine in which East European studies are kept in the United States. Snobbery and arrogance of "Big Nations Research" and of "Continental (i.e., West European) Topics" are a mirror of political realities. The small nations of Eastern Europe, captive in the clutches of major powers for most of their modem life, elicit little interest in the hearts and minds of a cohort of intellectual imperialists. Hence, the obscurity of Slovakia resembles the relative invisibility of other neighboring peoples. These factors are amplified by the shortsightedness and irresponsibility of some students of Slovak history. Partisan zeal and engaged scholarship color much of their writing and publication. In addition, some trained professionals and graduates of good schools continue to undermine the work of others. They preserve the aura of disrepute which cast much blame on historical writing about Slovakia for so long. To the old ills is now added a new one: the rush to publication. In spite of the severe conditions of the academic market, there is slight justification for publication of an unrevised dissertation. A good thesis does not necessarily make a book of quality. And some dissertations are less than good . Dr. El Mallakh studied under some of the best teachers of East 142 SLOVAKIA European history and submitted a competent dissertation. Her book left much to be desired, however. In her major thesis she advances the idea that unfulfilled, if just, national grievances by the Slovaks undermined the stability of the Czechoslovak Republic and assisted the Nazis in setting up the Slovak state. She argues that past historians, while discussing Czechoslovak and Slovak developments, usually "premissed on an anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist vantage point" (p. 11). This is not correct; arguments similar to El Mallakh's which recognized the pains of Slovak nationalism were advanced before she started to write her thesis. The title and topic of The Slovak Autonomy Movement, 1935-1939 are confusing, as the volume strives to encapsule the entire development of Slovak nationalism from the 19th century to the present. By renaming Hlinka's Slovak People's Party (HSPP) with the title of Slovak Autonomy Movement, El Mallakh made the "tudaks" (an expression not existing in the book) into the only bearers of Slovak nationalism. Consequently, she dwarfed the demands and complaints of the Slovak people into the simplistic political program of the single albeit strongest - party. Autonomy was the HSPP 's answer to two of the major problems the Slovak people faced in Czechoslovakia: the lack of recognition of their national individuality and Prague' s centralistic rule over the entire state. The doctrine of a single Czechoslovak nation, which El Mallakh barely mentioned and left unanalyzed, caused significant harm since it offended the mental and emotional consciousness of the Slovak people. El Mallakh apparently was not aware of the 19th-century Czech and Slovak roots of this doctrine. Jan Kollar, the great prophet of Czechoslovakism, appears nowhere in the book. Centralism constituted a serious problem also for day-to-day life during the First Republic. The author discussed this aspect, frequently with skill and erudition. Unfortunately , she failed to evaluate the reasons and long term effects of either Czechoslovakism or centralism on the state. Had she done so, she might perhaps have discovered that autonomy was not necessarily the most effective remedy for Slovakia's sores, but rather a shrewd political platform . As the author stated repeatedly , Slovakia overflowed with the mixed blessing of countless political parties. Some of them represented particular national-ethnic groups; others claizp.ed a territorial or professional character and aspired to speak for a variety of nationalities. Hlinka's People's Party and Razus's National Party were exclusively Slovak. Agrarians, Social Democrats, and Communists catered to a multi-national constituency. Of all the major parties represented in Slovakia and electing more than five members of parliament at any time, SLOVAKIA 143 probably only the Social\ Democrats stood on an uncompromised Czechoslovak and centralistic platform. The eminently pragmatic Agrarians, although centralistically minded, were willing to compromise - as Milan Hodza later demonstrated. Many a Slovak Agrarian was as nationalistically inspired as any member of the HSPP. The Communists took a stand no less radical than the ":Cudaks." At times, the Communists would outdo Hlinka' s partisans in extremist antiPrague rhetoric. Singling out of one party at the expense of the others slants reality. If El Mallakh felt that the HSPP deserved preferential treatment, she fell short of explaining the obvious popular support it commanded. In her recurring habit, she relied too much on one of the two relevant books of Juraj Kramer without elaborating the issue in depth. There still exists a need for a basic social and sociological study of the HSPP, its territorial basis, and its economic and psychological background. Similarly, the exceptional role of the clergy in Slovakia's history was often noticed but without taking a closer look into the phenomenon. (El Mallakh does not seem to know that Martin Razus was a Protestant pastor, besides having been a poet and writer.) She should also have explained the fluctuating vote of support for the HSPP. The author provided many new details and insights in her description of the HSPP political development but was not courageous enough to venture outside her closely set perimeter. The study obscured so many issues that one wonders whether it was due to a deficiency in information or by purpose. While dealing with the 1933 Nitra festivities, for instance, the writer omitted the ":Cudak" cooperation with the Czech Fascists. The Nitra manifesto of these festivities, part of which is reprinted in the book (p. 60), was a common proclamation of the Czech and Slovak non-governmental right. She is also silent about the participation of French, Italian, and other Fascists in the 1936 conference of the HSPP. The close relations of the Sidor faction with Polish authorities was dealt with in a spotty fashion. The anti-Semitic outrages, the so-called Golemiada of fall 1937, were innocently introduced as "student agitation" (p. 84). There are many more examples of this kind. One of the reasons for the narrow treatment of a fascinating topic was the limited sources of her research. El Mallakh is very proud of the original documents she was provided with by the Prague archives. Her excitement is exaggerated. Several recent dissertations were prepared from Czechoslovak and Slovak, central and regional, archives. In fact, even this reviewer (horrible dictu/) was given access to Slovak archives in 1968 and supplied with mircofilmed documents . The use of archival 144 SLOVAKIA material does not liberate one from the inspection of other primary and secondary sources. Of the primary sources available in the United States, she is missing the Czechoslovak parliamentary procedures, journals like Slovak and Katolicke noviny, several weeklies, quarterlies, and other periodicals. Above all, a reliance on one sort of documentation, much of which originated in police and government offices, must limit its reliability. Regretably, El Mallakh was unwilling to undertake even a partial correction of her dissertation, or to increase her familiarity with Slovak matters through secondary sources . In spite of the late publication of the volume (in 1979, while the dissertation was submitted in 1972) , the bibliography lists nothing printed after 1971. The seventies have seen many new works appear on this subject in the West and in the East. The same series of monographs, which included El Mallakh 's book, carried earlier at least two other relevant publications. If the author was reluctant to update the manuscript, why did she not use the studies of others while preparing the original dissertation? Where are works by Derer, Hoensch, Lipscher, Sidor, Mamatey & Luza, to give but a few? I also have some doubts about the author's comprehension of Czech and Slovak language documents. The text recalls unknown localities such as "Spisske Kapitul" (p. 21; it should be Spisska Kapitula) or " Dolny Vestenic" (p. 84; it should be Dolne Vestenice). An eagle in Slovak is ' 'orol' ' while El Mallakh repeatedly used the Czech term ' ' orel. '' The name of a leading HSPP journal was given as Slovenskej Pravdy (p . 76 ; it should be Slovenska pravda). Spelling mistakes of names and locations were also noticed elsewhere . The book has twenty-two useful appendices . While mostly reprints from otherwise obtainable sources (many are from Macartney), they nonetheless provide a handy collection. Some of the appendices are of marginal importance for the volume , such as the list of Slovak state cabinet members and details on the federalization of Czechoslovakia. El Mallakh dealt with an important topic using heretofore unseen documents. Coming from a neutral and uncommited ethnic background, she has made a significant effort to present a balanced study. Unfortunately, she was not steeped enough in Slovakia's history and affairs, in social life , and in political culture , and therefore numerous issues and details eluded her. Her decisiqn to write a strictly political description based on narrowly defined sou\-ces resulted in a simplistic treatment of a complex topic . Yeshayahu Jelinek Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beersheba, Israel SLOVAKIA 145 Anthpny X. Sutherland Dr. Jozef Tiso and Modern Slovakia Anthony X. Sutherland. DR. JOZEF TISO AND MODERN SLOVAKIA. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. xii, 141 pp. Using Slovak, Czech, German, and English language sources, Dr. Sutherland presents a balanced and scholarly account of the life, career, accomplishments, and failures of the only president of the Slovak Republic. The author does not have anti-Czech, anti-Protestant, or antiCatholic biases, is neither a Slovak nationalist nor a "Czechoslovak," and approaches the subject matter with the detachment of an impartial observer and a non-involved historian. Needless to say, one cannot do justice to "Slovak Political Tradition " in fifteen pages of printed material; yet Sutherland gives the most essential data on the Great Moravian Empire, its collapse, and the centuries-long life of the Slovaks under Magyar rule. In the nineteenth century two traditions emerged among the educated Slovaks: one represented by Jan Kollar and P . J. Safarik, and the other by Cudovit Stur. The former favored closer cooperation with the Czechs; the latter emphasized a distinct Slovak national identity. However, all the Slovak leaders realized that the struggle for survival of the small nation had to be led on all fronts, including the cultural, economic, and political. In Andrej Hlinka the Slovaks had an articulate political leader who fought for justice for his nation both before and after World War I. The brevity of the first chapter may be responsible for some errors, such as on pp. 18 and 19. In 1916 in Paris the Czech National Council was formed by the two Deputies in the Vienna parliament, T.G. Masaryk and Josef Duerich, with Dr. Edvard Benes as its secretary. Milan R. Stefanik was a co-opted member of the council. On the insistence of American Slovaks the name of the organization was changed to Czecho-Slovak National Council. The Kiev Memorandum was not signed by ''Russian Slovaks and Czecho-Slovak Legionnaires '' but by the representatives of the Alliance of the Czecho-Slovak Associations in Russia, Gustav Kosik for the Slovak League of America, and Stefanik and Duerich for the Paris-based council. These minor inaccuracies, however, do not subtract from the overall value of the book. The author makes it clear that Hlinka was loyal to the Republic established in 1918 and that he objected merely to its anti-Catholic poli- 146 SLOVAKIA cies , the denial of the promised autonomy for the Slovaks, and the behavior of some Czechs in Slovakia. Likewise Dr. Jozef Tiso, with reservations similar to Hlinka's, supported the First Republic until its collapse in October of 1938. In September of 1938 President Benes refused to fight for the territorial integrity of the state , and in March of 1939 the rump Second Republic could not be defended. It would seem that if Benes could give up strategic parts of the state without the consent of parliament and in violation of the Constitution, then no one from his camp should blame Tiso for yielding to pressures in March of 1939 and choosing Slovak independence instead of letting Slovakia be occupied either by Hungary or Germany. Sutherland pictures Tiso as a moderate Slovak patriot whose ideology was a mixture of organic nationalism and Christian socialism. It comes through, however, that despite his ideological-tinged rhetorics in practical politics, Tiso was a pragmatist who made concessions, compromises, and mistakes. It was he who convinced Hlinka in 1935 that the Slovak People's Party should help to elect Benes as president of the state. As it happened, in conversations with Stalin in December of 1943 - long before the Slovak uprising in Banska Bystrica - Benes included Tiso among the Slovaks whom he selected for execution after the war. Ideologist or pragmatist, Tiso, as his nation, was caught in a whirl of events which he could not control. Indeed, a small nation cannot always be the master of its own destiny, as the nations of East Central Europe have learned the hard way. Sutherland's book has accomplished its purpose. It is well-written, concise, brief, well-documented, and easy to read. It has enriched the historiography on Slovakia in English and has made a positive contribution to both scholarship and to our understanding of the short-lived Slovak Republic and its only president. Both students of Central European affairs and interested general readers will benefit greatly by reading it. Josef Kalvoda Saint Joseph College ~est Hartford, Connecticut \ SLOVAKIA 147 \ Yeshayahu Jelinek The Parish Republic Yeshayahu Jelinek. THE PARISH REPUBUC: HUNKA 'S SLOVAK PEOPLE'S PARTY 1939-1945. "East European Monographs, No. XIV ." Boulder, Colorado: East European Quarterly, 1976. viii, 206 pp. Distributed by Columbia University Press. Professor Yeshayahu Jelinek's The Parish Republic: Hlinka's Slovak People's Party is a revision of a dissertation on the politics and philosophy of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, 1939 to 1945, submitted at Indiana University. It is one of the first scholarly studies in English of the period in Slovak history from 1939 to 1945 written by someone not directly involved in the history of the Slovak state. In this book Jelinek examines in detail the internal history of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, its factions, ideology, and history. By dealing with each of the party' s groups - the clericals, "N astupists," Sidorites, and Hlinka guards, he provides us with an excellent picture of the political background of the Slovak state. Also treated in detail is Populist ideology as it affected all aspects of Slovak life: religion, nationalism , government, and economics. However, if one expects to find a comprehensive history of the Slovak state or detailed biographical information on any of its leading figures, one will be somewhat disappointed . Jelinek 's book is essentially a study of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, so the selection of the title, The Parish Republic , is a bit misleading. Although there is much information on the internal politics of the Populists , there is little on such topics as the Slovak Resistance Movement and the Slovak National Uprising (whose importance Jelinek greatly overemphasizes) and a disappointing, unsystematic account of the Jewish question. In addition to making occasional exaggerations , Jelinek commits a grave error in frequently maintaining that the Slovak state received little popular support . Such generalizations regarding acceptance or rejection of the Slovak state by the people are difficult to document and almost impossible to prove . In his account on " I.:udak" ideology Jelinek frequently uses the term " clerical fascism, " but nowhere does he offer a suitable definition of clerical fascism , or at least what he understands by it. At the end of the book one is left with a confusing picture as to exactly what type of 148 SLOVAKIA state Jelinek thought the Slovak Republic was - whether it was truly fascist or simply an authoritarian state with fascist trappings. The work would have been improved if Jelinek had compared Hlinka's Slovak People's Party with other rightist parties of the period: Rexists, Action Francaise, the Iron Guard, and others. The book is superbly documented, though one may argue that Jelinek relied too heavily on Czechoslovak Communist historians, whose interpretations are predictable, and on German documents. In summary, the book is a good, though somewhat confusing, account of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party, its history, and ideology. Despite Jelinek's occasional exaggerations and general negative attitude toward the Populists, the book should be read, though with caution, by anyone searching for a better understanding of Hlinka 's Slovak People 's Party during one of the most controversial periods of Slovak history. Anthony X. Sutherland Stoney Point, New York SLOVAKIA 149 Andrea Rebichini Chiesa, societ,p e stato in Cecoslovachia Andrea Rebichini. CHIESA, SOCIETA E STATO IN CECOSLOVACHIA, II: 1968-1978. Padova: DESEO-Liviana, 1979. 86 pp. In his two-volume book on the Church, society, and state in Czechoslovakia, Andrea Rebichini describes the religious situation of that country during the period of the last three decades. The first volume , published in 1977, covers the period from 1948 to 1968, and the present volume treats the period from 1968 to 1978. During this relatively short span of years, Czechoslovakia went through many turbulent events which left deep scars on its people. In 1948 there was a ruthless take-over by the Communists ; then, in the late sixties, the liberalization of the Communist rule symbolized by Alexander Dubcek; in August 1968 the brutal occupation of the country by Soviet troops, followed by the so-called "normalization," i.e., by the return to the old Stalinist methods of suppression and tyranny. The vicissitudes of Czechoslovakia have attracted the attention of many scholars, writers of political history, and various reporters . Rebichini is mostly interested in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia during these three decades. He is familiar with the vast literature on postwar Czechoslovakia and has succeeded in putting the Church-State problems of that country into the larger framework of the whole political spectrum of Eastern Europe, dominated by the Soviet Union. In the volume under review, Rebichini uses mostly documentary material coming from Czechoslovakia and translated into Italian by CESEO (Centro Studi Europa Orientale), published monthly in Bologna. Since these documents speak for themselves, Kebichini does not give long analyses or commentaries on them. Clarity, objectivity, and succinctness are the main values of Rebichini' s book. At the beginning of the second volume the author gives the most characteristic aspects of the Dubcek liberalization of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The Catholic Church, as well as other denominations, grasped at this opportunity and quickly developed a feverish activity to free themselves from the shackles of the previous twenty years. For the Catholics, until then cutoff from the Church at large , it meant an attempt to catch up with the reform movement of the Vatican Council and the new theological trends in the post-conciliar 150 SLOVAKIA Church. Bishops, priests, religious, and lay people took up this task in Czechoslovakia. Not even the Soviet occupation could immediately stop this endeavor. According to Rebichini, the turning point in the religious situation in Czechoslovakia was the restoration of the organization of priests collaborating with the neo-Stalinist regime of Gustav Husak. During the Dubcek era the former pro-government organization of the Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy totally collapsed. Toward the end of 1971 it was resurrected under the name of the Federation of the Catholic Clergy - ''Pacem in Terris.' ' Under the guidance and with the support of the new regime, this organization quickly resumed the role of the previous Peace Movement and gradually took control of the Church organization in Czechoslovakia. It seems that because of the growing influence of this organization, most of the Holy See's recent efforts to alleviate the difficult situation of the Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia are being frustrated. In 1975 the Czechoslovak government signed the Helsinki Agreement, thereby .affirming its commitment to human rights, including the freedom of religion. But nothing changed in the course of repression and persecution of those citizens who tried to follow this prerogative of freedom in the religious field. Still, there was a group of brave intellectuals, most of them in the Czech lands, who publicly demanded from the government that it adhere to its commitments to the free exercise of human rights, including the right of free religious expression. The promoters of human rights in Czechoslovakia are working under the name "Charter 77." The Communist regime in Czechoslovakia immediately began a frantic campaign against the signers of "Charter 77" by organizing public protests and collecting signatures against them. Interestingly , almost incredibly, the Church hierarchy, now infiltrated by members of the "Pacem in Terris" and probably under very crude pressure from the government, joined the protest campaign against the signers of "Charter 77. " This, according to Rebichini, is an ominous sign of how terribly the Church of Czechoslovakia is presently enslaved by the Communist regime. Rebichini concludes his treatise on the religious situation in Czechoslovakia with the election of John Paul II as Pope - the first Slavic Pope, the first Pope from behind the ''Iron Curtain.'' He ex: presses the hope that this act of Divine Providence may deeply affect the Church in the satellite countries of Eastern Europe. TeQ_dorik J. Zubek, O.F.M. . Easton, Pennsylvania SLOVAKIA 151 Vsevlad J. Gajdos Frantiskani v slovenskej literature and Teodorik J. Zubek Slovenski frantiskani v Amerike Vsevlad J. Gajdos. FRANTISKANI V SLOVENSKEJ UTERAT0RE and Teodorik J. Zubek, SLOVENSKl FRANTISKANI V AMERIKE. Cleveland, Ohio: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1979. 252 pp. This study provides the specialist interested in Slovak culture, civilization, and religious history with a lot of information on Franciscans of Slovak extraction. It covers the period from the seventeenth century to the present. In the first section, Vsevlad J. Gajdos included a brief survey of Franciscan history and activities in Slovakia. He also commented concisely on Slovak ethnic consciousness among Franciscans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries . Then he described the major struggle of these Franciscans to insure their ethnic distinctiveness and the survival of their religious order. Virtually all the facts presented by Gajdos on this matter appear together for the first time and in a publication outside of Czechoslovakia. These points of information had previously been scattered among various journals published over a long period of time and primarily authored by Gajdos . After the delineation of Franciscan history, activities, and ethnic struggle follow the biographies and bibliographies of one hundred twenty-five Franciscans. In a number of instances, Gajdos has corrected various biographical errors on some of these Franciscans . A number of significant contributions by some of them have also been saved from oblivion or obscurity. For instance, the four large volumes of sermons by Bajan as well as a number of his musical compositions are preserved here . The role of Teodul Zelenic in the Bemolak polemic, Anti-Fandly, is also well-presented. Even the probable identity of the pseudonymous researcher , S. M. Zilinsky, is substantively argued. Among the various Slovak Franciscans covered are authors of literary works, writers of devotional books , sermons, and retreat exhortations; authors of philosophical and theological treatises, textbooks, and polemical writings; and composers of numerous musical compositions . 152 SLOVAKIA · Abrahamffy, Pascha, Bajan, Gavlovic, Simko, Smrtnik, Gazda, Roskovsky, Marmankovic, and Presl readily stand out, but also and especially Celestin Lepacek and Gajdos himself. For, like Gajdo§, Lepacek has also written biographies and works on a number of Slovak Franciscans; his research on Gavlovic's writings would alone guarantee his place in the history of Slovak scholarship. With Lepacek's and his own research, Gajdos has been able to enhance substantially the quality of the biographies and bibliographies. Gajdo§ has concluded his section of this study with concise descriptions of Franciscan publications in Slovakia and some further bibliographical material from Rizner and his own years of research. The American section of the study was authored by Teodorik Zubek and has the same format as that portion written by Gajdos. There is first a survey of Slovak Franciscan history and activities in America, followed by the biographies and bibliographies of twelve prominent Slovak Franciscans who either emigrated to or were born in the United States. Especially noteworthy among this material is the bibliography of the poet Rudolf Dilong; the reference for the unfortunately brief article by Bartolomej Koltner on the Slovak dictionary of 1648; and the reference for Zubek's dissertation done in Slovakia, "Zasahy Jozefa II do zivota slovenskych franti§kanov." The latter appeared as a long article under the title, ''Zasahy osvietenstva do §tudia uhorskych frantiskanov" in Sbornik spolku Zahorskych akademikov so sidlom v Malackach, 1932-1942, II, Trnava; a copy of this work can be found in the library of the University of California, Los Angeles. A number of typographical errors could readily be corrected in a reprinting of this book. The bibliography of Gavlovic is not complete; but, in his research, Lepacek has given as complete a list as is presently possible. In the Gavlovic bibliography there are also a number of minor errors with regard to the number of pages in certain works. In the numerous bibliographical references, there may also be some points in error that will come to light as scholars are able to study personally the various materials listed in the book. On the whole, though, this study is a fairly comprehensive presentation of Slovak Franciscan writings and musical compositions. Gajdos and Zubek have provided the Slovak specialist with another primary reference work tha,,t complements those of Rizner, Misianik, and Ormis. Perhaps, somedat, an E11tglish version of this study will be published for the sake of a larg'er scholarly audience. GeraldJ. Sabo, S.J. John Carroll University Cleve/,and, Ohio SLOVAKIA 153 \ Frantisek Bielik & Elo Rakos, comps. Slovenske vystahovalectvo. Dokumenty: I, II, Ill SLOVENS/a VYS'l'AHOVALECTVO. DOKUMENTY I: DO ROKU 1918. Compiled by Franti§ek Bielik and Elo Rako§. Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej adademie vied, 1969. 404 pp. ; DOKUMENTY II; 1919-1939. Bielik and Rako§. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1975. 349 pp.; DOKUMENTY ill: KORESPONDENCIA Z ROKOV 1893-1939. Bielik. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1976. 314 pp. Students of Slovak immigration history will welcome the publication of Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo . These three volumes , devoted to the migration of Slovaks from their homeland, reproduce 380 documents deposited in various depositories in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Austria. This collection gives scholars living outside of these countries access to materials otherwise not readily available to them. One of the compilers' aim is to depict the underlying social, political, and economic factors that spurred Slovak emigration in the years from roughly 1879 to 1939 (Vol. I, pp. 5, 6; Vol II, p . 5). The selection of documents also places Slovak emigration within the broader context of the history of Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus, the compilers include documents that demonstrate the impact of Slovak emigration on these homeland countries. In addition, the collection contains documents concerning Slovak immigrant life. Some of these items are official reports; others were generated by Slovak immigrants living in various countries, primarily the United States. Although the documents touch upon a myriad of subjects, the unifying theme of the three volumes is clear: emigration is an important aspect of the history of the Slovak people. Volume I focuses on Slovak emigration from 1879 to 1918 and deals primarily with the causes and consequences of that movement. This volume contains newspaper descriptions of contemporary conditions in Hungary that stimulated emigration. It includes a large number of official and local reports which analyze the causes of emigration, especially from particular regions in northern Hungary. The reports describe attempts by Hungarian officials to stop Slovak emigration. They also reveal a concern over the growing nationalism among Slovak immigrants in the United States. Because of the preponderance of official reports, 154 SLOVAKIA nearly all of the documents in this volume are in Hungarian; only twenty of the 144 items are in Slovak. The second volume covers Slovak emigration from 1919 to 1939. Slightly over two-thirds of its 114 documents are in Slovak, and the remaining are in Czech. Because the compilers try to present materials that describe the underlying causes of Slovak emigration , Volume Il provides information for scholars interested in studying Czechoslovakia between the two World Wars. For example, there are materials outlining the labor, industrial, and economic problems that plagued Czechoslovakia during the postwar years. Unemployment and unfavorable economic conditions encouraged emigration; but, since entry into the United States was restricted, Slovaks turned to other countries . Occasionally the Czechoslovak government tried to stop this exodus . However , the documents provide evidence that the government also saw emigration, and the temporary migration of laborers to nearby European countries , as a means to alleviate some of the country's economic and unemployment problems. In addition, official reports describe the conditions of Slovak immigrants in various countries including: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France , Germany, Mexico , Uruguay, the United States, and others . Volume ill reproduces 122 documents for the period 1893 to 1939. This collection is actually a supplement to the first two volumes and includes more materials written by Slovak immigrants. In fact, almost all of the documents were penned by Slovaks living in the United States. These items addres.s a wide variety of topics ranging from descriptions of Slovak nationalist activities in America to mere notes requesting that European Slovaks write articles for fraternal publications. The documents describe the various activities of American Slovak organizations during World War I and reveal their continued interest in Czechoslovakia after the war. Bielik and Rakos have complied a valuable collection of documents . These documents are useful both to students of Slovak immigration and to scholars interested in the social, economic, and political history of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Thus , the volumes have a use that extends beyond the study of Slovak immigration . The compilers have designed these volures for scholars. A complete bibliographic citation accompanies each docUtnent. Bielik and Rakos also provide editorial assistance by expfaining unfamiliar references mentioned in the documents . The compilers adopted a chronological format , but some researchers might prefer that they had chosen to categorize the documents topically. A topical approach would have SLOVAKIA \ 155 lessened the need to plod through the volumes for specific types of documents. However, the compilers do include brief descriptions of every entry in each Table of Contents that facilitate the task of finding desired types of documents. There is no cumulative index, but the indexes included in each volume are useful for locating people, places, and organizations cited in the documents. However, one wishes the compilers had consistently listed persons' first names in the indices and had made more of an effort to provide subject entries. The compilers introduce each document with a brief Slovak and English precis. These precis are helpful but, as is usually the case with annotated descriptions, they do not reveal the variety of information contained within the documents. In general, the Slovak precis are more complete than the English versions. In addition, the English translations are generally dismal. Besides containing numerous grammatical and spelling errors, the English versions often are imprecise and misleading. Similar types of errors can be found in the footnotes. For example, readers will look in vain for a work cited as authored by "Louis Grune Bald" (Vol. I, p. 25). The proper citation should be "Emily Greene Balch." Balch is again slighted in the bibliography at the end of Volume ill where she is listed as "E. Green Bolek" (p. 278). Moreover, Bielik should have described the bibliography as listing '' selected '' works because it is incomplete. It is also dated. With the exception of a few articles printed in fraternal publications, the list does not include works on Slovak immigration published in the United States; nor is it complete for those published in Europe. The deficiencies evident in the bibliography may well be indicative of other shortcomings of these volumes. The compilers explain that while there are numerous documents in Europe archives pertaining to Slovak emigration, they have chosen the " most typical" (Vol. I, p. 6). Yet, although Volume ill includes 122 documents written primarily by Slovak immigrants, there is not a single letter or publication by Father Stefan Furdek. In fact, although the compilers make references to the First Catholic Slovak Union and note it as founded by Furdek, they fail to mention that he was a priest (Vol. I, p. 152). And, with but few exceptions, there is little reference to Slovak clergymen or their writings. Moreover, lengthy surveys of Slovak immigration which introduce Volumes I and ill discuss Slovak immigrant organizations, but there is no analysis of immigrant churches. Thus, this reviewer wonders if the items reproduced are perhaps the ''most typical'' of a select group of documents that ignore subjects such as religion that may be controversial or unpopular in present-day Czechoslovakia . Finally , one may wish to qualify Bielik 's claims regarding docu- 156 SLOVAKIA ments in Volume ill. According to Bielik, the correspondence in this volume describes the "daily struggle for social justice" and "work" of Slovaks living in foreign lands (p. 6). However, most of the letters reproduced were written by prominent Slovak immigrants usually active in the various national organizations. As a result, the correspondence typically describes the life of Slovak immigrants as seen through the eyes of these more prominent men, not as it was experienced by ordinary laborers toiling in American mines and factories and living in tenements or company housing. Moreover, the correspondence offers little insight into the life of Slovak immigrant women. Despite their shortcomings, the three volumes which comprise Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo offer a valuable collection of documents. No student of immigration history can be unhappy when documents maintained in European archives are published and made available for research. But researchers can be unhappy with the possibility that the criteria for selecting documents reflect the biases of the compilers and their government instead of a concern for balanced historical scholarship. June Granatir Alexander Cincinnati, Ohio SLOVAKIA 157 \Jasil S. Kohan The Sorrows of Marienka Vasil S. Kohan THE SORROWS OF MARIENKA . Middletown, Pennsylvania: EMPAC!, 1979. 201 pp. Too often the Slovak immigrant woman has been depicted as either the long-suffering heroine - bearing children and losing them, making do with the barest of material comforts, and contending with a husband who spends ample time at the krtma (saloon) - or else she is the punitive, angry eminence in the home, doing her duty, saying her rosaries but making everyone suffer for her sacrifices. In Vasil Koban's The Sorrows of Marienka we see another kind of Slovak woman, one that modern women can identify with as well as stare matky (grandmothers) can admire. Indeed, any woman that can march into a Slovak krtma in search of her errant husband, set the place on fire, and never utter a word of apology could earn a place in any feminist Hall of Fame. We follow Marienka from a wedding in Slovakia she did not seek through the death of her husband, who is killed while pulling out the pillars of coal in a depleted mine, one of the most dangerous jobs. Along the way, we find her to be alternately strong and tender, pure and lusty, humorous and sad, tom by doubts and quite sure of herself. In other words, a whole person - no idealized portrait is painted by Kohan, in his first, and let's hope, not last novel. What pleased and excited me about this book was its raw power, its insights into our people , its clear-eyed view of what lives the Slovak immigrants lived on both sides of the Atlantic. A wife backs up her husband 's lie that a wolf bit him when it was only a testy sow; a mother-in-law despises the woman who takes her precious son from her; a wife jumps into a coal car to show her husband how quickly it can be unloaded; Slovaks swindle an unsuspecting and ill Slovak out of a week's pay, posing as mine representatives; still another Slovak absconds with the seven thousand dollars that was to start a new church; a young son, put in the cloakroom as a punishment, eats all the lunches - these are some poignant moments in the Kohan book. Real people, real circumstances where the spirit triumphs in the crucible of daily living. 158 SLOVAKIA A taste of Koban's lovely, native style: "It didn't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle. The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down. In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads on the shoulders of their wool jackets, little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth. ''By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds. The curious light made everything look hollow, the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. "Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street, swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. " She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead, and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she 'd bound in her braids yesterday. " It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else had changed, they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark, curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet , stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church , and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things." As second, third, and fourth-generation Slovaks pursue the American dream , buying their four-bedroom houses , gaining their college degrees , wearing shirts and ties , and learning which fork to use , I would caution them to pause for a moment and look back. Look back, if they can, to see if they know anything about what their forebears experienced . For I think that the dacron polyester world that we so eagerly court, the fleeting values and the soft life, this ravenous hunger we have to be middle-class Americans is sadly misplaced. We have pushed aside the Marienkas of our families , we have not taken the time both to listen to them and to record what they have to say . When a dozen Vasil Kobans rise up - nqt professional writers, but people with a love , respect , and yet a disciplined and discriminating eye turned toward their parents and grandparents - and all of us can fe ast on the books they produce , then I, for one , will be less critical SLOVAKIA 159 of the headlong quest for Eissimilation, acceptance, and sameness that haunts ethnic groups, ours certainly included. We Slovaks do not have a body of literature about the immigrant experience. We need it more than we need a legion of accountants and computer programmers; we need it if we are to regain our very souls. Paul Wilkes New York City, New York 160 SLOVAKIA Megles, Stolarik & Tybor Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland Susi Megles, Mark Stolarik, and Martina Tybor. SLOVAK AMERICANS AND THEIR, COMMUNITIES OF CLEVELAND. Edited by Karl Bonutti. With an Introduction by Michael Novak. "Ethnic Heritage Studies Monograph Series." Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University, 1978. 217 pp. The Cleveland, Ohio area is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers of Slovaks in America. As is unfortunately the case with other major Slovak-American communities, the Cleveland Slovaks have not received much scholarly attention. The only monograph solely devoted to them is Jan Pankuch's Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovcikov, which was published in 1930 and is now outdated. And although Josef Barton's Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 1890-1950, published in 1975, does analyze the social history of Cleveland's Slovaks in comparison with other ethnic groups, the book does not provide an overall and up-to-date review of the Cleveland Slovak communities. Given the fact that the volume under review was produced under the auspices of the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program of Cleveland State University and with partial support from the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Education, Health, and Welfare, one might have expected a fresh, comprehensive, in-depth study of Cleveland's Slovaks. Regrettably, this is not the case. Neither the book's title, nor editor Karl Bonutti's preface, nor Michael Novak's introduction, nor even the "summary" provides the reader with a clear idea of the purpose of the book. What we are offered here is a melange of ''essays'' of varying quality covering a wide range of topics relating to Slovaks in Europe, the United States, and Cleveland. The work is divided into four main parts consisting of twenty-six chapters - "Old World Origins"; "New World Beginnings"; "Organizations and Contributions of Slovak-Americans"; and "The Slovak Community of Cleveland'' - and ten appendices (none of which is referred to in the text). Curiously, the authors of the component parts are not identified. This might not have been possible, for one gets the impression from the inexplicable changes of s~le within individual sec- SLOVAKIA 161 tions that the work of one author was at times pieced together with that of another. Although a certain amount of unevenness is to be expected in a multi-authored publication, careful editing can often alleviate this problem. Evidence of such editorial control is slight. Constant repetition and overlapping, internal contradictions, the excessive number and short length of chapters , and generally poor organization mar the text. Especially disturbing is the mishandling of Slovak words . Diacritical marks are sometimes omitted; christian names are rendered indiscriminately in either Slovak or English; and clumsy phonetic approximations in English are provided for many but not all Slovak terms . Whoever wrote the section on the history of the Slovaks in the Old World does not seem to be very well acquainted with Slovak or European history. "Austria-Hungary" is more than once referred to as having existed before 1867; the Thirty Years' War is placed in the eighteenth century; and ' 'expressions of / Slovak / national consciousness" are claimed to have been present "quite early in the 17th century" (p. 24). The significance of Protestantism and of the Czech language for the Slovaks is almost totally ignored; Kollar,Safarik, and Stur are not identified as Lutherans, nor is it revealed that they wrote in Czech. Old-fashioned filiopietism rears its head in the section on Slovak immigrants - four pages are devoted to the mysterious '' Slovak Revolutionary War hero," Major Polerecky, who was born in France and whose connections with Slovaks and Slovak consciousness were extremely tenuous, if they existed at all. The section on Cleveland's Slovaks, although perhaps the best contribution, is also disappointing. Too much material relating to Slovak-Americans in general is included, as well as mundane personal reminiscences of one author; and there is scanty treatment of the Cleveland Slovak communities beyond World War II. One wonders why this book was published. In attempting to cover so many topics it in fact does not do justice to even one. Although the book contains a wealth of factual information, most of it can be found better presented in existing works. And the lack of footnotes and a bibliography considerably reduces its value. We have reached the stage where there are competent scholars capable of interpreting the Slovak-American experience and opportunities to make the results of their research available to the American public. In light of this fact, there should be no excuse for such an inferior publication as Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. ThomasD. Marzik (Mrazik) Saint Joseph 's University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SLOVAKIA 163 \ Contributors SONYA JASON is a writer who lives and works in California . She is a second-generation Slovak-American from Pennsylvania. OWEN V. JOHNSON, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Indiana University, completed his graduate work at the University of Michigan. He is an expert on interwar Slovakia and has written numerous articles on this subject. STANISLA V J. KIRSCH BA UM is Associate Professor of Political Science at Glendon College, York University. A graduate of the Universities of Ottawa, Toronto, and the Sorbonne, he has published widely in the history and politics of Czechoslovakia in modern times (1939-1980). VASIL S. KOBAN is a writer living and working in Florida . He hails from a Slovak-Rusyn family that settled in Pennsylvania. PAUL R. MAGOCSI, a graduate of Princeton University, holds the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the world's leading authority on the Rusyns and has written the most authoritative books and articles on this ethnic group. HOW ARD F. STEIN, Associate Professor of Medical-Psychiatric Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, received his Ph .D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972 . He has written a large number of books and articles on Slovaks and other ethnic groups in the United States. SLOVAKIA 165 Guidelines for Manuscripts Manuscripts of articles for possible publication should be sent to the managing editor. Articles should normally not exceed twenty-five pages in length, and should be submitted in triplicate , typed doublespaced, with generous margins for copyediting. Footnotes should also be typed double-spaced, numbered, and placed at the end of the paper. Text and format should adhere to the style outlined in Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers . Proper orthography and diacritical marks must be supplied for all foreign words. Manuscripts will not be returned unless specifically requested and postage is provided. Books for review are to be sent to the managing editor. Unsolicited book reviews are not encouraged. Individuals who wish to review books should request them from the managing editor. They should send a curriculum vitae with their request. When writing their reviews they should try to answer the following questions: What was the author's purpose in writing this book? What was the theme? What methods did the author use? What did he (she) conclude? This can then be followed by criticism and observations. Normally the reviews should not exceed three double-spaced, typewritten pages. All bibliographic information (author, full title, publisher, place of publication, price, and number of pages) should be provided by the reviewer. Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK, ESQ. President JOHN A. HOLY Secretary-Treasurer THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA Organized in 1907 at Cleveland, Ohio JOSEPH J. TALAFOUS, ESQ. Vice Presidents DANIEL F. TANZONE ANNE Z. SAROSY Executive Committee: Edward J. Behuncik, John A. Holy, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr., George N. Kantor Michael J. Krajsa, Louise M. Yash, Cecelia Sarocky, Joseph R. Kristofik, George J. Kostelnik Joseph Stefka, Stephen J. Kavulich Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza, President Regional Vice-Presidents: George Lupjan - New York, New Jersey, New England States John Herman - Eastern Pennsylvania John Gastan - Western Pennsylvania Joseph Ondis - Ohio David Zelenak - Michigan Ivan Kralik - Illinois, Indiana Bernadine Wandke - Wisconsin, Western States John Hvasta - Washington, D.C., Southern States Stanislav Duris Auditors: Anna Blahusiak Joseph Valencik SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION OF THE U.S. AND CANADA Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 102,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 50,000 THE NATIONAL SLOVAK SOCIETY OF THE U.S.A. Pittsburgh, Pa . - Membership 21,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 THE PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 10,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Joseph C. Krajsa, F.I.C., President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) , \ JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) NARODNE NOVINY (circulatio~ 15,000) FRATERNALLY YOURS, ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 1,800) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 6,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) SLOVAKIA $6.00 per annum Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 29 (No. 53-54) Description An account of the resource includes Reviews; Contributors; Guidelines for Manuscripts Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980-81 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/373dcb5dcadbb689ab0d20fc92179869.pdf 21166dcc775a59692ccd3b141054bf7b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 1978-79 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE ( OF AMERICA ����SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVIII 1978-1979 DOUBLE ISSUE NOS. 61-62 \ A Political, Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA MICHAEL NOVAK Executive Editor M. MARK STOLARIK Managing Editor, Book Review Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Daniel F. Tanzone Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. BOARD OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS: David P. Daniel Thomas D. Marzik Owen V. Johnson Stanley Z. Pech M. Mark Mazurik, Chairman Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 ��SLOVAKIA Table of Contents An Important Notice from the Editor MichaelNovak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A Message from the President Edward J. Behunc) k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Challenge for Slovak Americans Luby Holy .. . . . ............ ...... .. .. .............. . ... 11 ARTICLES The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography YeshayahuJelinek . . ..... . ............. . ....... .. .. . .... 17 The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938 Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness David P. Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M. Mark Stolarik ............... . .... . . ... ............ .. 66 A Note for Researchers Stanley B. Kimball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 FICTION Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner George P. Resick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The Man Who Made Good in America Thomas Bell ...... . ... ... ..... .... .. . . ................. 107 �SLOVAKIA '' Baked Blockheads' ' Frantisek Hetko .... . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . ... . ... . 113 The Sorrows of Marienka V. S. Koban .. ........ ............... . .. . ........ . . . .... 119 Success Story Alvena Seckar ...... . . . ... . . . ......... ... .. .. ... ........ 133 The New Spring Eudo Ondrejov . .. . ... . . .......... . .... . ..... . .......... 140 BOOK REVIEWS The Guns of Lattimer Paul Wilkes .. . . .. . . . . .. ...... . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . ..... 145 The Czechs in America; Slovaks in America June Granatir Alexander . .. . . ... . .......... . .. .. .. . . . . . . . 147 The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) Peter Brock ..... . . ......... . . . .. . . . .. ....... . ... .. ..... 152 \ Our Contributors ... . .. .. . .. . . ... .... . ... ·. . . . . . . . . . .. ....... 155 �An Important Notice From The Editor With this double issue, representing both 1978 and 1979, SLOVAKIA hopes to establish a new schedule for annual publication. In order to have each issue out by midyear, our deadline for new manuscripts and book reviews will be set at December 31 of the preceding year. For the 1980 issue, we are particularly anxious to publish manuscripts assessing the illfated Slovak Republic, just past forty years after its birth. Manuscripts on this or other appropriate subjects must reach the editors by December 31 , 1979. Mark Stolarik, Executive Director of The Balch Institute, (18 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106) has agreed to assist me as managing editor of SLOVAKIA. All manuscripts should be mailed to him in triplicate, with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. This procedure will facilitate consultation with our distinguished board of advisors . I once again express my gratitude to all whose labors made this double issue possible , without whose generous collaboration my task would be insuperable . MICHAEL NOV AK Editor ��A Messag·~ from the President Again, the Slovak League of America is honored to have this issue of SLOVAKIA edited by Dr. Michael Novak, our fellow Slovak American, nationally syndicated columnist, leader and professor of religion. With each issue, under his editorship, our renowned publication makes greater strides toward higher literary achievement as it outgrows its parochial outlook. We are all grateful to Michael Novak for his valuable help in this respect. This issue is the first to contain mention of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. I particularly recommend study of the excellent article on the Foundation appearing herein by Miss Luby Holy. I am certain that it will serve as an inspiration and incentive to all of you. I hope it will also result in your own active participation in our efforts to raise substantial funds for the preservation, promotion and perpetuation of our centuries-old, rich heritage of Slovak culture, arts, language and traditions. It is my earnest desire that when we close out our Slovak Heritage Drive in 1982, on the occasion of the League's 75th or diamond jubilee, we will have a well financed Foundation firmly established. This will permit our undertaking the many worthy projects yet to be fulfilled by the young generation of educated, dedicated and productive Slovak Americans, all proud of their ethnic origins. So long as the Slovak League of America, with its diverse affiliates (that is, the Slovak League of America Scholarship Fund, Inc., the American Fund for Slovak Refugees, Inc. and the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd.) continues, with your support, as the central cultural and civic body of the organized Slovak Americans, we can and will be able to say, as the songwriter expresses it in "Hej Slovaci": "Zije, zije duch Slovensky bude zit' na veky." ("The Slovak spirit lives, it lives, it will live forever.") EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President ��SLOVAKIA 11 A Challenge for Slovak Americans \ ' LUBYHOLY On November 13, 1977, the Slovak League of America Executive Board met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for no ordinary conclave. Matters discussed and implemented during this session would, in- the future, have far reaching effects for those of Slovak heritage living in the free world. For the second time in the twentieth century, a major comprehensive fund drive to benefit the causes of Slovaks was inaugurated by the Slovak League of America. This drive, a broadly based campaign being conducted to create a financial base for the preservation, promotion and advancement of the rich Slovak culture, language, and heritage, became known as the Slovak Heritage Drive of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. The idea of conducting a wide scale fund-raising campaign to amass a financial reservoir for the purpose of preserving and advancing the Slovak heritage had been circulating among Slovaks for some time prior to the actual implementation of the Slovak Heritage Drive. Impetus was given to initiating this campaign during the 70th anniversary convention of the Slovak League of America in May, 1977, when Slovak World Congress President Stephen B. Roman in his keynote address suggested that the SLA start a new million dollar drive whose monies would be used to promote the Slovak heritage and aid the collective causes of all peoples of Slovak ancestry. As added incentive to institute such a reservoir, Mr. Roman offered to himself donate a quarter of a million dollars to the fund , if all other Slovaks of the free world would collectively contribute $750,000. Following this public pledge, Slovak League officials set about laying the necessary framework to make the Slovak Heritage Drive an active entity. After 6 months of preliminary legwork and consultations, the campaign was ready to be launched, and an Executive Board meeting was called to Pittsburgh to effectuate the Drive. During this November, 1977, conclave , the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. (SLAHF, Ltd.) was established as a fund-managing and distributing unit of the Slovak League , which would specifically handle monies associated with the Slovak Heritage Drive. It was decided that the Foundation would initially be managed by the Board of Directors who comprised the Executive Board of the �12 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America. This Board consisted of Edward J. Behuncik, President; John A. Holy, Secretary; and Board Members: Michael J . Zahorsky, President of the First Catholic Slovak Union; Louise M. Yash, President of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association; George J. Kostelnik, President of the Slovak Catholic Sokol; Irma A. Vrbancic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; Stephen J. Kavulic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Union; and Slovak League Executive Board members, Andrew F . Hudak and Dr. Joseph Mikula. Gregor Chren of Stratford, Connecticut, was added to the SLAHF , Ltd. Board as its Treasurer. The Foundation was later incorporated in the state of Connecticut as a non-profit, non-stock, charitable and cultural corporation, and achieved tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. All contributions to the Fund would therefore be tax-deductible. The establishment of the Slovak Heritage Drive under the auspices of the SLAHF, Ltd. was meant to reinforce the credibility of national programs identified with the Drive , and to associate the Drive with the internationally respected Slovak League. Monies collected by the Slovak Heritage Drive would be allocated to: 1) Preserve and expand existing Slovak Cultural Institutions such as libraries, institutes, publications, etc.; 2) Initiate new projects and programs for the advancement of the Slovak culture and ethnicity in the United States and other countries ; 3) Publish books and informative pamphlets about the Slovak Nation and American Slovaks, including history, culture and national goals ; 4) Establish youth-oriented programs to encourage greater involvement of younger generations of Slovak Americans in our cultural activities, fraternal organizations, and Slovak 'Americ~ life in general; 5) Support projects and activities in other countries on behalf of the Slovak cause; and 6) Provide funds for situations which necessitate speedy actions and decisions in the interests of Slovaks in America and elsewhere. Thus organized, the SLAHF , Ltd . immediately set forth to accomplish its task. The first three donations, $100 from Andrew F. Hudak, $100 from John A. Holy and $250 from Edward J. Behuncik, were duly accepted and recorded by the Foundation on November 13, 1977. The Slovak Heritage Drive was officially underway. By January 6, 1978, the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. deposited its first $1 ,000 of contributions into a new account at the People 's Savings Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut. �SLOVAKIA 13 Governing Board members launched publicity campaigns for the Drive with the cooperation of the various Slovak American societies and organizations and members -of the Slovak American press such as the Jednota , Katolicky Sokol}. Slovak v Amerike , and Zenska Jednota publications, and momentum was gained. At the time of this writing (February, 1979) , approximately $19,000 has already been collected. Slovak Americans are becoming aware of the Slovak Heritage Drive 's importance and are contributing generously. Slovak League President Edward J. Behuncik and his wife Catherine , for instance , have set a fine example for others. Mr. and Mrs. Behuncik donated $5 ,000 to the Drive at the 1978 SLA Congress in Chicago in addition to their original $250 donation, and are at present the largest contributors to the Slovak Heritage Drive. To further the Drive ' s progress and to make more individuals and Slovak societies aware of the Fund and its goals, flyers and pamphlets are currently being printed. Mass mailings and an intensive publicity campaign is being planned for the coming months and years . The Slovak Heritage Drive is slated to continue until May, 1982, when the Slovak League of America celebrates its 75th anniversary. It is hoped that by this time , Slovaks in the free world will have amassed one million dollars for the fund , of which $750,000 will have come from contributions during the Drive's duration, and $250 ,000 from Mr. Roman. It has been said that the measure of dedication is that which one is willing to sacrifice. Fifty or sixty years ago, another generation of Slovak Americans was able to raise one million dollars in an heroic effort to save the Slovak nation. Surely in this age of affluence, today's Slovaks should be able to raise one million dollars for their cultural needs and self-preservation as a viable ethnic entity in the cultural mosiac that is America. The present generation of Slovak Americans has a task - indeed, an historical duty - to guarantee that its institutions of culture and its national life will not perish for want of material needs. In this duty, we must not fail. �� SLOVAKIA 1978-79 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE ( OF AMERICA ����SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVIII 1978-1979 DOUBLE ISSUE NOS. 61-62 \ A Political, Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA MICHAEL NOVAK Executive Editor M. MARK STOLARIK Managing Editor, Book Review Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Daniel F. Tanzone Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. BOARD OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS: David P. Daniel Thomas D. Marzik Owen V. Johnson Stanley Z. Pech M. Mark Mazurik, Chairman Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 ��SLOVAKIA Table of Contents An Important Notice from the Editor MichaelNovak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A Message from the President Edward J. Behunc) k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Challenge for Slovak Americans Luby Holy .. . . . ............ ...... .. .. .............. . ... 11 ARTICLES The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography YeshayahuJelinek . . ..... . ............. . ....... .. .. . .... 17 The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938 Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness David P. Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M. Mark Stolarik ............... . .... . . ... ............ .. 66 A Note for Researchers Stanley B. Kimball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 FICTION Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner George P. Resick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The Man Who Made Good in America Thomas Bell ...... . ... ... ..... .... .. . . ................. 107 �SLOVAKIA '' Baked Blockheads' ' Frantisek Hetko .... . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . ... . ... . 113 The Sorrows of Marienka V. S. Koban .. ........ ............... . .. . ........ . . . .... 119 Success Story Alvena Seckar ...... . . . ... . . . ......... ... .. .. ... ........ 133 The New Spring Eudo Ondrejov . .. . ... . . .......... . .... . ..... . .......... 140 BOOK REVIEWS The Guns of Lattimer Paul Wilkes .. . . .. . . . . .. ...... . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . ..... 145 The Czechs in America; Slovaks in America June Granatir Alexander . .. . . ... . .......... . .. .. .. . . . . . . . 147 The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) Peter Brock ..... . . ......... . . . .. . . . .. ....... . ... .. ..... 152 \ Our Contributors ... . .. .. . .. . . ... .... . ... ·. . . . . . . . . . .. ....... 155 �An Important Notice From The Editor With this double issue, representing both 1978 and 1979, SLOVAKIA hopes to establish a new schedule for annual publication. In order to have each issue out by midyear, our deadline for new manuscripts and book reviews will be set at December 31 of the preceding year. For the 1980 issue, we are particularly anxious to publish manuscripts assessing the illfated Slovak Republic, just past forty years after its birth. Manuscripts on this or other appropriate subjects must reach the editors by December 31 , 1979. Mark Stolarik, Executive Director of The Balch Institute, (18 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106) has agreed to assist me as managing editor of SLOVAKIA. All manuscripts should be mailed to him in triplicate, with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. This procedure will facilitate consultation with our distinguished board of advisors . I once again express my gratitude to all whose labors made this double issue possible , without whose generous collaboration my task would be insuperable . MICHAEL NOV AK Editor ��A Messag·~ from the President Again, the Slovak League of America is honored to have this issue of SLOVAKIA edited by Dr. Michael Novak, our fellow Slovak American, nationally syndicated columnist, leader and professor of religion. With each issue, under his editorship, our renowned publication makes greater strides toward higher literary achievement as it outgrows its parochial outlook. We are all grateful to Michael Novak for his valuable help in this respect. This issue is the first to contain mention of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. I particularly recommend study of the excellent article on the Foundation appearing herein by Miss Luby Holy. I am certain that it will serve as an inspiration and incentive to all of you. I hope it will also result in your own active participation in our efforts to raise substantial funds for the preservation, promotion and perpetuation of our centuries-old, rich heritage of Slovak culture, arts, language and traditions. It is my earnest desire that when we close out our Slovak Heritage Drive in 1982, on the occasion of the League's 75th or diamond jubilee, we will have a well financed Foundation firmly established. This will permit our undertaking the many worthy projects yet to be fulfilled by the young generation of educated, dedicated and productive Slovak Americans, all proud of their ethnic origins. So long as the Slovak League of America, with its diverse affiliates (that is, the Slovak League of America Scholarship Fund, Inc., the American Fund for Slovak Refugees, Inc. and the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd.) continues, with your support, as the central cultural and civic body of the organized Slovak Americans, we can and will be able to say, as the songwriter expresses it in "Hej Slovaci": "Zije, zije duch Slovensky bude zit' na veky." ("The Slovak spirit lives, it lives, it will live forever.") EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President ��SLOVAKIA 11 A Challenge for Slovak Americans \ ' LUBYHOLY On November 13, 1977, the Slovak League of America Executive Board met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for no ordinary conclave. Matters discussed and implemented during this session would, in- the future, have far reaching effects for those of Slovak heritage living in the free world. For the second time in the twentieth century, a major comprehensive fund drive to benefit the causes of Slovaks was inaugurated by the Slovak League of America. This drive, a broadly based campaign being conducted to create a financial base for the preservation, promotion and advancement of the rich Slovak culture, language, and heritage, became known as the Slovak Heritage Drive of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. The idea of conducting a wide scale fund-raising campaign to amass a financial reservoir for the purpose of preserving and advancing the Slovak heritage had been circulating among Slovaks for some time prior to the actual implementation of the Slovak Heritage Drive. Impetus was given to initiating this campaign during the 70th anniversary convention of the Slovak League of America in May, 1977, when Slovak World Congress President Stephen B. Roman in his keynote address suggested that the SLA start a new million dollar drive whose monies would be used to promote the Slovak heritage and aid the collective causes of all peoples of Slovak ancestry. As added incentive to institute such a reservoir, Mr. Roman offered to himself donate a quarter of a million dollars to the fund , if all other Slovaks of the free world would collectively contribute $750,000. Following this public pledge, Slovak League officials set about laying the necessary framework to make the Slovak Heritage Drive an active entity. After 6 months of preliminary legwork and consultations, the campaign was ready to be launched, and an Executive Board meeting was called to Pittsburgh to effectuate the Drive. During this November, 1977, conclave , the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. (SLAHF, Ltd.) was established as a fund-managing and distributing unit of the Slovak League , which would specifically handle monies associated with the Slovak Heritage Drive. It was decided that the Foundation would initially be managed by the Board of Directors who comprised the Executive Board of the �12 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America. This Board consisted of Edward J. Behuncik, President; John A. Holy, Secretary; and Board Members: Michael J . Zahorsky, President of the First Catholic Slovak Union; Louise M. Yash, President of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association; George J. Kostelnik, President of the Slovak Catholic Sokol; Irma A. Vrbancic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; Stephen J. Kavulic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Union; and Slovak League Executive Board members, Andrew F . Hudak and Dr. Joseph Mikula. Gregor Chren of Stratford, Connecticut, was added to the SLAHF , Ltd. Board as its Treasurer. The Foundation was later incorporated in the state of Connecticut as a non-profit, non-stock, charitable and cultural corporation, and achieved tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. All contributions to the Fund would therefore be tax-deductible. The establishment of the Slovak Heritage Drive under the auspices of the SLAHF, Ltd. was meant to reinforce the credibility of national programs identified with the Drive , and to associate the Drive with the internationally respected Slovak League. Monies collected by the Slovak Heritage Drive would be allocated to: 1) Preserve and expand existing Slovak Cultural Institutions such as libraries, institutes, publications, etc.; 2) Initiate new projects and programs for the advancement of the Slovak culture and ethnicity in the United States and other countries ; 3) Publish books and informative pamphlets about the Slovak Nation and American Slovaks, including history, culture and national goals ; 4) Establish youth-oriented programs to encourage greater involvement of younger generations of Slovak Americans in our cultural activities, fraternal organizations, and Slovak 'Americ~ life in general; 5) Support projects and activities in other countries on behalf of the Slovak cause; and 6) Provide funds for situations which necessitate speedy actions and decisions in the interests of Slovaks in America and elsewhere. Thus organized, the SLAHF , Ltd . immediately set forth to accomplish its task. The first three donations, $100 from Andrew F. Hudak, $100 from John A. Holy and $250 from Edward J. Behuncik, were duly accepted and recorded by the Foundation on November 13, 1977. The Slovak Heritage Drive was officially underway. By January 6, 1978, the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. deposited its first $1 ,000 of contributions into a new account at the People 's Savings Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut. �SLOVAKIA 13 Governing Board members launched publicity campaigns for the Drive with the cooperation of the various Slovak American societies and organizations and members -of the Slovak American press such as the Jednota , Katolicky Sokol}. Slovak v Amerike , and Zenska Jednota publications, and momentum was gained. At the time of this writing (February, 1979) , approximately $19,000 has already been collected. Slovak Americans are becoming aware of the Slovak Heritage Drive 's importance and are contributing generously. Slovak League President Edward J. Behuncik and his wife Catherine , for instance , have set a fine example for others. Mr. and Mrs. Behuncik donated $5 ,000 to the Drive at the 1978 SLA Congress in Chicago in addition to their original $250 donation, and are at present the largest contributors to the Slovak Heritage Drive. To further the Drive ' s progress and to make more individuals and Slovak societies aware of the Fund and its goals, flyers and pamphlets are currently being printed. Mass mailings and an intensive publicity campaign is being planned for the coming months and years . The Slovak Heritage Drive is slated to continue until May, 1982, when the Slovak League of America celebrates its 75th anniversary. It is hoped that by this time , Slovaks in the free world will have amassed one million dollars for the fund , of which $750,000 will have come from contributions during the Drive's duration, and $250 ,000 from Mr. Roman. It has been said that the measure of dedication is that which one is willing to sacrifice. Fifty or sixty years ago, another generation of Slovak Americans was able to raise one million dollars in an heroic effort to save the Slovak nation. Surely in this age of affluence, today's Slovaks should be able to raise one million dollars for their cultural needs and self-preservation as a viable ethnic entity in the cultural mosiac that is America. The present generation of Slovak Americans has a task - indeed, an historical duty - to guarantee that its institutions of culture and its national life will not perish for want of material needs. In this duty, we must not fail. �� 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 1978-79 Published By THE SLOVAK LEAGUE ( OF AMERICA SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVIII 1978-1979 DOUBLE ISSUE NOS. 61-62 \ A Political, Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE Of AMERICA MICHAEL NOVAK Executive Editor M. MARK STOLARIK Managing Editor, Book Review Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Daniel F. Tanzone Sr. M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. BOARD OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS: David P. Daniel Thomas D. Marzik Owen V. Johnson Stanley Z. Pech M. Mark Mazurik, Chairman Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 SLOVAKIA Table of Contents An Important Notice from the Editor MichaelNovak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A Message from the President Edward J. Behunc) k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Challenge for Slovak Americans Luby Holy .. . . . ............ ...... .. .. .............. . ... 11 ARTICLES The Slovak State in Post-war Historiography YeshayahuJelinek . . ..... . ............. . ....... .. .. . .... 17 The Slovak Intelligentsia, 1918-1938 Owen V. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness David P. Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M. Mark Stolarik ............... . .... . . ... ............ .. 66 A Note for Researchers Stanley B. Kimball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 FICTION Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner George P. Resick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The Man Who Made Good in America Thomas Bell ...... . ... ... ..... .... .. . . ................. 107 SLOVAKIA '' Baked Blockheads' ' Frantisek Hetko .... . . . ... . . . . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . ... . ... . 113 The Sorrows of Marienka V. S. Koban .. ........ ............... . .. . ........ . . . .... 119 Success Story Alvena Seckar ...... . . . ... . . . ......... ... .. .. ... ........ 133 The New Spring Eudo Ondrejov . .. . ... . . .......... . .... . ..... . .......... 140 BOOK REVIEWS The Guns of Lattimer Paul Wilkes .. . . .. . . . . .. ...... . . . . . . . ... . . . . ... . . . . ..... 145 The Czechs in America; Slovaks in America June Granatir Alexander . .. . . ... . .......... . .. .. .. . . . . . . . 147 The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) Peter Brock ..... . . ......... . . . .. . . . .. ....... . ... .. ..... 152 \ Our Contributors ... . .. .. . .. . . ... .... . ... ·. . . . . . . . . . .. ....... 155 An Important Notice From The Editor With this double issue, representing both 1978 and 1979, SLOVAKIA hopes to establish a new schedule for annual publication. In order to have each issue out by midyear, our deadline for new manuscripts and book reviews will be set at December 31 of the preceding year. For the 1980 issue, we are particularly anxious to publish manuscripts assessing the illfated Slovak Republic, just past forty years after its birth. Manuscripts on this or other appropriate subjects must reach the editors by December 31 , 1979. Mark Stolarik, Executive Director of The Balch Institute, (18 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106) has agreed to assist me as managing editor of SLOVAKIA. All manuscripts should be mailed to him in triplicate, with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. This procedure will facilitate consultation with our distinguished board of advisors . I once again express my gratitude to all whose labors made this double issue possible , without whose generous collaboration my task would be insuperable . MICHAEL NOV AK Editor A Messag·~ from the President Again, the Slovak League of America is honored to have this issue of SLOVAKIA edited by Dr. Michael Novak, our fellow Slovak American, nationally syndicated columnist, leader and professor of religion. With each issue, under his editorship, our renowned publication makes greater strides toward higher literary achievement as it outgrows its parochial outlook. We are all grateful to Michael Novak for his valuable help in this respect. This issue is the first to contain mention of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. I particularly recommend study of the excellent article on the Foundation appearing herein by Miss Luby Holy. I am certain that it will serve as an inspiration and incentive to all of you. I hope it will also result in your own active participation in our efforts to raise substantial funds for the preservation, promotion and perpetuation of our centuries-old, rich heritage of Slovak culture, arts, language and traditions. It is my earnest desire that when we close out our Slovak Heritage Drive in 1982, on the occasion of the League's 75th or diamond jubilee, we will have a well financed Foundation firmly established. This will permit our undertaking the many worthy projects yet to be fulfilled by the young generation of educated, dedicated and productive Slovak Americans, all proud of their ethnic origins. So long as the Slovak League of America, with its diverse affiliates (that is, the Slovak League of America Scholarship Fund, Inc., the American Fund for Slovak Refugees, Inc. and the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd.) continues, with your support, as the central cultural and civic body of the organized Slovak Americans, we can and will be able to say, as the songwriter expresses it in "Hej Slovaci": "Zije, zije duch Slovensky bude zit' na veky." ("The Slovak spirit lives, it lives, it will live forever.") EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President SLOVAKIA 11 A Challenge for Slovak Americans \ ' LUBYHOLY On November 13, 1977, the Slovak League of America Executive Board met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for no ordinary conclave. Matters discussed and implemented during this session would, in- the future, have far reaching effects for those of Slovak heritage living in the free world. For the second time in the twentieth century, a major comprehensive fund drive to benefit the causes of Slovaks was inaugurated by the Slovak League of America. This drive, a broadly based campaign being conducted to create a financial base for the preservation, promotion and advancement of the rich Slovak culture, language, and heritage, became known as the Slovak Heritage Drive of the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. The idea of conducting a wide scale fund-raising campaign to amass a financial reservoir for the purpose of preserving and advancing the Slovak heritage had been circulating among Slovaks for some time prior to the actual implementation of the Slovak Heritage Drive. Impetus was given to initiating this campaign during the 70th anniversary convention of the Slovak League of America in May, 1977, when Slovak World Congress President Stephen B. Roman in his keynote address suggested that the SLA start a new million dollar drive whose monies would be used to promote the Slovak heritage and aid the collective causes of all peoples of Slovak ancestry. As added incentive to institute such a reservoir, Mr. Roman offered to himself donate a quarter of a million dollars to the fund , if all other Slovaks of the free world would collectively contribute $750,000. Following this public pledge, Slovak League officials set about laying the necessary framework to make the Slovak Heritage Drive an active entity. After 6 months of preliminary legwork and consultations, the campaign was ready to be launched, and an Executive Board meeting was called to Pittsburgh to effectuate the Drive. During this November, 1977, conclave , the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. (SLAHF, Ltd.) was established as a fund-managing and distributing unit of the Slovak League , which would specifically handle monies associated with the Slovak Heritage Drive. It was decided that the Foundation would initially be managed by the Board of Directors who comprised the Executive Board of the 12 SLOVAKIA Slovak League of America. This Board consisted of Edward J. Behuncik, President; John A. Holy, Secretary; and Board Members: Michael J . Zahorsky, President of the First Catholic Slovak Union; Louise M. Yash, President of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association; George J. Kostelnik, President of the Slovak Catholic Sokol; Irma A. Vrbancic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; Stephen J. Kavulic, President of the Pennsylvania Catholic Slovak Union; and Slovak League Executive Board members, Andrew F . Hudak and Dr. Joseph Mikula. Gregor Chren of Stratford, Connecticut, was added to the SLAHF , Ltd. Board as its Treasurer. The Foundation was later incorporated in the state of Connecticut as a non-profit, non-stock, charitable and cultural corporation, and achieved tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. All contributions to the Fund would therefore be tax-deductible. The establishment of the Slovak Heritage Drive under the auspices of the SLAHF, Ltd. was meant to reinforce the credibility of national programs identified with the Drive , and to associate the Drive with the internationally respected Slovak League. Monies collected by the Slovak Heritage Drive would be allocated to: 1) Preserve and expand existing Slovak Cultural Institutions such as libraries, institutes, publications, etc.; 2) Initiate new projects and programs for the advancement of the Slovak culture and ethnicity in the United States and other countries ; 3) Publish books and informative pamphlets about the Slovak Nation and American Slovaks, including history, culture and national goals ; 4) Establish youth-oriented programs to encourage greater involvement of younger generations of Slovak Americans in our cultural activities, fraternal organizations, and Slovak 'Americ~ life in general; 5) Support projects and activities in other countries on behalf of the Slovak cause; and 6) Provide funds for situations which necessitate speedy actions and decisions in the interests of Slovaks in America and elsewhere. Thus organized, the SLAHF , Ltd . immediately set forth to accomplish its task. The first three donations, $100 from Andrew F. Hudak, $100 from John A. Holy and $250 from Edward J. Behuncik, were duly accepted and recorded by the Foundation on November 13, 1977. The Slovak Heritage Drive was officially underway. By January 6, 1978, the Slovak League of America Heritage Foundation, Ltd. deposited its first $1 ,000 of contributions into a new account at the People 's Savings Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut. SLOVAKIA 13 Governing Board members launched publicity campaigns for the Drive with the cooperation of the various Slovak American societies and organizations and members -of the Slovak American press such as the Jednota , Katolicky Sokol}. Slovak v Amerike , and Zenska Jednota publications, and momentum was gained. At the time of this writing (February, 1979) , approximately $19,000 has already been collected. Slovak Americans are becoming aware of the Slovak Heritage Drive 's importance and are contributing generously. Slovak League President Edward J. Behuncik and his wife Catherine , for instance , have set a fine example for others. Mr. and Mrs. Behuncik donated $5 ,000 to the Drive at the 1978 SLA Congress in Chicago in addition to their original $250 donation, and are at present the largest contributors to the Slovak Heritage Drive. To further the Drive ' s progress and to make more individuals and Slovak societies aware of the Fund and its goals, flyers and pamphlets are currently being printed. Mass mailings and an intensive publicity campaign is being planned for the coming months and years . The Slovak Heritage Drive is slated to continue until May, 1982, when the Slovak League of America celebrates its 75th anniversary. It is hoped that by this time , Slovaks in the free world will have amassed one million dollars for the fund , of which $750,000 will have come from contributions during the Drive's duration, and $250 ,000 from Mr. Roman. It has been said that the measure of dedication is that which one is willing to sacrifice. Fifty or sixty years ago, another generation of Slovak Americans was able to raise one million dollars in an heroic effort to save the Slovak nation. Surely in this age of affluence, today's Slovaks should be able to raise one million dollars for their cultural needs and self-preservation as a viable ethnic entity in the cultural mosiac that is America. The present generation of Slovak Americans has a task - indeed, an historical duty - to guarantee that its institutions of culture and its national life will not perish for want of material needs. In this duty, we must not fail.  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. 28 (No. 51-52) Description An account of the resource includes An Important Notice from the Editor (Michael Novak); A Message from the President (Edward J. Behuncik); A Challenge for Slovak Americans (Luby Holy) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Novak, Michael, 1933-2017 Behuncik, Edward J. Holy, Luby Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF+dates name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/db9406de1877bf3caee16bbde1228629.pdf 68f331c788157997074284046248c701 PDF Text Text \ ARTICLES ��SLOVAKIA 17 The Slovak State In Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) " YESHAYAHU JELINEK Denison University Like any other controversial topic, the historiography of the Slovak state (1939-1945) knows several schools of writing. Rather than research-systems and scholarly approaches, political views, prejudices (or lack of them), and personal background determine characteristics of these schools. Almost each of the themes covering the six years of existence of the Slovak state has been discussed from various angles. In the West, in spite of extensive publishing, scholarly research which would break through the stultifying fences of exile and ethnic literature is still somehow limited. In Czechoslovakia, and in the East in general, publication is strangled in a political straight-jacket. The sixties were the most productive years there; since the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968, however, scholarship has again reached a standstill. This bibliography does not intend to exhaust the topic, nor to label the included entries, but rather to provide readers with a key for further research and writing. Therefore many important works may have been left out.(1) I would tentatively divide the various schools into the following major groups: supporters of the Slovak state, its adversaries, Communists and pro-Communists, and unaffiliated academics. Naturally, none of these distinctions will be held objective by many of the affected authors. Moreover, scholars and writers habitually regard themselves objective and unaffiliated (including the author of this essay), while others may consider them engaged and biased. Among the supporters of Slovak independence I would count many of the 1945 political exiles and some of the 1948 and 1968 emigrants, some Slovaks residing in Western countries, members of the Carpatho-German groups in West Germany, and several Catholic writers. The adversaries include, above all, members of the Slovak exile of 1948 and post-1968, Jews (whether originally from Slovakia or not) , Magyars, Czechs, and anti-Catholic writers . Communist and pro-Communist publications have appeared predominantly in Czechoslovakia, but there are also some in other �18 SLOVAKIA Eastern and Western countries. The academic group is most diverse. Nonetheless, many of its participants originated in Czechoslovakia and in the neighboring countries, and we are still missing a solid strata of students taking an academic interest in Slovakia without having emotional or ethnic attachment. It is this group which has contributed much of the fresh insight and unbiased scholarship. The authors included in this bibliography have published in more than a half-dozen languages. Besides the well-known series of German(2) and Vatican(3) documents , which discuss Slovakia frequently, the only important and extensive collections of primary documentation are the two volumes edited by Vilem Precan.(4) Less informative are Cesta ke kvetnu(5) and Dokumeny z historie ceskoslovenske politiky 1939-1943.(6) Most of the published sources cover the years 1943-45 and/or the resistance and Communist activities. Scattered documents deal with the foundation of the state, and with Slovak autonomy (September 1938-March 1939). We are still missing a solid volume devoted to the years 1939-1943. Milan S. Durica tried to fill the void, but reached only September 1939,(7) and furthermore, his collection is in Italian - a language unfamiliar to many researchers. Also helpful is Ferdinand Durcansky. (8) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry has been well documented by Livia Rothkirchen. (9) Works covering twentieth-century Slovakia include the ones by Joseph M . Kirschbaum,(10) :Cubomir Liptak,(11) Jozef Lettrich,(12) Joseph A. Mikus,(13) Gilbert L. Oddo,(14) and Eugen Steiner.(15) Books devoted to the Slovak state are those by the East German Hans Dress,(16) the Israeli Yeshayahu Jelinek,(17) and the Slovak Communist Imrich Stanek.(18) Among shorter essays worth noting are Durica's(19) and Joerg K. Hoensch's.(20) Less scholarly are Vincent Bolecek,(21) Francois d ' Orchival,(22) Jozef F. Rudinsky,(23) and others. Important information could be obtained from symphosia. Perhaps the most comprehensive is by supporters of the Slovak state, Slovenska Republika.(24) Less adequate are volumes of Karl Bosl (ed.)(25) and Kirschbaum (ed.).(26) The collection Slovenske N<irodne Povstanie Roku 1944 printed in Slovakia is devoted to the Slovak National Uprising, but includes also several studies of other aspects of the Slovak state .(27) . Foreign relations have been mostly treated in a partisan fashion. The exceptionally prolific Frantisek Vnuk(28) and ·Kirschbaum(29) wrote a large number of essays on this topic, as have done Martin Broszat,(30) Durica,(31) Siegfried Fauck,(32) and Liptak.(33) Karol Sidor, Slovakia's Minister to the Holy See, summarized his ex- �SLOVAKIA 19 periences.(34) Not very informative, but supplementary to Sidor, is Jozef Kapala.(35) Internal political developments were discussed by Jelinek,(36) Kirschbaum,(37) Liptak,(38) and Vnuk.(39) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry is one of the more controversial facets in the annals of the country, and has received a diverse treatment. Jewish and Israeli 'scholarship are represented by Jelinek,(40) Ladislav Lipscher,(41) Rothkirchen,(42) Hedrich Steiner,(43) and Jan Steiner.(44) Among the non-Jews, important are John S. Conway,(45) i'.>urica,(46) Fierello Cavalli,(47) and the Jewish convert to Christianity Ladislav Hoffmann.(48) Memoirs have been written by the Zionist Yirmiyahu Oscar Neumann,(49) and the Orthodox Rabbi Michael Dov Weismandel(50) and Aron Greunhutt.(51) Ivan Kamenec 's dissertation in Bratislava was not published, but he has produced some valuable contributions.(52) The Magyar minority in Slovakia was treated by Stephen Revai(53) and the Communist Juraj Purgat.(64) Paul Brosz(55) and Liptak,(56) among others, discussed the ethnic Germans, while Andrej Dudas(57) gave a hostile description of the Rusins (Ruthenians). The German Josef Steinhuebel, who sat in the Slovak parliament, recorded his life and times.(58) A summary of the situation of the minorities during World War II can be found in a work by Jelinek.(59) Many studies have probed the war-time economy, and here I shall mention Adela Hornova,(60) Hans Kaiser,(61) and Liptak,(62) yet these studies do not present faithfully the positive aspects of Slovakia's economy. Their analysis is marred by the authors' biases. Neither the pro-independence(63) nor the Communist(64) writings are satisfactory. Similar is the nature of the numerous publications devoted to the state ' s President Dr. Jozef Tiso . Among the more scholarly presentations , there are biographies and studies by Lisa Guarda-Nardini,(65) Franz M. Schneider,(66) and Anthony X. Southerland.(67) Konstantin Culen is the Dean of Tiso 's biographers,(68) yet his is an emotional work. We shall recall two articles about stormtroopers in Slovakia, one by Jelinek(69) and one by Ladislav Susko.(70) It is regrettable that memoirs are scarce. Those that do exist include Georges Dunan ,(71) Tido J . Gaspar.(72) and Jozef Pauco.(73) I do not intend to survey here the voluminous literature dedicated to the resistance and the Slovak National Uprising, and to the Communist party and class struggle. Each of these topics deserves independent studies , and would be outside the scope of this paper. Also excluded are various fields like social conditions, education, press cultural life , the army , and religion. For some of these fields we are missing good sources , others were dealt with in Czechoslovakia only, �20 SLOVAKIA and we are lacking balancing views. Works in Western languages are in short supply, too. While the range of the literature on the history of the Slovak state is not small, it is still unsatisfactory. Our knowledge suffers from wide gaps, and even when we are lucky enough to possess studies and articles , these are often not based on rigorous research but are strongly tinged by the author's biases. There are still many important details that require in-depth research. FOOTNOTES (1) Good bibliographies of post-War publications in the West can be found in Michael Lacko's " Bibliographica," Slovak Studies (Rome) , Vol. VIl (1967), and XVIl (1977). Unfortunately, editorializing comments appended to some of the entries seem to be occasionally biased. (2) U.S. Department of State , Documents of German Foreign Policy, 1919-1945, S eries D, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. (3) Secretaire d 'etat de sa Saintete, Actes et Documentes du Saint Siege relatifs a la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Citta de! Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. (4) Slovenske Narodne Povstanie, Dokumenty (The Slovak National Uprising, Documents) . Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1965: Slovenske Narodn e Povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko 1944, Dokumenty (The Germans and Slovakia 1944) , Bratislava: Epocha, 1970. (5) Milos Klimes - Petr Lesjuk - Irena Mala - Vilem Precan , eds., Cesta ke k vetnu. Vznik lidove demokracie v Ceskoslovensku . (The road to May. Creation of the People's Democracy in Czechoslovakia), Two volumes, Prague: Nakladatel'stvi Ceskoslovenske akademie ved, 1965. (6) Libuse Otahlova and Milada Cervinkova, eds., Dokumenty z historie teskoslovenske politiky 1939-1945, (Documents from the history of Czechoslovak politics 1939-1945), (Acta Occupationis Bohemiae & Moraviae), Two volumes, Prague: Academia, 1966. (7) La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania 1938-1945. I. Dagli accordi di Monaco all'inizio della seconda guerra mondiale (Ottobre 1938-Settembre 1939) . Padova: Marsilio Editori, 1964. (8) Pravo Slovakov na samostatnost' - Biela kniha, (The right of Slovaks to Independence - White Book) . Buenos Aires : Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. I . (9) Hurban yahaduth slovakia: teur history b ' teudoth, ('ll'he destruction of the Slovakian Jewry: a documentary history) . Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1961. (10) Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (11) Slovensko v 20. storoti, (Slovakia in the 20th Century). Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1968. (12) H istory of Modem Slovakia . New York : Praeger, 1955 . (13) Slovakia - A Political History: 1918-1950. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marquette University Press , 1963. �SLOVAKIA 21 (14) Sl.ovakia and.Its People. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (15) The Sl.ovak Dilemma. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1973. (16) Sl.owakei und faschistische Neuordnung Europas 1939-1940. Berlin: Akademia Verlag, 1972. (17) The Parish Republic: Blinka 's Sl.ovak People's Party, 1939-1945. Boulder, Colorado : East European Quarterly , 1976. - . (18) Zrada a pad. Hlinko0§ti separrttiste a tak zvany sl.ovensky stat. (The treason and the collapse . Hlinka's separatists ',and the so-called Slovak state). Prague: Statne vydavatefstvo politickej literatui'y ~ 1958. (19) " The Republic of Slovakia, Its Origin and Existence," Sl.ovak Studies , I (1961); "Slovensko za drujej svetovej vojny - Slovenska republika, " (Slovakia during the Second World War - the Slovak Republic), in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dejin. Lausanne : Liber, 1976, pp . 123-154. (20) "The Slovak Republic, 1939-1945," in Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, eds ., A History of the Czechoslovak Republic, 1918-1948. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973, pp . 271-295 . (21) Sl.ovensky §tat, (The Slovak state) . Jamaica, N.Y.: by the author, 1973. (22) Le Danube etait noir. La cause de la Slovaquie independent . Paris : Ed. La table ronde, 1968. (23) Ceskoslovensky §tdt a Slovenskd republika, (The Czechoslovak state and the Slovak Republic). Munich : By the author, S.A. (24) Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Sl.ovenskd.Republika, 1939-1945. Scranton, Pa . : Obrana Press, 1949. (25) Die Slowakei als Mitteleuropaisches Problem in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Munich: Verlag Robert Lerche , 1965. (26) Sl.ovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Toronto, Ontario: The Slovak World Congress , 1973 . (27) (The Slovak National Uprising of 1944). Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1965. (28) " Slovakia 's Accession to the Tripartite Pact," Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 6-19; "The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia, " Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 7-23 ; "British Recognition of Independent Slovakia in 1939," Sl.ovak Studies, IX (1969), pp. 49-73 ; " Vpad Mad'arov na slovensky vychod, " (The Hungarian invasion of the Slovak east), Kalend<ir Jednota, 1959, pp. 56-63 ; Slovensk<i ot<izka na Zdpade v rokoch 1939-1940, (The Slovak question in the West, 1939-1940) . Cleveland, Ohio: Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, 1974. (29) " International Recognition of the Slovak Republic, " Slovakia , I (1951), pp. 23-31; "British Policy and Slovakia (1939-1945) ," Slovakia , X (1960) , pp. 50-61; "Diplomatic and Consular Relations of Slovakia with Neutral States, " Slovakia , XXIlI (1973) , pp . 111-112; " Schicksal des slowakischen Gesandschaft in Bern, " Slowakei, VII (1969), pp . 87-100 ; "Osudy vyslanectiev Slovenskej republiky, " (The fate of the Slovak Republic ' s embassies). Kalend<ir Jednota , 1961, pp. 109-117. (30) " Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1939-1940 und seine Ruckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik,'' Gutachten des Institutes fuer Zeitgeschichte, Munich: In Selbstverlag, 1958, pp. 221-229. �22 SLOVAKIA (31) "Beziehungen zwischen der Slowakischen Republik und dem Heiligen Stuhl," Swvakei, XI-XII (1973-74). pp. 59-89; "Machtpolitische Eingriffe des Dritten Reiches in die Politik der Slowakischen Republik, '' Tradition und Neubegin. Internationale Forschungen zur deutsche Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Cologne-Berlin-BonnMunich : Verlag Carl Heymans, 1975, pp. 245-257. (32) "Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1941-43 und seine Rueckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik, ' ' Gutachten des Instituts fuer Zeitgeschichte. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlag-Anstalt, 1966, pp. 59-60. (33) "Mad'arsko v politike slovenskeho statu 1939-1943," (Hungary in the politics of the Slovak state), Historicky tasopis , XIV , 1 (1966), pp. 161-218. (34) Sest' rokov pri Vatikane, (Six years at the Vatican). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana Press, 1947. (35) Spod Roh~ov po Vatikan , (From the Rohac Mountain to Vatican), Galt, Ontario: Dobra Kniha, 1972. (36) " Slovakia's Internal Policy and the Third Reich, August 1940 - February 1941," Central European History , IV, 3 (September 1971) , pp. 97-119. (37) ''The Politics of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party in the Slovak Republic,'' Swvakia, I. (1951), pp . 43-49; "The Constitution of the Slovak Republic," Swvakia, IX (1959), pp. 47-68. (38) " Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a slovenskeho statu, " (The preparations and the course of the 1940 talks between representatives of Germany and the Slovak state), Historicky Casopis , XIII , 3 (1965), pp . 329-365. (39) " Prvych sest' mesiacov posalzburgskej ery," (The first six months of the postSalzburg period). Kalendcir Jednota, 1960, pp. 65-81 ; "Udalosti okolo Salzburgu," (The Salzburg Occurences). Literarny Almanach Swvaka v Amerike, 1961 ; "Lebensfiihigkeit des unabhiingigen slowakischen Staates," Slowakei, II (1964), pp. 43-50 . (40) " The ' Final Solution ' - the Slovak Version, " East European Quarterly , IV, 4 (1971), pp . 431-441; "The Vatican, the Catholic Church, the Catholics, and the Persecution of the Jews During the Second World War: the Case of Slovakia, " in B. Vago and G.L. Mosse, eds., Jews and Non-Jews in Eastern Europe, 1918-1945. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, New York: John Wiler and Sons, 1974, pp . 221255. (41) "Die Einstellung des Dritten Reiches auf die Judenpolitik des slowakischen Regierung, " in Karol Bosl, ed., Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. MunichVienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971, pp. 139-157. (42) "The Policy of the Vatican and the Holocaust in 'Independent' Slovakia, 19391945," Yad Vashem Studies, VI (1966). pp. 23-45 . See also ft . no. 9. The book includes an extensive introduction in English. (43) The Tragedy of Swvakian Jewry . Bratislava: Dokl]}nentacna akcia, 1949; " La tache de la 'Dokumentacna akcia.' La situation des Juifs , en Slo\ra_quie pedant la persecution. " Les Juifs en Europe, 1939-1945. Paris: 1949. (44) The Anti-Jewish Legislation and Expulsion from the Economy in the Slovak State (1939-1945), in Hebrew, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1974; "The ' Protected by the President' of Dr. Tiso, " in Hebrew, Shvuth , 3 (1975), pp. 64-69. �SLOVAKIA 23 (45) "The Churches, the Slovak State, and the Jews 1939-1945," The Slavonic and East European Review, Lil. 126 (January 1974), pp. 85-112 . (46) " Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Jewish Problem in Slovakia," Slovakia, VIl (1957), pp . 122; La Republica Eslovaca y la Tragedia de los Judeios Euro peas. Beunos Aires: Instituto Argentino-Eslovaco, 1975. (47) " La Santa Sede contro le deportazioni degli Ebrei dalla Slovacchia durante le seconda guerra mondiale," Civilta Cattolica, 112-3 (1961), pp. 3-18. (48) '' Die katholische Kirche und die Tragoedie des slowakischen Juden,'' Slowakei, VIl (1969), pp . 69-86. (49) Im Schatten des_Tod.es . T.el Aviv : Olamenu, 1956. (50) Min ha-Metsar, (From the S~aits). New York: Emunah, 1960. (51) Katastrophenzeit des slowa'kischen Judentums. Aufsteig und niedergang der Juden von Pressburg. Tel Aviv: By the author, 1972 . (52) "2idovsky koncentrafoy a pracovny tabor v Novakoch," (The Jewish concentration and labor camp in Novaky) . Hornci Nitra, m (1966), pp . 51-68 ; Vznik a vyvoj iidovskych pracovnych tciborov a stredisk na Slovensku v rokoch 1942-1944, " (The creation and development of Jewish labor camps and centers in Slovakia in the years of 19421944), Nove Obzory , VIII (1966), pp . 15-38. (53) Hungarians in Czechoslovakia , Yonkers, N .Y .: Institute for Minority Studies on Hungarians Attached to Czechoslovakia and Carpatho-Ruthenia, 1959. (54) Od Trianonu po Ko!ice. (K mad'arskej otcizke v Ceskoslovensku . ) (From Trianon to Kosice. - The Hungarian Question in Czechoslovakia.) Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo politickej literatury; 1970. (55) Die Karpathendeutschen in der Slowakei, 1918-1945. Stuttgart: gemeinschaft der Karpatendeutschen aus der Slowakei, 1972. Arbeits- (56) "Role of the German Minority in Slovakia in the Years of the Second World War," Studia Historica Slovaca , I (1963), pp . 150-178. (57) Rusinskci otcizka ajej uzadie, (The Ruthenian question and its background .) Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1971. (58) Mein Leben. Kampf eines katholischen Pfarrers fuer den Glauben und das Deutschtum in der Slowakei. Stuttgart: Hilfsbund karpathendeutscher Katholiken, 1975. (59) "Slovakia and her Minorities , 1939-1945. People With and Without National Protection, " Nationalities Papers, IV, I (1976), pp. 1-16. (60) " Charakteristika ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu, " (The characteristics of the economy of the so-called Slovak state), Ekonomicky CaS-Opis, II (1954), pp. 337-48; "Hlavne crty militarizacie ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu," (The main line of militarization of the economy of the so-called Slovak state). Ekonomicky Casopis, V (1959) , pp. 438-68. (61) '' Die Eingliederung der Slowakei in die nationalsozialistische Kriegswirtschaft, '' in Karl Bos!, ed. , Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. Munich-Vienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971 , pp. 115-138. (62) " Podrobenie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitalom" (Opression of Slovak industry by German capital), Historicky Casopis, XI, 1 (1955), pp . 2-23. �24 SLOVAKIA (63) Frantisek Vnuk, ' 'Die slowakische Haltung zum Nationalsozialismus," Slowakei, IV (1966), pp. 3-9; Jozef Pauco, " Dr. Joseph Tiso : Christian Democrat," Slovakia, pp. 37-50; Karol Sidor, " O takzvanom slovenskom narodnom socializme, " (About the socalled Slovak National Socialism) , KalendarJednoty, 1964, pp . 143-153. (64) Ladislav Lipscher, "Vyvin a charakteristicke crty fa§izmu na Slovensku," (The development and the characteristics of Fascism in Slovakia), Prispevky k dejinam fa§izmu v Ceskoslovensku a Mad'arsku . Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1969, pp . 9-60 ; Andrej Siracky, Klerofa§isticka ideologia ludactva. (The Clerical-Fascist ideology of the Ludaks) . Bratislava: SNPL, 1955. (65) Tiso: Una TerzaProposta. Padova: CESEO, Liviana Editrice, 1978. (66) "Josef Tiso. Katholischer Priester und Staatsprasident der Slovakei, " Slovak Studies, X (1970) , pp . 7-146. (67) Dr. Joseph Tiso and Modern Slovakia . Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. (68) Po Sviitoplukovi. druha na§a hlava, (After Svatopluk, our second leader) . Middletown, Pa.: Jednota Press, 1947. (69) " Stormtroopers in Slovakia: The Rodobrana and the Hlinka Guard," Journal of Contemporary History , VI, 3 (1971), pp . 97-119. (70) " Hlinkova Garda od svojho vzniku az po salzburske rokovania (1938-1940), " (The Hlinka Guard from its creation until the Salzburg talks). Zbornik Muzea Slovenskeho Narodneho Povstania , II (1968) , pp. 167-258. (71) Ne perdes pas leur trace . Neuchatel: Daconniere , 1950. (72) "Z pamiiti," (Reminiscences , Slo venske Pohfady, LXXXIV (1968) , 6, pp. 84-99, 7, pp . 62-79 , 8, pp. 76-85 , 9, pp . 108-114 , 10, 102-110, 11 , pp . 104-107, 12, pp . 78-83. (73) Tak sme sa poznali, (And so we became acquainted). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak v Amerike, 1967. � \ ARTICLES ��SLOVAKIA 17 The Slovak State In Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) " YESHAYAHU JELINEK Denison University Like any other controversial topic, the historiography of the Slovak state (1939-1945) knows several schools of writing. Rather than research-systems and scholarly approaches, political views, prejudices (or lack of them), and personal background determine characteristics of these schools. Almost each of the themes covering the six years of existence of the Slovak state has been discussed from various angles. In the West, in spite of extensive publishing, scholarly research which would break through the stultifying fences of exile and ethnic literature is still somehow limited. In Czechoslovakia, and in the East in general, publication is strangled in a political straight-jacket. The sixties were the most productive years there; since the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968, however, scholarship has again reached a standstill. This bibliography does not intend to exhaust the topic, nor to label the included entries, but rather to provide readers with a key for further research and writing. Therefore many important works may have been left out.(1) I would tentatively divide the various schools into the following major groups: supporters of the Slovak state, its adversaries, Communists and pro-Communists, and unaffiliated academics. Naturally, none of these distinctions will be held objective by many of the affected authors. Moreover, scholars and writers habitually regard themselves objective and unaffiliated (including the author of this essay), while others may consider them engaged and biased. Among the supporters of Slovak independence I would count many of the 1945 political exiles and some of the 1948 and 1968 emigrants, some Slovaks residing in Western countries, members of the Carpatho-German groups in West Germany, and several Catholic writers. The adversaries include, above all, members of the Slovak exile of 1948 and post-1968, Jews (whether originally from Slovakia or not) , Magyars, Czechs, and anti-Catholic writers . Communist and pro-Communist publications have appeared predominantly in Czechoslovakia, but there are also some in other �18 SLOVAKIA Eastern and Western countries. The academic group is most diverse. Nonetheless, many of its participants originated in Czechoslovakia and in the neighboring countries, and we are still missing a solid strata of students taking an academic interest in Slovakia without having emotional or ethnic attachment. It is this group which has contributed much of the fresh insight and unbiased scholarship. The authors included in this bibliography have published in more than a half-dozen languages. Besides the well-known series of German(2) and Vatican(3) documents , which discuss Slovakia frequently, the only important and extensive collections of primary documentation are the two volumes edited by Vilem Precan.(4) Less informative are Cesta ke kvetnu(5) and Dokumeny z historie ceskoslovenske politiky 1939-1943.(6) Most of the published sources cover the years 1943-45 and/or the resistance and Communist activities. Scattered documents deal with the foundation of the state, and with Slovak autonomy (September 1938-March 1939). We are still missing a solid volume devoted to the years 1939-1943. Milan S. Durica tried to fill the void, but reached only September 1939,(7) and furthermore, his collection is in Italian - a language unfamiliar to many researchers. Also helpful is Ferdinand Durcansky. (8) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry has been well documented by Livia Rothkirchen. (9) Works covering twentieth-century Slovakia include the ones by Joseph M . Kirschbaum,(10) :Cubomir Liptak,(11) Jozef Lettrich,(12) Joseph A. Mikus,(13) Gilbert L. Oddo,(14) and Eugen Steiner.(15) Books devoted to the Slovak state are those by the East German Hans Dress,(16) the Israeli Yeshayahu Jelinek,(17) and the Slovak Communist Imrich Stanek.(18) Among shorter essays worth noting are Durica's(19) and Joerg K. Hoensch's.(20) Less scholarly are Vincent Bolecek,(21) Francois d ' Orchival,(22) Jozef F. Rudinsky,(23) and others. Important information could be obtained from symphosia. Perhaps the most comprehensive is by supporters of the Slovak state, Slovenska Republika.(24) Less adequate are volumes of Karl Bosl (ed.)(25) and Kirschbaum (ed.).(26) The collection Slovenske N<irodne Povstanie Roku 1944 printed in Slovakia is devoted to the Slovak National Uprising, but includes also several studies of other aspects of the Slovak state .(27) . Foreign relations have been mostly treated in a partisan fashion. The exceptionally prolific Frantisek Vnuk(28) and ·Kirschbaum(29) wrote a large number of essays on this topic, as have done Martin Broszat,(30) Durica,(31) Siegfried Fauck,(32) and Liptak.(33) Karol Sidor, Slovakia's Minister to the Holy See, summarized his ex- �SLOVAKIA 19 periences.(34) Not very informative, but supplementary to Sidor, is Jozef Kapala.(35) Internal political developments were discussed by Jelinek,(36) Kirschbaum,(37) Liptak,(38) and Vnuk.(39) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry is one of the more controversial facets in the annals of the country, and has received a diverse treatment. Jewish and Israeli 'scholarship are represented by Jelinek,(40) Ladislav Lipscher,(41) Rothkirchen,(42) Hedrich Steiner,(43) and Jan Steiner.(44) Among the non-Jews, important are John S. Conway,(45) i'.>urica,(46) Fierello Cavalli,(47) and the Jewish convert to Christianity Ladislav Hoffmann.(48) Memoirs have been written by the Zionist Yirmiyahu Oscar Neumann,(49) and the Orthodox Rabbi Michael Dov Weismandel(50) and Aron Greunhutt.(51) Ivan Kamenec 's dissertation in Bratislava was not published, but he has produced some valuable contributions.(52) The Magyar minority in Slovakia was treated by Stephen Revai(53) and the Communist Juraj Purgat.(64) Paul Brosz(55) and Liptak,(56) among others, discussed the ethnic Germans, while Andrej Dudas(57) gave a hostile description of the Rusins (Ruthenians). The German Josef Steinhuebel, who sat in the Slovak parliament, recorded his life and times.(58) A summary of the situation of the minorities during World War II can be found in a work by Jelinek.(59) Many studies have probed the war-time economy, and here I shall mention Adela Hornova,(60) Hans Kaiser,(61) and Liptak,(62) yet these studies do not present faithfully the positive aspects of Slovakia's economy. Their analysis is marred by the authors' biases. Neither the pro-independence(63) nor the Communist(64) writings are satisfactory. Similar is the nature of the numerous publications devoted to the state ' s President Dr. Jozef Tiso . Among the more scholarly presentations , there are biographies and studies by Lisa Guarda-Nardini,(65) Franz M. Schneider,(66) and Anthony X. Southerland.(67) Konstantin Culen is the Dean of Tiso 's biographers,(68) yet his is an emotional work. We shall recall two articles about stormtroopers in Slovakia, one by Jelinek(69) and one by Ladislav Susko.(70) It is regrettable that memoirs are scarce. Those that do exist include Georges Dunan ,(71) Tido J . Gaspar.(72) and Jozef Pauco.(73) I do not intend to survey here the voluminous literature dedicated to the resistance and the Slovak National Uprising, and to the Communist party and class struggle. Each of these topics deserves independent studies , and would be outside the scope of this paper. Also excluded are various fields like social conditions, education, press cultural life , the army , and religion. For some of these fields we are missing good sources , others were dealt with in Czechoslovakia only, �20 SLOVAKIA and we are lacking balancing views. Works in Western languages are in short supply, too. While the range of the literature on the history of the Slovak state is not small, it is still unsatisfactory. Our knowledge suffers from wide gaps, and even when we are lucky enough to possess studies and articles , these are often not based on rigorous research but are strongly tinged by the author's biases. There are still many important details that require in-depth research. FOOTNOTES (1) Good bibliographies of post-War publications in the West can be found in Michael Lacko's " Bibliographica," Slovak Studies (Rome) , Vol. VIl (1967), and XVIl (1977). Unfortunately, editorializing comments appended to some of the entries seem to be occasionally biased. (2) U.S. Department of State , Documents of German Foreign Policy, 1919-1945, S eries D, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. (3) Secretaire d 'etat de sa Saintete, Actes et Documentes du Saint Siege relatifs a la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Citta de! Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. (4) Slovenske Narodne Povstanie, Dokumenty (The Slovak National Uprising, Documents) . Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1965: Slovenske Narodn e Povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko 1944, Dokumenty (The Germans and Slovakia 1944) , Bratislava: Epocha, 1970. (5) Milos Klimes - Petr Lesjuk - Irena Mala - Vilem Precan , eds., Cesta ke k vetnu. Vznik lidove demokracie v Ceskoslovensku . (The road to May. Creation of the People's Democracy in Czechoslovakia), Two volumes, Prague: Nakladatel'stvi Ceskoslovenske akademie ved, 1965. (6) Libuse Otahlova and Milada Cervinkova, eds., Dokumenty z historie teskoslovenske politiky 1939-1945, (Documents from the history of Czechoslovak politics 1939-1945), (Acta Occupationis Bohemiae & Moraviae), Two volumes, Prague: Academia, 1966. (7) La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania 1938-1945. I. Dagli accordi di Monaco all'inizio della seconda guerra mondiale (Ottobre 1938-Settembre 1939) . Padova: Marsilio Editori, 1964. (8) Pravo Slovakov na samostatnost' - Biela kniha, (The right of Slovaks to Independence - White Book) . Buenos Aires : Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. I . (9) Hurban yahaduth slovakia: teur history b ' teudoth, ('ll'he destruction of the Slovakian Jewry: a documentary history) . Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1961. (10) Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (11) Slovensko v 20. storoti, (Slovakia in the 20th Century). Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1968. (12) H istory of Modem Slovakia . New York : Praeger, 1955 . (13) Slovakia - A Political History: 1918-1950. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marquette University Press , 1963. �SLOVAKIA 21 (14) Sl.ovakia and.Its People. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (15) The Sl.ovak Dilemma. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1973. (16) Sl.owakei und faschistische Neuordnung Europas 1939-1940. Berlin: Akademia Verlag, 1972. (17) The Parish Republic: Blinka 's Sl.ovak People's Party, 1939-1945. Boulder, Colorado : East European Quarterly , 1976. - . (18) Zrada a pad. Hlinko0§ti separrttiste a tak zvany sl.ovensky stat. (The treason and the collapse . Hlinka's separatists ',and the so-called Slovak state). Prague: Statne vydavatefstvo politickej literatui'y ~ 1958. (19) " The Republic of Slovakia, Its Origin and Existence," Sl.ovak Studies , I (1961); "Slovensko za drujej svetovej vojny - Slovenska republika, " (Slovakia during the Second World War - the Slovak Republic), in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dejin. Lausanne : Liber, 1976, pp . 123-154. (20) "The Slovak Republic, 1939-1945," in Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, eds ., A History of the Czechoslovak Republic, 1918-1948. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973, pp . 271-295 . (21) Sl.ovensky §tat, (The Slovak state) . Jamaica, N.Y.: by the author, 1973. (22) Le Danube etait noir. La cause de la Slovaquie independent . Paris : Ed. La table ronde, 1968. (23) Ceskoslovensky §tdt a Slovenskd republika, (The Czechoslovak state and the Slovak Republic). Munich : By the author, S.A. (24) Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Sl.ovenskd.Republika, 1939-1945. Scranton, Pa . : Obrana Press, 1949. (25) Die Slowakei als Mitteleuropaisches Problem in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Munich: Verlag Robert Lerche , 1965. (26) Sl.ovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Toronto, Ontario: The Slovak World Congress , 1973 . (27) (The Slovak National Uprising of 1944). Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1965. (28) " Slovakia 's Accession to the Tripartite Pact," Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 6-19; "The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia, " Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 7-23 ; "British Recognition of Independent Slovakia in 1939," Sl.ovak Studies, IX (1969), pp. 49-73 ; " Vpad Mad'arov na slovensky vychod, " (The Hungarian invasion of the Slovak east), Kalend<ir Jednota, 1959, pp. 56-63 ; Slovensk<i ot<izka na Zdpade v rokoch 1939-1940, (The Slovak question in the West, 1939-1940) . Cleveland, Ohio: Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, 1974. (29) " International Recognition of the Slovak Republic, " Slovakia , I (1951), pp. 23-31; "British Policy and Slovakia (1939-1945) ," Slovakia , X (1960) , pp. 50-61; "Diplomatic and Consular Relations of Slovakia with Neutral States, " Slovakia , XXIlI (1973) , pp . 111-112; " Schicksal des slowakischen Gesandschaft in Bern, " Slowakei, VII (1969), pp . 87-100 ; "Osudy vyslanectiev Slovenskej republiky, " (The fate of the Slovak Republic ' s embassies). Kalend<ir Jednota , 1961, pp. 109-117. (30) " Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1939-1940 und seine Ruckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik,'' Gutachten des Institutes fuer Zeitgeschichte, Munich: In Selbstverlag, 1958, pp. 221-229. �22 SLOVAKIA (31) "Beziehungen zwischen der Slowakischen Republik und dem Heiligen Stuhl," Swvakei, XI-XII (1973-74). pp. 59-89; "Machtpolitische Eingriffe des Dritten Reiches in die Politik der Slowakischen Republik, '' Tradition und Neubegin. Internationale Forschungen zur deutsche Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Cologne-Berlin-BonnMunich : Verlag Carl Heymans, 1975, pp. 245-257. (32) "Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1941-43 und seine Rueckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik, ' ' Gutachten des Instituts fuer Zeitgeschichte. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlag-Anstalt, 1966, pp. 59-60. (33) "Mad'arsko v politike slovenskeho statu 1939-1943," (Hungary in the politics of the Slovak state), Historicky tasopis , XIV , 1 (1966), pp. 161-218. (34) Sest' rokov pri Vatikane, (Six years at the Vatican). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana Press, 1947. (35) Spod Roh~ov po Vatikan , (From the Rohac Mountain to Vatican), Galt, Ontario: Dobra Kniha, 1972. (36) " Slovakia's Internal Policy and the Third Reich, August 1940 - February 1941," Central European History , IV, 3 (September 1971) , pp. 97-119. (37) ''The Politics of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party in the Slovak Republic,'' Swvakia, I. (1951), pp . 43-49; "The Constitution of the Slovak Republic," Swvakia, IX (1959), pp. 47-68. (38) " Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a slovenskeho statu, " (The preparations and the course of the 1940 talks between representatives of Germany and the Slovak state), Historicky Casopis , XIII , 3 (1965), pp . 329-365. (39) " Prvych sest' mesiacov posalzburgskej ery," (The first six months of the postSalzburg period). Kalendcir Jednota, 1960, pp. 65-81 ; "Udalosti okolo Salzburgu," (The Salzburg Occurences). Literarny Almanach Swvaka v Amerike, 1961 ; "Lebensfiihigkeit des unabhiingigen slowakischen Staates," Slowakei, II (1964), pp. 43-50 . (40) " The ' Final Solution ' - the Slovak Version, " East European Quarterly , IV, 4 (1971), pp . 431-441; "The Vatican, the Catholic Church, the Catholics, and the Persecution of the Jews During the Second World War: the Case of Slovakia, " in B. Vago and G.L. Mosse, eds., Jews and Non-Jews in Eastern Europe, 1918-1945. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, New York: John Wiler and Sons, 1974, pp . 221255. (41) "Die Einstellung des Dritten Reiches auf die Judenpolitik des slowakischen Regierung, " in Karol Bosl, ed., Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. MunichVienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971, pp. 139-157. (42) "The Policy of the Vatican and the Holocaust in 'Independent' Slovakia, 19391945," Yad Vashem Studies, VI (1966). pp. 23-45 . See also ft . no. 9. The book includes an extensive introduction in English. (43) The Tragedy of Swvakian Jewry . Bratislava: Dokl]}nentacna akcia, 1949; " La tache de la 'Dokumentacna akcia.' La situation des Juifs , en Slo\ra_quie pedant la persecution. " Les Juifs en Europe, 1939-1945. Paris: 1949. (44) The Anti-Jewish Legislation and Expulsion from the Economy in the Slovak State (1939-1945), in Hebrew, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1974; "The ' Protected by the President' of Dr. Tiso, " in Hebrew, Shvuth , 3 (1975), pp. 64-69. �SLOVAKIA 23 (45) "The Churches, the Slovak State, and the Jews 1939-1945," The Slavonic and East European Review, Lil. 126 (January 1974), pp. 85-112 . (46) " Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Jewish Problem in Slovakia," Slovakia, VIl (1957), pp . 122; La Republica Eslovaca y la Tragedia de los Judeios Euro peas. Beunos Aires: Instituto Argentino-Eslovaco, 1975. (47) " La Santa Sede contro le deportazioni degli Ebrei dalla Slovacchia durante le seconda guerra mondiale," Civilta Cattolica, 112-3 (1961), pp. 3-18. (48) '' Die katholische Kirche und die Tragoedie des slowakischen Juden,'' Slowakei, VIl (1969), pp . 69-86. (49) Im Schatten des_Tod.es . T.el Aviv : Olamenu, 1956. (50) Min ha-Metsar, (From the S~aits). New York: Emunah, 1960. (51) Katastrophenzeit des slowa'kischen Judentums. Aufsteig und niedergang der Juden von Pressburg. Tel Aviv: By the author, 1972 . (52) "2idovsky koncentrafoy a pracovny tabor v Novakoch," (The Jewish concentration and labor camp in Novaky) . Hornci Nitra, m (1966), pp . 51-68 ; Vznik a vyvoj iidovskych pracovnych tciborov a stredisk na Slovensku v rokoch 1942-1944, " (The creation and development of Jewish labor camps and centers in Slovakia in the years of 19421944), Nove Obzory , VIII (1966), pp . 15-38. (53) Hungarians in Czechoslovakia , Yonkers, N .Y .: Institute for Minority Studies on Hungarians Attached to Czechoslovakia and Carpatho-Ruthenia, 1959. (54) Od Trianonu po Ko!ice. (K mad'arskej otcizke v Ceskoslovensku . ) (From Trianon to Kosice. - The Hungarian Question in Czechoslovakia.) Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo politickej literatury; 1970. (55) Die Karpathendeutschen in der Slowakei, 1918-1945. Stuttgart: gemeinschaft der Karpatendeutschen aus der Slowakei, 1972. Arbeits- (56) "Role of the German Minority in Slovakia in the Years of the Second World War," Studia Historica Slovaca , I (1963), pp . 150-178. (57) Rusinskci otcizka ajej uzadie, (The Ruthenian question and its background .) Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1971. (58) Mein Leben. Kampf eines katholischen Pfarrers fuer den Glauben und das Deutschtum in der Slowakei. Stuttgart: Hilfsbund karpathendeutscher Katholiken, 1975. (59) "Slovakia and her Minorities , 1939-1945. People With and Without National Protection, " Nationalities Papers, IV, I (1976), pp. 1-16. (60) " Charakteristika ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu, " (The characteristics of the economy of the so-called Slovak state), Ekonomicky CaS-Opis, II (1954), pp. 337-48; "Hlavne crty militarizacie ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu," (The main line of militarization of the economy of the so-called Slovak state). Ekonomicky Casopis, V (1959) , pp. 438-68. (61) '' Die Eingliederung der Slowakei in die nationalsozialistische Kriegswirtschaft, '' in Karl Bos!, ed. , Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. Munich-Vienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971 , pp. 115-138. (62) " Podrobenie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitalom" (Opression of Slovak industry by German capital), Historicky Casopis, XI, 1 (1955), pp . 2-23. �24 SLOVAKIA (63) Frantisek Vnuk, ' 'Die slowakische Haltung zum Nationalsozialismus," Slowakei, IV (1966), pp. 3-9; Jozef Pauco, " Dr. Joseph Tiso : Christian Democrat," Slovakia, pp. 37-50; Karol Sidor, " O takzvanom slovenskom narodnom socializme, " (About the socalled Slovak National Socialism) , KalendarJednoty, 1964, pp . 143-153. (64) Ladislav Lipscher, "Vyvin a charakteristicke crty fa§izmu na Slovensku," (The development and the characteristics of Fascism in Slovakia), Prispevky k dejinam fa§izmu v Ceskoslovensku a Mad'arsku . Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1969, pp . 9-60 ; Andrej Siracky, Klerofa§isticka ideologia ludactva. (The Clerical-Fascist ideology of the Ludaks) . Bratislava: SNPL, 1955. (65) Tiso: Una TerzaProposta. Padova: CESEO, Liviana Editrice, 1978. (66) "Josef Tiso. Katholischer Priester und Staatsprasident der Slovakei, " Slovak Studies, X (1970) , pp . 7-146. (67) Dr. Joseph Tiso and Modern Slovakia . Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. (68) Po Sviitoplukovi. druha na§a hlava, (After Svatopluk, our second leader) . Middletown, Pa.: Jednota Press, 1947. (69) " Stormtroopers in Slovakia: The Rodobrana and the Hlinka Guard," Journal of Contemporary History , VI, 3 (1971), pp . 97-119. (70) " Hlinkova Garda od svojho vzniku az po salzburske rokovania (1938-1940), " (The Hlinka Guard from its creation until the Salzburg talks). Zbornik Muzea Slovenskeho Narodneho Povstania , II (1968) , pp. 167-258. (71) Ne perdes pas leur trace . Neuchatel: Daconniere , 1950. (72) "Z pamiiti," (Reminiscences , Slo venske Pohfady, LXXXIV (1968) , 6, pp. 84-99, 7, pp . 62-79 , 8, pp. 76-85 , 9, pp . 108-114 , 10, 102-110, 11 , pp . 104-107, 12, pp . 78-83. (73) Tak sme sa poznali, (And so we became acquainted). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak v Amerike, 1967. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 \ ARTICLES SLOVAKIA 17 The Slovak State In Post-war Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography) " YESHAYAHU JELINEK Denison University Like any other controversial topic, the historiography of the Slovak state (1939-1945) knows several schools of writing. Rather than research-systems and scholarly approaches, political views, prejudices (or lack of them), and personal background determine characteristics of these schools. Almost each of the themes covering the six years of existence of the Slovak state has been discussed from various angles. In the West, in spite of extensive publishing, scholarly research which would break through the stultifying fences of exile and ethnic literature is still somehow limited. In Czechoslovakia, and in the East in general, publication is strangled in a political straight-jacket. The sixties were the most productive years there; since the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968, however, scholarship has again reached a standstill. This bibliography does not intend to exhaust the topic, nor to label the included entries, but rather to provide readers with a key for further research and writing. Therefore many important works may have been left out.(1) I would tentatively divide the various schools into the following major groups: supporters of the Slovak state, its adversaries, Communists and pro-Communists, and unaffiliated academics. Naturally, none of these distinctions will be held objective by many of the affected authors. Moreover, scholars and writers habitually regard themselves objective and unaffiliated (including the author of this essay), while others may consider them engaged and biased. Among the supporters of Slovak independence I would count many of the 1945 political exiles and some of the 1948 and 1968 emigrants, some Slovaks residing in Western countries, members of the Carpatho-German groups in West Germany, and several Catholic writers. The adversaries include, above all, members of the Slovak exile of 1948 and post-1968, Jews (whether originally from Slovakia or not) , Magyars, Czechs, and anti-Catholic writers . Communist and pro-Communist publications have appeared predominantly in Czechoslovakia, but there are also some in other 18 SLOVAKIA Eastern and Western countries. The academic group is most diverse. Nonetheless, many of its participants originated in Czechoslovakia and in the neighboring countries, and we are still missing a solid strata of students taking an academic interest in Slovakia without having emotional or ethnic attachment. It is this group which has contributed much of the fresh insight and unbiased scholarship. The authors included in this bibliography have published in more than a half-dozen languages. Besides the well-known series of German(2) and Vatican(3) documents , which discuss Slovakia frequently, the only important and extensive collections of primary documentation are the two volumes edited by Vilem Precan.(4) Less informative are Cesta ke kvetnu(5) and Dokumeny z historie ceskoslovenske politiky 1939-1943.(6) Most of the published sources cover the years 1943-45 and/or the resistance and Communist activities. Scattered documents deal with the foundation of the state, and with Slovak autonomy (September 1938-March 1939). We are still missing a solid volume devoted to the years 1939-1943. Milan S. Durica tried to fill the void, but reached only September 1939,(7) and furthermore, his collection is in Italian - a language unfamiliar to many researchers. Also helpful is Ferdinand Durcansky. (8) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry has been well documented by Livia Rothkirchen. (9) Works covering twentieth-century Slovakia include the ones by Joseph M . Kirschbaum,(10) :Cubomir Liptak,(11) Jozef Lettrich,(12) Joseph A. Mikus,(13) Gilbert L. Oddo,(14) and Eugen Steiner.(15) Books devoted to the Slovak state are those by the East German Hans Dress,(16) the Israeli Yeshayahu Jelinek,(17) and the Slovak Communist Imrich Stanek.(18) Among shorter essays worth noting are Durica's(19) and Joerg K. Hoensch's.(20) Less scholarly are Vincent Bolecek,(21) Francois d ' Orchival,(22) Jozef F. Rudinsky,(23) and others. Important information could be obtained from symphosia. Perhaps the most comprehensive is by supporters of the Slovak state, Slovenska Republika.(24) Less adequate are volumes of Karl Bosl (ed.)(25) and Kirschbaum (ed.).(26) The collection Slovenske N<irodne Povstanie Roku 1944 printed in Slovakia is devoted to the Slovak National Uprising, but includes also several studies of other aspects of the Slovak state .(27) . Foreign relations have been mostly treated in a partisan fashion. The exceptionally prolific Frantisek Vnuk(28) and ·Kirschbaum(29) wrote a large number of essays on this topic, as have done Martin Broszat,(30) Durica,(31) Siegfried Fauck,(32) and Liptak.(33) Karol Sidor, Slovakia's Minister to the Holy See, summarized his ex- SLOVAKIA 19 periences.(34) Not very informative, but supplementary to Sidor, is Jozef Kapala.(35) Internal political developments were discussed by Jelinek,(36) Kirschbaum,(37) Liptak,(38) and Vnuk.(39) The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry is one of the more controversial facets in the annals of the country, and has received a diverse treatment. Jewish and Israeli 'scholarship are represented by Jelinek,(40) Ladislav Lipscher,(41) Rothkirchen,(42) Hedrich Steiner,(43) and Jan Steiner.(44) Among the non-Jews, important are John S. Conway,(45) i'.>urica,(46) Fierello Cavalli,(47) and the Jewish convert to Christianity Ladislav Hoffmann.(48) Memoirs have been written by the Zionist Yirmiyahu Oscar Neumann,(49) and the Orthodox Rabbi Michael Dov Weismandel(50) and Aron Greunhutt.(51) Ivan Kamenec 's dissertation in Bratislava was not published, but he has produced some valuable contributions.(52) The Magyar minority in Slovakia was treated by Stephen Revai(53) and the Communist Juraj Purgat.(64) Paul Brosz(55) and Liptak,(56) among others, discussed the ethnic Germans, while Andrej Dudas(57) gave a hostile description of the Rusins (Ruthenians). The German Josef Steinhuebel, who sat in the Slovak parliament, recorded his life and times.(58) A summary of the situation of the minorities during World War II can be found in a work by Jelinek.(59) Many studies have probed the war-time economy, and here I shall mention Adela Hornova,(60) Hans Kaiser,(61) and Liptak,(62) yet these studies do not present faithfully the positive aspects of Slovakia's economy. Their analysis is marred by the authors' biases. Neither the pro-independence(63) nor the Communist(64) writings are satisfactory. Similar is the nature of the numerous publications devoted to the state ' s President Dr. Jozef Tiso . Among the more scholarly presentations , there are biographies and studies by Lisa Guarda-Nardini,(65) Franz M. Schneider,(66) and Anthony X. Southerland.(67) Konstantin Culen is the Dean of Tiso 's biographers,(68) yet his is an emotional work. We shall recall two articles about stormtroopers in Slovakia, one by Jelinek(69) and one by Ladislav Susko.(70) It is regrettable that memoirs are scarce. Those that do exist include Georges Dunan ,(71) Tido J . Gaspar.(72) and Jozef Pauco.(73) I do not intend to survey here the voluminous literature dedicated to the resistance and the Slovak National Uprising, and to the Communist party and class struggle. Each of these topics deserves independent studies , and would be outside the scope of this paper. Also excluded are various fields like social conditions, education, press cultural life , the army , and religion. For some of these fields we are missing good sources , others were dealt with in Czechoslovakia only, 20 SLOVAKIA and we are lacking balancing views. Works in Western languages are in short supply, too. While the range of the literature on the history of the Slovak state is not small, it is still unsatisfactory. Our knowledge suffers from wide gaps, and even when we are lucky enough to possess studies and articles , these are often not based on rigorous research but are strongly tinged by the author's biases. There are still many important details that require in-depth research. FOOTNOTES (1) Good bibliographies of post-War publications in the West can be found in Michael Lacko's " Bibliographica," Slovak Studies (Rome) , Vol. VIl (1967), and XVIl (1977). Unfortunately, editorializing comments appended to some of the entries seem to be occasionally biased. (2) U.S. Department of State , Documents of German Foreign Policy, 1919-1945, S eries D, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. (3) Secretaire d 'etat de sa Saintete, Actes et Documentes du Saint Siege relatifs a la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Citta de! Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. (4) Slovenske Narodne Povstanie, Dokumenty (The Slovak National Uprising, Documents) . Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1965: Slovenske Narodn e Povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko 1944, Dokumenty (The Germans and Slovakia 1944) , Bratislava: Epocha, 1970. (5) Milos Klimes - Petr Lesjuk - Irena Mala - Vilem Precan , eds., Cesta ke k vetnu. Vznik lidove demokracie v Ceskoslovensku . (The road to May. Creation of the People's Democracy in Czechoslovakia), Two volumes, Prague: Nakladatel'stvi Ceskoslovenske akademie ved, 1965. (6) Libuse Otahlova and Milada Cervinkova, eds., Dokumenty z historie teskoslovenske politiky 1939-1945, (Documents from the history of Czechoslovak politics 1939-1945), (Acta Occupationis Bohemiae & Moraviae), Two volumes, Prague: Academia, 1966. (7) La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania 1938-1945. I. Dagli accordi di Monaco all'inizio della seconda guerra mondiale (Ottobre 1938-Settembre 1939) . Padova: Marsilio Editori, 1964. (8) Pravo Slovakov na samostatnost' - Biela kniha, (The right of Slovaks to Independence - White Book) . Buenos Aires : Slovensky Oslobodzovaci Vybor, 1954. I . (9) Hurban yahaduth slovakia: teur history b ' teudoth, ('ll'he destruction of the Slovakian Jewry: a documentary history) . Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1961. (10) Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (11) Slovensko v 20. storoti, (Slovakia in the 20th Century). Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, 1968. (12) H istory of Modem Slovakia . New York : Praeger, 1955 . (13) Slovakia - A Political History: 1918-1950. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marquette University Press , 1963. SLOVAKIA 21 (14) Sl.ovakia and.Its People. New York: R. Speller and Sons Publishers, 1960. (15) The Sl.ovak Dilemma. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1973. (16) Sl.owakei und faschistische Neuordnung Europas 1939-1940. Berlin: Akademia Verlag, 1972. (17) The Parish Republic: Blinka 's Sl.ovak People's Party, 1939-1945. Boulder, Colorado : East European Quarterly , 1976. - . (18) Zrada a pad. Hlinko0§ti separrttiste a tak zvany sl.ovensky stat. (The treason and the collapse . Hlinka's separatists ',and the so-called Slovak state). Prague: Statne vydavatefstvo politickej literatui'y ~ 1958. (19) " The Republic of Slovakia, Its Origin and Existence," Sl.ovak Studies , I (1961); "Slovensko za drujej svetovej vojny - Slovenska republika, " (Slovakia during the Second World War - the Slovak Republic), in Jozef M. Rydlo, ed., Slovensko v retrospektive dejin. Lausanne : Liber, 1976, pp . 123-154. (20) "The Slovak Republic, 1939-1945," in Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, eds ., A History of the Czechoslovak Republic, 1918-1948. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973, pp . 271-295 . (21) Sl.ovensky §tat, (The Slovak state) . Jamaica, N.Y.: by the author, 1973. (22) Le Danube etait noir. La cause de la Slovaquie independent . Paris : Ed. La table ronde, 1968. (23) Ceskoslovensky §tdt a Slovenskd republika, (The Czechoslovak state and the Slovak Republic). Munich : By the author, S.A. (24) Mikulas Sprinc, ed., Sl.ovenskd.Republika, 1939-1945. Scranton, Pa . : Obrana Press, 1949. (25) Die Slowakei als Mitteleuropaisches Problem in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Munich: Verlag Robert Lerche , 1965. (26) Sl.ovakia in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Toronto, Ontario: The Slovak World Congress , 1973 . (27) (The Slovak National Uprising of 1944). Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1965. (28) " Slovakia 's Accession to the Tripartite Pact," Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 6-19; "The German Zone of Protection in Slovakia, " Slovakia, IX (1959), pp . 7-23 ; "British Recognition of Independent Slovakia in 1939," Sl.ovak Studies, IX (1969), pp. 49-73 ; " Vpad Mad'arov na slovensky vychod, " (The Hungarian invasion of the Slovak east), Kalend<ir Jednota, 1959, pp. 56-63 ; Slovensk<i ot<izka na Zdpade v rokoch 1939-1940, (The Slovak question in the West, 1939-1940) . Cleveland, Ohio: Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, 1974. (29) " International Recognition of the Slovak Republic, " Slovakia , I (1951), pp. 23-31; "British Policy and Slovakia (1939-1945) ," Slovakia , X (1960) , pp. 50-61; "Diplomatic and Consular Relations of Slovakia with Neutral States, " Slovakia , XXIlI (1973) , pp . 111-112; " Schicksal des slowakischen Gesandschaft in Bern, " Slowakei, VII (1969), pp . 87-100 ; "Osudy vyslanectiev Slovenskej republiky, " (The fate of the Slovak Republic ' s embassies). Kalend<ir Jednota , 1961, pp. 109-117. (30) " Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1939-1940 und seine Ruckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik,'' Gutachten des Institutes fuer Zeitgeschichte, Munich: In Selbstverlag, 1958, pp. 221-229. 22 SLOVAKIA (31) "Beziehungen zwischen der Slowakischen Republik und dem Heiligen Stuhl," Swvakei, XI-XII (1973-74). pp. 59-89; "Machtpolitische Eingriffe des Dritten Reiches in die Politik der Slowakischen Republik, '' Tradition und Neubegin. Internationale Forschungen zur deutsche Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Cologne-Berlin-BonnMunich : Verlag Carl Heymans, 1975, pp. 245-257. (32) "Das deutsch-slowakische Verhaltnis 1941-43 und seine Rueckwirkung auf die slowakische Judenpolitik, ' ' Gutachten des Instituts fuer Zeitgeschichte. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlag-Anstalt, 1966, pp. 59-60. (33) "Mad'arsko v politike slovenskeho statu 1939-1943," (Hungary in the politics of the Slovak state), Historicky tasopis , XIV , 1 (1966), pp. 161-218. (34) Sest' rokov pri Vatikane, (Six years at the Vatican). Scranton, Pa.: Obrana Press, 1947. (35) Spod Roh~ov po Vatikan , (From the Rohac Mountain to Vatican), Galt, Ontario: Dobra Kniha, 1972. (36) " Slovakia's Internal Policy and the Third Reich, August 1940 - February 1941," Central European History , IV, 3 (September 1971) , pp. 97-119. (37) ''The Politics of Hlinka's Slovak People 's Party in the Slovak Republic,'' Swvakia, I. (1951), pp . 43-49; "The Constitution of the Slovak Republic," Swvakia, IX (1959), pp. 47-68. (38) " Priprava a priebeh salzburskych rokovani roku 1940 medzi predstavitefmi Nemecka a slovenskeho statu, " (The preparations and the course of the 1940 talks between representatives of Germany and the Slovak state), Historicky Casopis , XIII , 3 (1965), pp . 329-365. (39) " Prvych sest' mesiacov posalzburgskej ery," (The first six months of the postSalzburg period). Kalendcir Jednota, 1960, pp. 65-81 ; "Udalosti okolo Salzburgu," (The Salzburg Occurences). Literarny Almanach Swvaka v Amerike, 1961 ; "Lebensfiihigkeit des unabhiingigen slowakischen Staates," Slowakei, II (1964), pp. 43-50 . (40) " The ' Final Solution ' - the Slovak Version, " East European Quarterly , IV, 4 (1971), pp . 431-441; "The Vatican, the Catholic Church, the Catholics, and the Persecution of the Jews During the Second World War: the Case of Slovakia, " in B. Vago and G.L. Mosse, eds., Jews and Non-Jews in Eastern Europe, 1918-1945. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, New York: John Wiler and Sons, 1974, pp . 221255. (41) "Die Einstellung des Dritten Reiches auf die Judenpolitik des slowakischen Regierung, " in Karol Bosl, ed., Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. MunichVienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971, pp. 139-157. (42) "The Policy of the Vatican and the Holocaust in 'Independent' Slovakia, 19391945," Yad Vashem Studies, VI (1966). pp. 23-45 . See also ft . no. 9. The book includes an extensive introduction in English. (43) The Tragedy of Swvakian Jewry . Bratislava: Dokl]}nentacna akcia, 1949; " La tache de la 'Dokumentacna akcia.' La situation des Juifs , en Slo\ra_quie pedant la persecution. " Les Juifs en Europe, 1939-1945. Paris: 1949. (44) The Anti-Jewish Legislation and Expulsion from the Economy in the Slovak State (1939-1945), in Hebrew, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1974; "The ' Protected by the President' of Dr. Tiso, " in Hebrew, Shvuth , 3 (1975), pp. 64-69. SLOVAKIA 23 (45) "The Churches, the Slovak State, and the Jews 1939-1945," The Slavonic and East European Review, Lil. 126 (January 1974), pp. 85-112 . (46) " Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Jewish Problem in Slovakia," Slovakia, VIl (1957), pp . 122; La Republica Eslovaca y la Tragedia de los Judeios Euro peas. Beunos Aires: Instituto Argentino-Eslovaco, 1975. (47) " La Santa Sede contro le deportazioni degli Ebrei dalla Slovacchia durante le seconda guerra mondiale," Civilta Cattolica, 112-3 (1961), pp. 3-18. (48) '' Die katholische Kirche und die Tragoedie des slowakischen Juden,'' Slowakei, VIl (1969), pp . 69-86. (49) Im Schatten des_Tod.es . T.el Aviv : Olamenu, 1956. (50) Min ha-Metsar, (From the S~aits). New York: Emunah, 1960. (51) Katastrophenzeit des slowa'kischen Judentums. Aufsteig und niedergang der Juden von Pressburg. Tel Aviv: By the author, 1972 . (52) "2idovsky koncentrafoy a pracovny tabor v Novakoch," (The Jewish concentration and labor camp in Novaky) . Hornci Nitra, m (1966), pp . 51-68 ; Vznik a vyvoj iidovskych pracovnych tciborov a stredisk na Slovensku v rokoch 1942-1944, " (The creation and development of Jewish labor camps and centers in Slovakia in the years of 19421944), Nove Obzory , VIII (1966), pp . 15-38. (53) Hungarians in Czechoslovakia , Yonkers, N .Y .: Institute for Minority Studies on Hungarians Attached to Czechoslovakia and Carpatho-Ruthenia, 1959. (54) Od Trianonu po Ko!ice. (K mad'arskej otcizke v Ceskoslovensku . ) (From Trianon to Kosice. - The Hungarian Question in Czechoslovakia.) Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo politickej literatury; 1970. (55) Die Karpathendeutschen in der Slowakei, 1918-1945. Stuttgart: gemeinschaft der Karpatendeutschen aus der Slowakei, 1972. Arbeits- (56) "Role of the German Minority in Slovakia in the Years of the Second World War," Studia Historica Slovaca , I (1963), pp . 150-178. (57) Rusinskci otcizka ajej uzadie, (The Ruthenian question and its background .) Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1971. (58) Mein Leben. Kampf eines katholischen Pfarrers fuer den Glauben und das Deutschtum in der Slowakei. Stuttgart: Hilfsbund karpathendeutscher Katholiken, 1975. (59) "Slovakia and her Minorities , 1939-1945. People With and Without National Protection, " Nationalities Papers, IV, I (1976), pp. 1-16. (60) " Charakteristika ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu, " (The characteristics of the economy of the so-called Slovak state), Ekonomicky CaS-Opis, II (1954), pp. 337-48; "Hlavne crty militarizacie ekonomiky tzv. slovenskeho statu," (The main line of militarization of the economy of the so-called Slovak state). Ekonomicky Casopis, V (1959) , pp. 438-68. (61) '' Die Eingliederung der Slowakei in die nationalsozialistische Kriegswirtschaft, '' in Karl Bos!, ed. , Das Jahr 1945 in der Tschechoslowakei. Munich-Vienna: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1971 , pp. 115-138. (62) " Podrobenie slovenskeho priemyslu nemeckym kapitalom" (Opression of Slovak industry by German capital), Historicky Casopis, XI, 1 (1955), pp . 2-23. 24 SLOVAKIA (63) Frantisek Vnuk, ' 'Die slowakische Haltung zum Nationalsozialismus," Slowakei, IV (1966), pp. 3-9; Jozef Pauco, " Dr. Joseph Tiso : Christian Democrat," Slovakia, pp. 37-50; Karol Sidor, " O takzvanom slovenskom narodnom socializme, " (About the socalled Slovak National Socialism) , KalendarJednoty, 1964, pp . 143-153. (64) Ladislav Lipscher, "Vyvin a charakteristicke crty fa§izmu na Slovensku," (The development and the characteristics of Fascism in Slovakia), Prispevky k dejinam fa§izmu v Ceskoslovensku a Mad'arsku . Bratislava: Vydavatefstvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1969, pp . 9-60 ; Andrej Siracky, Klerofa§isticka ideologia ludactva. (The Clerical-Fascist ideology of the Ludaks) . Bratislava: SNPL, 1955. (65) Tiso: Una TerzaProposta. Padova: CESEO, Liviana Editrice, 1978. (66) "Josef Tiso. Katholischer Priester und Staatsprasident der Slovakei, " Slovak Studies, X (1970) , pp . 7-146. (67) Dr. Joseph Tiso and Modern Slovakia . Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1978. (68) Po Sviitoplukovi. druha na§a hlava, (After Svatopluk, our second leader) . Middletown, Pa.: Jednota Press, 1947. (69) " Stormtroopers in Slovakia: The Rodobrana and the Hlinka Guard," Journal of Contemporary History , VI, 3 (1971), pp . 97-119. (70) " Hlinkova Garda od svojho vzniku az po salzburske rokovania (1938-1940), " (The Hlinka Guard from its creation until the Salzburg talks). Zbornik Muzea Slovenskeho Narodneho Povstania , II (1968) , pp. 167-258. (71) Ne perdes pas leur trace . Neuchatel: Daconniere , 1950. (72) "Z pamiiti," (Reminiscences , Slo venske Pohfady, LXXXIV (1968) , 6, pp. 84-99, 7, pp . 62-79 , 8, pp. 76-85 , 9, pp . 108-114 , 10, 102-110, 11 , pp . 104-107, 12, pp . 78-83. (73) Tak sme sa poznali, (And so we became acquainted). Middletown, Pa.: Slovak v Amerike, 1967.  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 State in Post-war Historiography Description An account of the resource Yeshayahu Jelinek Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 17-24 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jelínek, Yešhayahu A., 1933-2016 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e9a545c6701bae7a962bd2db2a3834d8.pdf 0dd3fe301e1b099f10663374997e72a5 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 25 The Slovak Intelligentsia 1918-1938 OWEN V. JOHNSON \ The 25th issue of Slovensky dennik, published December 7, 1918, carried a message from the Slovak Society of Studying Youth. It began bluntly, '' A nation is strong only if it has a strong intelligentsia.'' Issue No. 1, published November 9, 1918, called on the Slovak intelligentsia to come forward. Since the new Czechoslovak state will need a great many Slovak people for offices and schools, we challenge each Slovak intelligent to immediately apply in writing or personally to the Legal Committee of the Slovak National Council listing complete name and address. Slovensky dennik might well have devoted its limited space to other matters, for the Slovakia of 1918 was ahnost without an intelligentsia, a body without a head. How and to what extent was this void filled in the following twenty years? In essence, this essay is a preliminary examination of that question. A combination of historical and ideological circumstances has combined to divert attention almost completely from a serious study of the development of education and the concomitant development of the intelligentsia (using here the Marxist definition of the intelligentsia as being "educated specialists") in interwar Slovakia, and in fact for the whole of Czechoslovakia.(!) Victor Mamatey describes Slovak politicians as showing considerable energy in promoting the cultural and educational development of the Slovak people,(2) but furnishes no evidence. R. W. Seton-Watson describes the "remarkable transformation" wrought in the field of education in Slovakia, but provides only broad quantitative evidence, referring especially to the elementary schools. (3) Reprinted by permission from Russian and Slavic History (Papers from the Banff ' 74 Conference) edited by D. K. Rowney and G. E. Orchard, Slavica Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 14388, Columbus, Ohio 43214. �26 SLOVAKIA While Czech and Slovak historians generally evaluate this phenomenon favorably, only now is any extensive research developing in the field. The published draft survey, Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin(4) does not once mention education. One report on a meeting of the Polish-Czechoslovak Historical Commission in Warsaw in September 1972 pointed out, "There emerged in the rich discussion many questions which even in our historiography have not been resolved through analytical work (such as) (the growth of national intelligentsia, the question of education ... ).(5) Oldriska Kodedova, reviewing Kuzmin's Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekoslovakii, comments(6) that insufficient attention has been paid to the social and nationality problem of education between the two wars. She points out that there is not a single basic work on the subject. Professor Jozef Matej, chairman of the pedagogical department of the Faculty of Philosophy at Comenius University in Bratislava, surveys the considerable progress made in research over the last five years, and declares that the editorial board of Jednotna skola supports the publication of articles about the history of education and pedagogy in the "bourgeois" Republic.(7) Admittedly this problem is not one that lends itself easily to a time frame as short as twenty years. Even the very few high school graduates from 1919 would have been less than forty years old in 1938, an age which in the traditional European context was still quite young. The names which showed up as outstanding among high school students· in the twenties and thirties became the leaders only in the turbulent forties and fifties. Perforce, then, this paper must confine itself to observations on some aspects of the development of the intelligentsia. A thorough study would require a complete monograph. What I will seek to do is discuss briefly the circumstances that brought about the poverty of the intelligentsia before 1918, identify institutions which contributed to the development of this educated group of Slovaks in the interwar period; describe summarily the educational system in use and provide a statistical overview of the schools and the students who studied in them; briefly describe other signs of cultural development; and suggest some accomplishments, shortcomings, and problems on the period. Linguistic and anthropological experts have long debated the question as to whether the term Czechoslovlik can be used to describe one language and one nation, or whether the individual Czech and Slovak terms should be used. This paper proceeds on the basis of the latter, as a means to better understanding the problem at hand. If the idea of a Slovak nation was to have a solid basis, whether in a �SLOVAKIA 27 \ Czechoslovak state or by it'self, it was necessary that an intelligentsia develop from the Slovak people . The course of events prior to the creation of Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I found the Slovak people practically without a nationally conscious Slovak intelligentsia. Policies pursued by the Hungarian government following the 1867 Ausgleich had made it practically impossible for any Slovak youth who aspired to advanced education and a high position in life, to succeeed without giving up his Slovak identity. There were no Slovak schools beyond the primary level. It is generally accepted(8) that there were only between five hundred and a thousand educated and nationally conscious Slovaks in the year 1918. This estimate can be challenged on the basis that it represented the number of Slovaks and members of their families on whom the Hungarian authorities kept watch because of Slovak or panSlavic tendencies.(9) There may well have been several thousand nationally neutral intelligentsia who found it quite simple to fit into a Czechoslovak environment following the founding of the Republic. Several Slovak historians are seeking at this time a more accurate estimate.(10) Certainly the predominantly agricultural configuration of the Slovak society did not promote Slovak intellectual development. The cities , with few exceptions , were Hungarian, German, or Jewish dominated. Thus we are left with a Slovak intelligentsia made up primarily of clergymen, doctors , and lawyers, and their families .(11) One could not in any case expect that there would be a sufficient number of Slovaks who would have the requisite administrative experience to run a modem state and nation. To overcome this shortcoming it was necessary to bring in Czechs.(12) An example can be made of the advanced educational establishments. There were about twenty qualified and nationally conscious Slovaks who could teach in the gymnasia, enough persons to supply about two schools . Perhaps three hundred nationally conscious Slovaks were qualified to teach in the elementary schools.(13) Dr. Karel Koch , later Surgeon-General for Slovakia, lists only three Slovak-oriented surgeons remaining in Slovakia in 1918.(14) Borovicka even says that after the attainment of independence in 1918 there was not a single Slovak government official whatever with a Slovak national consciousness .(15) The bleakness of the situation was described poignantly by Dr. Vavro Srobar, a future Agrarian Party Minister of Education. "There were so few of us that we almost all knew each other personally , we knew even addresses , as well as personal and family relationships. " (16) �28 SLOVAKIA Accustomed to the Hungarian tradition, the Slovak peasant looked upon the intelligentsia as those people who, on the basis of a definite higher schooling got an official position or who otherwise stood out on the basis of their knowledge, property and influence in public, and earned admission to intelligent society. High school and university education and a proper knowledge of Hungarian or German, gentlemanly behavior, official position in the church, county, school, etc. gave legitimation to the title of intelligent. (17) The intelligentsia were the people who worked with their heads, not their hands. On this basis, one may consider a study of schools which awarded the maturitne vysvedcenie (matriculation certificate) or its equivalent and of the students in these schools as a study of the intelligentsia. The certificate was given for the successful completion of the school leaving examination at the end of high school (similar to the French baccalaureat). Of five categories of state employees, three required at least a high school education. A fourth required lower high school or middle school joined with special courses. While the fifth included those demanding only general elementary education, elementary and middle school teachers were included in this category.(18) At this point, attention must be directed to the structure of the whole school system. School attendance in Slovakia was mandatory for six years until 1922; after that, eight years was required, although the increase could not be enforced until the late twenties for lack of the needed personnel and facilities. All students spent the first five years in elementary (l'udove) schools. The other three years could be taken in middle schools, or in the beginning grades of the various secondary schools. In some of the more rural areas, only the elementary school existed, and here students who had no intention of continuing higher studies were allowed to attend if no alternative school was available. There were about 4000 elementary schools. The majority of the schools awarding the matriculation certificate came under the general heading gymnasia. Children who had completed elementary school and were at last ten years old, could apply for admission to the gymnasia. These were of fm\f types: 1. The classical gymnasium, of which there· were very few, was an eight-year school. Successful completion of the course allowed the student to enter the university directly. Until reforms �SLOVAKIA 29 \ instituted in early 1930s, students in these schools studied Latin from the first year and Greek from the fifth. 2. The real gymnasium was by far the most popular because its graduates could directly enter both universities and technical universities. In these schools, French or English was taken instead of Greek beginning in the fifth year. 3. The real reformed gymnasium, which was more popular in the early years of the Republic, later lost attractiveness, and many of these schools were converted to real gymnasia. They followed the same curriculum as the real gymnasia except that a third language (English, Italian, or a Slavic one) replaced Latin in the seventh year. The reason for their later unpopularity was the necessity of taking an additional examination in Latin in order to gain entrance into the university. 4. The re<ilka was a seven-year school and its graduates had entrance directly only into the technical universities. No classical language was required, and French or English was begun in the second year. Other schools which awarded the matriculation certificate were only four years in length. The most wide-spread in Slovakia was the teacher-training institute , conducting a four year course of instruction which qualified its graduates to teach in the elementary, and after a time, the middle schools. Students were admitted in their ninth year of schooling in most cases , provided they had reached the minimum age of fifteen . During the depression this type of institution reached its peak of popularity with several times more applicants being turned down than were admitted. This is explained by its providing its graduates nearly guaranteed employment without their having to consider how to obtain funds to study at the university . Compared to the gymnasia and the teacher training institutes, the four other types of schools which gave degrees equivalent to the matriculation certificate were limited in number. The priemyseln<i skola , or industrial school, was four years in length, and its graduates could be admitted directly to the technical universities. These schools operated under a severe handicap in Slovakia during the first republic, for it was not until the fall of 1938 that the first Slovak technical university was opened. In anticipation of this event, enrolhnent in the technical high schools swelled considerably after the mid-thirties. The commercial academy (obchodn<i akademia) graduate also completed a four-year program which allowed him to enter either the technical university or the law faculty. Graduates of the four year �30 SLOVAKIA agricultural high school in Kosice or the four year forestry high school in Banska Stiavnica could enter the technical universities in their respective fields. The agriculture high school was designed primarily, however, for the education of independent farmers, and the forestry high school for the preparation of forest administrators. While much attention has been directed thus far to the rights to higher education achieved by these secondary school graduates, the percentage of those completing higher education was not overwhelming. Gustav Husak, in admittedly rough calculations, adjudged between 2000 and 2500 Slovaks engaged in university studies in the 1933-34 school year.(19) That compares with the 19,047 students in Slovakia attending the gymnasia and teacher training institutes that year. The 1930 census counted 2,295,067 Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. (20) During the twelve-year period 1926-7-1937-8, slightly more than seven percent of the total number of students at the Evangelical Gymnasium in Presov took the maturita examination.(21) If this figure is applied as a rough ratio for all of Slovakia, it would mean that in the above mentioned year of 1933-34, approximately 1330 students in Slovakia took the maturita. In the same year, approximately one fifth of the law students at Comenius University were first year students (2861162).(22) Applying this percentage to Husak's estimated total of 20002500 Slovaks attending institutions of higher learning, we arrive at the figure of about 600 first year Slovak students in all university faculties. This means that less than one half of those holding the matriculation certificate went on to the university. And of these, some forty percent did not complete the first set of state examinations normally given after two years study.(23) According to these calculations, less than one third of those holding the matriculation certificate from the gymnasium completed a university degree.(24) (The original estimate of 1330 maturants includes the graduates of the teacher training institutes who rarely continued to the university.) Support for using the criteria of a secondary school education to define the intelligent is offered by the percentage of such students in the whole educational spectrum. In the school year 1921-22, students of gymnasia and teacher training institutes 'made up 2. 7 percent of the total number of students in Slovakia.(25) For reasons that are both complex and unclear, statistical offices of the Czechoslovak Republic did not publish complete data on the number of those gaining the matriculation certificate each year. In Slovakia, a circular with some such information was prepared by the Bratislava (Slovak) Referent for Education each year until the late �SLOVAKIA 31 1920s. The only other manner in which this number can be determined is by a methodical examination of the annual high school yearbooks sponsored by each school. Let it be taken as an assumption, based on a general familiarity with . the figures, that an average of about one thousand Czechoslovak s~udents in Slovakia each year passed the maturita exam, or about 20,000 during the life of the Republic. The figure is of course lower in the early years, and much higher in the period just before Munich. The general accuracy of this estimate can be judged by the estimate of Robert Rosko(26) that 68,000 employees in Slovakia in 1953 had higher and specialized secondary education. Stefanek's estimate of 50,000 students having completed high school studies by 1944(27) is likely too high. Only one writer, Jan Novacky, probably with statistics furnished by the Ministry of Education, has calculated the number of persons receiving the matriculation certificate over a period of time (Table 1). These data suggest the projection of 1330 recipients of the maturita for the year 1933-34 is reasonably accurate as does our estimated average of one thousand matriculation certificates per year for the 1918-19-1937-38 period. The number of graduates of the teacher training institutes remained fairly constant at about 300 per year.(28) The number of girl students in grade VIII (and thus eligible for the maturita examination) as a percentage of the total number of girl students enrolled in the gymnasia in 1927-28 was just under five percent, thus fifty percent less than the average for all those enrolled. (29) TABLE 1 NUMBER OF MATRICULATION CERTIFICATES (HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS) AWARDED 1918-19 - 1928-29: SELECTED YEARS AND TOTAL Total 1918-19 Type of Institution 1918-19 1923-24 1928-29 1928-29 3075 Real gymnasium 84 250 532 Teacher training institute 122 262 247 3014 Real reformed gymnasium 5 70 189 1000 23 44 82 623 Realka 64 Classical gymnasium 0 0 36 Total Source: 234 626 1086 7776 Jan M. Novacky, ed., Desat' rokov slovenskych strednych skol, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp. 68-71. �32 SLOVAKIA The figures we have been discussing up to this point refer to the Czechoslovak high schools in Slovakia. They include a smattering of Hungarians, Jews, Germans, and other nationalities , as well as Czechs and Slovaks. The number of Czechs in some schools was substantial. For example, during the 1937-38 school year, the First Czechoslovak real gymnasium in Bratislava had 896 students, of which less than half (431) were Slovak. Three hundred eighty-six were Czech, 43 German , 24 Hungarian , and the rest other nationalities.(30) In Banska Bystrica, 394 out of 470 students in that year were Slovak , 66 Czech and the other ten divided among four nationalities.(31) Again, a complete survey must await further computation. What can be said with safety is that a significant proportion - ten to twenty-five percent - of the students were not Slovaks. The only known official publication which differentiates between Czechs and Slovaks in the high schools in Slovakia was published for the 1922-23 school year in Slovakia by the Skalsk y Referat. Of the 11,267 students, 1286 are Czech, 8501 Slovak, and the rest belong to other nationalities. At the same time there were six Czechs and 116 Slovaks in non-Czechoslovak institutions . This confirms our estimate of ten to twenty-five percent non-Slovaks.(32) The State Statistical Office of the Czechoslovak Republic did not, in its school statistics, differentiate between Czechs and Slovaks , using instead the inclusive term Czechoslovak. However, between half and two thirds of the individual schools did make a distinction in their published yearly reports, and some of them also expressed the distinction on the statistical forms mailed to the Ministry of Education. It is this lack of readily available data which has hindered until now any significant studies of this question. Because some schools only used the term Czechoslovak means we shall never have a completely accurate picture of the nationality situation. This attitude of Czechoslovakism in the statistics occurred for a variety of reasons : political conviction, political fear, lack of interest , or desire to maintain the status quo. It was the principal (riaditel') who decided which policy would be followed.(33) Because of these varying motivations, one cannot with reliability apportion the students in the unoi(ferentiated schools to the specific nationalities. Further, even when a aifferent,.iation is made in the general and classroom statistics between ' nationalities, we do not have available this information for individual students, so as to be able to determine whether such and such an individual student, be he Czech or Slovak, passed the maturita exam. We must content ourselves with comparing the percentage of each nationality in the final year of school and applying these percentages to the number of persons taking the �33 SLOVAKIA maturita exams. Even in the less common instances when the maturita recording books are availa\:ile in the archives , they frequently do not specify the nationality, but fist only the place of birth. While this is of some assistance in obtaining a reasonably accurate picture , the very existence of 120,000 Czechs in Slovakia(34) will distort it, as well as the non-Czechoslovak abode of many of these persons prior to 1918. In the above Banska Bystrica case, although there were 66 Czechs , only 34 of the students were born in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. There will also be some distortion , when we cannot specifically distinguish Czech from Slovak, in identifying the social, religious, and other characteristics of the students according to nationality. Here again, it seems that we must proceed on the basis of what we have , hoping that studies of the individual schools described by Matej(35) will tum up better information. Let us use 1927-28 as a sample year. The decline in the number of enrollees which developed later because of the wartime decline in the birth rate and not yet made itself felt. With the exception of a number of schools which would open in the last four years of the Republic, almost all schools were operating as full institutions. Some had been converted from Hungarian to Slovak over a period of seven or eight years . TABLE 2 CZECHOSLOVAK SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA , 1927-28 Type of School Real gymnasium Real reformed gymnasium Realka Teacher training institute Commercial academy Industrial high school Classical gymnasium Agricultural high school Forestry high school Total Number Students Graduates Studentsgraduate 24 8217 426 19 10 3 2939 997 165 98 18 13 6 3 2 1 1 63 970 617 470 406 98 Unavailable 14,714 327 62 100 16 14 14 1222 10 3 10 5 25 7 12 �34 SLOVAKIA Sources: Novacky, Desat' rokov , pp. 63-67; Styridsat' rokov Lesnickej technickej skoly v Banskej Stiavnici 1918-1959, Bratislava: Poverenictvo Podohospodarstva, 1959, pp. 62-67; Anton Stefanek, Education in Pre-War Hungary and in Slovakia To-Day," in Slovakia Then and Now: A Political Survey ed. by Robert W. Seton-Watson, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1931, p. 130; Individual vyrocne zpravy of the agricultural high school, commercial high schools , and industrial high schools. The most productive gymnasium of any kind in the first eleven years was the real gymnasium at Bratislava with 363 degrees awarded followed by the realka at Zilina with 340. Other gymnasia producing more than 200 matriculation certificate holders in the first eleven years were the real gymnasia at Kosice, Nitra, Ruzomberok, Trencin, Trnava, and Banska Bystrica. The teacher training institute at Modra produced by far the largest number of graduates in the first eleven years with 419, primarily because of the 142 which it graduated in the first three years, a figure twice the number of any other school during that period, excepting Tmava, which also had the second highest eleven year total with 323. Seven other institutions had more than 200 graduates each. Over the twenty year period, there were 51 gymnasia of different types, 17 teacher training institutes, 5 industrial high schools, 7 commercial high schools, and one each of the agricultural and forestry high schools. A significant number of this total (16-82) began operation in the last four years, a jump of about 25 percent from the number in existence at the end of the 1933-34 school year. The reasons for this sudden increase will be discussed below. The total does not include a private unlicensed secondary school operated in Bratislava in the 193738 school year which used French as the language of instruction and was seeking state accreditation. The proportion of secondary school students in the population was lower in all Slovak counties (between 3 and 8 per 1000) than in Prague (12-13 per 1000) .(36) By some strange quirk, however, the county of Mikulas had the highest number of secondary schools in relation to the population (9-10-200,000) anywhere in Czechoslovakia. This included 14 schools for 319,509 people.(37) In Slovakia in 1922-23 there was one Czechoslovak student for each 179 Czecho~lovak inhabitants. For the whole country (excepting Ruthenia) the ratio was I-116.(38) There were other schools which one might consider as producers of intelligentsia. The so-called pedagogical academy which began to operate in Bratislava in the 1930-31 school year at the suggestion of the �SLOVAKIA 35 Slovak Pedagogical Society was the first step toward placing teacher training on the university level. It was a one-year program which gave gymnasium graduates the right to teach in elementary schools. In seven years it produced 706 graduates.(39) Graduates of the teacher training institutes did no~ have the possibility nor the need to attend. Comenius University \11 Bratislava had three faculties - law, medicine, and philosophy- ano began accepting gymnasium graduates in the fall of 1921.(40) Slovaks could attend other universities in the country as well. The Slovak Technical University opened only in the fall of 1938. There were two theological faculties. The Lutheran faculty, which operated throughout the twenty years, received university rank in 1934. The Catholic faculty, authorized in 1919, began operations in 1936 although in the interim there were a half dozen small seminaries scattered around Slovakia. The music and drama academy of Bratislava received university status in 1926. The higher agricultural co-operative school opened in Bratislava in 1936 to help provide administrative officials for the co-operative movement. Previously these officials had come from among the graduates of the commercial academies and commercial schools (usually 2-year programs not leading to a matriculation certificate). Students were chosen from among those who already held the matriculation certificate, with preference to persons who had been graduated from the commercial or agricultural high schools and to those with co-operative experience. Those who had a partial high school education or had finished middle school and one of the agricultural or commercial schools, and had two years of experience in the co-operative movement as well, could qualify if they successfully passed an entrance exam. There were only 22 students in each year of operation. There were also a number of theological academies with the equivalency rank of universities. Entrants were required to hold the matriculation certificate. The six Catholic institutes (seminaries) mentioned above closed with the opening of the Bratislava theological faculty in 1936. Even so , Slovakia still possessed more than half of the theological institutes in the country. There were also a half dozen city music schools , sometimes supported by the public, but these were rather for private music instruction and did not fit into the regular scheme of formal education . Reference has been made to vocational courses in the fields of agricultural, industrial and commercial education. There was in these courses no attempt to advance beyond the teaching of specific skills. The courses varied from several weeks to two years. �36 SLOVAKIA Matica slovenska, the Slovak cultural and national organization, sponsored in many cities the so-called enlightenment courses. These consisted on one or a series of lectures, and would more properly fall under the heading of popular or civic education. The local organizations of Matica slovenska were supposed to be distributing knowledge, rather than fostering it.(41) Courses held by the Army for illiterate soldiers should be considered also in the realm of popular education. What other evidence do we have of cultural advancement during the period under discussion? One is the publication of books, magazines and newspapers. Before the outbreak of World War I there was some of this activity , although exactly how much is uncertain. Stefan Krcmery , long active in Matica slovenska, said that a total of 41 periodicals in 1909 had declined to ten by 1918.(42) A more recent survey conducted by Matica slovenska shows the total growing from 32 in 1900 to 47 in 1910 to 61 in 1914 before dropping to 30 in 1918.(43) The most important were N arodnie noviny , published three times a week at Martin, and Slouenske pohl'ady, a monthly literary journal.(44) Jozef Votruba, a Slovak patriot , was said to have remarked(45) that the Slovak intelligentsia was made up of those who read Narodnie nouiny. Similar problems arise in trying to measure the number of journals published after the revolution. Maria Kipsova, in a definitive bibliography published in 1968, (46) lists 980 journals definitely located and 80 journals not found which were published in Slovak during the 20-year period. Jozef Darmo 's incomplete study(47) of Slovak journalism, published two years earlier, says there was a total of 1565 magazines and newspapers published, of which 442 were Hungarian and an undefined number in other languages. A survey compiled by the press referent for Slovakia in 1927(48) listed 162 purely Slovak publications for that year . Approximately one-third of these were political , another third organizational . Eight of the publications were dailies, all but one of them published ip Bratislava. A further 49 publications were multi-lingual with Slova~ as one of the languages . Nearly half of the all-Slovak publications · (77) Had a frequency of monthly or less. The Kipsova bibliography shows that the great majority of these publications did not long survive . Included among the reasons were the lack of printers and the inability to extend circulation beyond the cities into the countryside . Quite simply, the rural population was not yet accustomed to reading.(49) While some efforts have been made at estimating the extent of circulation of the various publications ,(50) there is no source extensive enough to provide any adequate analysis. The expansion of the number of daily papers from two (one of which was Hungarian-oriented)(51) before the war , to eight �SLOVAKIA 37 under the Czechoslovak ~epublic indicates definite progress. Even with insufficient evidence, 'one can presume a circulation expansion as well. While there is considerable disagreement, too, over the exact number of Slovak books published between the wars,(52) it averaged 600-800 per year, of which about three quarters were published in Slovakia itself. A provisional B ibliografia slovenskych knih 19191938(53) published in 1965, listed 13,320 items definitely identified, and 6530 uncertain. If the nearly 19,000 were in fact all published, it would establish an average of approximately one thousand per year, somewhat higher than the estimate by Stefanek (13,425).(54) Most likely, not all of the desiderata will be included in a definitive bibliography, soon to be published by Matica slovenska, since, for instance, some of the jubilee high school yearbooks, which are in fact not books, are included, plus some listings which are only Slovakicized titles of Czech books. The most difficult problem is unfortunately unsolvable, that is, how many copies of each of these books were published. Only a few organizations, such as Matica slovenska, kept publication totals . One estimate suggested that pre-war printings rarely exceeded 600-800 copies; by 1928 the average was 250010,000.(55) Stefanek provides some interesting comparisons of the occupations of writers before and after the revolution. (56) They show that before the revolution 112 out of 178 writers were priests (two-thirds Lutheran, one-third Catholic). After 1918 (approximately 1935) only 14111 are priests. The bulk (47) are academicians. Another measurement of general progress can be noted in the area of libraries. In 1927 there were 3283 research libraries for teachers with 258 ,200 books; 216 school libraries containing 1,185,464 books including 150,000 at Comenius University; and 2592 communal libraries with 202 , 781 books . (5 7) By 1932 the number of libraries in the first two categories had increased only by seven, but the number of volumes was up half a million.(58) Since there were only private church libraries and those of priests and patriots prior to 1918, there is a definite note of progress here. One of the most difficult problems in handling a subject of this type is to maintain a differentiation between the terms intelligentsia and national enlightenment. While we have noted the tremendous development of communal libraries, libraries which average less than one hundred books apiece will not contribute much to the development of the intelligentsia, although they may significantly raise the national consciousness of the broad mass of the population. The same problem �38 SLOVAKIA must be faced when we examine the national and religious cultural societies . Either we must redefine what we call a member of the intelligentsia or we must recognize the fact that these organizations had different purposes. The Society of St. Adalbert is a case in point. A Catholic society with 100,000 members, it dealt mainly with popular education and Catholic science and literature.(59) Yet Peter Vajcik(60) described one of the society's three aims as being to help the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, a much smaller group . The Lutheran Church had a similar society of Tranoscius. Matica slovenska anguished over the direction of its goals . Until 1932 it tended to reflect more accurately the number of intelligentsia than did the two specifically religious societies, but it also included a number of Czechs and people of other nationalities involved in the work of popular education. In some respects it sought to fulfill the role of a scientific academy, but lacked the personnel and monetary support, and could not tear itself away from its popular education role . Interestingly , when its membership roles swelled after the capture of the leadership in 1932 by those who favored a greater amount of Slovak autonomy, its organized scientific research increased substantially. The membership increased from 11,063 in 1930 to 30,147 in 1936.(61) The Safarik Scientific Society was organized in 1926 mainly by the members of the faculty of Comenius University. It was begun with the intent of increasing the amount of knowledge about Slovakia and Ruthenia. Strongly supported by persons with a Czechoslovak orientation, it frequently found itself at loggerheads with the people in Matica slovenska.(62) In 1934 it had a total of 168 members of whom only 40 were Slovak. It was divided into two sections, one for the social sciences and one for the natural sciences. In the latter, there were only 16 Slovaks among 101 members, which can in part be explained by the lack of a faculty of natural sciences at Comenius University . During its twelve year existence it published 45 volumes of research results.(63) A number of other societies or organizations which could be called cultural or intellectual also functioned but they will not be dealt with here . These include the Slovak Museum Society, the Slovak Cultural (Vlastivedne) Museum, the East Slovak Museum, the Slovak Pedagogical Society, the Union of Slovak Students, DAV , and the several unions of teachers.(64) · Having sketched the general outline of the development of the intelligentsia , it becomes necessary to examine the broader context of the matter as it relates to political development and the whole of life in interwar Czechoslovakia. �SLOVAKIA 39 It was the early actio~s of the Czechoslovak government taken in the field of education that\ ~ere the most far reaching. Before 1918 there were 53 secondary schools in Slovakia, all Hungarian.(65) Following the attainment of independence, three were closed immediately, two others were combined, and in nine towns new secondary schools were organized. Before the New Year, three secondary schools were operating, and a total of thirteen were giving instruction after three months of independence. (66) Anton Stefanek, assigned the task of co-ordinating this project, described his guiding principle as ''the democratic principle of religious and racial equality before the law."(67) Thus, in purely Slovak districts, the schools were deMagyarized. In the southern districts, he "on the whole" left the status quo. This immediate de-Magyarization of the Slovak high schools was exceptionally important. Changes which are readily accepted in a time of revolution are not achieved even gradually in times of peace and quiet. The entire Czech policy followed in the southern parts of Slovakia sought to integrate the area into the Czechoslovak Republic. (68) The new schools which were opened in essentially Hungarian towns such as Nove Zamky or Lucenec, took root rapidly even though a Hungarian school was also frequently authorized. While these cities had been Hungarian for several decades, the countryside was in many cases still Slovak. The extra assistance provided by the central authorities was frequently the deciding factor in reclaiming the cities, and thus the gathering places of the intelligentsia, for the Slovaks . According to the 1930 census, only seven cities in Slovakia had more than 20,000 persons. Of these, all had two or more Czechoslovak secondary schools except Komarno, which did not gain its first Czechoslovak secondary school until 1936. Only two of the fourteen towns with between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, Guta and Handlova, did not have secondary schools . Handlova is only seven miles from Prievidza, which had a school. Guta (now called Kolarovo), is in a strongly Hungarian area about ten miles southwest of Nove Zarnky, which also had a gymnasium .(69) State control was extended over six Catholic high schools in 1919, under fear that the vacant six sees, which were responsible for their supervision , would be filled by Hungarians . The only other two alternatives , according to Stefanek, were to close the schools, or to accept Hungarian control. It was the attempt by the Slovak People 's Party to gain restoration of three of these Catholic gymnasia in 1921 which led to that party's break-away from the Czech People ' s Party. Josef Susta , the Minister of Education in the Cerny government, ap- �40 SLOVAKIA parently made promises to the effect that the schools would be returned to Catholic control, an action which his successor, Vavro Srobar, an Agrarian Slovak, refused to carry out once the Benes government took office . (70) The Protestants in contrast, carried out an internal reorganization in 1919 and were allowed to maintain control over their schools. Within a decade they gave up all but one for financial reasons .(71) It might be mentioned that the Slovak National Council, which spoke for Slovakia in its declaration of union with the Czechs at Martin October 30, 1918, apparently made no effort to institute an educational system, although some of its local branch officials served to help coordinate the setting up of new schools . Mamatey attributes this to inexperience in the exercise of political power.(72) The impliction is that the Slovak elite, carried over from the Hungarian era, did not use realistic methods in developing a modem nation. Thus, they did not conceive of the need to build an expanded intelligentsia. (73) Much of the policy relating to education was determined by administrative , rather than legislative action. Thus, the fact that five out of the twelve interwar Ministers of Education were Slovaks is of considerable significance. Actually these five held the post for a •longer period (by three months) than Czechs, and many significant reforms were accomplished under them. Ivan Derer, a Social Democrat, held the post for the longest period, from 1929 to 1934. Milan Hodza, an, Agrarian, had the third longest term (1926-1929), a period that probably would have lasted longer had he not become embroiled in conflict with Masaryk and Benes over foreign policy matters. Several policy changes were carried out which affected secondary education in Slovakia. One involved converting the realka to the Austrian or Czech pattern, which meant a seven-year, rather than an eight-year, curriculum, and thus lessened in the eyes of many Slovaks the value of its education. The six-year higher girls ' schools were first reestablished as lycees , then converted quickly to real reformed gymnasia because the former institutions had offered little perspective for further education or employment. The use of boarding schools was also generally eliminated in Slovakia. Prior to World War I, boarding schools had helped to foster Magyarization by cutting off the students from the Slovak countryside. By 1923 only sixteen remained , of which eleven were located at teacher training institutes. (74) At the same time , various organizations set up " intemats" in many towns to strengthen thE\regained Slovak foothold . This made it possible for young people from remote districts , for whom poor transportation connections would have preve~ted daily com- �SLOVAKIA 41 muting, to acquire a secondary education. Others could avoid the otherwise inflated living costs in the cities.(75) The government also sought to increase the percentage of women in the schools. By the year i937-38 girls made up nearly one-third of the students in the gymnasia, ~though as noted above, a smaller percentage actually completed the final year (and presumably the maturita exam). In the teacher training institutes more than half of the total enrollees were girls. Government regulations specified that these institutes were to have equal numbers of boys and girls. (76) As the country began to emerge from the depression, there developed also a rapid increase in the total enrollment of the secondary schools. There were a number of reasons for this, including the growth of cities, better preparation in elementary schools, and the increased post-war birth rate. The government responded by approving various arrangements to open new schools, including some sponsored by cities and some by church bodies. They were made possible under Article 54 of Hungarian law XXX-1883,(77) under which the state assumed responsibility for paying the personnel, who had to meet state qualification standards, while the sponsoring group paid the operating expenses. The schools charged higher tuition, but these higher rates were usually justified by the savings in transportation costs which students would otherwise have had to pay if they were commuting to another school. There were several of these schools in Kosice operated by church groups. Examples of city-sponsored schools were in Piest'any, Koma.mo, and Topol'cany. Acceptance of these arrangements occurred because of an improvement in the economic situation, (78) the fact that there was no longer doubt about the ability of these schools to attract a sufficient number of qualified professors , and the ability of the organizations to meet the requirements of XXX-1883. The analysis of placement - where did the graduates go - is a task beyond the goals of this paper. The central government apparently did not concern itself with these matters except for a brief period during the depression.(79) Many of the secondary schools themselves did not bother with such records either. Occasionally the yearbooks or reports to the Ministry of Education contained information about the future plans of the graduates. It is only in scattered cases at the time of the dedication of a new building or during a celebration of an anniversary that the occupations of the graduates were recorded at all, e.g., Kremnica-1937 or Zlate Moravce-1924. Unfortunately, these samples are not sufficiently broad to draw any conclusions . There is an intriguing organization called the Sprostredkovatel'na prace pre nezamestnanu inteligenciu na Slovensku, which evolved in 1934. �42 SLOVAKIA Sponsored by the Slovak League and the Economic Institute of Slovakia and Ruthenia, with the apparent support of the Agrarian Party, it collected data on graduates and their job searches.(80) Even without these data, let me suggest some judgments on the development of the intelligentsia in interwar Slovakia. First of all, it is clear that significant progress was made . The very fact that the independent Slovak State was able to function at all is evidence of this progress.(81) The Slovak State would not have been possible in 1918. By 1938, the large majority of the intelligentsia was Slovak in language and feeling . Under the situation prevailing before 1918, many of these people would have become members of the intelligentsia, but it would have been as Hungarians, not as Slovaks. It seems that there was not an intellectual proletariat in Slovakia.(82) As Ivan Derer pointed out, even in the depths of depression in 1933 all qualified Slovak high school and elementary teachers had positions.(83) He also catalogued the many other positions which Slovaks filled.(84) What the Czechoslovak Republic failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical, and professional - that are required to conduct a modern nation. Insufficient emphasis was put on the education that would develop leaders in industry, commerce, and even agriculture. This type of policy requires particular effort because in fluid postwar situations, there is a tendency to chose occupations where training is short and not too strenuous and the prospects of rapid enrichment promising.(85) This helps to explain Slovakia's lack of military men , of engineers , and of doctors. One must also keep in mind that the younger members of the small Slovak intelligentsia in 1918 had been able to gain positions of influence at a young age, something that could not be continued after the revolutionary wave had subsided and the Czechs who had come to Slovakia to help had become entrenched. (86) The young Slovak intelligent was not unemployed, but underemployed. One must recall that particularly in later years the central government had doubts as to whether it could trust the Slovak intelligentsia. Whatever feelings of distress this under-employment engen~red were worsened by the attitudes carried over from the Hungarian\ experience that education was the road to success .(87) Pre-independe:o.ce lead,ership was in the hands of a highly visible educated majority,. which fostered assumptions of the links between education , political mobility, and the benefits accruing to members of the intelligentsia. �SLOVAKIA 43 Quite probably , time was too short to produce a large enough intelligentsia in all fields. (88) In twenty years , the Czechoslovak government laid the groundwork for the future , and for twenty years built on it. The restoration of the Czechoslovak Republic after World War II provided the opportunity to look critically at what had and had not been done before in the area of intelligentsia development and to make adjustments. · ' But it was not just a matter of insufficient time. I would suggest that the interwar Czechoslovak government was not concerned with developing a specifically Slovak intelligentsia. Instead, its main goal was to reclaim the entire area of Slovakia for the Czechoslovak nationstate. By establishing a large number of Slovak secondary schools in cities of any size, especially those with large Hungarian populations , it could insure that this was done . But the early success of these centralist policies delayed recognition of certain aspects of the developing Slovak problem. If a Slovak nation was to be a viable entity, it required Slovak participation in all aspects and at all levels of society , not just where vacancies existed in a larger Czechoslovak society. One of the reasons for the above-mentioned lack of a Slovak technical university was the assumption that sufficient numbers of persons (mostly Czechs and Germans) were being educated in Bohemia and Moravia. Such an institution in Slovakia was said to be superfluous. If the concept of national self-awareness is not considered , then such an approach is plausible. On the other hand, when a nation has a feeling of running its affairs in the state in which it exists , even if that state be multinational, it has much greater reason to support the continued existence of that state. It then has no reason to trade the security it knows for the uncertainty of separation. Most Slovaks were initially very willing to cooperate with the Czechs, as demonstrated in the Martin declaration, recognizing that it was primarily Czech activities which had achieved the separation of Slovakia from Hungary and its attachment to the Czech Lands. But if Czechoslovakism embodies something more than Greater Czechism , it implied the balanced development of both parts and peoples of the country . If not, then the Slovaks were ipso facto a minority . Prior to 1938, the international political setting mitigated against any Slovak separation, since some kind of political attachment to Hungary or Poland would have resulted, yet active recognition of the concept of a Slovak nation by the Czechoslovak government would have strengthened Slovak resistance, alongside the Czechs , to the developing German threat. �44 SLOVAKIA Masaryk did not see in the Slovak case what he had been so willing to see in the Czech: the desire, as a nation, to develop and administer a complete society, particularly when that nation is part of the multinational state. He admitted in 1931 that he did not himself fully understand the Czech-Slovak relationship. I believe ... that the Comenius University helps the young to understand the true political and cultural task of Slovakia in our Republic. In a large degree it is the question of the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. I have considered this problem myself and I must think still further about it.(89) While it might be argued that Masaryk was merely being respectful to his hosts, it is more likely the uncertainty he expressed was real. The so-called Castle group which gathered around Masaryk may have been nationally tolerant,(90) but it did not actively promote the development of individual nationalities.(91) One cannot, then, say the interwar Czechoslovak Republic did not, through its educational and cultural system, develop an intelligentsia in Slovakia. As has been shown, it made substantial progress. But it may be criticized for not actively supporting the production of an intelligentsia tailored to meet the needs of Slovakia, which by meeting the Slovak desire for self-management, would have strengthened the integrity of the Czechoslovak state. FOOTNOTES As Lucien W . Pye has noted, there is a large gap between the broad assumptions about the importance of education in national development and the limited amount of research on the subject. See Lucien W . Pye , " Foreword," in Education and Political Development , ed . James Coleman, Princeton, N .J ; rrinceton University Press, 1965, p . v. ' (2) Victor S. Mamatey, " The Development of Czechoslovak Democracy ," in A History of the Czechoslovak Republic 1918-1948, ed. by Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, Princeton, N.J .: Princeton University Press , 1973 , p. 118 . (3) R. W . Seton-Watson , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks , Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965, p . 336. (4) Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin: Maketa , m, Prague: Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved, 1960. (5) Historicky fosopis , Vol. XXI , No . 1 (1973) , p. 155. (6) Oldriska Kodedova, Ceskoslovensky tasopis historicky, Vol. XXI, No. 1 (1973) , p. 114. (1) �SLOVAKIA 45 ' (7) Jozef Matej, "Sucasny stav a perspektivy rozvoja dejin pedagogiky na Slovensku," Jednotna skola, Vol. XXVI, No. 1 (January 1974) , pp . 56-70 . (8) E .g ., Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 323; Stefan Krcmery , "A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature ," Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. VI (1928), p . 160. (9) Anton Stefanek, Zaklady sociografie Slovenska , Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied , 1944, pp . 137-142. (10) Conversations with Slovak historians, 1973-74. (ll) Anton Stefanek, " Novoslovaci," Sociologicka revue, Vol. VI, No. 3-4 (1935), pp. 272-3 . (12) Ludwig v. Gogolak , Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, ill Muenchen : R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1972, p . 163; Ferdinand Peroutka, Budovani statu, I, Praha : Fr. Borovy, 1936, p . 208 . (13) Jozef Matej, Kapitoly z dejin slovenskeho skolstva apedagogiky (19. a 20. storoc!ie), Bratislava: Univerzita Komenskeho, 1972, 2nd ed., p . 71. (14) Letter to author, February 2, 1973. (15) Josef Borovicka, Ten Years of Czechoslovak Politics, Prague : Orbis , 1929, p . 44 . (16) Peroutka , Budo vani statu, I, p . 207. (17) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 114. (18) Jaroslav Kopac, Dejiny skolstvi a pedagogiky v Ceskoslovensku, I, Brno: Universita J. E. Purkyne, 1971 , p. 48 footnote . There were some exceptions to the rule, however, such as the fact that high school graduation was not a requirement for the highly influential position of notary. (19) Gustav Husak, "Zprava predsedu socialnej komisie SSS," Vyroc!na zprava 1935-36: 15 rokov Sviizu Slovenskeho Studentstva v Bratislave , p . 13. (20) Czechoslovakia-Statistical Abstract , Prague : Orbis, 1963 , p. 18 . (21) Mirko Trnovsky, ed ., Sbornik prac profesorov evanj. kolej. slovenskeho gymnazia v Presove k vyroc!iu 1919-1939 Presov : Slovenska statna knihtlaciaren , 1940, p . 55 . (22) Vratislav Busek , " Pravnicke studium ve svetle statistiky, " Pravny obzor, Vol. XX, No . 15-16 (1-15 October 1937), p . 688 . (23) Ibid., pp . 682-8 . (24) Matej , Kapitoly, 1st ed., p . 83, notes that the contents of a 1933 curriculum reform were directed toward two goals, theoretical preparation of the graduates for the university , and partly for the practical needs of life. (25) Skolstvo na Slovensku, Bratislava: Slovensky planovaci urad, 1949, p . 46. (26) Sociol6gia, Vol. IV, No . 3 (1972), pp . 193-204, as cited in ABSEES Soviet and East European Abstracts Series, ill, No. 2 (26) (Oct. 1972), p . 167. (27) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 296 . (28) Jan M. Novacky, ed ., Desat' rokov slo venskych strednych sk6l, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp . 68-71. Novacky's calculations omit the teacher training institutes operated by churches. The total for 1933-4 is actually 1542 , but the difference of 200 from the estimate can be wholly attributed to the doubled enrollment in the teacher training institutes in the early thirties - Zpravy Statniho uradu statistickeho republiky Ceskoslove nske, 1935, No. 3-7. �46 SLOVAKIA (29) Skolstvo, p . 47. (30) See the school's Vyrofod zprciva 1937-38, pp . 54-57. (31) See the school's Vyrofod zprdva 1937-38, pp. 13-15. (32) Priloha " Stredne skoly," Zprcivy §kolskeho referdtu v Bratislave ministerstva ~kolstva a ndrodnej osvety, 1922. (33) Paul R. Magocsi, " The Role of Education in the Formation of a National Consciousness ," East European Quarterly, Vo. Vll, No. 2 (Summer 1973) , p . 162 . (34) Paul E. Zinner, Communist Strategy and Tactics in Czechoslovakia, 1918-48, New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1963 , p . 12; Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 386. (35) Matej, " Sucasny stav," pp. 56-70. (36) Josef Henrich and Mikulas Smok, Eenseignement clans la Republique Tchecoslovaque , Prague : Ostredni spolek ceskoslovenskych profesoru, 1923, p . 94. (37) Ibid. , p . 95. (38) Ibid., p . 91. (39) Matej , Kapitoly, 2nd ed ., p . 83. (40) Richard Homa, Patndct let Komenskeho university v Bratislaue, Bratislava, 1934, p . 9. {41) Michal Fedor, Poslanie a program Matice slovenskej na vychodnom Slovensku, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1966, p . 91. (42) Krcmery, "A Survey," p . 161. {43) Michal Potemra, ed ., Bibliografia slovenskych novin a c!asopisov do roku 1918, Martin : Matica· slovenska, 1958. (44) Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 282 . (45) Related to author by Czech historian . Efforts to locate published citation to date fruitless . (46) Maria Kipsova et al., Bibliografia slovenskych a inorec!ouych nouin a c!asopisou z rokou 1919-1938, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1968. (47) Jozef Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika 1918-1938, II, Martin: Matica slovenska, 1966. (48) Soznam c!asopisou na Slouensku 1927, Bratislava: Tlacovy referat pre spravu Slovensku, 1927. (49) Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika, p . 159. (50) E .g ., Darmo . (51) Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 324. (52) Ibid ., pp . 318-324. (53) Bibliografia slouenskych knih 1919-1938, Vol. 1-XVIl, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1965 . (54) Stefimek, Z ciklady, p . 318. (55) Stefan Krcmery, " Slovak Literature," in Seton-~atson , Slovakia Then & Now , p . 141 . \ (56) Stefanek, Zciklady , pp . 313-314. (57) Manuel Statistique de la R epublique Tchechoslo uaque, ill, Prague : Statni urad statisticky, 1928, pp. 17-19. A law of February 1919 set up in each community �SLOVAKIA 47 educational committees to con\ truct libraries and run lectures and courses . In Slovakia, this matter was generally handled by the local branch of Matica slovenska. (58) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque , 1934, Prague: L'Office de Statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque, 1934, Table XIV-17 . (59) Stefanek, Zdklady , p. 303 . (60) Peter Vajcik , " Zvesti z Literarno-vedeckeho odboru SSV ," Kultura, Vol. VII , No. 1 (1935) , p . 38 . (61) Ivan Kusy, " Obnovenie Matice slovenskej a jej uloha za predmnichovskej CSR, " in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch: Sbornik stati, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1963 , pp. 224-232 . (62) Frantisek Bokes, Snahy o organizovanie slovenskej vedy od konca 18. storoi!ia do vzniku SAV, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1967, p. 65. (63) Miroslav Kropilak, "Zakladne kulturnopoliticke problemy Slovenska v rokoch 191838 ," in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch, p. 205 . (64) In particular note the Spolok profesorov Slovakov, which after its founding in 1921 worked particularly for better placement of Slovak teachers in Slovak high schools. Viz its Sbornik Spolku profesorov Slovdkov . (65) Hendrich and Smok, Eenseignement , p . 73. (66) Karel Veleminsky, "Czecho-Slovak Secondary Schools ," in The Czecho-Slovak Republic , Prague: Czecho-Slovak Foreigners' Office, 1919, Vol. IV, Part 3 , p . 13 . In 1919, the Ministry of Education carried out a census in Slovakia for the purpose of determining how many schools would be needed. Peroutka, Budo vdni stdtu , I, p. 210. (67) Stefanek, " Education in Pre-War Hungary ," p . 121. (68) Gogolak , Beitrage , ill, p . 160. (69) Annuaire statistique , 1935, Table 11-17 and 1937, Table 11-4. (70) Milos Trap! , " Ke skolske legislative obecnych a obcanskych (mest'anskych) skol a jejimu uplatnovani v ceskych zemich 1918-1922," in Z dejin i!eskeho §kolstv i, ed by Ervin Koukal , Prague : Statni pedagogicke nakladatelstvi, 1970, p . 44 footnote 82. (71) Stefanek, "Education in Pre-War Hungary," p . 121. (72) Victor S. Mamatey , ''The Establishment of the Republic,'' in Mamatey and Luz.a, A History, p . 30 . (73) Gogolak , B eitrage , ill, p . 165. (74) Hendrich and Smok , Eenseignement , p . 34. (75) See Msano 52143-1920 Odbor V Oddeleni 19 of 15 August 1920, Carton 1297-State Central Archive (SOA) - Prague. The " intemats" also separated the students from parental influence which " is not always characterized by friendly feelings toward our state ." - Instruktorat Ministerstva socialnej starostlivosti (IMSS) Carton 5 item 276 in Slovak State Central Archive (SSOA) - Bratislava. This particular item is a letter from the acting headmaster of the Banska Stiavnica real gymnasium to the Ministerstvo socialni pece c. 798-1920 of 15 July 1920. (76) Skolstvo , pp . 23 , 11 1, and 150. (77) The fir st law passed in the new Czechoslovak Republic decreed that all laws in force in Austria-Hungary would be carried over to the new state . This explains how Hungarian law would be considered in Slovakia . �48 SLOVAKIA (78) E.g., note willingness of Fimini (Ministry of Finance) and Nejvyssi ucetni kontrolni urad (NUKU) to postpone indefinitely closing of school in exchange for opening of realka in Bardejov, or to substitute a closing of a school in Bohemia or Moravia-Msano 104.048-1938 Odbor ill Oddeleni 2 of 1 July 1938-Carton 1297-SUA. (79) Msano , 2637-1934 Pres . Odd . Studijni, 20 April 1934 , SUA , Carton 1445. (80) Okresny archiv, Prievidza , Prievidza gymnasium collection, 605-1934 and 214-1936 (Carton 3) . (81) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland & Czechoslovakia, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. (82) This contradicts Zinner's assertions in Communist Strategy, p. 12 . (83) Ivan Derer, Ceskoslovenskci otcizka, Prague: Orbis , 1935, p. 38. (84) Ibid . (85) R. W. Seton-Watson, "Introduction . Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Problem ," in Slovakia Then and Now, p . 62. (86) James S. Coleman, " Introduction : Education and Political Development " in Education and Political Development discusses the tension that develops with lack of political mobility for the second generation. Thomson 's assertion that the Czechoslovak government adhered to a policy of returning Czech officeholders to the historic lands as soon as possible does not hold up . S. Harrison Thomson , Czechoslovakia in European History , Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1953, p . 334. (87) See page 184. (88) See Matej, Kapitoly, 2nd ed., p . 86. (89) Zprciva o tinnosti Spolku pre postavenie a vydriovanie Universitnej koleje a akademickej menzi, 1930, p . 6. (Speech at Bratislava.) (90) Kopac, Dejiny ~kolstvi, I, p . 11. (91) It has been suggested that the Czechs erred in Slovakia after 1918 by trying to transform before forming a nation . See Jan Hajda, " The Role of the Intelligentsia in the Developme nt of the Czechoslovak Society,'' in The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture ed. by Miroslav Rechcigl , The Hague: Mouton , 1964, pp . 307-312. � SLOVAKIA 25 The Slovak Intelligentsia 1918-1938 OWEN V. JOHNSON \ The 25th issue of Slovensky dennik, published December 7, 1918, carried a message from the Slovak Society of Studying Youth. It began bluntly, '' A nation is strong only if it has a strong intelligentsia.'' Issue No. 1, published November 9, 1918, called on the Slovak intelligentsia to come forward. Since the new Czechoslovak state will need a great many Slovak people for offices and schools, we challenge each Slovak intelligent to immediately apply in writing or personally to the Legal Committee of the Slovak National Council listing complete name and address. Slovensky dennik might well have devoted its limited space to other matters, for the Slovakia of 1918 was ahnost without an intelligentsia, a body without a head. How and to what extent was this void filled in the following twenty years? In essence, this essay is a preliminary examination of that question. A combination of historical and ideological circumstances has combined to divert attention almost completely from a serious study of the development of education and the concomitant development of the intelligentsia (using here the Marxist definition of the intelligentsia as being "educated specialists") in interwar Slovakia, and in fact for the whole of Czechoslovakia.(!) Victor Mamatey describes Slovak politicians as showing considerable energy in promoting the cultural and educational development of the Slovak people,(2) but furnishes no evidence. R. W. Seton-Watson describes the "remarkable transformation" wrought in the field of education in Slovakia, but provides only broad quantitative evidence, referring especially to the elementary schools. (3) Reprinted by permission from Russian and Slavic History (Papers from the Banff ' 74 Conference) edited by D. K. Rowney and G. E. Orchard, Slavica Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 14388, Columbus, Ohio 43214. �26 SLOVAKIA While Czech and Slovak historians generally evaluate this phenomenon favorably, only now is any extensive research developing in the field. The published draft survey, Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin(4) does not once mention education. One report on a meeting of the Polish-Czechoslovak Historical Commission in Warsaw in September 1972 pointed out, "There emerged in the rich discussion many questions which even in our historiography have not been resolved through analytical work (such as) (the growth of national intelligentsia, the question of education ... ).(5) Oldriska Kodedova, reviewing Kuzmin's Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekoslovakii, comments(6) that insufficient attention has been paid to the social and nationality problem of education between the two wars. She points out that there is not a single basic work on the subject. Professor Jozef Matej, chairman of the pedagogical department of the Faculty of Philosophy at Comenius University in Bratislava, surveys the considerable progress made in research over the last five years, and declares that the editorial board of Jednotna skola supports the publication of articles about the history of education and pedagogy in the "bourgeois" Republic.(7) Admittedly this problem is not one that lends itself easily to a time frame as short as twenty years. Even the very few high school graduates from 1919 would have been less than forty years old in 1938, an age which in the traditional European context was still quite young. The names which showed up as outstanding among high school students· in the twenties and thirties became the leaders only in the turbulent forties and fifties. Perforce, then, this paper must confine itself to observations on some aspects of the development of the intelligentsia. A thorough study would require a complete monograph. What I will seek to do is discuss briefly the circumstances that brought about the poverty of the intelligentsia before 1918, identify institutions which contributed to the development of this educated group of Slovaks in the interwar period; describe summarily the educational system in use and provide a statistical overview of the schools and the students who studied in them; briefly describe other signs of cultural development; and suggest some accomplishments, shortcomings, and problems on the period. Linguistic and anthropological experts have long debated the question as to whether the term Czechoslovlik can be used to describe one language and one nation, or whether the individual Czech and Slovak terms should be used. This paper proceeds on the basis of the latter, as a means to better understanding the problem at hand. If the idea of a Slovak nation was to have a solid basis, whether in a �SLOVAKIA 27 \ Czechoslovak state or by it'self, it was necessary that an intelligentsia develop from the Slovak people . The course of events prior to the creation of Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I found the Slovak people practically without a nationally conscious Slovak intelligentsia. Policies pursued by the Hungarian government following the 1867 Ausgleich had made it practically impossible for any Slovak youth who aspired to advanced education and a high position in life, to succeeed without giving up his Slovak identity. There were no Slovak schools beyond the primary level. It is generally accepted(8) that there were only between five hundred and a thousand educated and nationally conscious Slovaks in the year 1918. This estimate can be challenged on the basis that it represented the number of Slovaks and members of their families on whom the Hungarian authorities kept watch because of Slovak or panSlavic tendencies.(9) There may well have been several thousand nationally neutral intelligentsia who found it quite simple to fit into a Czechoslovak environment following the founding of the Republic. Several Slovak historians are seeking at this time a more accurate estimate.(10) Certainly the predominantly agricultural configuration of the Slovak society did not promote Slovak intellectual development. The cities , with few exceptions , were Hungarian, German, or Jewish dominated. Thus we are left with a Slovak intelligentsia made up primarily of clergymen, doctors , and lawyers, and their families .(11) One could not in any case expect that there would be a sufficient number of Slovaks who would have the requisite administrative experience to run a modem state and nation. To overcome this shortcoming it was necessary to bring in Czechs.(12) An example can be made of the advanced educational establishments. There were about twenty qualified and nationally conscious Slovaks who could teach in the gymnasia, enough persons to supply about two schools . Perhaps three hundred nationally conscious Slovaks were qualified to teach in the elementary schools.(13) Dr. Karel Koch , later Surgeon-General for Slovakia, lists only three Slovak-oriented surgeons remaining in Slovakia in 1918.(14) Borovicka even says that after the attainment of independence in 1918 there was not a single Slovak government official whatever with a Slovak national consciousness .(15) The bleakness of the situation was described poignantly by Dr. Vavro Srobar, a future Agrarian Party Minister of Education. "There were so few of us that we almost all knew each other personally , we knew even addresses , as well as personal and family relationships. " (16) �28 SLOVAKIA Accustomed to the Hungarian tradition, the Slovak peasant looked upon the intelligentsia as those people who, on the basis of a definite higher schooling got an official position or who otherwise stood out on the basis of their knowledge, property and influence in public, and earned admission to intelligent society. High school and university education and a proper knowledge of Hungarian or German, gentlemanly behavior, official position in the church, county, school, etc. gave legitimation to the title of intelligent. (17) The intelligentsia were the people who worked with their heads, not their hands. On this basis, one may consider a study of schools which awarded the maturitne vysvedcenie (matriculation certificate) or its equivalent and of the students in these schools as a study of the intelligentsia. The certificate was given for the successful completion of the school leaving examination at the end of high school (similar to the French baccalaureat). Of five categories of state employees, three required at least a high school education. A fourth required lower high school or middle school joined with special courses. While the fifth included those demanding only general elementary education, elementary and middle school teachers were included in this category.(18) At this point, attention must be directed to the structure of the whole school system. School attendance in Slovakia was mandatory for six years until 1922; after that, eight years was required, although the increase could not be enforced until the late twenties for lack of the needed personnel and facilities. All students spent the first five years in elementary (l'udove) schools. The other three years could be taken in middle schools, or in the beginning grades of the various secondary schools. In some of the more rural areas, only the elementary school existed, and here students who had no intention of continuing higher studies were allowed to attend if no alternative school was available. There were about 4000 elementary schools. The majority of the schools awarding the matriculation certificate came under the general heading gymnasia. Children who had completed elementary school and were at last ten years old, could apply for admission to the gymnasia. These were of fm\f types: 1. The classical gymnasium, of which there· were very few, was an eight-year school. Successful completion of the course allowed the student to enter the university directly. Until reforms �SLOVAKIA 29 \ instituted in early 1930s, students in these schools studied Latin from the first year and Greek from the fifth. 2. The real gymnasium was by far the most popular because its graduates could directly enter both universities and technical universities. In these schools, French or English was taken instead of Greek beginning in the fifth year. 3. The real reformed gymnasium, which was more popular in the early years of the Republic, later lost attractiveness, and many of these schools were converted to real gymnasia. They followed the same curriculum as the real gymnasia except that a third language (English, Italian, or a Slavic one) replaced Latin in the seventh year. The reason for their later unpopularity was the necessity of taking an additional examination in Latin in order to gain entrance into the university. 4. The re<ilka was a seven-year school and its graduates had entrance directly only into the technical universities. No classical language was required, and French or English was begun in the second year. Other schools which awarded the matriculation certificate were only four years in length. The most wide-spread in Slovakia was the teacher-training institute , conducting a four year course of instruction which qualified its graduates to teach in the elementary, and after a time, the middle schools. Students were admitted in their ninth year of schooling in most cases , provided they had reached the minimum age of fifteen . During the depression this type of institution reached its peak of popularity with several times more applicants being turned down than were admitted. This is explained by its providing its graduates nearly guaranteed employment without their having to consider how to obtain funds to study at the university . Compared to the gymnasia and the teacher training institutes, the four other types of schools which gave degrees equivalent to the matriculation certificate were limited in number. The priemyseln<i skola , or industrial school, was four years in length, and its graduates could be admitted directly to the technical universities. These schools operated under a severe handicap in Slovakia during the first republic, for it was not until the fall of 1938 that the first Slovak technical university was opened. In anticipation of this event, enrolhnent in the technical high schools swelled considerably after the mid-thirties. The commercial academy (obchodn<i akademia) graduate also completed a four-year program which allowed him to enter either the technical university or the law faculty. Graduates of the four year �30 SLOVAKIA agricultural high school in Kosice or the four year forestry high school in Banska Stiavnica could enter the technical universities in their respective fields. The agriculture high school was designed primarily, however, for the education of independent farmers, and the forestry high school for the preparation of forest administrators. While much attention has been directed thus far to the rights to higher education achieved by these secondary school graduates, the percentage of those completing higher education was not overwhelming. Gustav Husak, in admittedly rough calculations, adjudged between 2000 and 2500 Slovaks engaged in university studies in the 1933-34 school year.(19) That compares with the 19,047 students in Slovakia attending the gymnasia and teacher training institutes that year. The 1930 census counted 2,295,067 Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. (20) During the twelve-year period 1926-7-1937-8, slightly more than seven percent of the total number of students at the Evangelical Gymnasium in Presov took the maturita examination.(21) If this figure is applied as a rough ratio for all of Slovakia, it would mean that in the above mentioned year of 1933-34, approximately 1330 students in Slovakia took the maturita. In the same year, approximately one fifth of the law students at Comenius University were first year students (2861162).(22) Applying this percentage to Husak's estimated total of 20002500 Slovaks attending institutions of higher learning, we arrive at the figure of about 600 first year Slovak students in all university faculties. This means that less than one half of those holding the matriculation certificate went on to the university. And of these, some forty percent did not complete the first set of state examinations normally given after two years study.(23) According to these calculations, less than one third of those holding the matriculation certificate from the gymnasium completed a university degree.(24) (The original estimate of 1330 maturants includes the graduates of the teacher training institutes who rarely continued to the university.) Support for using the criteria of a secondary school education to define the intelligent is offered by the percentage of such students in the whole educational spectrum. In the school year 1921-22, students of gymnasia and teacher training institutes 'made up 2. 7 percent of the total number of students in Slovakia.(25) For reasons that are both complex and unclear, statistical offices of the Czechoslovak Republic did not publish complete data on the number of those gaining the matriculation certificate each year. In Slovakia, a circular with some such information was prepared by the Bratislava (Slovak) Referent for Education each year until the late �SLOVAKIA 31 1920s. The only other manner in which this number can be determined is by a methodical examination of the annual high school yearbooks sponsored by each school. Let it be taken as an assumption, based on a general familiarity with . the figures, that an average of about one thousand Czechoslovak s~udents in Slovakia each year passed the maturita exam, or about 20,000 during the life of the Republic. The figure is of course lower in the early years, and much higher in the period just before Munich. The general accuracy of this estimate can be judged by the estimate of Robert Rosko(26) that 68,000 employees in Slovakia in 1953 had higher and specialized secondary education. Stefanek's estimate of 50,000 students having completed high school studies by 1944(27) is likely too high. Only one writer, Jan Novacky, probably with statistics furnished by the Ministry of Education, has calculated the number of persons receiving the matriculation certificate over a period of time (Table 1). These data suggest the projection of 1330 recipients of the maturita for the year 1933-34 is reasonably accurate as does our estimated average of one thousand matriculation certificates per year for the 1918-19-1937-38 period. The number of graduates of the teacher training institutes remained fairly constant at about 300 per year.(28) The number of girl students in grade VIII (and thus eligible for the maturita examination) as a percentage of the total number of girl students enrolled in the gymnasia in 1927-28 was just under five percent, thus fifty percent less than the average for all those enrolled. (29) TABLE 1 NUMBER OF MATRICULATION CERTIFICATES (HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS) AWARDED 1918-19 - 1928-29: SELECTED YEARS AND TOTAL Total 1918-19 Type of Institution 1918-19 1923-24 1928-29 1928-29 3075 Real gymnasium 84 250 532 Teacher training institute 122 262 247 3014 Real reformed gymnasium 5 70 189 1000 23 44 82 623 Realka 64 Classical gymnasium 0 0 36 Total Source: 234 626 1086 7776 Jan M. Novacky, ed., Desat' rokov slovenskych strednych skol, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp. 68-71. �32 SLOVAKIA The figures we have been discussing up to this point refer to the Czechoslovak high schools in Slovakia. They include a smattering of Hungarians, Jews, Germans, and other nationalities , as well as Czechs and Slovaks. The number of Czechs in some schools was substantial. For example, during the 1937-38 school year, the First Czechoslovak real gymnasium in Bratislava had 896 students, of which less than half (431) were Slovak. Three hundred eighty-six were Czech, 43 German , 24 Hungarian , and the rest other nationalities.(30) In Banska Bystrica, 394 out of 470 students in that year were Slovak , 66 Czech and the other ten divided among four nationalities.(31) Again, a complete survey must await further computation. What can be said with safety is that a significant proportion - ten to twenty-five percent - of the students were not Slovaks. The only known official publication which differentiates between Czechs and Slovaks in the high schools in Slovakia was published for the 1922-23 school year in Slovakia by the Skalsk y Referat. Of the 11,267 students, 1286 are Czech, 8501 Slovak, and the rest belong to other nationalities. At the same time there were six Czechs and 116 Slovaks in non-Czechoslovak institutions . This confirms our estimate of ten to twenty-five percent non-Slovaks.(32) The State Statistical Office of the Czechoslovak Republic did not, in its school statistics, differentiate between Czechs and Slovaks , using instead the inclusive term Czechoslovak. However, between half and two thirds of the individual schools did make a distinction in their published yearly reports, and some of them also expressed the distinction on the statistical forms mailed to the Ministry of Education. It is this lack of readily available data which has hindered until now any significant studies of this question. Because some schools only used the term Czechoslovak means we shall never have a completely accurate picture of the nationality situation. This attitude of Czechoslovakism in the statistics occurred for a variety of reasons : political conviction, political fear, lack of interest , or desire to maintain the status quo. It was the principal (riaditel') who decided which policy would be followed.(33) Because of these varying motivations, one cannot with reliability apportion the students in the unoi(ferentiated schools to the specific nationalities. Further, even when a aifferent,.iation is made in the general and classroom statistics between ' nationalities, we do not have available this information for individual students, so as to be able to determine whether such and such an individual student, be he Czech or Slovak, passed the maturita exam. We must content ourselves with comparing the percentage of each nationality in the final year of school and applying these percentages to the number of persons taking the �33 SLOVAKIA maturita exams. Even in the less common instances when the maturita recording books are availa\:ile in the archives , they frequently do not specify the nationality, but fist only the place of birth. While this is of some assistance in obtaining a reasonably accurate picture , the very existence of 120,000 Czechs in Slovakia(34) will distort it, as well as the non-Czechoslovak abode of many of these persons prior to 1918. In the above Banska Bystrica case, although there were 66 Czechs , only 34 of the students were born in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. There will also be some distortion , when we cannot specifically distinguish Czech from Slovak, in identifying the social, religious, and other characteristics of the students according to nationality. Here again, it seems that we must proceed on the basis of what we have , hoping that studies of the individual schools described by Matej(35) will tum up better information. Let us use 1927-28 as a sample year. The decline in the number of enrollees which developed later because of the wartime decline in the birth rate and not yet made itself felt. With the exception of a number of schools which would open in the last four years of the Republic, almost all schools were operating as full institutions. Some had been converted from Hungarian to Slovak over a period of seven or eight years . TABLE 2 CZECHOSLOVAK SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA , 1927-28 Type of School Real gymnasium Real reformed gymnasium Realka Teacher training institute Commercial academy Industrial high school Classical gymnasium Agricultural high school Forestry high school Total Number Students Graduates Studentsgraduate 24 8217 426 19 10 3 2939 997 165 98 18 13 6 3 2 1 1 63 970 617 470 406 98 Unavailable 14,714 327 62 100 16 14 14 1222 10 3 10 5 25 7 12 �34 SLOVAKIA Sources: Novacky, Desat' rokov , pp. 63-67; Styridsat' rokov Lesnickej technickej skoly v Banskej Stiavnici 1918-1959, Bratislava: Poverenictvo Podohospodarstva, 1959, pp. 62-67; Anton Stefanek, Education in Pre-War Hungary and in Slovakia To-Day," in Slovakia Then and Now: A Political Survey ed. by Robert W. Seton-Watson, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1931, p. 130; Individual vyrocne zpravy of the agricultural high school, commercial high schools , and industrial high schools. The most productive gymnasium of any kind in the first eleven years was the real gymnasium at Bratislava with 363 degrees awarded followed by the realka at Zilina with 340. Other gymnasia producing more than 200 matriculation certificate holders in the first eleven years were the real gymnasia at Kosice, Nitra, Ruzomberok, Trencin, Trnava, and Banska Bystrica. The teacher training institute at Modra produced by far the largest number of graduates in the first eleven years with 419, primarily because of the 142 which it graduated in the first three years, a figure twice the number of any other school during that period, excepting Tmava, which also had the second highest eleven year total with 323. Seven other institutions had more than 200 graduates each. Over the twenty year period, there were 51 gymnasia of different types, 17 teacher training institutes, 5 industrial high schools, 7 commercial high schools, and one each of the agricultural and forestry high schools. A significant number of this total (16-82) began operation in the last four years, a jump of about 25 percent from the number in existence at the end of the 1933-34 school year. The reasons for this sudden increase will be discussed below. The total does not include a private unlicensed secondary school operated in Bratislava in the 193738 school year which used French as the language of instruction and was seeking state accreditation. The proportion of secondary school students in the population was lower in all Slovak counties (between 3 and 8 per 1000) than in Prague (12-13 per 1000) .(36) By some strange quirk, however, the county of Mikulas had the highest number of secondary schools in relation to the population (9-10-200,000) anywhere in Czechoslovakia. This included 14 schools for 319,509 people.(37) In Slovakia in 1922-23 there was one Czechoslovak student for each 179 Czecho~lovak inhabitants. For the whole country (excepting Ruthenia) the ratio was I-116.(38) There were other schools which one might consider as producers of intelligentsia. The so-called pedagogical academy which began to operate in Bratislava in the 1930-31 school year at the suggestion of the �SLOVAKIA 35 Slovak Pedagogical Society was the first step toward placing teacher training on the university level. It was a one-year program which gave gymnasium graduates the right to teach in elementary schools. In seven years it produced 706 graduates.(39) Graduates of the teacher training institutes did no~ have the possibility nor the need to attend. Comenius University \11 Bratislava had three faculties - law, medicine, and philosophy- ano began accepting gymnasium graduates in the fall of 1921.(40) Slovaks could attend other universities in the country as well. The Slovak Technical University opened only in the fall of 1938. There were two theological faculties. The Lutheran faculty, which operated throughout the twenty years, received university rank in 1934. The Catholic faculty, authorized in 1919, began operations in 1936 although in the interim there were a half dozen small seminaries scattered around Slovakia. The music and drama academy of Bratislava received university status in 1926. The higher agricultural co-operative school opened in Bratislava in 1936 to help provide administrative officials for the co-operative movement. Previously these officials had come from among the graduates of the commercial academies and commercial schools (usually 2-year programs not leading to a matriculation certificate). Students were chosen from among those who already held the matriculation certificate, with preference to persons who had been graduated from the commercial or agricultural high schools and to those with co-operative experience. Those who had a partial high school education or had finished middle school and one of the agricultural or commercial schools, and had two years of experience in the co-operative movement as well, could qualify if they successfully passed an entrance exam. There were only 22 students in each year of operation. There were also a number of theological academies with the equivalency rank of universities. Entrants were required to hold the matriculation certificate. The six Catholic institutes (seminaries) mentioned above closed with the opening of the Bratislava theological faculty in 1936. Even so , Slovakia still possessed more than half of the theological institutes in the country. There were also a half dozen city music schools , sometimes supported by the public, but these were rather for private music instruction and did not fit into the regular scheme of formal education . Reference has been made to vocational courses in the fields of agricultural, industrial and commercial education. There was in these courses no attempt to advance beyond the teaching of specific skills. The courses varied from several weeks to two years. �36 SLOVAKIA Matica slovenska, the Slovak cultural and national organization, sponsored in many cities the so-called enlightenment courses. These consisted on one or a series of lectures, and would more properly fall under the heading of popular or civic education. The local organizations of Matica slovenska were supposed to be distributing knowledge, rather than fostering it.(41) Courses held by the Army for illiterate soldiers should be considered also in the realm of popular education. What other evidence do we have of cultural advancement during the period under discussion? One is the publication of books, magazines and newspapers. Before the outbreak of World War I there was some of this activity , although exactly how much is uncertain. Stefan Krcmery , long active in Matica slovenska, said that a total of 41 periodicals in 1909 had declined to ten by 1918.(42) A more recent survey conducted by Matica slovenska shows the total growing from 32 in 1900 to 47 in 1910 to 61 in 1914 before dropping to 30 in 1918.(43) The most important were N arodnie noviny , published three times a week at Martin, and Slouenske pohl'ady, a monthly literary journal.(44) Jozef Votruba, a Slovak patriot , was said to have remarked(45) that the Slovak intelligentsia was made up of those who read Narodnie nouiny. Similar problems arise in trying to measure the number of journals published after the revolution. Maria Kipsova, in a definitive bibliography published in 1968, (46) lists 980 journals definitely located and 80 journals not found which were published in Slovak during the 20-year period. Jozef Darmo 's incomplete study(47) of Slovak journalism, published two years earlier, says there was a total of 1565 magazines and newspapers published, of which 442 were Hungarian and an undefined number in other languages. A survey compiled by the press referent for Slovakia in 1927(48) listed 162 purely Slovak publications for that year . Approximately one-third of these were political , another third organizational . Eight of the publications were dailies, all but one of them published ip Bratislava. A further 49 publications were multi-lingual with Slova~ as one of the languages . Nearly half of the all-Slovak publications · (77) Had a frequency of monthly or less. The Kipsova bibliography shows that the great majority of these publications did not long survive . Included among the reasons were the lack of printers and the inability to extend circulation beyond the cities into the countryside . Quite simply, the rural population was not yet accustomed to reading.(49) While some efforts have been made at estimating the extent of circulation of the various publications ,(50) there is no source extensive enough to provide any adequate analysis. The expansion of the number of daily papers from two (one of which was Hungarian-oriented)(51) before the war , to eight �SLOVAKIA 37 under the Czechoslovak ~epublic indicates definite progress. Even with insufficient evidence, 'one can presume a circulation expansion as well. While there is considerable disagreement, too, over the exact number of Slovak books published between the wars,(52) it averaged 600-800 per year, of which about three quarters were published in Slovakia itself. A provisional B ibliografia slovenskych knih 19191938(53) published in 1965, listed 13,320 items definitely identified, and 6530 uncertain. If the nearly 19,000 were in fact all published, it would establish an average of approximately one thousand per year, somewhat higher than the estimate by Stefanek (13,425).(54) Most likely, not all of the desiderata will be included in a definitive bibliography, soon to be published by Matica slovenska, since, for instance, some of the jubilee high school yearbooks, which are in fact not books, are included, plus some listings which are only Slovakicized titles of Czech books. The most difficult problem is unfortunately unsolvable, that is, how many copies of each of these books were published. Only a few organizations, such as Matica slovenska, kept publication totals . One estimate suggested that pre-war printings rarely exceeded 600-800 copies; by 1928 the average was 250010,000.(55) Stefanek provides some interesting comparisons of the occupations of writers before and after the revolution. (56) They show that before the revolution 112 out of 178 writers were priests (two-thirds Lutheran, one-third Catholic). After 1918 (approximately 1935) only 14111 are priests. The bulk (47) are academicians. Another measurement of general progress can be noted in the area of libraries. In 1927 there were 3283 research libraries for teachers with 258 ,200 books; 216 school libraries containing 1,185,464 books including 150,000 at Comenius University; and 2592 communal libraries with 202 , 781 books . (5 7) By 1932 the number of libraries in the first two categories had increased only by seven, but the number of volumes was up half a million.(58) Since there were only private church libraries and those of priests and patriots prior to 1918, there is a definite note of progress here. One of the most difficult problems in handling a subject of this type is to maintain a differentiation between the terms intelligentsia and national enlightenment. While we have noted the tremendous development of communal libraries, libraries which average less than one hundred books apiece will not contribute much to the development of the intelligentsia, although they may significantly raise the national consciousness of the broad mass of the population. The same problem �38 SLOVAKIA must be faced when we examine the national and religious cultural societies . Either we must redefine what we call a member of the intelligentsia or we must recognize the fact that these organizations had different purposes. The Society of St. Adalbert is a case in point. A Catholic society with 100,000 members, it dealt mainly with popular education and Catholic science and literature.(59) Yet Peter Vajcik(60) described one of the society's three aims as being to help the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, a much smaller group . The Lutheran Church had a similar society of Tranoscius. Matica slovenska anguished over the direction of its goals . Until 1932 it tended to reflect more accurately the number of intelligentsia than did the two specifically religious societies, but it also included a number of Czechs and people of other nationalities involved in the work of popular education. In some respects it sought to fulfill the role of a scientific academy, but lacked the personnel and monetary support, and could not tear itself away from its popular education role . Interestingly , when its membership roles swelled after the capture of the leadership in 1932 by those who favored a greater amount of Slovak autonomy, its organized scientific research increased substantially. The membership increased from 11,063 in 1930 to 30,147 in 1936.(61) The Safarik Scientific Society was organized in 1926 mainly by the members of the faculty of Comenius University. It was begun with the intent of increasing the amount of knowledge about Slovakia and Ruthenia. Strongly supported by persons with a Czechoslovak orientation, it frequently found itself at loggerheads with the people in Matica slovenska.(62) In 1934 it had a total of 168 members of whom only 40 were Slovak. It was divided into two sections, one for the social sciences and one for the natural sciences. In the latter, there were only 16 Slovaks among 101 members, which can in part be explained by the lack of a faculty of natural sciences at Comenius University . During its twelve year existence it published 45 volumes of research results.(63) A number of other societies or organizations which could be called cultural or intellectual also functioned but they will not be dealt with here . These include the Slovak Museum Society, the Slovak Cultural (Vlastivedne) Museum, the East Slovak Museum, the Slovak Pedagogical Society, the Union of Slovak Students, DAV , and the several unions of teachers.(64) · Having sketched the general outline of the development of the intelligentsia , it becomes necessary to examine the broader context of the matter as it relates to political development and the whole of life in interwar Czechoslovakia. �SLOVAKIA 39 It was the early actio~s of the Czechoslovak government taken in the field of education that\ ~ere the most far reaching. Before 1918 there were 53 secondary schools in Slovakia, all Hungarian.(65) Following the attainment of independence, three were closed immediately, two others were combined, and in nine towns new secondary schools were organized. Before the New Year, three secondary schools were operating, and a total of thirteen were giving instruction after three months of independence. (66) Anton Stefanek, assigned the task of co-ordinating this project, described his guiding principle as ''the democratic principle of religious and racial equality before the law."(67) Thus, in purely Slovak districts, the schools were deMagyarized. In the southern districts, he "on the whole" left the status quo. This immediate de-Magyarization of the Slovak high schools was exceptionally important. Changes which are readily accepted in a time of revolution are not achieved even gradually in times of peace and quiet. The entire Czech policy followed in the southern parts of Slovakia sought to integrate the area into the Czechoslovak Republic. (68) The new schools which were opened in essentially Hungarian towns such as Nove Zamky or Lucenec, took root rapidly even though a Hungarian school was also frequently authorized. While these cities had been Hungarian for several decades, the countryside was in many cases still Slovak. The extra assistance provided by the central authorities was frequently the deciding factor in reclaiming the cities, and thus the gathering places of the intelligentsia, for the Slovaks . According to the 1930 census, only seven cities in Slovakia had more than 20,000 persons. Of these, all had two or more Czechoslovak secondary schools except Komarno, which did not gain its first Czechoslovak secondary school until 1936. Only two of the fourteen towns with between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, Guta and Handlova, did not have secondary schools . Handlova is only seven miles from Prievidza, which had a school. Guta (now called Kolarovo), is in a strongly Hungarian area about ten miles southwest of Nove Zarnky, which also had a gymnasium .(69) State control was extended over six Catholic high schools in 1919, under fear that the vacant six sees, which were responsible for their supervision , would be filled by Hungarians . The only other two alternatives , according to Stefanek, were to close the schools, or to accept Hungarian control. It was the attempt by the Slovak People 's Party to gain restoration of three of these Catholic gymnasia in 1921 which led to that party's break-away from the Czech People ' s Party. Josef Susta , the Minister of Education in the Cerny government, ap- �40 SLOVAKIA parently made promises to the effect that the schools would be returned to Catholic control, an action which his successor, Vavro Srobar, an Agrarian Slovak, refused to carry out once the Benes government took office . (70) The Protestants in contrast, carried out an internal reorganization in 1919 and were allowed to maintain control over their schools. Within a decade they gave up all but one for financial reasons .(71) It might be mentioned that the Slovak National Council, which spoke for Slovakia in its declaration of union with the Czechs at Martin October 30, 1918, apparently made no effort to institute an educational system, although some of its local branch officials served to help coordinate the setting up of new schools . Mamatey attributes this to inexperience in the exercise of political power.(72) The impliction is that the Slovak elite, carried over from the Hungarian era, did not use realistic methods in developing a modem nation. Thus, they did not conceive of the need to build an expanded intelligentsia. (73) Much of the policy relating to education was determined by administrative , rather than legislative action. Thus, the fact that five out of the twelve interwar Ministers of Education were Slovaks is of considerable significance. Actually these five held the post for a •longer period (by three months) than Czechs, and many significant reforms were accomplished under them. Ivan Derer, a Social Democrat, held the post for the longest period, from 1929 to 1934. Milan Hodza, an, Agrarian, had the third longest term (1926-1929), a period that probably would have lasted longer had he not become embroiled in conflict with Masaryk and Benes over foreign policy matters. Several policy changes were carried out which affected secondary education in Slovakia. One involved converting the realka to the Austrian or Czech pattern, which meant a seven-year, rather than an eight-year, curriculum, and thus lessened in the eyes of many Slovaks the value of its education. The six-year higher girls ' schools were first reestablished as lycees , then converted quickly to real reformed gymnasia because the former institutions had offered little perspective for further education or employment. The use of boarding schools was also generally eliminated in Slovakia. Prior to World War I, boarding schools had helped to foster Magyarization by cutting off the students from the Slovak countryside. By 1923 only sixteen remained , of which eleven were located at teacher training institutes. (74) At the same time , various organizations set up " intemats" in many towns to strengthen thE\regained Slovak foothold . This made it possible for young people from remote districts , for whom poor transportation connections would have preve~ted daily com- �SLOVAKIA 41 muting, to acquire a secondary education. Others could avoid the otherwise inflated living costs in the cities.(75) The government also sought to increase the percentage of women in the schools. By the year i937-38 girls made up nearly one-third of the students in the gymnasia, ~though as noted above, a smaller percentage actually completed the final year (and presumably the maturita exam). In the teacher training institutes more than half of the total enrollees were girls. Government regulations specified that these institutes were to have equal numbers of boys and girls. (76) As the country began to emerge from the depression, there developed also a rapid increase in the total enrollment of the secondary schools. There were a number of reasons for this, including the growth of cities, better preparation in elementary schools, and the increased post-war birth rate. The government responded by approving various arrangements to open new schools, including some sponsored by cities and some by church bodies. They were made possible under Article 54 of Hungarian law XXX-1883,(77) under which the state assumed responsibility for paying the personnel, who had to meet state qualification standards, while the sponsoring group paid the operating expenses. The schools charged higher tuition, but these higher rates were usually justified by the savings in transportation costs which students would otherwise have had to pay if they were commuting to another school. There were several of these schools in Kosice operated by church groups. Examples of city-sponsored schools were in Piest'any, Koma.mo, and Topol'cany. Acceptance of these arrangements occurred because of an improvement in the economic situation, (78) the fact that there was no longer doubt about the ability of these schools to attract a sufficient number of qualified professors , and the ability of the organizations to meet the requirements of XXX-1883. The analysis of placement - where did the graduates go - is a task beyond the goals of this paper. The central government apparently did not concern itself with these matters except for a brief period during the depression.(79) Many of the secondary schools themselves did not bother with such records either. Occasionally the yearbooks or reports to the Ministry of Education contained information about the future plans of the graduates. It is only in scattered cases at the time of the dedication of a new building or during a celebration of an anniversary that the occupations of the graduates were recorded at all, e.g., Kremnica-1937 or Zlate Moravce-1924. Unfortunately, these samples are not sufficiently broad to draw any conclusions . There is an intriguing organization called the Sprostredkovatel'na prace pre nezamestnanu inteligenciu na Slovensku, which evolved in 1934. �42 SLOVAKIA Sponsored by the Slovak League and the Economic Institute of Slovakia and Ruthenia, with the apparent support of the Agrarian Party, it collected data on graduates and their job searches.(80) Even without these data, let me suggest some judgments on the development of the intelligentsia in interwar Slovakia. First of all, it is clear that significant progress was made . The very fact that the independent Slovak State was able to function at all is evidence of this progress.(81) The Slovak State would not have been possible in 1918. By 1938, the large majority of the intelligentsia was Slovak in language and feeling . Under the situation prevailing before 1918, many of these people would have become members of the intelligentsia, but it would have been as Hungarians, not as Slovaks. It seems that there was not an intellectual proletariat in Slovakia.(82) As Ivan Derer pointed out, even in the depths of depression in 1933 all qualified Slovak high school and elementary teachers had positions.(83) He also catalogued the many other positions which Slovaks filled.(84) What the Czechoslovak Republic failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical, and professional - that are required to conduct a modern nation. Insufficient emphasis was put on the education that would develop leaders in industry, commerce, and even agriculture. This type of policy requires particular effort because in fluid postwar situations, there is a tendency to chose occupations where training is short and not too strenuous and the prospects of rapid enrichment promising.(85) This helps to explain Slovakia's lack of military men , of engineers , and of doctors. One must also keep in mind that the younger members of the small Slovak intelligentsia in 1918 had been able to gain positions of influence at a young age, something that could not be continued after the revolutionary wave had subsided and the Czechs who had come to Slovakia to help had become entrenched. (86) The young Slovak intelligent was not unemployed, but underemployed. One must recall that particularly in later years the central government had doubts as to whether it could trust the Slovak intelligentsia. Whatever feelings of distress this under-employment engen~red were worsened by the attitudes carried over from the Hungarian\ experience that education was the road to success .(87) Pre-independe:o.ce lead,ership was in the hands of a highly visible educated majority,. which fostered assumptions of the links between education , political mobility, and the benefits accruing to members of the intelligentsia. �SLOVAKIA 43 Quite probably , time was too short to produce a large enough intelligentsia in all fields. (88) In twenty years , the Czechoslovak government laid the groundwork for the future , and for twenty years built on it. The restoration of the Czechoslovak Republic after World War II provided the opportunity to look critically at what had and had not been done before in the area of intelligentsia development and to make adjustments. · ' But it was not just a matter of insufficient time. I would suggest that the interwar Czechoslovak government was not concerned with developing a specifically Slovak intelligentsia. Instead, its main goal was to reclaim the entire area of Slovakia for the Czechoslovak nationstate. By establishing a large number of Slovak secondary schools in cities of any size, especially those with large Hungarian populations , it could insure that this was done . But the early success of these centralist policies delayed recognition of certain aspects of the developing Slovak problem. If a Slovak nation was to be a viable entity, it required Slovak participation in all aspects and at all levels of society , not just where vacancies existed in a larger Czechoslovak society. One of the reasons for the above-mentioned lack of a Slovak technical university was the assumption that sufficient numbers of persons (mostly Czechs and Germans) were being educated in Bohemia and Moravia. Such an institution in Slovakia was said to be superfluous. If the concept of national self-awareness is not considered , then such an approach is plausible. On the other hand, when a nation has a feeling of running its affairs in the state in which it exists , even if that state be multinational, it has much greater reason to support the continued existence of that state. It then has no reason to trade the security it knows for the uncertainty of separation. Most Slovaks were initially very willing to cooperate with the Czechs, as demonstrated in the Martin declaration, recognizing that it was primarily Czech activities which had achieved the separation of Slovakia from Hungary and its attachment to the Czech Lands. But if Czechoslovakism embodies something more than Greater Czechism , it implied the balanced development of both parts and peoples of the country . If not, then the Slovaks were ipso facto a minority . Prior to 1938, the international political setting mitigated against any Slovak separation, since some kind of political attachment to Hungary or Poland would have resulted, yet active recognition of the concept of a Slovak nation by the Czechoslovak government would have strengthened Slovak resistance, alongside the Czechs , to the developing German threat. �44 SLOVAKIA Masaryk did not see in the Slovak case what he had been so willing to see in the Czech: the desire, as a nation, to develop and administer a complete society, particularly when that nation is part of the multinational state. He admitted in 1931 that he did not himself fully understand the Czech-Slovak relationship. I believe ... that the Comenius University helps the young to understand the true political and cultural task of Slovakia in our Republic. In a large degree it is the question of the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. I have considered this problem myself and I must think still further about it.(89) While it might be argued that Masaryk was merely being respectful to his hosts, it is more likely the uncertainty he expressed was real. The so-called Castle group which gathered around Masaryk may have been nationally tolerant,(90) but it did not actively promote the development of individual nationalities.(91) One cannot, then, say the interwar Czechoslovak Republic did not, through its educational and cultural system, develop an intelligentsia in Slovakia. As has been shown, it made substantial progress. But it may be criticized for not actively supporting the production of an intelligentsia tailored to meet the needs of Slovakia, which by meeting the Slovak desire for self-management, would have strengthened the integrity of the Czechoslovak state. FOOTNOTES As Lucien W . Pye has noted, there is a large gap between the broad assumptions about the importance of education in national development and the limited amount of research on the subject. See Lucien W . Pye , " Foreword," in Education and Political Development , ed . James Coleman, Princeton, N .J ; rrinceton University Press, 1965, p . v. ' (2) Victor S. Mamatey, " The Development of Czechoslovak Democracy ," in A History of the Czechoslovak Republic 1918-1948, ed. by Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, Princeton, N.J .: Princeton University Press , 1973 , p. 118 . (3) R. W . Seton-Watson , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks , Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965, p . 336. (4) Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin: Maketa , m, Prague: Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved, 1960. (5) Historicky fosopis , Vol. XXI , No . 1 (1973) , p. 155. (6) Oldriska Kodedova, Ceskoslovensky tasopis historicky, Vol. XXI, No. 1 (1973) , p. 114. (1) �SLOVAKIA 45 ' (7) Jozef Matej, "Sucasny stav a perspektivy rozvoja dejin pedagogiky na Slovensku," Jednotna skola, Vol. XXVI, No. 1 (January 1974) , pp . 56-70 . (8) E .g ., Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 323; Stefan Krcmery , "A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature ," Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. VI (1928), p . 160. (9) Anton Stefanek, Zaklady sociografie Slovenska , Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied , 1944, pp . 137-142. (10) Conversations with Slovak historians, 1973-74. (ll) Anton Stefanek, " Novoslovaci," Sociologicka revue, Vol. VI, No. 3-4 (1935), pp. 272-3 . (12) Ludwig v. Gogolak , Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, ill Muenchen : R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1972, p . 163; Ferdinand Peroutka, Budovani statu, I, Praha : Fr. Borovy, 1936, p . 208 . (13) Jozef Matej, Kapitoly z dejin slovenskeho skolstva apedagogiky (19. a 20. storoc!ie), Bratislava: Univerzita Komenskeho, 1972, 2nd ed., p . 71. (14) Letter to author, February 2, 1973. (15) Josef Borovicka, Ten Years of Czechoslovak Politics, Prague : Orbis , 1929, p . 44 . (16) Peroutka , Budo vani statu, I, p . 207. (17) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 114. (18) Jaroslav Kopac, Dejiny skolstvi a pedagogiky v Ceskoslovensku, I, Brno: Universita J. E. Purkyne, 1971 , p. 48 footnote . There were some exceptions to the rule, however, such as the fact that high school graduation was not a requirement for the highly influential position of notary. (19) Gustav Husak, "Zprava predsedu socialnej komisie SSS," Vyroc!na zprava 1935-36: 15 rokov Sviizu Slovenskeho Studentstva v Bratislave , p . 13. (20) Czechoslovakia-Statistical Abstract , Prague : Orbis, 1963 , p. 18 . (21) Mirko Trnovsky, ed ., Sbornik prac profesorov evanj. kolej. slovenskeho gymnazia v Presove k vyroc!iu 1919-1939 Presov : Slovenska statna knihtlaciaren , 1940, p . 55 . (22) Vratislav Busek , " Pravnicke studium ve svetle statistiky, " Pravny obzor, Vol. XX, No . 15-16 (1-15 October 1937), p . 688 . (23) Ibid., pp . 682-8 . (24) Matej , Kapitoly, 1st ed., p . 83, notes that the contents of a 1933 curriculum reform were directed toward two goals, theoretical preparation of the graduates for the university , and partly for the practical needs of life. (25) Skolstvo na Slovensku, Bratislava: Slovensky planovaci urad, 1949, p . 46. (26) Sociol6gia, Vol. IV, No . 3 (1972), pp . 193-204, as cited in ABSEES Soviet and East European Abstracts Series, ill, No. 2 (26) (Oct. 1972), p . 167. (27) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 296 . (28) Jan M. Novacky, ed ., Desat' rokov slo venskych strednych sk6l, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp . 68-71. Novacky's calculations omit the teacher training institutes operated by churches. The total for 1933-4 is actually 1542 , but the difference of 200 from the estimate can be wholly attributed to the doubled enrollment in the teacher training institutes in the early thirties - Zpravy Statniho uradu statistickeho republiky Ceskoslove nske, 1935, No. 3-7. �46 SLOVAKIA (29) Skolstvo, p . 47. (30) See the school's Vyrofod zprciva 1937-38, pp . 54-57. (31) See the school's Vyrofod zprdva 1937-38, pp. 13-15. (32) Priloha " Stredne skoly," Zprcivy §kolskeho referdtu v Bratislave ministerstva ~kolstva a ndrodnej osvety, 1922. (33) Paul R. Magocsi, " The Role of Education in the Formation of a National Consciousness ," East European Quarterly, Vo. Vll, No. 2 (Summer 1973) , p . 162 . (34) Paul E. Zinner, Communist Strategy and Tactics in Czechoslovakia, 1918-48, New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1963 , p . 12; Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 386. (35) Matej, " Sucasny stav," pp. 56-70. (36) Josef Henrich and Mikulas Smok, Eenseignement clans la Republique Tchecoslovaque , Prague : Ostredni spolek ceskoslovenskych profesoru, 1923, p . 94. (37) Ibid. , p . 95. (38) Ibid., p . 91. (39) Matej , Kapitoly, 2nd ed ., p . 83. (40) Richard Homa, Patndct let Komenskeho university v Bratislaue, Bratislava, 1934, p . 9. {41) Michal Fedor, Poslanie a program Matice slovenskej na vychodnom Slovensku, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1966, p . 91. (42) Krcmery, "A Survey," p . 161. {43) Michal Potemra, ed ., Bibliografia slovenskych novin a c!asopisov do roku 1918, Martin : Matica· slovenska, 1958. (44) Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 282 . (45) Related to author by Czech historian . Efforts to locate published citation to date fruitless . (46) Maria Kipsova et al., Bibliografia slovenskych a inorec!ouych nouin a c!asopisou z rokou 1919-1938, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1968. (47) Jozef Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika 1918-1938, II, Martin: Matica slovenska, 1966. (48) Soznam c!asopisou na Slouensku 1927, Bratislava: Tlacovy referat pre spravu Slovensku, 1927. (49) Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika, p . 159. (50) E .g ., Darmo . (51) Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 324. (52) Ibid ., pp . 318-324. (53) Bibliografia slouenskych knih 1919-1938, Vol. 1-XVIl, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1965 . (54) Stefimek, Z ciklady, p . 318. (55) Stefan Krcmery, " Slovak Literature," in Seton-~atson , Slovakia Then & Now , p . 141 . \ (56) Stefanek, Zciklady , pp . 313-314. (57) Manuel Statistique de la R epublique Tchechoslo uaque, ill, Prague : Statni urad statisticky, 1928, pp. 17-19. A law of February 1919 set up in each community �SLOVAKIA 47 educational committees to con\ truct libraries and run lectures and courses . In Slovakia, this matter was generally handled by the local branch of Matica slovenska. (58) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque , 1934, Prague: L'Office de Statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque, 1934, Table XIV-17 . (59) Stefanek, Zdklady , p. 303 . (60) Peter Vajcik , " Zvesti z Literarno-vedeckeho odboru SSV ," Kultura, Vol. VII , No. 1 (1935) , p . 38 . (61) Ivan Kusy, " Obnovenie Matice slovenskej a jej uloha za predmnichovskej CSR, " in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch: Sbornik stati, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1963 , pp. 224-232 . (62) Frantisek Bokes, Snahy o organizovanie slovenskej vedy od konca 18. storoi!ia do vzniku SAV, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1967, p. 65. (63) Miroslav Kropilak, "Zakladne kulturnopoliticke problemy Slovenska v rokoch 191838 ," in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch, p. 205 . (64) In particular note the Spolok profesorov Slovakov, which after its founding in 1921 worked particularly for better placement of Slovak teachers in Slovak high schools. Viz its Sbornik Spolku profesorov Slovdkov . (65) Hendrich and Smok, Eenseignement , p . 73. (66) Karel Veleminsky, "Czecho-Slovak Secondary Schools ," in The Czecho-Slovak Republic , Prague: Czecho-Slovak Foreigners' Office, 1919, Vol. IV, Part 3 , p . 13 . In 1919, the Ministry of Education carried out a census in Slovakia for the purpose of determining how many schools would be needed. Peroutka, Budo vdni stdtu , I, p. 210. (67) Stefanek, " Education in Pre-War Hungary ," p . 121. (68) Gogolak , Beitrage , ill, p . 160. (69) Annuaire statistique , 1935, Table 11-17 and 1937, Table 11-4. (70) Milos Trap! , " Ke skolske legislative obecnych a obcanskych (mest'anskych) skol a jejimu uplatnovani v ceskych zemich 1918-1922," in Z dejin i!eskeho §kolstv i, ed by Ervin Koukal , Prague : Statni pedagogicke nakladatelstvi, 1970, p . 44 footnote 82. (71) Stefanek, "Education in Pre-War Hungary," p . 121. (72) Victor S. Mamatey , ''The Establishment of the Republic,'' in Mamatey and Luz.a, A History, p . 30 . (73) Gogolak , B eitrage , ill, p . 165. (74) Hendrich and Smok , Eenseignement , p . 34. (75) See Msano 52143-1920 Odbor V Oddeleni 19 of 15 August 1920, Carton 1297-State Central Archive (SOA) - Prague. The " intemats" also separated the students from parental influence which " is not always characterized by friendly feelings toward our state ." - Instruktorat Ministerstva socialnej starostlivosti (IMSS) Carton 5 item 276 in Slovak State Central Archive (SSOA) - Bratislava. This particular item is a letter from the acting headmaster of the Banska Stiavnica real gymnasium to the Ministerstvo socialni pece c. 798-1920 of 15 July 1920. (76) Skolstvo , pp . 23 , 11 1, and 150. (77) The fir st law passed in the new Czechoslovak Republic decreed that all laws in force in Austria-Hungary would be carried over to the new state . This explains how Hungarian law would be considered in Slovakia . �48 SLOVAKIA (78) E.g., note willingness of Fimini (Ministry of Finance) and Nejvyssi ucetni kontrolni urad (NUKU) to postpone indefinitely closing of school in exchange for opening of realka in Bardejov, or to substitute a closing of a school in Bohemia or Moravia-Msano 104.048-1938 Odbor ill Oddeleni 2 of 1 July 1938-Carton 1297-SUA. (79) Msano , 2637-1934 Pres . Odd . Studijni, 20 April 1934 , SUA , Carton 1445. (80) Okresny archiv, Prievidza , Prievidza gymnasium collection, 605-1934 and 214-1936 (Carton 3) . (81) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland & Czechoslovakia, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. (82) This contradicts Zinner's assertions in Communist Strategy, p. 12 . (83) Ivan Derer, Ceskoslovenskci otcizka, Prague: Orbis , 1935, p. 38. (84) Ibid . (85) R. W. Seton-Watson, "Introduction . Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Problem ," in Slovakia Then and Now, p . 62. (86) James S. Coleman, " Introduction : Education and Political Development " in Education and Political Development discusses the tension that develops with lack of political mobility for the second generation. Thomson 's assertion that the Czechoslovak government adhered to a policy of returning Czech officeholders to the historic lands as soon as possible does not hold up . S. Harrison Thomson , Czechoslovakia in European History , Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1953, p . 334. (87) See page 184. (88) See Matej, Kapitoly, 2nd ed., p . 86. (89) Zprciva o tinnosti Spolku pre postavenie a vydriovanie Universitnej koleje a akademickej menzi, 1930, p . 6. (Speech at Bratislava.) (90) Kopac, Dejiny ~kolstvi, I, p . 11. (91) It has been suggested that the Czechs erred in Slovakia after 1918 by trying to transform before forming a nation . See Jan Hajda, " The Role of the Intelligentsia in the Developme nt of the Czechoslovak Society,'' in The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture ed. by Miroslav Rechcigl , The Hague: Mouton , 1964, pp . 307-312. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 25 The Slovak Intelligentsia 1918-1938 OWEN V. JOHNSON \ The 25th issue of Slovensky dennik, published December 7, 1918, carried a message from the Slovak Society of Studying Youth. It began bluntly, '' A nation is strong only if it has a strong intelligentsia.'' Issue No. 1, published November 9, 1918, called on the Slovak intelligentsia to come forward. Since the new Czechoslovak state will need a great many Slovak people for offices and schools, we challenge each Slovak intelligent to immediately apply in writing or personally to the Legal Committee of the Slovak National Council listing complete name and address. Slovensky dennik might well have devoted its limited space to other matters, for the Slovakia of 1918 was ahnost without an intelligentsia, a body without a head. How and to what extent was this void filled in the following twenty years? In essence, this essay is a preliminary examination of that question. A combination of historical and ideological circumstances has combined to divert attention almost completely from a serious study of the development of education and the concomitant development of the intelligentsia (using here the Marxist definition of the intelligentsia as being "educated specialists") in interwar Slovakia, and in fact for the whole of Czechoslovakia.(!) Victor Mamatey describes Slovak politicians as showing considerable energy in promoting the cultural and educational development of the Slovak people,(2) but furnishes no evidence. R. W. Seton-Watson describes the "remarkable transformation" wrought in the field of education in Slovakia, but provides only broad quantitative evidence, referring especially to the elementary schools. (3) Reprinted by permission from Russian and Slavic History (Papers from the Banff ' 74 Conference) edited by D. K. Rowney and G. E. Orchard, Slavica Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 14388, Columbus, Ohio 43214. 26 SLOVAKIA While Czech and Slovak historians generally evaluate this phenomenon favorably, only now is any extensive research developing in the field. The published draft survey, Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin(4) does not once mention education. One report on a meeting of the Polish-Czechoslovak Historical Commission in Warsaw in September 1972 pointed out, "There emerged in the rich discussion many questions which even in our historiography have not been resolved through analytical work (such as) (the growth of national intelligentsia, the question of education ... ).(5) Oldriska Kodedova, reviewing Kuzmin's Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekoslovakii, comments(6) that insufficient attention has been paid to the social and nationality problem of education between the two wars. She points out that there is not a single basic work on the subject. Professor Jozef Matej, chairman of the pedagogical department of the Faculty of Philosophy at Comenius University in Bratislava, surveys the considerable progress made in research over the last five years, and declares that the editorial board of Jednotna skola supports the publication of articles about the history of education and pedagogy in the "bourgeois" Republic.(7) Admittedly this problem is not one that lends itself easily to a time frame as short as twenty years. Even the very few high school graduates from 1919 would have been less than forty years old in 1938, an age which in the traditional European context was still quite young. The names which showed up as outstanding among high school students· in the twenties and thirties became the leaders only in the turbulent forties and fifties. Perforce, then, this paper must confine itself to observations on some aspects of the development of the intelligentsia. A thorough study would require a complete monograph. What I will seek to do is discuss briefly the circumstances that brought about the poverty of the intelligentsia before 1918, identify institutions which contributed to the development of this educated group of Slovaks in the interwar period; describe summarily the educational system in use and provide a statistical overview of the schools and the students who studied in them; briefly describe other signs of cultural development; and suggest some accomplishments, shortcomings, and problems on the period. Linguistic and anthropological experts have long debated the question as to whether the term Czechoslovlik can be used to describe one language and one nation, or whether the individual Czech and Slovak terms should be used. This paper proceeds on the basis of the latter, as a means to better understanding the problem at hand. If the idea of a Slovak nation was to have a solid basis, whether in a SLOVAKIA 27 \ Czechoslovak state or by it'self, it was necessary that an intelligentsia develop from the Slovak people . The course of events prior to the creation of Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I found the Slovak people practically without a nationally conscious Slovak intelligentsia. Policies pursued by the Hungarian government following the 1867 Ausgleich had made it practically impossible for any Slovak youth who aspired to advanced education and a high position in life, to succeeed without giving up his Slovak identity. There were no Slovak schools beyond the primary level. It is generally accepted(8) that there were only between five hundred and a thousand educated and nationally conscious Slovaks in the year 1918. This estimate can be challenged on the basis that it represented the number of Slovaks and members of their families on whom the Hungarian authorities kept watch because of Slovak or panSlavic tendencies.(9) There may well have been several thousand nationally neutral intelligentsia who found it quite simple to fit into a Czechoslovak environment following the founding of the Republic. Several Slovak historians are seeking at this time a more accurate estimate.(10) Certainly the predominantly agricultural configuration of the Slovak society did not promote Slovak intellectual development. The cities , with few exceptions , were Hungarian, German, or Jewish dominated. Thus we are left with a Slovak intelligentsia made up primarily of clergymen, doctors , and lawyers, and their families .(11) One could not in any case expect that there would be a sufficient number of Slovaks who would have the requisite administrative experience to run a modem state and nation. To overcome this shortcoming it was necessary to bring in Czechs.(12) An example can be made of the advanced educational establishments. There were about twenty qualified and nationally conscious Slovaks who could teach in the gymnasia, enough persons to supply about two schools . Perhaps three hundred nationally conscious Slovaks were qualified to teach in the elementary schools.(13) Dr. Karel Koch , later Surgeon-General for Slovakia, lists only three Slovak-oriented surgeons remaining in Slovakia in 1918.(14) Borovicka even says that after the attainment of independence in 1918 there was not a single Slovak government official whatever with a Slovak national consciousness .(15) The bleakness of the situation was described poignantly by Dr. Vavro Srobar, a future Agrarian Party Minister of Education. "There were so few of us that we almost all knew each other personally , we knew even addresses , as well as personal and family relationships. " (16) 28 SLOVAKIA Accustomed to the Hungarian tradition, the Slovak peasant looked upon the intelligentsia as those people who, on the basis of a definite higher schooling got an official position or who otherwise stood out on the basis of their knowledge, property and influence in public, and earned admission to intelligent society. High school and university education and a proper knowledge of Hungarian or German, gentlemanly behavior, official position in the church, county, school, etc. gave legitimation to the title of intelligent. (17) The intelligentsia were the people who worked with their heads, not their hands. On this basis, one may consider a study of schools which awarded the maturitne vysvedcenie (matriculation certificate) or its equivalent and of the students in these schools as a study of the intelligentsia. The certificate was given for the successful completion of the school leaving examination at the end of high school (similar to the French baccalaureat). Of five categories of state employees, three required at least a high school education. A fourth required lower high school or middle school joined with special courses. While the fifth included those demanding only general elementary education, elementary and middle school teachers were included in this category.(18) At this point, attention must be directed to the structure of the whole school system. School attendance in Slovakia was mandatory for six years until 1922; after that, eight years was required, although the increase could not be enforced until the late twenties for lack of the needed personnel and facilities. All students spent the first five years in elementary (l'udove) schools. The other three years could be taken in middle schools, or in the beginning grades of the various secondary schools. In some of the more rural areas, only the elementary school existed, and here students who had no intention of continuing higher studies were allowed to attend if no alternative school was available. There were about 4000 elementary schools. The majority of the schools awarding the matriculation certificate came under the general heading gymnasia. Children who had completed elementary school and were at last ten years old, could apply for admission to the gymnasia. These were of fm\f types: 1. The classical gymnasium, of which there· were very few, was an eight-year school. Successful completion of the course allowed the student to enter the university directly. Until reforms SLOVAKIA 29 \ instituted in early 1930s, students in these schools studied Latin from the first year and Greek from the fifth. 2. The real gymnasium was by far the most popular because its graduates could directly enter both universities and technical universities. In these schools, French or English was taken instead of Greek beginning in the fifth year. 3. The real reformed gymnasium, which was more popular in the early years of the Republic, later lost attractiveness, and many of these schools were converted to real gymnasia. They followed the same curriculum as the real gymnasia except that a third language (English, Italian, or a Slavic one) replaced Latin in the seventh year. The reason for their later unpopularity was the necessity of taking an additional examination in Latin in order to gain entrance into the university. 4. The re<ilka was a seven-year school and its graduates had entrance directly only into the technical universities. No classical language was required, and French or English was begun in the second year. Other schools which awarded the matriculation certificate were only four years in length. The most wide-spread in Slovakia was the teacher-training institute , conducting a four year course of instruction which qualified its graduates to teach in the elementary, and after a time, the middle schools. Students were admitted in their ninth year of schooling in most cases , provided they had reached the minimum age of fifteen . During the depression this type of institution reached its peak of popularity with several times more applicants being turned down than were admitted. This is explained by its providing its graduates nearly guaranteed employment without their having to consider how to obtain funds to study at the university . Compared to the gymnasia and the teacher training institutes, the four other types of schools which gave degrees equivalent to the matriculation certificate were limited in number. The priemyseln<i skola , or industrial school, was four years in length, and its graduates could be admitted directly to the technical universities. These schools operated under a severe handicap in Slovakia during the first republic, for it was not until the fall of 1938 that the first Slovak technical university was opened. In anticipation of this event, enrolhnent in the technical high schools swelled considerably after the mid-thirties. The commercial academy (obchodn<i akademia) graduate also completed a four-year program which allowed him to enter either the technical university or the law faculty. Graduates of the four year 30 SLOVAKIA agricultural high school in Kosice or the four year forestry high school in Banska Stiavnica could enter the technical universities in their respective fields. The agriculture high school was designed primarily, however, for the education of independent farmers, and the forestry high school for the preparation of forest administrators. While much attention has been directed thus far to the rights to higher education achieved by these secondary school graduates, the percentage of those completing higher education was not overwhelming. Gustav Husak, in admittedly rough calculations, adjudged between 2000 and 2500 Slovaks engaged in university studies in the 1933-34 school year.(19) That compares with the 19,047 students in Slovakia attending the gymnasia and teacher training institutes that year. The 1930 census counted 2,295,067 Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. (20) During the twelve-year period 1926-7-1937-8, slightly more than seven percent of the total number of students at the Evangelical Gymnasium in Presov took the maturita examination.(21) If this figure is applied as a rough ratio for all of Slovakia, it would mean that in the above mentioned year of 1933-34, approximately 1330 students in Slovakia took the maturita. In the same year, approximately one fifth of the law students at Comenius University were first year students (2861162).(22) Applying this percentage to Husak's estimated total of 20002500 Slovaks attending institutions of higher learning, we arrive at the figure of about 600 first year Slovak students in all university faculties. This means that less than one half of those holding the matriculation certificate went on to the university. And of these, some forty percent did not complete the first set of state examinations normally given after two years study.(23) According to these calculations, less than one third of those holding the matriculation certificate from the gymnasium completed a university degree.(24) (The original estimate of 1330 maturants includes the graduates of the teacher training institutes who rarely continued to the university.) Support for using the criteria of a secondary school education to define the intelligent is offered by the percentage of such students in the whole educational spectrum. In the school year 1921-22, students of gymnasia and teacher training institutes 'made up 2. 7 percent of the total number of students in Slovakia.(25) For reasons that are both complex and unclear, statistical offices of the Czechoslovak Republic did not publish complete data on the number of those gaining the matriculation certificate each year. In Slovakia, a circular with some such information was prepared by the Bratislava (Slovak) Referent for Education each year until the late SLOVAKIA 31 1920s. The only other manner in which this number can be determined is by a methodical examination of the annual high school yearbooks sponsored by each school. Let it be taken as an assumption, based on a general familiarity with . the figures, that an average of about one thousand Czechoslovak s~udents in Slovakia each year passed the maturita exam, or about 20,000 during the life of the Republic. The figure is of course lower in the early years, and much higher in the period just before Munich. The general accuracy of this estimate can be judged by the estimate of Robert Rosko(26) that 68,000 employees in Slovakia in 1953 had higher and specialized secondary education. Stefanek's estimate of 50,000 students having completed high school studies by 1944(27) is likely too high. Only one writer, Jan Novacky, probably with statistics furnished by the Ministry of Education, has calculated the number of persons receiving the matriculation certificate over a period of time (Table 1). These data suggest the projection of 1330 recipients of the maturita for the year 1933-34 is reasonably accurate as does our estimated average of one thousand matriculation certificates per year for the 1918-19-1937-38 period. The number of graduates of the teacher training institutes remained fairly constant at about 300 per year.(28) The number of girl students in grade VIII (and thus eligible for the maturita examination) as a percentage of the total number of girl students enrolled in the gymnasia in 1927-28 was just under five percent, thus fifty percent less than the average for all those enrolled. (29) TABLE 1 NUMBER OF MATRICULATION CERTIFICATES (HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS) AWARDED 1918-19 - 1928-29: SELECTED YEARS AND TOTAL Total 1918-19 Type of Institution 1918-19 1923-24 1928-29 1928-29 3075 Real gymnasium 84 250 532 Teacher training institute 122 262 247 3014 Real reformed gymnasium 5 70 189 1000 23 44 82 623 Realka 64 Classical gymnasium 0 0 36 Total Source: 234 626 1086 7776 Jan M. Novacky, ed., Desat' rokov slovenskych strednych skol, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp. 68-71. 32 SLOVAKIA The figures we have been discussing up to this point refer to the Czechoslovak high schools in Slovakia. They include a smattering of Hungarians, Jews, Germans, and other nationalities , as well as Czechs and Slovaks. The number of Czechs in some schools was substantial. For example, during the 1937-38 school year, the First Czechoslovak real gymnasium in Bratislava had 896 students, of which less than half (431) were Slovak. Three hundred eighty-six were Czech, 43 German , 24 Hungarian , and the rest other nationalities.(30) In Banska Bystrica, 394 out of 470 students in that year were Slovak , 66 Czech and the other ten divided among four nationalities.(31) Again, a complete survey must await further computation. What can be said with safety is that a significant proportion - ten to twenty-five percent - of the students were not Slovaks. The only known official publication which differentiates between Czechs and Slovaks in the high schools in Slovakia was published for the 1922-23 school year in Slovakia by the Skalsk y Referat. Of the 11,267 students, 1286 are Czech, 8501 Slovak, and the rest belong to other nationalities. At the same time there were six Czechs and 116 Slovaks in non-Czechoslovak institutions . This confirms our estimate of ten to twenty-five percent non-Slovaks.(32) The State Statistical Office of the Czechoslovak Republic did not, in its school statistics, differentiate between Czechs and Slovaks , using instead the inclusive term Czechoslovak. However, between half and two thirds of the individual schools did make a distinction in their published yearly reports, and some of them also expressed the distinction on the statistical forms mailed to the Ministry of Education. It is this lack of readily available data which has hindered until now any significant studies of this question. Because some schools only used the term Czechoslovak means we shall never have a completely accurate picture of the nationality situation. This attitude of Czechoslovakism in the statistics occurred for a variety of reasons : political conviction, political fear, lack of interest , or desire to maintain the status quo. It was the principal (riaditel') who decided which policy would be followed.(33) Because of these varying motivations, one cannot with reliability apportion the students in the unoi(ferentiated schools to the specific nationalities. Further, even when a aifferent,.iation is made in the general and classroom statistics between ' nationalities, we do not have available this information for individual students, so as to be able to determine whether such and such an individual student, be he Czech or Slovak, passed the maturita exam. We must content ourselves with comparing the percentage of each nationality in the final year of school and applying these percentages to the number of persons taking the 33 SLOVAKIA maturita exams. Even in the less common instances when the maturita recording books are availa\:ile in the archives , they frequently do not specify the nationality, but fist only the place of birth. While this is of some assistance in obtaining a reasonably accurate picture , the very existence of 120,000 Czechs in Slovakia(34) will distort it, as well as the non-Czechoslovak abode of many of these persons prior to 1918. In the above Banska Bystrica case, although there were 66 Czechs , only 34 of the students were born in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. There will also be some distortion , when we cannot specifically distinguish Czech from Slovak, in identifying the social, religious, and other characteristics of the students according to nationality. Here again, it seems that we must proceed on the basis of what we have , hoping that studies of the individual schools described by Matej(35) will tum up better information. Let us use 1927-28 as a sample year. The decline in the number of enrollees which developed later because of the wartime decline in the birth rate and not yet made itself felt. With the exception of a number of schools which would open in the last four years of the Republic, almost all schools were operating as full institutions. Some had been converted from Hungarian to Slovak over a period of seven or eight years . TABLE 2 CZECHOSLOVAK SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA , 1927-28 Type of School Real gymnasium Real reformed gymnasium Realka Teacher training institute Commercial academy Industrial high school Classical gymnasium Agricultural high school Forestry high school Total Number Students Graduates Studentsgraduate 24 8217 426 19 10 3 2939 997 165 98 18 13 6 3 2 1 1 63 970 617 470 406 98 Unavailable 14,714 327 62 100 16 14 14 1222 10 3 10 5 25 7 12 34 SLOVAKIA Sources: Novacky, Desat' rokov , pp. 63-67; Styridsat' rokov Lesnickej technickej skoly v Banskej Stiavnici 1918-1959, Bratislava: Poverenictvo Podohospodarstva, 1959, pp. 62-67; Anton Stefanek, Education in Pre-War Hungary and in Slovakia To-Day," in Slovakia Then and Now: A Political Survey ed. by Robert W. Seton-Watson, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1931, p. 130; Individual vyrocne zpravy of the agricultural high school, commercial high schools , and industrial high schools. The most productive gymnasium of any kind in the first eleven years was the real gymnasium at Bratislava with 363 degrees awarded followed by the realka at Zilina with 340. Other gymnasia producing more than 200 matriculation certificate holders in the first eleven years were the real gymnasia at Kosice, Nitra, Ruzomberok, Trencin, Trnava, and Banska Bystrica. The teacher training institute at Modra produced by far the largest number of graduates in the first eleven years with 419, primarily because of the 142 which it graduated in the first three years, a figure twice the number of any other school during that period, excepting Tmava, which also had the second highest eleven year total with 323. Seven other institutions had more than 200 graduates each. Over the twenty year period, there were 51 gymnasia of different types, 17 teacher training institutes, 5 industrial high schools, 7 commercial high schools, and one each of the agricultural and forestry high schools. A significant number of this total (16-82) began operation in the last four years, a jump of about 25 percent from the number in existence at the end of the 1933-34 school year. The reasons for this sudden increase will be discussed below. The total does not include a private unlicensed secondary school operated in Bratislava in the 193738 school year which used French as the language of instruction and was seeking state accreditation. The proportion of secondary school students in the population was lower in all Slovak counties (between 3 and 8 per 1000) than in Prague (12-13 per 1000) .(36) By some strange quirk, however, the county of Mikulas had the highest number of secondary schools in relation to the population (9-10-200,000) anywhere in Czechoslovakia. This included 14 schools for 319,509 people.(37) In Slovakia in 1922-23 there was one Czechoslovak student for each 179 Czecho~lovak inhabitants. For the whole country (excepting Ruthenia) the ratio was I-116.(38) There were other schools which one might consider as producers of intelligentsia. The so-called pedagogical academy which began to operate in Bratislava in the 1930-31 school year at the suggestion of the SLOVAKIA 35 Slovak Pedagogical Society was the first step toward placing teacher training on the university level. It was a one-year program which gave gymnasium graduates the right to teach in elementary schools. In seven years it produced 706 graduates.(39) Graduates of the teacher training institutes did no~ have the possibility nor the need to attend. Comenius University \11 Bratislava had three faculties - law, medicine, and philosophy- ano began accepting gymnasium graduates in the fall of 1921.(40) Slovaks could attend other universities in the country as well. The Slovak Technical University opened only in the fall of 1938. There were two theological faculties. The Lutheran faculty, which operated throughout the twenty years, received university rank in 1934. The Catholic faculty, authorized in 1919, began operations in 1936 although in the interim there were a half dozen small seminaries scattered around Slovakia. The music and drama academy of Bratislava received university status in 1926. The higher agricultural co-operative school opened in Bratislava in 1936 to help provide administrative officials for the co-operative movement. Previously these officials had come from among the graduates of the commercial academies and commercial schools (usually 2-year programs not leading to a matriculation certificate). Students were chosen from among those who already held the matriculation certificate, with preference to persons who had been graduated from the commercial or agricultural high schools and to those with co-operative experience. Those who had a partial high school education or had finished middle school and one of the agricultural or commercial schools, and had two years of experience in the co-operative movement as well, could qualify if they successfully passed an entrance exam. There were only 22 students in each year of operation. There were also a number of theological academies with the equivalency rank of universities. Entrants were required to hold the matriculation certificate. The six Catholic institutes (seminaries) mentioned above closed with the opening of the Bratislava theological faculty in 1936. Even so , Slovakia still possessed more than half of the theological institutes in the country. There were also a half dozen city music schools , sometimes supported by the public, but these were rather for private music instruction and did not fit into the regular scheme of formal education . Reference has been made to vocational courses in the fields of agricultural, industrial and commercial education. There was in these courses no attempt to advance beyond the teaching of specific skills. The courses varied from several weeks to two years. 36 SLOVAKIA Matica slovenska, the Slovak cultural and national organization, sponsored in many cities the so-called enlightenment courses. These consisted on one or a series of lectures, and would more properly fall under the heading of popular or civic education. The local organizations of Matica slovenska were supposed to be distributing knowledge, rather than fostering it.(41) Courses held by the Army for illiterate soldiers should be considered also in the realm of popular education. What other evidence do we have of cultural advancement during the period under discussion? One is the publication of books, magazines and newspapers. Before the outbreak of World War I there was some of this activity , although exactly how much is uncertain. Stefan Krcmery , long active in Matica slovenska, said that a total of 41 periodicals in 1909 had declined to ten by 1918.(42) A more recent survey conducted by Matica slovenska shows the total growing from 32 in 1900 to 47 in 1910 to 61 in 1914 before dropping to 30 in 1918.(43) The most important were N arodnie noviny , published three times a week at Martin, and Slouenske pohl'ady, a monthly literary journal.(44) Jozef Votruba, a Slovak patriot , was said to have remarked(45) that the Slovak intelligentsia was made up of those who read Narodnie nouiny. Similar problems arise in trying to measure the number of journals published after the revolution. Maria Kipsova, in a definitive bibliography published in 1968, (46) lists 980 journals definitely located and 80 journals not found which were published in Slovak during the 20-year period. Jozef Darmo 's incomplete study(47) of Slovak journalism, published two years earlier, says there was a total of 1565 magazines and newspapers published, of which 442 were Hungarian and an undefined number in other languages. A survey compiled by the press referent for Slovakia in 1927(48) listed 162 purely Slovak publications for that year . Approximately one-third of these were political , another third organizational . Eight of the publications were dailies, all but one of them published ip Bratislava. A further 49 publications were multi-lingual with Slova~ as one of the languages . Nearly half of the all-Slovak publications · (77) Had a frequency of monthly or less. The Kipsova bibliography shows that the great majority of these publications did not long survive . Included among the reasons were the lack of printers and the inability to extend circulation beyond the cities into the countryside . Quite simply, the rural population was not yet accustomed to reading.(49) While some efforts have been made at estimating the extent of circulation of the various publications ,(50) there is no source extensive enough to provide any adequate analysis. The expansion of the number of daily papers from two (one of which was Hungarian-oriented)(51) before the war , to eight SLOVAKIA 37 under the Czechoslovak ~epublic indicates definite progress. Even with insufficient evidence, 'one can presume a circulation expansion as well. While there is considerable disagreement, too, over the exact number of Slovak books published between the wars,(52) it averaged 600-800 per year, of which about three quarters were published in Slovakia itself. A provisional B ibliografia slovenskych knih 19191938(53) published in 1965, listed 13,320 items definitely identified, and 6530 uncertain. If the nearly 19,000 were in fact all published, it would establish an average of approximately one thousand per year, somewhat higher than the estimate by Stefanek (13,425).(54) Most likely, not all of the desiderata will be included in a definitive bibliography, soon to be published by Matica slovenska, since, for instance, some of the jubilee high school yearbooks, which are in fact not books, are included, plus some listings which are only Slovakicized titles of Czech books. The most difficult problem is unfortunately unsolvable, that is, how many copies of each of these books were published. Only a few organizations, such as Matica slovenska, kept publication totals . One estimate suggested that pre-war printings rarely exceeded 600-800 copies; by 1928 the average was 250010,000.(55) Stefanek provides some interesting comparisons of the occupations of writers before and after the revolution. (56) They show that before the revolution 112 out of 178 writers were priests (two-thirds Lutheran, one-third Catholic). After 1918 (approximately 1935) only 14111 are priests. The bulk (47) are academicians. Another measurement of general progress can be noted in the area of libraries. In 1927 there were 3283 research libraries for teachers with 258 ,200 books; 216 school libraries containing 1,185,464 books including 150,000 at Comenius University; and 2592 communal libraries with 202 , 781 books . (5 7) By 1932 the number of libraries in the first two categories had increased only by seven, but the number of volumes was up half a million.(58) Since there were only private church libraries and those of priests and patriots prior to 1918, there is a definite note of progress here. One of the most difficult problems in handling a subject of this type is to maintain a differentiation between the terms intelligentsia and national enlightenment. While we have noted the tremendous development of communal libraries, libraries which average less than one hundred books apiece will not contribute much to the development of the intelligentsia, although they may significantly raise the national consciousness of the broad mass of the population. The same problem 38 SLOVAKIA must be faced when we examine the national and religious cultural societies . Either we must redefine what we call a member of the intelligentsia or we must recognize the fact that these organizations had different purposes. The Society of St. Adalbert is a case in point. A Catholic society with 100,000 members, it dealt mainly with popular education and Catholic science and literature.(59) Yet Peter Vajcik(60) described one of the society's three aims as being to help the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, a much smaller group . The Lutheran Church had a similar society of Tranoscius. Matica slovenska anguished over the direction of its goals . Until 1932 it tended to reflect more accurately the number of intelligentsia than did the two specifically religious societies, but it also included a number of Czechs and people of other nationalities involved in the work of popular education. In some respects it sought to fulfill the role of a scientific academy, but lacked the personnel and monetary support, and could not tear itself away from its popular education role . Interestingly , when its membership roles swelled after the capture of the leadership in 1932 by those who favored a greater amount of Slovak autonomy, its organized scientific research increased substantially. The membership increased from 11,063 in 1930 to 30,147 in 1936.(61) The Safarik Scientific Society was organized in 1926 mainly by the members of the faculty of Comenius University. It was begun with the intent of increasing the amount of knowledge about Slovakia and Ruthenia. Strongly supported by persons with a Czechoslovak orientation, it frequently found itself at loggerheads with the people in Matica slovenska.(62) In 1934 it had a total of 168 members of whom only 40 were Slovak. It was divided into two sections, one for the social sciences and one for the natural sciences. In the latter, there were only 16 Slovaks among 101 members, which can in part be explained by the lack of a faculty of natural sciences at Comenius University . During its twelve year existence it published 45 volumes of research results.(63) A number of other societies or organizations which could be called cultural or intellectual also functioned but they will not be dealt with here . These include the Slovak Museum Society, the Slovak Cultural (Vlastivedne) Museum, the East Slovak Museum, the Slovak Pedagogical Society, the Union of Slovak Students, DAV , and the several unions of teachers.(64) · Having sketched the general outline of the development of the intelligentsia , it becomes necessary to examine the broader context of the matter as it relates to political development and the whole of life in interwar Czechoslovakia. SLOVAKIA 39 It was the early actio~s of the Czechoslovak government taken in the field of education that\ ~ere the most far reaching. Before 1918 there were 53 secondary schools in Slovakia, all Hungarian.(65) Following the attainment of independence, three were closed immediately, two others were combined, and in nine towns new secondary schools were organized. Before the New Year, three secondary schools were operating, and a total of thirteen were giving instruction after three months of independence. (66) Anton Stefanek, assigned the task of co-ordinating this project, described his guiding principle as ''the democratic principle of religious and racial equality before the law."(67) Thus, in purely Slovak districts, the schools were deMagyarized. In the southern districts, he "on the whole" left the status quo. This immediate de-Magyarization of the Slovak high schools was exceptionally important. Changes which are readily accepted in a time of revolution are not achieved even gradually in times of peace and quiet. The entire Czech policy followed in the southern parts of Slovakia sought to integrate the area into the Czechoslovak Republic. (68) The new schools which were opened in essentially Hungarian towns such as Nove Zamky or Lucenec, took root rapidly even though a Hungarian school was also frequently authorized. While these cities had been Hungarian for several decades, the countryside was in many cases still Slovak. The extra assistance provided by the central authorities was frequently the deciding factor in reclaiming the cities, and thus the gathering places of the intelligentsia, for the Slovaks . According to the 1930 census, only seven cities in Slovakia had more than 20,000 persons. Of these, all had two or more Czechoslovak secondary schools except Komarno, which did not gain its first Czechoslovak secondary school until 1936. Only two of the fourteen towns with between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, Guta and Handlova, did not have secondary schools . Handlova is only seven miles from Prievidza, which had a school. Guta (now called Kolarovo), is in a strongly Hungarian area about ten miles southwest of Nove Zarnky, which also had a gymnasium .(69) State control was extended over six Catholic high schools in 1919, under fear that the vacant six sees, which were responsible for their supervision , would be filled by Hungarians . The only other two alternatives , according to Stefanek, were to close the schools, or to accept Hungarian control. It was the attempt by the Slovak People 's Party to gain restoration of three of these Catholic gymnasia in 1921 which led to that party's break-away from the Czech People ' s Party. Josef Susta , the Minister of Education in the Cerny government, ap- 40 SLOVAKIA parently made promises to the effect that the schools would be returned to Catholic control, an action which his successor, Vavro Srobar, an Agrarian Slovak, refused to carry out once the Benes government took office . (70) The Protestants in contrast, carried out an internal reorganization in 1919 and were allowed to maintain control over their schools. Within a decade they gave up all but one for financial reasons .(71) It might be mentioned that the Slovak National Council, which spoke for Slovakia in its declaration of union with the Czechs at Martin October 30, 1918, apparently made no effort to institute an educational system, although some of its local branch officials served to help coordinate the setting up of new schools . Mamatey attributes this to inexperience in the exercise of political power.(72) The impliction is that the Slovak elite, carried over from the Hungarian era, did not use realistic methods in developing a modem nation. Thus, they did not conceive of the need to build an expanded intelligentsia. (73) Much of the policy relating to education was determined by administrative , rather than legislative action. Thus, the fact that five out of the twelve interwar Ministers of Education were Slovaks is of considerable significance. Actually these five held the post for a •longer period (by three months) than Czechs, and many significant reforms were accomplished under them. Ivan Derer, a Social Democrat, held the post for the longest period, from 1929 to 1934. Milan Hodza, an, Agrarian, had the third longest term (1926-1929), a period that probably would have lasted longer had he not become embroiled in conflict with Masaryk and Benes over foreign policy matters. Several policy changes were carried out which affected secondary education in Slovakia. One involved converting the realka to the Austrian or Czech pattern, which meant a seven-year, rather than an eight-year, curriculum, and thus lessened in the eyes of many Slovaks the value of its education. The six-year higher girls ' schools were first reestablished as lycees , then converted quickly to real reformed gymnasia because the former institutions had offered little perspective for further education or employment. The use of boarding schools was also generally eliminated in Slovakia. Prior to World War I, boarding schools had helped to foster Magyarization by cutting off the students from the Slovak countryside. By 1923 only sixteen remained , of which eleven were located at teacher training institutes. (74) At the same time , various organizations set up " intemats" in many towns to strengthen thE\regained Slovak foothold . This made it possible for young people from remote districts , for whom poor transportation connections would have preve~ted daily com- SLOVAKIA 41 muting, to acquire a secondary education. Others could avoid the otherwise inflated living costs in the cities.(75) The government also sought to increase the percentage of women in the schools. By the year i937-38 girls made up nearly one-third of the students in the gymnasia, ~though as noted above, a smaller percentage actually completed the final year (and presumably the maturita exam). In the teacher training institutes more than half of the total enrollees were girls. Government regulations specified that these institutes were to have equal numbers of boys and girls. (76) As the country began to emerge from the depression, there developed also a rapid increase in the total enrollment of the secondary schools. There were a number of reasons for this, including the growth of cities, better preparation in elementary schools, and the increased post-war birth rate. The government responded by approving various arrangements to open new schools, including some sponsored by cities and some by church bodies. They were made possible under Article 54 of Hungarian law XXX-1883,(77) under which the state assumed responsibility for paying the personnel, who had to meet state qualification standards, while the sponsoring group paid the operating expenses. The schools charged higher tuition, but these higher rates were usually justified by the savings in transportation costs which students would otherwise have had to pay if they were commuting to another school. There were several of these schools in Kosice operated by church groups. Examples of city-sponsored schools were in Piest'any, Koma.mo, and Topol'cany. Acceptance of these arrangements occurred because of an improvement in the economic situation, (78) the fact that there was no longer doubt about the ability of these schools to attract a sufficient number of qualified professors , and the ability of the organizations to meet the requirements of XXX-1883. The analysis of placement - where did the graduates go - is a task beyond the goals of this paper. The central government apparently did not concern itself with these matters except for a brief period during the depression.(79) Many of the secondary schools themselves did not bother with such records either. Occasionally the yearbooks or reports to the Ministry of Education contained information about the future plans of the graduates. It is only in scattered cases at the time of the dedication of a new building or during a celebration of an anniversary that the occupations of the graduates were recorded at all, e.g., Kremnica-1937 or Zlate Moravce-1924. Unfortunately, these samples are not sufficiently broad to draw any conclusions . There is an intriguing organization called the Sprostredkovatel'na prace pre nezamestnanu inteligenciu na Slovensku, which evolved in 1934. 42 SLOVAKIA Sponsored by the Slovak League and the Economic Institute of Slovakia and Ruthenia, with the apparent support of the Agrarian Party, it collected data on graduates and their job searches.(80) Even without these data, let me suggest some judgments on the development of the intelligentsia in interwar Slovakia. First of all, it is clear that significant progress was made . The very fact that the independent Slovak State was able to function at all is evidence of this progress.(81) The Slovak State would not have been possible in 1918. By 1938, the large majority of the intelligentsia was Slovak in language and feeling . Under the situation prevailing before 1918, many of these people would have become members of the intelligentsia, but it would have been as Hungarians, not as Slovaks. It seems that there was not an intellectual proletariat in Slovakia.(82) As Ivan Derer pointed out, even in the depths of depression in 1933 all qualified Slovak high school and elementary teachers had positions.(83) He also catalogued the many other positions which Slovaks filled.(84) What the Czechoslovak Republic failed to do was to institutionalize in Slovakia a system of education which would provide the specialized skills and training requisite for the broad range of cadres - bureaucratic, managerial, technical, and professional - that are required to conduct a modern nation. Insufficient emphasis was put on the education that would develop leaders in industry, commerce, and even agriculture. This type of policy requires particular effort because in fluid postwar situations, there is a tendency to chose occupations where training is short and not too strenuous and the prospects of rapid enrichment promising.(85) This helps to explain Slovakia's lack of military men , of engineers , and of doctors. One must also keep in mind that the younger members of the small Slovak intelligentsia in 1918 had been able to gain positions of influence at a young age, something that could not be continued after the revolutionary wave had subsided and the Czechs who had come to Slovakia to help had become entrenched. (86) The young Slovak intelligent was not unemployed, but underemployed. One must recall that particularly in later years the central government had doubts as to whether it could trust the Slovak intelligentsia. Whatever feelings of distress this under-employment engen~red were worsened by the attitudes carried over from the Hungarian\ experience that education was the road to success .(87) Pre-independe:o.ce lead,ership was in the hands of a highly visible educated majority,. which fostered assumptions of the links between education , political mobility, and the benefits accruing to members of the intelligentsia. SLOVAKIA 43 Quite probably , time was too short to produce a large enough intelligentsia in all fields. (88) In twenty years , the Czechoslovak government laid the groundwork for the future , and for twenty years built on it. The restoration of the Czechoslovak Republic after World War II provided the opportunity to look critically at what had and had not been done before in the area of intelligentsia development and to make adjustments. · ' But it was not just a matter of insufficient time. I would suggest that the interwar Czechoslovak government was not concerned with developing a specifically Slovak intelligentsia. Instead, its main goal was to reclaim the entire area of Slovakia for the Czechoslovak nationstate. By establishing a large number of Slovak secondary schools in cities of any size, especially those with large Hungarian populations , it could insure that this was done . But the early success of these centralist policies delayed recognition of certain aspects of the developing Slovak problem. If a Slovak nation was to be a viable entity, it required Slovak participation in all aspects and at all levels of society , not just where vacancies existed in a larger Czechoslovak society. One of the reasons for the above-mentioned lack of a Slovak technical university was the assumption that sufficient numbers of persons (mostly Czechs and Germans) were being educated in Bohemia and Moravia. Such an institution in Slovakia was said to be superfluous. If the concept of national self-awareness is not considered , then such an approach is plausible. On the other hand, when a nation has a feeling of running its affairs in the state in which it exists , even if that state be multinational, it has much greater reason to support the continued existence of that state. It then has no reason to trade the security it knows for the uncertainty of separation. Most Slovaks were initially very willing to cooperate with the Czechs, as demonstrated in the Martin declaration, recognizing that it was primarily Czech activities which had achieved the separation of Slovakia from Hungary and its attachment to the Czech Lands. But if Czechoslovakism embodies something more than Greater Czechism , it implied the balanced development of both parts and peoples of the country . If not, then the Slovaks were ipso facto a minority . Prior to 1938, the international political setting mitigated against any Slovak separation, since some kind of political attachment to Hungary or Poland would have resulted, yet active recognition of the concept of a Slovak nation by the Czechoslovak government would have strengthened Slovak resistance, alongside the Czechs , to the developing German threat. 44 SLOVAKIA Masaryk did not see in the Slovak case what he had been so willing to see in the Czech: the desire, as a nation, to develop and administer a complete society, particularly when that nation is part of the multinational state. He admitted in 1931 that he did not himself fully understand the Czech-Slovak relationship. I believe ... that the Comenius University helps the young to understand the true political and cultural task of Slovakia in our Republic. In a large degree it is the question of the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. I have considered this problem myself and I must think still further about it.(89) While it might be argued that Masaryk was merely being respectful to his hosts, it is more likely the uncertainty he expressed was real. The so-called Castle group which gathered around Masaryk may have been nationally tolerant,(90) but it did not actively promote the development of individual nationalities.(91) One cannot, then, say the interwar Czechoslovak Republic did not, through its educational and cultural system, develop an intelligentsia in Slovakia. As has been shown, it made substantial progress. But it may be criticized for not actively supporting the production of an intelligentsia tailored to meet the needs of Slovakia, which by meeting the Slovak desire for self-management, would have strengthened the integrity of the Czechoslovak state. FOOTNOTES As Lucien W . Pye has noted, there is a large gap between the broad assumptions about the importance of education in national development and the limited amount of research on the subject. See Lucien W . Pye , " Foreword," in Education and Political Development , ed . James Coleman, Princeton, N .J ; rrinceton University Press, 1965, p . v. ' (2) Victor S. Mamatey, " The Development of Czechoslovak Democracy ," in A History of the Czechoslovak Republic 1918-1948, ed. by Victor S. Mamatey and Radomir Luza, Princeton, N.J .: Princeton University Press , 1973 , p. 118 . (3) R. W . Seton-Watson , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks , Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965, p . 336. (4) Prehled teskoslovenskych dejin: Maketa , m, Prague: Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved, 1960. (5) Historicky fosopis , Vol. XXI , No . 1 (1973) , p. 155. (6) Oldriska Kodedova, Ceskoslovensky tasopis historicky, Vol. XXI, No. 1 (1973) , p. 114. (1) SLOVAKIA 45 ' (7) Jozef Matej, "Sucasny stav a perspektivy rozvoja dejin pedagogiky na Slovensku," Jednotna skola, Vol. XXVI, No. 1 (January 1974) , pp . 56-70 . (8) E .g ., Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 323; Stefan Krcmery , "A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature ," Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. VI (1928), p . 160. (9) Anton Stefanek, Zaklady sociografie Slovenska , Bratislava: Slovenska Akademia Vied , 1944, pp . 137-142. (10) Conversations with Slovak historians, 1973-74. (ll) Anton Stefanek, " Novoslovaci," Sociologicka revue, Vol. VI, No. 3-4 (1935), pp. 272-3 . (12) Ludwig v. Gogolak , Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, ill Muenchen : R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1972, p . 163; Ferdinand Peroutka, Budovani statu, I, Praha : Fr. Borovy, 1936, p . 208 . (13) Jozef Matej, Kapitoly z dejin slovenskeho skolstva apedagogiky (19. a 20. storoc!ie), Bratislava: Univerzita Komenskeho, 1972, 2nd ed., p . 71. (14) Letter to author, February 2, 1973. (15) Josef Borovicka, Ten Years of Czechoslovak Politics, Prague : Orbis , 1929, p . 44 . (16) Peroutka , Budo vani statu, I, p . 207. (17) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 114. (18) Jaroslav Kopac, Dejiny skolstvi a pedagogiky v Ceskoslovensku, I, Brno: Universita J. E. Purkyne, 1971 , p. 48 footnote . There were some exceptions to the rule, however, such as the fact that high school graduation was not a requirement for the highly influential position of notary. (19) Gustav Husak, "Zprava predsedu socialnej komisie SSS," Vyroc!na zprava 1935-36: 15 rokov Sviizu Slovenskeho Studentstva v Bratislave , p . 13. (20) Czechoslovakia-Statistical Abstract , Prague : Orbis, 1963 , p. 18 . (21) Mirko Trnovsky, ed ., Sbornik prac profesorov evanj. kolej. slovenskeho gymnazia v Presove k vyroc!iu 1919-1939 Presov : Slovenska statna knihtlaciaren , 1940, p . 55 . (22) Vratislav Busek , " Pravnicke studium ve svetle statistiky, " Pravny obzor, Vol. XX, No . 15-16 (1-15 October 1937), p . 688 . (23) Ibid., pp . 682-8 . (24) Matej , Kapitoly, 1st ed., p . 83, notes that the contents of a 1933 curriculum reform were directed toward two goals, theoretical preparation of the graduates for the university , and partly for the practical needs of life. (25) Skolstvo na Slovensku, Bratislava: Slovensky planovaci urad, 1949, p . 46. (26) Sociol6gia, Vol. IV, No . 3 (1972), pp . 193-204, as cited in ABSEES Soviet and East European Abstracts Series, ill, No. 2 (26) (Oct. 1972), p . 167. (27) Stefanek, Zaklady , p . 296 . (28) Jan M. Novacky, ed ., Desat' rokov slo venskych strednych sk6l, Bratislava: Slovenska knihtlaciaren, 1929, pp . 68-71. Novacky's calculations omit the teacher training institutes operated by churches. The total for 1933-4 is actually 1542 , but the difference of 200 from the estimate can be wholly attributed to the doubled enrollment in the teacher training institutes in the early thirties - Zpravy Statniho uradu statistickeho republiky Ceskoslove nske, 1935, No. 3-7. 46 SLOVAKIA (29) Skolstvo, p . 47. (30) See the school's Vyrofod zprciva 1937-38, pp . 54-57. (31) See the school's Vyrofod zprdva 1937-38, pp. 13-15. (32) Priloha " Stredne skoly," Zprcivy §kolskeho referdtu v Bratislave ministerstva ~kolstva a ndrodnej osvety, 1922. (33) Paul R. Magocsi, " The Role of Education in the Formation of a National Consciousness ," East European Quarterly, Vo. Vll, No. 2 (Summer 1973) , p . 162 . (34) Paul E. Zinner, Communist Strategy and Tactics in Czechoslovakia, 1918-48, New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1963 , p . 12; Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 386. (35) Matej, " Sucasny stav," pp. 56-70. (36) Josef Henrich and Mikulas Smok, Eenseignement clans la Republique Tchecoslovaque , Prague : Ostredni spolek ceskoslovenskych profesoru, 1923, p . 94. (37) Ibid. , p . 95. (38) Ibid., p . 91. (39) Matej , Kapitoly, 2nd ed ., p . 83. (40) Richard Homa, Patndct let Komenskeho university v Bratislaue, Bratislava, 1934, p . 9. {41) Michal Fedor, Poslanie a program Matice slovenskej na vychodnom Slovensku, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1966, p . 91. (42) Krcmery, "A Survey," p . 161. {43) Michal Potemra, ed ., Bibliografia slovenskych novin a c!asopisov do roku 1918, Martin : Matica· slovenska, 1958. (44) Seton-Watson, Czechs and Slovaks, p . 282 . (45) Related to author by Czech historian . Efforts to locate published citation to date fruitless . (46) Maria Kipsova et al., Bibliografia slovenskych a inorec!ouych nouin a c!asopisou z rokou 1919-1938, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1968. (47) Jozef Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika 1918-1938, II, Martin: Matica slovenska, 1966. (48) Soznam c!asopisou na Slouensku 1927, Bratislava: Tlacovy referat pre spravu Slovensku, 1927. (49) Darmo , Slouenskci iurnalistika, p . 159. (50) E .g ., Darmo . (51) Stefimek, Zdklady , p . 324. (52) Ibid ., pp . 318-324. (53) Bibliografia slouenskych knih 1919-1938, Vol. 1-XVIl, Martin : Matica slovenska, 1965 . (54) Stefimek, Z ciklady, p . 318. (55) Stefan Krcmery, " Slovak Literature," in Seton-~atson , Slovakia Then & Now , p . 141 . \ (56) Stefanek, Zciklady , pp . 313-314. (57) Manuel Statistique de la R epublique Tchechoslo uaque, ill, Prague : Statni urad statisticky, 1928, pp. 17-19. A law of February 1919 set up in each community SLOVAKIA 47 educational committees to con\ truct libraries and run lectures and courses . In Slovakia, this matter was generally handled by the local branch of Matica slovenska. (58) Annuaire statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque , 1934, Prague: L'Office de Statistique de la Republique Tchecoslovaque, 1934, Table XIV-17 . (59) Stefanek, Zdklady , p. 303 . (60) Peter Vajcik , " Zvesti z Literarno-vedeckeho odboru SSV ," Kultura, Vol. VII , No. 1 (1935) , p . 38 . (61) Ivan Kusy, " Obnovenie Matice slovenskej a jej uloha za predmnichovskej CSR, " in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch: Sbornik stati, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1963 , pp. 224-232 . (62) Frantisek Bokes, Snahy o organizovanie slovenskej vedy od konca 18. storoi!ia do vzniku SAV, Bratislava: Vydavatel'stvo Slovenskej Akademie Vied, 1967, p. 65. (63) Miroslav Kropilak, "Zakladne kulturnopoliticke problemy Slovenska v rokoch 191838 ," in Matica slovenskd v na§ich dejindch, p. 205 . (64) In particular note the Spolok profesorov Slovakov, which after its founding in 1921 worked particularly for better placement of Slovak teachers in Slovak high schools. Viz its Sbornik Spolku profesorov Slovdkov . (65) Hendrich and Smok, Eenseignement , p . 73. (66) Karel Veleminsky, "Czecho-Slovak Secondary Schools ," in The Czecho-Slovak Republic , Prague: Czecho-Slovak Foreigners' Office, 1919, Vol. IV, Part 3 , p . 13 . In 1919, the Ministry of Education carried out a census in Slovakia for the purpose of determining how many schools would be needed. Peroutka, Budo vdni stdtu , I, p. 210. (67) Stefanek, " Education in Pre-War Hungary ," p . 121. (68) Gogolak , Beitrage , ill, p . 160. (69) Annuaire statistique , 1935, Table 11-17 and 1937, Table 11-4. (70) Milos Trap! , " Ke skolske legislative obecnych a obcanskych (mest'anskych) skol a jejimu uplatnovani v ceskych zemich 1918-1922," in Z dejin i!eskeho §kolstv i, ed by Ervin Koukal , Prague : Statni pedagogicke nakladatelstvi, 1970, p . 44 footnote 82. (71) Stefanek, "Education in Pre-War Hungary," p . 121. (72) Victor S. Mamatey , ''The Establishment of the Republic,'' in Mamatey and Luz.a, A History, p . 30 . (73) Gogolak , B eitrage , ill, p . 165. (74) Hendrich and Smok , Eenseignement , p . 34. (75) See Msano 52143-1920 Odbor V Oddeleni 19 of 15 August 1920, Carton 1297-State Central Archive (SOA) - Prague. The " intemats" also separated the students from parental influence which " is not always characterized by friendly feelings toward our state ." - Instruktorat Ministerstva socialnej starostlivosti (IMSS) Carton 5 item 276 in Slovak State Central Archive (SSOA) - Bratislava. This particular item is a letter from the acting headmaster of the Banska Stiavnica real gymnasium to the Ministerstvo socialni pece c. 798-1920 of 15 July 1920. (76) Skolstvo , pp . 23 , 11 1, and 150. (77) The fir st law passed in the new Czechoslovak Republic decreed that all laws in force in Austria-Hungary would be carried over to the new state . This explains how Hungarian law would be considered in Slovakia . 48 SLOVAKIA (78) E.g., note willingness of Fimini (Ministry of Finance) and Nejvyssi ucetni kontrolni urad (NUKU) to postpone indefinitely closing of school in exchange for opening of realka in Bardejov, or to substitute a closing of a school in Bohemia or Moravia-Msano 104.048-1938 Odbor ill Oddeleni 2 of 1 July 1938-Carton 1297-SUA. (79) Msano , 2637-1934 Pres . Odd . Studijni, 20 April 1934 , SUA , Carton 1445. (80) Okresny archiv, Prievidza , Prievidza gymnasium collection, 605-1934 and 214-1936 (Carton 3) . (81) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland & Czechoslovakia, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. (82) This contradicts Zinner's assertions in Communist Strategy, p. 12 . (83) Ivan Derer, Ceskoslovenskci otcizka, Prague: Orbis , 1935, p. 38. (84) Ibid . (85) R. W. Seton-Watson, "Introduction . Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Problem ," in Slovakia Then and Now, p . 62. (86) James S. Coleman, " Introduction : Education and Political Development " in Education and Political Development discusses the tension that develops with lack of political mobility for the second generation. Thomson 's assertion that the Czechoslovak government adhered to a policy of returning Czech officeholders to the historic lands as soon as possible does not hold up . S. Harrison Thomson , Czechoslovakia in European History , Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1953, p . 334. (87) See page 184. (88) See Matej, Kapitoly, 2nd ed., p . 86. (89) Zprciva o tinnosti Spolku pre postavenie a vydriovanie Universitnej koleje a akademickej menzi, 1930, p . 6. (Speech at Bratislava.) (90) Kopac, Dejiny ~kolstvi, I, p . 11. (91) It has been suggested that the Czechs erred in Slovakia after 1918 by trying to transform before forming a nation . See Jan Hajda, " The Role of the Intelligentsia in the Developme nt of the Czechoslovak Society,'' in The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture ed. by Miroslav Rechcigl , The Hague: Mouton , 1964, pp . 307-312.  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 Intelligentsia, 1918-1938 Description An account of the resource Owen V. Johnson Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 25-48 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Johnson, Owen V. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/276651af8e54a7db0a911f26f960cb00.pdf 9c03d1d299698b8baccc6bb0fb35cc54 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 49 . ' The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness DAVID P . DANIEL The Pennsylvania State University - Erie For many of the descendants of Slovak immigrants to the United States , the history of the Reformation in Slovakia and its impact upon the emergence of an ethnic self-consciousness among these people is an unknown aspect of their Slovak heritage. This is not surprising for the cultural significance of the Reformation for the Slovaks has not been examined extensively in western histories of the Reformation Era of East Central Europe, Czechoslovakia, Hungary , or of the Slovak people . (1) Czech historians usually do little more than assert that the Reformation fostered or reinforced, especially by the continuing use of the Kralice Bible by Slovak Lutherans, the cultural and linguistic ties between the Czechs and the Slovaks . Hungarian scholars , on the other hand, seldom differentiate between the Reformation in Slovakia and its course the remaining counties of Hungary. Even many Slovak scholars, especially those of the Catholic tradition , quickly pass over the Reformation Era and its significance for the Slovaks. At the same time, a growing number of European and American scholars has recognized that the Reformation was one of the major milestones in the development of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness.(2) In their attempts to unravel the complexities of Slovak history, they have sought to explain why, during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries , many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were products of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia. Unfortunately , few of their findings have found their way into the literature available to the English-reading public. Moreover , most of these studies have focused primarily upon the language and literature of the Slovaks and have not considered to any great extent the non-literary aspects of ethnicity and ethnic self-consciousness. Certainly the study of ethnicity and of cultural history does require an extensive examination of the language and literature of a particular people . Literature, in the broadest sense of that word, encapsulates the language , manners , mores, and other peculiarities of the culture of any people. On the other hand, it must also be recognized that a people 's •in �50 SLOVAKIA awareness of its own particular identity vis-a-vis other groups does not arise solely from the fact that it employs a distinct language. A common history, a sense of common destiny, and access to institutions, however primitive they might be, wherein a people can give expression to their own conceptions of themselves and determine their own future, are also necessary for the development and preservation of an ethnic selfconsciousness . In this light, the Reformation of the sixteenth century must be considered as one of the major forces contributing to the emergence of an ethnic, though not a political, self-consciousness among the Slovaks. SOME GENERAL FEATURES OF THE REFORMATION IN SLOVAKIA Before turning to the question of how the Reformation contributed to the growth of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness, it might be helpful to review , at least in some general outlines, the major features of the Reformation in Slovakia.(3) As elsewhere in Europe, the Reformation in Slovakia was rooted in long lasting conflicts within Hungary. The extra-imperial nature of the Sacred Crown of Hungary, the ardent nationalism of the Magyars , the conflict between the Habsburgs and the Zapolyas for the throne of Hungary, the multiplicity of ethnic groups with their inter-ethnic rivalries, the proximity of the Turks, and the complex political relationships between the various segments of the population and between all of them and the kings of Hungary created a chaotic situation within Hungary which enabled the Reformation to spread quickly throughout East Central Europe in general and Slovakia in particular. This political and social situation was exacerbated, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, by the failure of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to remedy some ma'{_1ifold abuses which were abhorrent to many. Simony, pluralism, absenteeism, feuds among the hierarchs, incessant demands for funds ; paris.hes and- even bishoprics remaining vacant for years or suffering under incompetent or miserably trained curates - all were being criticized with increasing regularity by both clergy and laymen. Since the hierarchy failed to act to cleanse the Church of the most egregious abuses in practice and theology or to stem the tide of moral laxity, many secular leaders and clerics in Slovakia early heeded Luther' s call for the reform of the life of the Church. Luther's teachings spread quickly into all regions of Slovakia but especially into the cities of central and eastern Slovakia which were �SLOVAKIA 51 predominantly German in population. Town after town, noble after noble, went over to the standard of reform. It would be erroneous to assume, as many have, that the laymen and clerics who supported the Reformation did so only out of base economic motives. and a desire for self-aggrandizement. While there were some who were notv eluctant to expropriate the endowments of the Church to enrich themselves , and this included some who remained Catholics , the bulk of the evidence which is available indicates that a great number of magistrates and magnates were conscientiously and legitimately concerned with the quality of pastoral service being provided to them and to those dependent upon them. They were seeking to purify the Church of its most egregious abuses and staunchly defended their rights to encourage the free preaching of the Gospel in their territories and to oversee the collection and distribution of funds for the charitable activities of the Church. These individuals frequently aided the evangelical cause with both money and political support. Many laymen made substantial grants to enable students and pastors from Slovakia to study Lutheran theology abroad or to establish local academies , staffed by reformist rectors and teachers, in the cities and throughout the countryside of Slovakia. This active supervision of the local congregations by the nobles and city councils was possible not only because of the impotency of the hierarchy after 1526 but also because of the provisions of the charters of privileges to the cities and of the patents of nobility which granted to these laymen substantial rights and prerogatives in the supervision of the churches and their resources . (4) So it was that the Lutheran Reformation spread quickly into and throughout Slovakia. Merchants traveling to Germany returned with copies of Luther's writings after 1518 while, beginning in 1522 with the matriculation of George Baumhenckel from Banska Bystrica , an ever increasing stream of students left Slovakia to study at the University of Wittenberg.(5) By 1525 reformist doctrines were known and accepted in Banska Bystrica, Bardejov , Levoca, and in many of the smaller towns and villages of Slovakia. Despite attempts to limit the spread of Lutheranism by the passage of anti-heretic laws by the Hungarian Diets of 1523 and 1525 , the Reformation continued to spread. The defeat of the Hungarian forces by the Turks at Mohacs in 1526, which resulted in the death of King Lous II, the Cardinal Primate of Hungary, several bishops and high nobles , and scores of parish priests and lower nobles, led to a prolonged struggle over the throne of Hungary between Ferdinand I and John Zapolya , the latter supporter by the lesser Magyar nobles . This accentuated the difficulties within Hungary as a �52 SLOVAKIA whole and made it possible for the Reformation to spread throughout Slovakia without meeting any really effective resistance . (6) Because of this leadership vacuum in both Church and State during the early years of the Reformation, the Lutheran movement in Slovakia achieved its successes with a minimum of conflict, a development which is quite remarkable in comparison to what transpired in the rest of Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century. The Lutheran leaders were able to work within and utilize the structures and institutions of the Catholic Church as they moved to fill the vacuum in ecclesiastical leadership at the local and regional levels. Lutheran pastors were called as preachers to serve the congregations in the cities and the countryside and gradually became a majority within the various seniorats or pastoral conferences . By the middle of the sixteenth century, most of the seniorats in Slovakia were comprised of and headed by Lutherans. It is also interesting to note that the particular lization and factionalization which characterized the northern and western European Reformation by 1520 did not emerge in Slovakia until the middle of the century, after the evangelical reform movement was well established. After 1550, however, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to recover its strength and, especially after the Council of Trent, inaugurated measures designed to regain that which had been lost through weakness and neglect. Aided by Emperor Ferdinand I, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to apply against the Lutherans the laws of the Diet of 1548 proscribing Anabaptist and Sacramentarian theologies . Seeking to differentiate between their views and those of the other reformist groups in Hungary and to identify themselves clearly with the Augsburg Confession, which had originally been accepted by Emperor Charles V in 1530 and subsequently recognized by Ferdinand and by the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, the Lutherans of Slovakia began to define their faith and dociifine more precisely. Within a period of 21 years, the Lutherans of Slov~ia adopted three major regional confessions of faith, all of them based primarily upon the Augsburg Confession and its Apology and the writings of Philip Melanchthon . In 1548 the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia, Bardejov , Levoca, Presov, Kosice, and Sabinov, united in accepting the Confessio Pentapolitana prepared by Leonard Stoeckel, Rector of the so-called "Humanist" school in Bardejov. Ten years later, the seven mining cities of central Slovakia, Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica, Kremnica, Nova Bana, Pukanec, tubietova, and Banska Bela, accepted the Confessio Montana prepared by Ulrich Cubicularius. In 1569, the towns of Spis county followed the lead of the larger cities and accepted �SLOVAKIA 53 the Confessio Scepusia~a written by Cyriak Koch and Valentin Megander.(7) ' , The supporters of Helvetic theologies did not remain idle, for they too adopted several confessions of faith which defined their doctrine more precisely. As a result, by 1575 the reformation movements in Hungary had divided into separate and distinct groups. Despite a few exceptions , for there were a few Calvinist Slovaks and Lutheran Magyars, the Magyar protestants were adherents to Helvetic Reformed theology while the vast majority of Slovaks and Germans adhered to the faith expressed in their own and the Augsburg confessions. The confessionalism which established the hegemony of Lutheranism in Slovakia and the denominationalization of the Reformation by 1575 did not, however, bring to an end the theological problems of, or controversies among, the Lutherans , and between the Lutherans and the Reformed. After 1580 , the doctrines of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord' s Supper and the Communication of Attributes, that is that the attributes of Christ's divine nature were communicated to his human nature , continued to plague the Lutherans in Slovakia.(8) From the Synod of Kremnica in 1580 until the synods of Zilina (1610) and Spisske Podhradie (1614) , the Lutherans of Slovakia debated these theological points in connection with the question of whether or not they should accept the Formula of Concord (1577) , as contained in the Book of Concord (1580) , as normative for their own theology. Since the Lutherans of Slovakia had consistently defended their right to practice the Lutheran faith by citing its recognition in Germany by the Hungarian kings as emperors , many were reluctant to accept the Formula and Book of Concord as their doctrinal norm . They felt that they could be charged with having accepted a new , nonrecognized confession of faith. They preferred, therefore , to stand by their own confession of faith. There were also some who were reluctant to accept the Formula of Concord because they suspected that it was intended to displace the writings of Philip Melanchthon who had taught and befriended many of the clergy of Slovakia while they were studying at the University of Wittenberg . Many of these individuals tended to question the precise definitions and formulations of the doctrines of the Eucharist and the Communication of Attributes contained in the Formula and most of these individuals were of German ancestry. The defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy as defined by the Formula, therefore , attacked these moderates as Cryptocalvinists. Among the leading spokesmen for Lutheran orthodoxy were the Slovaks Elias Lani and Severinus Scultety who, together with the �54 SLOVAKIA nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic de Hradecz and the German Albert Grawer , urged the acceptance of the Book of Concord at the colloquies held in Csepreg (1591) and in Kezmarok (1595-1596), and at many of the synods held regularly by the various regional pastoral conferences throughout eastern Slovakia. (9) The debate over the acceptance of the Book of Concord might have been even more prolonged had not the political situation changed drastically. In 1592 the truce between the Habsburgs and the Turks was shattered and the Fifteen Years' War ensued. During the course of this struggle, the Catholic hierarchy tried to confiscate the churches of the Lutherans in several cities in Slovakia while, in 1604, Matthias II attempted to extend royal authority by repudiating the rights of the nobles and the cities to discuss matters pertaining to religion in the Diet of Hungary. As in the first days of the Reformation, the lay leaders came to the aid of the Protestant groups. The Reformed magnate, Stephen Bocskay of Transylvania, took up arms against the Habsburgs and, after gaining control of royal Hungary (Slovakia), forced Matthias to repudiate as unconstitutional the decree of 1604 and to accept the Peace of Vienna of 1606 which established the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to exist in Hungary much as the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 had sanctioned Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.(10) The terms of the Peace of Vienna were further refined and defined by the decisions of the Diet of 1608 which not only clearly sanctioned the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to practice their own faith but also to establish their own independent ecclesiastical institutions . Under the sponsorship of the Palatine (Chancellor) of Hungary, the Lutheran magnate George Thurzo, representatives of the Lutherans in the counties of western Slovakia met in Zilina on March 27-30, 1610 and created three superintendencies to administer the Lutheran congregations .(11) The Synod also established the rules governing the administrative and other activities of the superintendents and accepted the Formula of Concord and the Book of Concord as the norm and guide for Lutheran doctrine. Already accepted py the Lutherans in Gerner county in 1604, and in Turiec county in 1608 ~t the Synod of Turciansky Sviity Martin,(12) the Book of Concord was also accepted by the eastern cities of Spis and Saris counties in January of 1614 at the Synod of Spisske Podhradie. (13) It is important to note that the organizations established by the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, as well as those of the other regions of Slovakia which had been or would be confirmed by the Palatine, resulted in a diminution of lay influence in the ecclesiastical �SLOVAKIA 55 organizations in favor of clerical authority and administration. This development was _contracy to trends elsewhere in Europe . To be sure, the local congregations s\ill had lay patrons or defenders but the superintendencies and districts were independent of direct lay supervision. This centralization of the regional administration of the Lutheran churches in the hands of the clergy while, at the same time, the superintendencies remained independent of each other, both helped and hindered the maintenance of Lutheranism in Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries . The lack of a single administrative unit for all the Lutherans in Slovakia made it difficult for them to resist effectively the combined forces of the Roman Catholic Church and the Habsburgs. On the other hand, since the leadership of the Lutheran movement was primarily in the hands of the clergy, it was able to survive the strong pressures exerted upon it by the state and the noble families who returned to the Catholic Church. Despite the vicissitudes of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the Lutherans continued to maintain their faith and practices despite greatly reduced numbers and stringent restrictions. Although Slovak Lutherans became and have remained a minority within the Slovak people, the Reformation remained indelibly etched upon the consciousness of the Slovaks. As F. G. Heymann noted: Among the Slovak gentry and intellegentsia, Lutheranism maintained a foothold, and its adherents remained one of the most active, culturally productive and nationally conscious elements of the Slovak people in the period down to the late eighteenth century .(14) Indeed, many of the leaders of the national revival of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries in Slovakia, as well as in Bohemia and Hungary, were raised in Lutheran homes and parsonages and were imbued with the evangelical heritage. Jan Kollar, I.:udovit Stur, Jozef Hurban, Michal Miloslav Hodza, Karol Kuzmany , and many others, were either Lutheran clergymen or teachers, or the sons of Lutheran pastors and teachers.(15) What explains this tenacity of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia and its impact upon the development of Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness? In what way did the Lutheran Reformation aid in the development of the ethnic awareness of the Slovaks? Although many explanations can be proferred, it appears that the Reformation contributed to the growth of a Slovak ethnic self-awareness and a Slovak �56 SLOVAKIA culture in at least three ways. The Reformation provided an opportunity for Slovaks to assume leadership roles in the Lutheran Church in Slovakia as administrators and theologians. The Lutheran movement established evangelical schools throughout Slovakia which provided Slovaks with an opportunity to obtain more than a rudimentary education. Finally, the liturgical, devotional, and theological works produced by Slovak Lutherans enabled them to maintain their peculiar identity vis-a-vis both the Magyars and the Germans. SLOVAKS AS LEADERS OF LUTHERANISM IN SLOVAKIA During the early years of the Reformation in Slovakia, the first to adhere to the teachings of Luther were the Germans of the cities of central and eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks were drawn to Lutheranism slowly but steadily, following the lead of the German population and of the magnates and nobles. However, by the last third of the sixteenth century, Slovaks had become the majority in the Lutheran movement and Slovak clerics began to emerge as leaders in the administration of the Lutheran congregations and seniorats and as influential theologians. It was during the theological controversies over the acceptance of the Formula and Book of Concord that Slovak clergy emerged as the defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy in Slovakia. Elias Lani, Severin Skultety and the nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic were unswerving in their advocacy of the Book of Concord at the synods and colloquies held during the last decade of the sixteenth century. It is interesting to note that the Book of Concord was accepted first in those seniorats and districts in which Slovaks were in the majority while the cities of the central montana district and of Spis and Saris counties where German clergy were in the majority, the Book of Concord was accepted only after the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, and even then, only at the urging of the Thurzos and with some reluctance . While the reasons for the Slovak acceptance of Lutheran orthodoxy are still difficult to determine with any certainty, there is evidence that one of the reasons was the influence of the Lutheran school at Straza, supported by Stancic, and others like it in Slovakia. Althq_ugh many Slovaks went to Wittenberg, there were others who received 'their theological education in Slovakia and Strafa was the foremost school among those providing instruction in theology in Slovakia. Stancic, the patron of the school, was no mere theological dilettante but a capable lay theologian cognizant of theological developments at home and in Germany and �SLOVAKIA 57 Switzerland.(16) His support for the Book of Concord and Lutheran orthodoxy permeated his shortlived school whose most illustrious graduate and teacher was Elias Lani.(17) Lani was on~ of th~ most persuasive and forceful leaders of Lutheranism in Slovakia dµring the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and must be considered one of the leading organizers and theologians of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia. While still in eastern Slovakia during the 1590s, Lani participated in the colloquies held at Csepreg and Kezmarok and, during the disputes with Sebastian Ambrosius or Lam and other Cryptocalvinists over adiaphora or nonessential theological matters, such as the use of pictures in churches, Lani wrote several defenses of the orthodox Lutheran position upholding Christian liberty.(18) He subsequently moved to Mosovce where, in 1598, he was elected Senior of the pastoral conferences in Turiec county and there gained the acceptance of the Formula of Concord and of rules governing the life of the clergy of the conference. Shortly after the Synod of Turciansky Svaty Martin of March 1608 he was called to serve as the Pastor at Vel'ka Bytca, the residence of George Thurzo and there served the Palatine as pastor and advisor. Elected Senior of the Upper Trencin Seniorat in January 1609 he was instrumental in assisting Thurzo in organizing the Synod of Zilina and his influence can be clearly seen in the deliberations and decisions of the Synod.(19) While Lani, who died in 1618, was the most notable of the Slovak theologians of the Reformation Era, he was certainly not the only Slovak to attain a position of leadership within the Church. Severin Skultety was a lector in Bardejov, a teacher at Presov, and the Senior of the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia from 1593 until his death in 1600. He , too, was an associate of Stancic and a supporter of the Book of Concord. He began a history of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia and, along with other original works, published in Bardejov in 1581 a translation into Slovak of Luther's Small Catechism. (20) Other theologians of significance include Jan Pruno, who published a SlovakLatin edition of the Small Catechism in Hlohovec c. 1585, and also Leonard Mokosin, Senior in Liptov, who authored an epic poem based upon the books of the Old Testament. Slovaks, such as Daniel Pribis, Stefan Pilarik , and Jakub Jakubei, the intellectual presager of Jan Kollar, continued to make important contributions to the theological development of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia during the seventeenth century. Although most of the works of these theologians were written in Latin and were heavily influenced by the Lutheran theologians of Germany, it must be recognized that the theological �58 SLOVAKIA activity of Slovaks enabled Lutheranism in Slovakia to become more than merely a German religion. Slovaks were also active in the administration of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia, especially in the counties of western Slovakia. At the Synod of Zilina, the three superintendents elected by the nobles, clergy, and representatives of some of the towns, were the Slovaks Lani, Samuel Melikus, and Isaak Abrahamides Hrochotius or Hrochotsky, to whom the two German and the Magyar inspectors were responsible.(21) They were followed by a long line of Slovak superintendents who administered the various districts or superintendencies of the Lutherans in Slovakia. Of the seven major superintendencies, Germans predominated only in the one for the mining cities of central Slovakia and in the two in Spis and Saris counties for the five royal free cities and for the 24 Spis cities. The rest were largely Slovak and normally headed by Slovak superintendents. The Slovak influence in the administration of the Lutheran Church can be even more clearly appreciated when it is recognized that the majority of the some 800-900 Lutheran congregations in Slovakia were composed of Slovaks and had pastors of the same background. Even in the towns where the German population predominated, Slovaks had their own congregations and pastors who ministered to their specific needs, preaching to and teaching the members of these congregations in their own language. By preaching and teaching in the vernacular, the Slovak Lutheran clergymen perpetuated the use of Slovak and fostered the awareness of the Slovaks as a particular and distinct ethnic group within the Hungarian kingdom. As theologians and administrators the Slovak clergy guided and enriched the life of Slovak Lutherans and afforded them an opportunity to express their own faith in a language comprehensible to them. At the same time, the availability of positions as clerics in the Lutheran church made it possible for Slovak individuals to achieve positions of prominence and leadership in their communities and aided in the creation of a Slovak intelligentsia. \ LUTHERANISM, EDUCATION, AND SLOVAK ETHNICITY Among the institutions which helped to spread the Lutheran Reformation throughout Slovakia and which, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, perpetuated its heritage, the evangelical schools of Slovakia were especially important. Lutherans throughout �SLOVAKIA 59 Europe emphasized popular education, and evangelical schools were established and supported by Lutheran communities. According to Johann Rezik, there were four types of schools which emerged in Slovakia during the Reformation Era: the Scholae Magnatum et Nob ilium; the Scholae Civitatenses; the Scholae Oppidane ; and the Scholae Pagenses ~(22) Th~se city, town and village schools, supported by the local authorities or by nobles, did not differ so much in their curricula as in the scope of their programs, the character of their patrons, and in the size and composition of their student bodies . The most important were the city Latin schools, especially those of the larger free cities, which were often endowed by a magnate in addition to receiving regular financial support from the magistrates of the cities.(23) Under lay control, but usually directed by a rector who had received some theological training, the municipal Latin schools became the centers of reformist teaching and continued the humanist pedagogical tradition in Slovakia. Although many would close because of financial difficulties or were taken over by Roman Catholics during the turmoil of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the schools of Slovakia attained a great repute throughout Hungary and were recognized for their academic excellence in both the German states and in Poland. The most significant of the early evangelical schools were located in Kezmarok, Presov, Banska Bystrica, Levoca, and Bardejov.(24) Under the rectorate of Leonard Stoeckel (d. 1560) a protege and friend of Melanchthon, Bardejov was considered the premier educational institution in Slovakia and attracted the sons of magnates and nobles as well as of the citizens of the cities. Stoeckel prepared the Leges Scholae Bartphensis in 1540 which combined the classic humanist pedagogical concerns with Lutheran theology .(25) Borrowing heavily but not slavishly from the German humanists, such as John Agricola, Herman Talechi and Philip Melanchthon, Stoeckel constructed a curriculum which emphasized the study of Latin, the classical authors, and the Lutheran faith . Latin was the medium of instruction and each day began with readings from the Scriptures while regular attendance at church services was also required. The students also put on plays, with heavy doctrinal content, for the community and, under the direction of a cantor, sang at regular and special services in the town church. Although other school orders, such as those for Banska Bystrica and Banska Stiavnica by Michael Pechov, and variations on Abraham Schremmel's ordinances for the Strasbourg schools were also used in Slovakia, the Leges of Stoeckel was the most influential. (26) His �60 SLOVAKIA teaching of the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession through the humanist methodology became standard in the evangelical schools of Slovakia. Not only were the instructors Lutheran, but the materials used for instruction also had a Lutheran perspective, for among the textbooks used were the Scriptures, Luther's Small Catechism, Melanchthon's Examen Theologicum, Loci Communes, Rhetorica, Dialectica, and his Entymoligia.(27) It should also be noted that although most of the academic materials and instruction were in Latin, during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries some scholarly works in Slovak began to appear ; indeed, most of the works published in Slovak during the sixteenth century, even of a non-theological nature, were published by evangelicals who maintained numerous presses throughout Slovakia. While the curricula of these schools were not intended to meet the particular needs of Slovaks , but were to provide all students with a sound basic humanist education in preparation for further study at the major universities of Europe, especially Wittenberg, the schools did admit students of Slovak birth. In fact there were schools, such as those at Zilina, Turciansky Svaty Martin, Mosovce, Trencin, and Straza where the majority of students were Slovak.(28) The school at Straza became a center for the study of Lutheran theology for those Slovaks who were unable to go abroad to complete their education. All of these schools provided Slovaks with an opportunity to acquire more than just a rudimentary education and prepared them to assume positions of leadership and responsibility in Slovakia. The Slovak intelligentsia of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, as were their counterparts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, were greatly influenced by intellectual developments in Germany and they not only participated in the broader intellectual movements of Europe but adapted them to meet their own particular needs and the situation within Slovakia. The writings of Slovak Lutheran intellectuals and the curricula of the Lutheran schools of Slovakia helped to foster a greater appreciation of the heritage and culture of the Slovak people and it is not surprising that many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were educated in the Lutheran tradition in the evangelical schools of Sloyakia. \ LUTHERANISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE During the early stages of the Reformation in Slovakia there were no works published in Slovak. The clergy of Slovak ancestry, educated �SLOVAKIA 61 in the Latin schools, could read for themselves the works published in Latin and German and were usually content to utilize Latin, the lingua franca of the sixteenth · century, to express publicly their own theological views. But, as '\ more and more Slovaks adhered to the Lutheran faith with its emph~sis upon vernacular worship, the need for devotional and liturgical works in Slovak became increasingly obvious. Already in 1546 the first work published in Slovak, a devotional book by Vasek z Zalesin, was printed in Wittenberg while the first book in Slovak published in Slovakia was Scultety' s translation of the Small Catechism of Luther. (29) Of more immediate significance for the spread of Lutheranism among the Slovaks was the development of Slovak liturgies and hymnody. During the early years of the Reformation this need was met by borrowing materials produced by Czech Utraquists and the Unitas Fratrum, which could be used by Slovaks without any great difficulty, and by translations into Slovak of hymns by Luther and other reformers and of German orders of worship , especially the Wittenberg Order of 1533.(30) By 1560 there were reports of Lutheran services being held in Slovak not only in the almost completely Slovak areas of Liptov county and along the Vah but also in the mining cities of central Slovakia.(31) In 1580 the Synod of Trencin approved its own church order, the Canones rituum sacrorum Trenchini, which established in 27 articles the rules governing the liturgical life of the Lutherans in the region along the Vah river.(32) The use of Slovak in worship was also encouraged by the appearance of the Bohemian Agenda of 1581. This agenda was used as a guide in the preparation of the Bystrica Agenda, in manuscript form, in 1585. Revised in 1595 and again in 1608, the Bystrica Agenda was approved in 1613 by the Lutheran superintendents of western Slovakia who, following the directions of the Synod of Zilina, were to establish a standard for the liturgical practices of the Slovak congregations under their jurisdiction. (33) But these agendas and church orders, which aided in the standardization of liturgical language and practice among the Lutheran congregations of Slovakia, could not meet all of the worship and devotional needs of the Slovak population since literary Slovak had not yet been codified . These needs were met by the appearance of a new Czech translation of the Bible and by the compilation of an hymnbook by George Tranovsky. These works provided the Slovaks with a vernacular devotional literature in kralicina Czech which was adopted and adapted for use as the literary language of the Slovak Lutherans until the 19th century. �62 SLOVAKIA Since the Germans of Slovakia generally utilized the Bible translation of Luther it was the Slovaks who most acutely felt the need for a vernacular Bible. Early in the Reformation Era they relied on the old Slavic version of Sts. Cyril and Methodius or on the Venetian or Nuremberg Czech translations which had found their way into Slovakia.(34) However, the Kralice Bible translation proved to be the most acceptable of the Czech translations and became the standard one used by the Slovak Lutherans, remaining in general use even into the twentieth century. The Kralice Bible, published in six volumes from 1579-1593, was the work of a translation committee under the chairmanship of a Moravian Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum. John Zerotin of Moravia opened his castle to them and helped to underwrite the expenses involved in the printing of the translation.(35) George Thurzo, a close friend of Zerotin, obtained copies of the work and encouraged its use by the Slovak Lutherans in his lands who did appropriate it for both public and private devotions.(36) Throughout Hungary and Slovakia meanwhile, the use of hymns sung by the congregation had become quite common early in the Reformation. The earliest hymns used by the Slovaks were translations of the Psalms or of the medieval "gradual" or "sequence" hymns and were usually prepared in manuscript form.(37) Many of Luther's hymns and those of his co-workers were translated while Czech evangelical or Hussite hymns were borrowed intact or rephrased. Among the early Slovak hymn writers were George Banovsky, Jan Pruno, Elias Lani, and Daniel Pribis. Pribis, for example , supplemented his Catechism of 1634 with a collection of 113 hymns in Slovak which included seven of his own and eight by Lani.(38) The most noted writer and compiler of hymns for the Slovak Lutherans was Tranovsky. Born in 1591 in Tesin (eastern Silesia) , Tranovsky was brought up in the Lutheran faith and in April 1607 entered the University of Wittenberg. After a short stay in Prague he traveled to eastern Moravia but , after the outbreak of the Thirty Years ' War in 1618 Tranovsky was forced to flee to Slovakia where, on May 29, 1637, he died while serving as the pastor of the Slovak Lutheran congregation at Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas.(39) His Cithara Sanctorum, or Harp of the Saints , was a devotional aitd liturgical guide for individuals as well as a hymnbook for congregations ; Seven hundred pages long, the first edition of the work was -divided into four major sections , each containing hymns for the various seasons , festivals , and services of the ecclesiastical year, along with a section of hymns on specific doctrines arranged according to the structure of the Small Catechism of Luther. The hymnal proper was followed by a series of �SLOVAKIA 63 \ indices , a collection of prayers , and an indication of the preferred liturgy to be used. No other book , except for the Kralice Bible, had such a great significance for the Slovak Lutherans. It can be said that the Cithara Sanctorum , or " Tranoscius " as it became popularly known , was the Slovak expression , in song and verse , of the spirit and content of the Lutheran Reformation and became the focus of Slovak Lutheran devotional life . Both Jan Kollar and P. J . Safarik emphasized the cultural significance of the "Tranoscius" and openly acknowledged their own indebtedness to Tranovsky.(40) But if the Kralice Bible and the ''Tranoscius '' were the epitome of Slovak Lutheran devotional and cultural expressions they were not the only influences upon the development of Slovak literature. Slovak postilla or sermon collections were also produced late in the sixteenth century while Nikodem Sartorius of Zvolen prepared the first Slovak commentary on the Bible.(41) Prayer books and religious poetry collections also became very popular. While it would certainly be an overstatement to claim that the heritage of Reformation Lutheranism was the only or even the most notable influence upon the development of a Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness , it would be equally erroneous not to recognize that the Reformation and the Lutheran heritage did help to foster such a selfconsciousness . As for other peoples elsewhere in Europe, the Lutheran Reformation accentuated the linguistic and ethnic peculiarities of the Slovaks and , as the Slovak Lutherans continued to practice their faith and worship in their own langauge and to guide the fortunes of their own church, they kept alive, in their religious life and experiences, their own ethno-linguistic individuality and identity. It is not surprising then, that from the Lutheran tradition came many of those leaders of the national revival who, while they examined and treasured their past, also sought to mold the destiny of their people and to make them into a modern nation. FOOTNOTES David P . Daniel , The Historiograp hy of the R eformation in Slo vakia (St . Louis, Mo.: 1977), 4. (1) (2) The most significant recent work on the history of the Slovaks and their ethnic selfconsciousness is the three volume study of Ludwig von Gogolak, B eitriige zur Geschichte des slowak ischen Volk es (Munich : 1963-1972 ). Volume I, Die N ationswerdung de r Slowaken und die Anfiinge der tschechoslowakischen Frag e, 1526-1790 is an exce llent examination of the relationship of the Reformation to Slovak ethnicity. An earlier study of importance is T. J . G. Locher, Die nationale Differe nzierung und �64 SLOVAKIA lntegrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Haarlem: 1931) . (3) For a more detailed survey of the Reformation Era in Slovakia in English see David P. Daniel , "Highlights of the Lutheran Reformation in Slovakia," Concordia Theological Quarterly 42 :1 (1978), 21-34. (4) Gustav Hammann, " Magister Nicolaus von Sabinov : Ein Beitrag uber den Humanismus und die fruehe Reformation in der Slowakei," Zeitschrift fu er Ostforschung 16 (1967), 25-40 . (5) Johann Borbis, Die euangelisch-lutherische Kirche Ungarns (Noerdlingen: 1864), 29-30; J . P. Tomasik, Andenken an die 300-jahrige Jubelfeier der euangelischen Gemeine in der k. Freistadt Leutschau (Leutschau : 1844) , 17-18. (6)Branislav Varsik, "K pociatkom Reformacie na Slovensku ," Historica Slouaca I/II (1940-41), 304-335. (7) Viktor Bruckner (ed .), Gedenkbuch anlasslich der 400-jahrigen Jahreswende der Confessio Augustana (Leipzig : 1930) , 3-67 . (8) Daniel , "Highlights," 29-30. (9) Jan Kvacala , Dejiny Reformacie na Slo ue nsku (Lipt . Sv. Mikulas: 1935), 131-136. Kvacala's book is the standard history of the Slovak Reformation in Slovak. For other works on the Reformation in Slovakia see Jarold K. Zeman , The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) (Ann Arbor: 1977), and also Daniel, The Historiography of the Reformation in Slovakia. (10) An excellent study of the circumstances surrounding Bocskay 's Rebellion and the Peace of Vienna is Geza Lencz, Der Au/stand Bocskays und der Wiener Friede. Eine kirchenhistorische Studie (Debreczen: 1917) . (11) Borbis , 124-126 ; Kvacala , 147-148. (12) Kvacala, 132; Otto Skrovina, Z historie turc':ianskeho euanj. se niorcitu ajeho sborou (Tore . Sv. Martin : 1929), 9-10 . (13) For the acts of the Synod of Zilina and of Spisske Podhradie see Johannes Szeberinyi, Corpus maxime memorabilium synodorum euangelicarum Augustanae Confessionis in Hungaria cum praefatione Historica in Singulas (Pesthini: 1848) , 1542 . (14) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland and Czechoslovakia (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1966) , 63. (15) See Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary. Slavs and Panslauism (New York : 1906) for the earliest study of the Slovaks and the Slovak national revival in English. (16) Stancic translated into Hungarian several works of the noted orthodox Lutheran theologian , Martin Chernnitz . He also wrote an \ account of the colloquy held at Csepreg : Historia Colloquii Chepregiensis, De Coen~ Domini _. . . (Bartphae: 1591) . (17) For an examination of the life of Lani see Jan Mocko, Elicis Lcini, prvy superintendent cirkue euanj. augs. uyzn. u Uhrach ajeho doba (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1902). His theological significance is treated by Jan Kvacala, " El. Lani a vit'azstvo lutherskeho smeru v evanjelickej cirkvi na Slovensku," Viera a ueda I (1930), 153-165 . (18) Elias Lani, Scutum Libertatis Christianae in usu Ceremoniarum nominatim autem imaginum: oppositum Disceptationi D. Thomae Fabricii Tholnensis, Ministri Patakini, de Christianorum imaginibus (Bartphae : 1595); and also Defen sio libertatis �SLOVAKIA 65 Christianae in vsv imaginum Historico, quam pro asserendo scvto svo, adversvs Exarmationem Thomae Fabricij (Bartphae : n.d.). (19) Juraj Janoska, 0 Synode Zilinskej (Lipt. Sv. Mikulas: 1910) and E. A. Doleschall, "Die Silleiner Synode," Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft fuer die Geschichte des Protestantismus in Oesterreic_h 4 (1883), 96-104. (20) Gogolak, I, 43. (21) Borbis, 47 . (22) Kvacala, Dejiny, 101-102. (23) Peter Vajcik, Skolstvo, §tudijne a §kolske poriadky na Slovensku v 16. storoc5i (Bratislava: 1955). 27, 57; Johann Liptak and Roland Steinacker, Deutsche ev. Schulwesen in der Slowakei (Stuttgart: 1957) , 5-15; Johann Liptak, Geschichte des evangelischenLyzeumsA .B . inKiismark (Kiismark: 1933) , 17-18, 26-29. (24) Vajcik, 2-13 . (25) Johann Samuel Klein, Nachrichten von den Lebensumstiinden und Schriften evangelischer Prediger in alien Gemeine des Koenigreichs Ungarn I (Leipzig: 1787), 332-341; E. Szelenyi, " Ev. Pedagoes," in V. Bruckner (Ed.), Gedenkbuch, 439-440. (26) Vajcik, 81 ff. and 109 ff. (27) Ibid . , 110-112; 120-123. See also Janos Breznyik , A Selmecbcinyai cigost. hitv. evang. egyhaz es lyceum tortenete (Selmecbanyan: 1883) , 350-364. (28) Gogolak, I, 45-46. (29) Ibid., 44 . (30) Jan Petrik, Dejiny slovenskych evanjelickych a. v. sluiieb Bozich (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1946) , 54-62, 99-103. (31) Gogolak, I, 46-47. (32) Petrik, 65-91. (33) Ibid., 103-116. (34) Edmund DeSchweinitz, History of the Church Known as the Unitas Fratrum (Bethlehem, Pa.: 1901), 410. (35) Ibid., 423-424; Mirjam Bohatcova, " Bible Kralicka, jeji vznik a vyznam," in Vlasta Fialova, Kralice (Brno: 1959), 51-61. (36) Gogolak, I, 59. (37) Mihaly Bucsay, Geschichte des Protestantismus in Ungarn (Stuttgart: 1959), 66-67 , 76 . (38) Jaroslav Vajda, "A History of the Cithara Sanctorum (Tranoscius) (unpulished B.D. thesis, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, 1944) , 13 f. (39) For the life and significance of Tranovsky see Jan P . Durovic, Zivotopis Juraja Tranovskeho (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1942) , Jan Mocko, Zivot Jura Tranovskeho (Senice : 1891), and Walter Stoekl, " Georg Tranoscius, der groesste lutherische Liederdichter der Slowakei,' ' in Desider Alexy (ed .), Roland Steinacker: Ein Leben fuer Kirche und Volk : Festschrift zur 90 Geburtstag von R . Steinacker (Stuttgart: 1960) , 54-78 . (40) Gogolak, I, 84 . (41) Ibid . , 61-65. � SLOVAKIA 49 . ' The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness DAVID P . DANIEL The Pennsylvania State University - Erie For many of the descendants of Slovak immigrants to the United States , the history of the Reformation in Slovakia and its impact upon the emergence of an ethnic self-consciousness among these people is an unknown aspect of their Slovak heritage. This is not surprising for the cultural significance of the Reformation for the Slovaks has not been examined extensively in western histories of the Reformation Era of East Central Europe, Czechoslovakia, Hungary , or of the Slovak people . (1) Czech historians usually do little more than assert that the Reformation fostered or reinforced, especially by the continuing use of the Kralice Bible by Slovak Lutherans, the cultural and linguistic ties between the Czechs and the Slovaks . Hungarian scholars , on the other hand, seldom differentiate between the Reformation in Slovakia and its course the remaining counties of Hungary. Even many Slovak scholars, especially those of the Catholic tradition , quickly pass over the Reformation Era and its significance for the Slovaks. At the same time, a growing number of European and American scholars has recognized that the Reformation was one of the major milestones in the development of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness.(2) In their attempts to unravel the complexities of Slovak history, they have sought to explain why, during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries , many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were products of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia. Unfortunately , few of their findings have found their way into the literature available to the English-reading public. Moreover , most of these studies have focused primarily upon the language and literature of the Slovaks and have not considered to any great extent the non-literary aspects of ethnicity and ethnic self-consciousness. Certainly the study of ethnicity and of cultural history does require an extensive examination of the language and literature of a particular people . Literature, in the broadest sense of that word, encapsulates the language , manners , mores, and other peculiarities of the culture of any people. On the other hand, it must also be recognized that a people 's •in �50 SLOVAKIA awareness of its own particular identity vis-a-vis other groups does not arise solely from the fact that it employs a distinct language. A common history, a sense of common destiny, and access to institutions, however primitive they might be, wherein a people can give expression to their own conceptions of themselves and determine their own future, are also necessary for the development and preservation of an ethnic selfconsciousness . In this light, the Reformation of the sixteenth century must be considered as one of the major forces contributing to the emergence of an ethnic, though not a political, self-consciousness among the Slovaks. SOME GENERAL FEATURES OF THE REFORMATION IN SLOVAKIA Before turning to the question of how the Reformation contributed to the growth of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness, it might be helpful to review , at least in some general outlines, the major features of the Reformation in Slovakia.(3) As elsewhere in Europe, the Reformation in Slovakia was rooted in long lasting conflicts within Hungary. The extra-imperial nature of the Sacred Crown of Hungary, the ardent nationalism of the Magyars , the conflict between the Habsburgs and the Zapolyas for the throne of Hungary, the multiplicity of ethnic groups with their inter-ethnic rivalries, the proximity of the Turks, and the complex political relationships between the various segments of the population and between all of them and the kings of Hungary created a chaotic situation within Hungary which enabled the Reformation to spread quickly throughout East Central Europe in general and Slovakia in particular. This political and social situation was exacerbated, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, by the failure of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to remedy some ma'{_1ifold abuses which were abhorrent to many. Simony, pluralism, absenteeism, feuds among the hierarchs, incessant demands for funds ; paris.hes and- even bishoprics remaining vacant for years or suffering under incompetent or miserably trained curates - all were being criticized with increasing regularity by both clergy and laymen. Since the hierarchy failed to act to cleanse the Church of the most egregious abuses in practice and theology or to stem the tide of moral laxity, many secular leaders and clerics in Slovakia early heeded Luther' s call for the reform of the life of the Church. Luther's teachings spread quickly into all regions of Slovakia but especially into the cities of central and eastern Slovakia which were �SLOVAKIA 51 predominantly German in population. Town after town, noble after noble, went over to the standard of reform. It would be erroneous to assume, as many have, that the laymen and clerics who supported the Reformation did so only out of base economic motives. and a desire for self-aggrandizement. While there were some who were notv eluctant to expropriate the endowments of the Church to enrich themselves , and this included some who remained Catholics , the bulk of the evidence which is available indicates that a great number of magistrates and magnates were conscientiously and legitimately concerned with the quality of pastoral service being provided to them and to those dependent upon them. They were seeking to purify the Church of its most egregious abuses and staunchly defended their rights to encourage the free preaching of the Gospel in their territories and to oversee the collection and distribution of funds for the charitable activities of the Church. These individuals frequently aided the evangelical cause with both money and political support. Many laymen made substantial grants to enable students and pastors from Slovakia to study Lutheran theology abroad or to establish local academies , staffed by reformist rectors and teachers, in the cities and throughout the countryside of Slovakia. This active supervision of the local congregations by the nobles and city councils was possible not only because of the impotency of the hierarchy after 1526 but also because of the provisions of the charters of privileges to the cities and of the patents of nobility which granted to these laymen substantial rights and prerogatives in the supervision of the churches and their resources . (4) So it was that the Lutheran Reformation spread quickly into and throughout Slovakia. Merchants traveling to Germany returned with copies of Luther's writings after 1518 while, beginning in 1522 with the matriculation of George Baumhenckel from Banska Bystrica , an ever increasing stream of students left Slovakia to study at the University of Wittenberg.(5) By 1525 reformist doctrines were known and accepted in Banska Bystrica, Bardejov , Levoca, and in many of the smaller towns and villages of Slovakia. Despite attempts to limit the spread of Lutheranism by the passage of anti-heretic laws by the Hungarian Diets of 1523 and 1525 , the Reformation continued to spread. The defeat of the Hungarian forces by the Turks at Mohacs in 1526, which resulted in the death of King Lous II, the Cardinal Primate of Hungary, several bishops and high nobles , and scores of parish priests and lower nobles, led to a prolonged struggle over the throne of Hungary between Ferdinand I and John Zapolya , the latter supporter by the lesser Magyar nobles . This accentuated the difficulties within Hungary as a �52 SLOVAKIA whole and made it possible for the Reformation to spread throughout Slovakia without meeting any really effective resistance . (6) Because of this leadership vacuum in both Church and State during the early years of the Reformation, the Lutheran movement in Slovakia achieved its successes with a minimum of conflict, a development which is quite remarkable in comparison to what transpired in the rest of Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century. The Lutheran leaders were able to work within and utilize the structures and institutions of the Catholic Church as they moved to fill the vacuum in ecclesiastical leadership at the local and regional levels. Lutheran pastors were called as preachers to serve the congregations in the cities and the countryside and gradually became a majority within the various seniorats or pastoral conferences . By the middle of the sixteenth century, most of the seniorats in Slovakia were comprised of and headed by Lutherans. It is also interesting to note that the particular lization and factionalization which characterized the northern and western European Reformation by 1520 did not emerge in Slovakia until the middle of the century, after the evangelical reform movement was well established. After 1550, however, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to recover its strength and, especially after the Council of Trent, inaugurated measures designed to regain that which had been lost through weakness and neglect. Aided by Emperor Ferdinand I, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to apply against the Lutherans the laws of the Diet of 1548 proscribing Anabaptist and Sacramentarian theologies . Seeking to differentiate between their views and those of the other reformist groups in Hungary and to identify themselves clearly with the Augsburg Confession, which had originally been accepted by Emperor Charles V in 1530 and subsequently recognized by Ferdinand and by the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, the Lutherans of Slovakia began to define their faith and dociifine more precisely. Within a period of 21 years, the Lutherans of Slov~ia adopted three major regional confessions of faith, all of them based primarily upon the Augsburg Confession and its Apology and the writings of Philip Melanchthon . In 1548 the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia, Bardejov , Levoca, Presov, Kosice, and Sabinov, united in accepting the Confessio Pentapolitana prepared by Leonard Stoeckel, Rector of the so-called "Humanist" school in Bardejov. Ten years later, the seven mining cities of central Slovakia, Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica, Kremnica, Nova Bana, Pukanec, tubietova, and Banska Bela, accepted the Confessio Montana prepared by Ulrich Cubicularius. In 1569, the towns of Spis county followed the lead of the larger cities and accepted �SLOVAKIA 53 the Confessio Scepusia~a written by Cyriak Koch and Valentin Megander.(7) ' , The supporters of Helvetic theologies did not remain idle, for they too adopted several confessions of faith which defined their doctrine more precisely. As a result, by 1575 the reformation movements in Hungary had divided into separate and distinct groups. Despite a few exceptions , for there were a few Calvinist Slovaks and Lutheran Magyars, the Magyar protestants were adherents to Helvetic Reformed theology while the vast majority of Slovaks and Germans adhered to the faith expressed in their own and the Augsburg confessions. The confessionalism which established the hegemony of Lutheranism in Slovakia and the denominationalization of the Reformation by 1575 did not, however, bring to an end the theological problems of, or controversies among, the Lutherans , and between the Lutherans and the Reformed. After 1580 , the doctrines of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord' s Supper and the Communication of Attributes, that is that the attributes of Christ's divine nature were communicated to his human nature , continued to plague the Lutherans in Slovakia.(8) From the Synod of Kremnica in 1580 until the synods of Zilina (1610) and Spisske Podhradie (1614) , the Lutherans of Slovakia debated these theological points in connection with the question of whether or not they should accept the Formula of Concord (1577) , as contained in the Book of Concord (1580) , as normative for their own theology. Since the Lutherans of Slovakia had consistently defended their right to practice the Lutheran faith by citing its recognition in Germany by the Hungarian kings as emperors , many were reluctant to accept the Formula and Book of Concord as their doctrinal norm . They felt that they could be charged with having accepted a new , nonrecognized confession of faith. They preferred, therefore , to stand by their own confession of faith. There were also some who were reluctant to accept the Formula of Concord because they suspected that it was intended to displace the writings of Philip Melanchthon who had taught and befriended many of the clergy of Slovakia while they were studying at the University of Wittenberg . Many of these individuals tended to question the precise definitions and formulations of the doctrines of the Eucharist and the Communication of Attributes contained in the Formula and most of these individuals were of German ancestry. The defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy as defined by the Formula, therefore , attacked these moderates as Cryptocalvinists. Among the leading spokesmen for Lutheran orthodoxy were the Slovaks Elias Lani and Severinus Scultety who, together with the �54 SLOVAKIA nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic de Hradecz and the German Albert Grawer , urged the acceptance of the Book of Concord at the colloquies held in Csepreg (1591) and in Kezmarok (1595-1596), and at many of the synods held regularly by the various regional pastoral conferences throughout eastern Slovakia. (9) The debate over the acceptance of the Book of Concord might have been even more prolonged had not the political situation changed drastically. In 1592 the truce between the Habsburgs and the Turks was shattered and the Fifteen Years' War ensued. During the course of this struggle, the Catholic hierarchy tried to confiscate the churches of the Lutherans in several cities in Slovakia while, in 1604, Matthias II attempted to extend royal authority by repudiating the rights of the nobles and the cities to discuss matters pertaining to religion in the Diet of Hungary. As in the first days of the Reformation, the lay leaders came to the aid of the Protestant groups. The Reformed magnate, Stephen Bocskay of Transylvania, took up arms against the Habsburgs and, after gaining control of royal Hungary (Slovakia), forced Matthias to repudiate as unconstitutional the decree of 1604 and to accept the Peace of Vienna of 1606 which established the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to exist in Hungary much as the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 had sanctioned Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.(10) The terms of the Peace of Vienna were further refined and defined by the decisions of the Diet of 1608 which not only clearly sanctioned the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to practice their own faith but also to establish their own independent ecclesiastical institutions . Under the sponsorship of the Palatine (Chancellor) of Hungary, the Lutheran magnate George Thurzo, representatives of the Lutherans in the counties of western Slovakia met in Zilina on March 27-30, 1610 and created three superintendencies to administer the Lutheran congregations .(11) The Synod also established the rules governing the administrative and other activities of the superintendents and accepted the Formula of Concord and the Book of Concord as the norm and guide for Lutheran doctrine. Already accepted py the Lutherans in Gerner county in 1604, and in Turiec county in 1608 ~t the Synod of Turciansky Sviity Martin,(12) the Book of Concord was also accepted by the eastern cities of Spis and Saris counties in January of 1614 at the Synod of Spisske Podhradie. (13) It is important to note that the organizations established by the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, as well as those of the other regions of Slovakia which had been or would be confirmed by the Palatine, resulted in a diminution of lay influence in the ecclesiastical �SLOVAKIA 55 organizations in favor of clerical authority and administration. This development was _contracy to trends elsewhere in Europe . To be sure, the local congregations s\ill had lay patrons or defenders but the superintendencies and districts were independent of direct lay supervision. This centralization of the regional administration of the Lutheran churches in the hands of the clergy while, at the same time, the superintendencies remained independent of each other, both helped and hindered the maintenance of Lutheranism in Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries . The lack of a single administrative unit for all the Lutherans in Slovakia made it difficult for them to resist effectively the combined forces of the Roman Catholic Church and the Habsburgs. On the other hand, since the leadership of the Lutheran movement was primarily in the hands of the clergy, it was able to survive the strong pressures exerted upon it by the state and the noble families who returned to the Catholic Church. Despite the vicissitudes of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the Lutherans continued to maintain their faith and practices despite greatly reduced numbers and stringent restrictions. Although Slovak Lutherans became and have remained a minority within the Slovak people, the Reformation remained indelibly etched upon the consciousness of the Slovaks. As F. G. Heymann noted: Among the Slovak gentry and intellegentsia, Lutheranism maintained a foothold, and its adherents remained one of the most active, culturally productive and nationally conscious elements of the Slovak people in the period down to the late eighteenth century .(14) Indeed, many of the leaders of the national revival of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries in Slovakia, as well as in Bohemia and Hungary, were raised in Lutheran homes and parsonages and were imbued with the evangelical heritage. Jan Kollar, I.:udovit Stur, Jozef Hurban, Michal Miloslav Hodza, Karol Kuzmany , and many others, were either Lutheran clergymen or teachers, or the sons of Lutheran pastors and teachers.(15) What explains this tenacity of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia and its impact upon the development of Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness? In what way did the Lutheran Reformation aid in the development of the ethnic awareness of the Slovaks? Although many explanations can be proferred, it appears that the Reformation contributed to the growth of a Slovak ethnic self-awareness and a Slovak �56 SLOVAKIA culture in at least three ways. The Reformation provided an opportunity for Slovaks to assume leadership roles in the Lutheran Church in Slovakia as administrators and theologians. The Lutheran movement established evangelical schools throughout Slovakia which provided Slovaks with an opportunity to obtain more than a rudimentary education. Finally, the liturgical, devotional, and theological works produced by Slovak Lutherans enabled them to maintain their peculiar identity vis-a-vis both the Magyars and the Germans. SLOVAKS AS LEADERS OF LUTHERANISM IN SLOVAKIA During the early years of the Reformation in Slovakia, the first to adhere to the teachings of Luther were the Germans of the cities of central and eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks were drawn to Lutheranism slowly but steadily, following the lead of the German population and of the magnates and nobles. However, by the last third of the sixteenth century, Slovaks had become the majority in the Lutheran movement and Slovak clerics began to emerge as leaders in the administration of the Lutheran congregations and seniorats and as influential theologians. It was during the theological controversies over the acceptance of the Formula and Book of Concord that Slovak clergy emerged as the defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy in Slovakia. Elias Lani, Severin Skultety and the nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic were unswerving in their advocacy of the Book of Concord at the synods and colloquies held during the last decade of the sixteenth century. It is interesting to note that the Book of Concord was accepted first in those seniorats and districts in which Slovaks were in the majority while the cities of the central montana district and of Spis and Saris counties where German clergy were in the majority, the Book of Concord was accepted only after the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, and even then, only at the urging of the Thurzos and with some reluctance . While the reasons for the Slovak acceptance of Lutheran orthodoxy are still difficult to determine with any certainty, there is evidence that one of the reasons was the influence of the Lutheran school at Straza, supported by Stancic, and others like it in Slovakia. Althq_ugh many Slovaks went to Wittenberg, there were others who received 'their theological education in Slovakia and Strafa was the foremost school among those providing instruction in theology in Slovakia. Stancic, the patron of the school, was no mere theological dilettante but a capable lay theologian cognizant of theological developments at home and in Germany and �SLOVAKIA 57 Switzerland.(16) His support for the Book of Concord and Lutheran orthodoxy permeated his shortlived school whose most illustrious graduate and teacher was Elias Lani.(17) Lani was on~ of th~ most persuasive and forceful leaders of Lutheranism in Slovakia dµring the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and must be considered one of the leading organizers and theologians of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia. While still in eastern Slovakia during the 1590s, Lani participated in the colloquies held at Csepreg and Kezmarok and, during the disputes with Sebastian Ambrosius or Lam and other Cryptocalvinists over adiaphora or nonessential theological matters, such as the use of pictures in churches, Lani wrote several defenses of the orthodox Lutheran position upholding Christian liberty.(18) He subsequently moved to Mosovce where, in 1598, he was elected Senior of the pastoral conferences in Turiec county and there gained the acceptance of the Formula of Concord and of rules governing the life of the clergy of the conference. Shortly after the Synod of Turciansky Svaty Martin of March 1608 he was called to serve as the Pastor at Vel'ka Bytca, the residence of George Thurzo and there served the Palatine as pastor and advisor. Elected Senior of the Upper Trencin Seniorat in January 1609 he was instrumental in assisting Thurzo in organizing the Synod of Zilina and his influence can be clearly seen in the deliberations and decisions of the Synod.(19) While Lani, who died in 1618, was the most notable of the Slovak theologians of the Reformation Era, he was certainly not the only Slovak to attain a position of leadership within the Church. Severin Skultety was a lector in Bardejov, a teacher at Presov, and the Senior of the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia from 1593 until his death in 1600. He , too, was an associate of Stancic and a supporter of the Book of Concord. He began a history of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia and, along with other original works, published in Bardejov in 1581 a translation into Slovak of Luther's Small Catechism. (20) Other theologians of significance include Jan Pruno, who published a SlovakLatin edition of the Small Catechism in Hlohovec c. 1585, and also Leonard Mokosin, Senior in Liptov, who authored an epic poem based upon the books of the Old Testament. Slovaks, such as Daniel Pribis, Stefan Pilarik , and Jakub Jakubei, the intellectual presager of Jan Kollar, continued to make important contributions to the theological development of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia during the seventeenth century. Although most of the works of these theologians were written in Latin and were heavily influenced by the Lutheran theologians of Germany, it must be recognized that the theological �58 SLOVAKIA activity of Slovaks enabled Lutheranism in Slovakia to become more than merely a German religion. Slovaks were also active in the administration of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia, especially in the counties of western Slovakia. At the Synod of Zilina, the three superintendents elected by the nobles, clergy, and representatives of some of the towns, were the Slovaks Lani, Samuel Melikus, and Isaak Abrahamides Hrochotius or Hrochotsky, to whom the two German and the Magyar inspectors were responsible.(21) They were followed by a long line of Slovak superintendents who administered the various districts or superintendencies of the Lutherans in Slovakia. Of the seven major superintendencies, Germans predominated only in the one for the mining cities of central Slovakia and in the two in Spis and Saris counties for the five royal free cities and for the 24 Spis cities. The rest were largely Slovak and normally headed by Slovak superintendents. The Slovak influence in the administration of the Lutheran Church can be even more clearly appreciated when it is recognized that the majority of the some 800-900 Lutheran congregations in Slovakia were composed of Slovaks and had pastors of the same background. Even in the towns where the German population predominated, Slovaks had their own congregations and pastors who ministered to their specific needs, preaching to and teaching the members of these congregations in their own language. By preaching and teaching in the vernacular, the Slovak Lutheran clergymen perpetuated the use of Slovak and fostered the awareness of the Slovaks as a particular and distinct ethnic group within the Hungarian kingdom. As theologians and administrators the Slovak clergy guided and enriched the life of Slovak Lutherans and afforded them an opportunity to express their own faith in a language comprehensible to them. At the same time, the availability of positions as clerics in the Lutheran church made it possible for Slovak individuals to achieve positions of prominence and leadership in their communities and aided in the creation of a Slovak intelligentsia. \ LUTHERANISM, EDUCATION, AND SLOVAK ETHNICITY Among the institutions which helped to spread the Lutheran Reformation throughout Slovakia and which, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, perpetuated its heritage, the evangelical schools of Slovakia were especially important. Lutherans throughout �SLOVAKIA 59 Europe emphasized popular education, and evangelical schools were established and supported by Lutheran communities. According to Johann Rezik, there were four types of schools which emerged in Slovakia during the Reformation Era: the Scholae Magnatum et Nob ilium; the Scholae Civitatenses; the Scholae Oppidane ; and the Scholae Pagenses ~(22) Th~se city, town and village schools, supported by the local authorities or by nobles, did not differ so much in their curricula as in the scope of their programs, the character of their patrons, and in the size and composition of their student bodies . The most important were the city Latin schools, especially those of the larger free cities, which were often endowed by a magnate in addition to receiving regular financial support from the magistrates of the cities.(23) Under lay control, but usually directed by a rector who had received some theological training, the municipal Latin schools became the centers of reformist teaching and continued the humanist pedagogical tradition in Slovakia. Although many would close because of financial difficulties or were taken over by Roman Catholics during the turmoil of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the schools of Slovakia attained a great repute throughout Hungary and were recognized for their academic excellence in both the German states and in Poland. The most significant of the early evangelical schools were located in Kezmarok, Presov, Banska Bystrica, Levoca, and Bardejov.(24) Under the rectorate of Leonard Stoeckel (d. 1560) a protege and friend of Melanchthon, Bardejov was considered the premier educational institution in Slovakia and attracted the sons of magnates and nobles as well as of the citizens of the cities. Stoeckel prepared the Leges Scholae Bartphensis in 1540 which combined the classic humanist pedagogical concerns with Lutheran theology .(25) Borrowing heavily but not slavishly from the German humanists, such as John Agricola, Herman Talechi and Philip Melanchthon, Stoeckel constructed a curriculum which emphasized the study of Latin, the classical authors, and the Lutheran faith . Latin was the medium of instruction and each day began with readings from the Scriptures while regular attendance at church services was also required. The students also put on plays, with heavy doctrinal content, for the community and, under the direction of a cantor, sang at regular and special services in the town church. Although other school orders, such as those for Banska Bystrica and Banska Stiavnica by Michael Pechov, and variations on Abraham Schremmel's ordinances for the Strasbourg schools were also used in Slovakia, the Leges of Stoeckel was the most influential. (26) His �60 SLOVAKIA teaching of the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession through the humanist methodology became standard in the evangelical schools of Slovakia. Not only were the instructors Lutheran, but the materials used for instruction also had a Lutheran perspective, for among the textbooks used were the Scriptures, Luther's Small Catechism, Melanchthon's Examen Theologicum, Loci Communes, Rhetorica, Dialectica, and his Entymoligia.(27) It should also be noted that although most of the academic materials and instruction were in Latin, during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries some scholarly works in Slovak began to appear ; indeed, most of the works published in Slovak during the sixteenth century, even of a non-theological nature, were published by evangelicals who maintained numerous presses throughout Slovakia. While the curricula of these schools were not intended to meet the particular needs of Slovaks , but were to provide all students with a sound basic humanist education in preparation for further study at the major universities of Europe, especially Wittenberg, the schools did admit students of Slovak birth. In fact there were schools, such as those at Zilina, Turciansky Svaty Martin, Mosovce, Trencin, and Straza where the majority of students were Slovak.(28) The school at Straza became a center for the study of Lutheran theology for those Slovaks who were unable to go abroad to complete their education. All of these schools provided Slovaks with an opportunity to acquire more than just a rudimentary education and prepared them to assume positions of leadership and responsibility in Slovakia. The Slovak intelligentsia of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, as were their counterparts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, were greatly influenced by intellectual developments in Germany and they not only participated in the broader intellectual movements of Europe but adapted them to meet their own particular needs and the situation within Slovakia. The writings of Slovak Lutheran intellectuals and the curricula of the Lutheran schools of Slovakia helped to foster a greater appreciation of the heritage and culture of the Slovak people and it is not surprising that many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were educated in the Lutheran tradition in the evangelical schools of Sloyakia. \ LUTHERANISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE During the early stages of the Reformation in Slovakia there were no works published in Slovak. The clergy of Slovak ancestry, educated �SLOVAKIA 61 in the Latin schools, could read for themselves the works published in Latin and German and were usually content to utilize Latin, the lingua franca of the sixteenth · century, to express publicly their own theological views. But, as '\ more and more Slovaks adhered to the Lutheran faith with its emph~sis upon vernacular worship, the need for devotional and liturgical works in Slovak became increasingly obvious. Already in 1546 the first work published in Slovak, a devotional book by Vasek z Zalesin, was printed in Wittenberg while the first book in Slovak published in Slovakia was Scultety' s translation of the Small Catechism of Luther. (29) Of more immediate significance for the spread of Lutheranism among the Slovaks was the development of Slovak liturgies and hymnody. During the early years of the Reformation this need was met by borrowing materials produced by Czech Utraquists and the Unitas Fratrum, which could be used by Slovaks without any great difficulty, and by translations into Slovak of hymns by Luther and other reformers and of German orders of worship , especially the Wittenberg Order of 1533.(30) By 1560 there were reports of Lutheran services being held in Slovak not only in the almost completely Slovak areas of Liptov county and along the Vah but also in the mining cities of central Slovakia.(31) In 1580 the Synod of Trencin approved its own church order, the Canones rituum sacrorum Trenchini, which established in 27 articles the rules governing the liturgical life of the Lutherans in the region along the Vah river.(32) The use of Slovak in worship was also encouraged by the appearance of the Bohemian Agenda of 1581. This agenda was used as a guide in the preparation of the Bystrica Agenda, in manuscript form, in 1585. Revised in 1595 and again in 1608, the Bystrica Agenda was approved in 1613 by the Lutheran superintendents of western Slovakia who, following the directions of the Synod of Zilina, were to establish a standard for the liturgical practices of the Slovak congregations under their jurisdiction. (33) But these agendas and church orders, which aided in the standardization of liturgical language and practice among the Lutheran congregations of Slovakia, could not meet all of the worship and devotional needs of the Slovak population since literary Slovak had not yet been codified . These needs were met by the appearance of a new Czech translation of the Bible and by the compilation of an hymnbook by George Tranovsky. These works provided the Slovaks with a vernacular devotional literature in kralicina Czech which was adopted and adapted for use as the literary language of the Slovak Lutherans until the 19th century. �62 SLOVAKIA Since the Germans of Slovakia generally utilized the Bible translation of Luther it was the Slovaks who most acutely felt the need for a vernacular Bible. Early in the Reformation Era they relied on the old Slavic version of Sts. Cyril and Methodius or on the Venetian or Nuremberg Czech translations which had found their way into Slovakia.(34) However, the Kralice Bible translation proved to be the most acceptable of the Czech translations and became the standard one used by the Slovak Lutherans, remaining in general use even into the twentieth century. The Kralice Bible, published in six volumes from 1579-1593, was the work of a translation committee under the chairmanship of a Moravian Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum. John Zerotin of Moravia opened his castle to them and helped to underwrite the expenses involved in the printing of the translation.(35) George Thurzo, a close friend of Zerotin, obtained copies of the work and encouraged its use by the Slovak Lutherans in his lands who did appropriate it for both public and private devotions.(36) Throughout Hungary and Slovakia meanwhile, the use of hymns sung by the congregation had become quite common early in the Reformation. The earliest hymns used by the Slovaks were translations of the Psalms or of the medieval "gradual" or "sequence" hymns and were usually prepared in manuscript form.(37) Many of Luther's hymns and those of his co-workers were translated while Czech evangelical or Hussite hymns were borrowed intact or rephrased. Among the early Slovak hymn writers were George Banovsky, Jan Pruno, Elias Lani, and Daniel Pribis. Pribis, for example , supplemented his Catechism of 1634 with a collection of 113 hymns in Slovak which included seven of his own and eight by Lani.(38) The most noted writer and compiler of hymns for the Slovak Lutherans was Tranovsky. Born in 1591 in Tesin (eastern Silesia) , Tranovsky was brought up in the Lutheran faith and in April 1607 entered the University of Wittenberg. After a short stay in Prague he traveled to eastern Moravia but , after the outbreak of the Thirty Years ' War in 1618 Tranovsky was forced to flee to Slovakia where, on May 29, 1637, he died while serving as the pastor of the Slovak Lutheran congregation at Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas.(39) His Cithara Sanctorum, or Harp of the Saints , was a devotional aitd liturgical guide for individuals as well as a hymnbook for congregations ; Seven hundred pages long, the first edition of the work was -divided into four major sections , each containing hymns for the various seasons , festivals , and services of the ecclesiastical year, along with a section of hymns on specific doctrines arranged according to the structure of the Small Catechism of Luther. The hymnal proper was followed by a series of �SLOVAKIA 63 \ indices , a collection of prayers , and an indication of the preferred liturgy to be used. No other book , except for the Kralice Bible, had such a great significance for the Slovak Lutherans. It can be said that the Cithara Sanctorum , or " Tranoscius " as it became popularly known , was the Slovak expression , in song and verse , of the spirit and content of the Lutheran Reformation and became the focus of Slovak Lutheran devotional life . Both Jan Kollar and P. J . Safarik emphasized the cultural significance of the "Tranoscius" and openly acknowledged their own indebtedness to Tranovsky.(40) But if the Kralice Bible and the ''Tranoscius '' were the epitome of Slovak Lutheran devotional and cultural expressions they were not the only influences upon the development of Slovak literature. Slovak postilla or sermon collections were also produced late in the sixteenth century while Nikodem Sartorius of Zvolen prepared the first Slovak commentary on the Bible.(41) Prayer books and religious poetry collections also became very popular. While it would certainly be an overstatement to claim that the heritage of Reformation Lutheranism was the only or even the most notable influence upon the development of a Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness , it would be equally erroneous not to recognize that the Reformation and the Lutheran heritage did help to foster such a selfconsciousness . As for other peoples elsewhere in Europe, the Lutheran Reformation accentuated the linguistic and ethnic peculiarities of the Slovaks and , as the Slovak Lutherans continued to practice their faith and worship in their own langauge and to guide the fortunes of their own church, they kept alive, in their religious life and experiences, their own ethno-linguistic individuality and identity. It is not surprising then, that from the Lutheran tradition came many of those leaders of the national revival who, while they examined and treasured their past, also sought to mold the destiny of their people and to make them into a modern nation. FOOTNOTES David P . Daniel , The Historiograp hy of the R eformation in Slo vakia (St . Louis, Mo.: 1977), 4. (1) (2) The most significant recent work on the history of the Slovaks and their ethnic selfconsciousness is the three volume study of Ludwig von Gogolak, B eitriige zur Geschichte des slowak ischen Volk es (Munich : 1963-1972 ). Volume I, Die N ationswerdung de r Slowaken und die Anfiinge der tschechoslowakischen Frag e, 1526-1790 is an exce llent examination of the relationship of the Reformation to Slovak ethnicity. An earlier study of importance is T. J . G. Locher, Die nationale Differe nzierung und �64 SLOVAKIA lntegrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Haarlem: 1931) . (3) For a more detailed survey of the Reformation Era in Slovakia in English see David P. Daniel , "Highlights of the Lutheran Reformation in Slovakia," Concordia Theological Quarterly 42 :1 (1978), 21-34. (4) Gustav Hammann, " Magister Nicolaus von Sabinov : Ein Beitrag uber den Humanismus und die fruehe Reformation in der Slowakei," Zeitschrift fu er Ostforschung 16 (1967), 25-40 . (5) Johann Borbis, Die euangelisch-lutherische Kirche Ungarns (Noerdlingen: 1864), 29-30; J . P. Tomasik, Andenken an die 300-jahrige Jubelfeier der euangelischen Gemeine in der k. Freistadt Leutschau (Leutschau : 1844) , 17-18. (6)Branislav Varsik, "K pociatkom Reformacie na Slovensku ," Historica Slouaca I/II (1940-41), 304-335. (7) Viktor Bruckner (ed .), Gedenkbuch anlasslich der 400-jahrigen Jahreswende der Confessio Augustana (Leipzig : 1930) , 3-67 . (8) Daniel , "Highlights," 29-30. (9) Jan Kvacala , Dejiny Reformacie na Slo ue nsku (Lipt . Sv. Mikulas: 1935), 131-136. Kvacala's book is the standard history of the Slovak Reformation in Slovak. For other works on the Reformation in Slovakia see Jarold K. Zeman , The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) (Ann Arbor: 1977), and also Daniel, The Historiography of the Reformation in Slovakia. (10) An excellent study of the circumstances surrounding Bocskay 's Rebellion and the Peace of Vienna is Geza Lencz, Der Au/stand Bocskays und der Wiener Friede. Eine kirchenhistorische Studie (Debreczen: 1917) . (11) Borbis , 124-126 ; Kvacala , 147-148. (12) Kvacala, 132; Otto Skrovina, Z historie turc':ianskeho euanj. se niorcitu ajeho sborou (Tore . Sv. Martin : 1929), 9-10 . (13) For the acts of the Synod of Zilina and of Spisske Podhradie see Johannes Szeberinyi, Corpus maxime memorabilium synodorum euangelicarum Augustanae Confessionis in Hungaria cum praefatione Historica in Singulas (Pesthini: 1848) , 1542 . (14) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland and Czechoslovakia (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1966) , 63. (15) See Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary. Slavs and Panslauism (New York : 1906) for the earliest study of the Slovaks and the Slovak national revival in English. (16) Stancic translated into Hungarian several works of the noted orthodox Lutheran theologian , Martin Chernnitz . He also wrote an \ account of the colloquy held at Csepreg : Historia Colloquii Chepregiensis, De Coen~ Domini _. . . (Bartphae: 1591) . (17) For an examination of the life of Lani see Jan Mocko, Elicis Lcini, prvy superintendent cirkue euanj. augs. uyzn. u Uhrach ajeho doba (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1902). His theological significance is treated by Jan Kvacala, " El. Lani a vit'azstvo lutherskeho smeru v evanjelickej cirkvi na Slovensku," Viera a ueda I (1930), 153-165 . (18) Elias Lani, Scutum Libertatis Christianae in usu Ceremoniarum nominatim autem imaginum: oppositum Disceptationi D. Thomae Fabricii Tholnensis, Ministri Patakini, de Christianorum imaginibus (Bartphae : 1595); and also Defen sio libertatis �SLOVAKIA 65 Christianae in vsv imaginum Historico, quam pro asserendo scvto svo, adversvs Exarmationem Thomae Fabricij (Bartphae : n.d.). (19) Juraj Janoska, 0 Synode Zilinskej (Lipt. Sv. Mikulas: 1910) and E. A. Doleschall, "Die Silleiner Synode," Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft fuer die Geschichte des Protestantismus in Oesterreic_h 4 (1883), 96-104. (20) Gogolak, I, 43. (21) Borbis, 47 . (22) Kvacala, Dejiny, 101-102. (23) Peter Vajcik, Skolstvo, §tudijne a §kolske poriadky na Slovensku v 16. storoc5i (Bratislava: 1955). 27, 57; Johann Liptak and Roland Steinacker, Deutsche ev. Schulwesen in der Slowakei (Stuttgart: 1957) , 5-15; Johann Liptak, Geschichte des evangelischenLyzeumsA .B . inKiismark (Kiismark: 1933) , 17-18, 26-29. (24) Vajcik, 2-13 . (25) Johann Samuel Klein, Nachrichten von den Lebensumstiinden und Schriften evangelischer Prediger in alien Gemeine des Koenigreichs Ungarn I (Leipzig: 1787), 332-341; E. Szelenyi, " Ev. Pedagoes," in V. Bruckner (Ed.), Gedenkbuch, 439-440. (26) Vajcik, 81 ff. and 109 ff. (27) Ibid . , 110-112; 120-123. See also Janos Breznyik , A Selmecbcinyai cigost. hitv. evang. egyhaz es lyceum tortenete (Selmecbanyan: 1883) , 350-364. (28) Gogolak, I, 45-46. (29) Ibid., 44 . (30) Jan Petrik, Dejiny slovenskych evanjelickych a. v. sluiieb Bozich (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1946) , 54-62, 99-103. (31) Gogolak, I, 46-47. (32) Petrik, 65-91. (33) Ibid., 103-116. (34) Edmund DeSchweinitz, History of the Church Known as the Unitas Fratrum (Bethlehem, Pa.: 1901), 410. (35) Ibid., 423-424; Mirjam Bohatcova, " Bible Kralicka, jeji vznik a vyznam," in Vlasta Fialova, Kralice (Brno: 1959), 51-61. (36) Gogolak, I, 59. (37) Mihaly Bucsay, Geschichte des Protestantismus in Ungarn (Stuttgart: 1959), 66-67 , 76 . (38) Jaroslav Vajda, "A History of the Cithara Sanctorum (Tranoscius) (unpulished B.D. thesis, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, 1944) , 13 f. (39) For the life and significance of Tranovsky see Jan P . Durovic, Zivotopis Juraja Tranovskeho (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1942) , Jan Mocko, Zivot Jura Tranovskeho (Senice : 1891), and Walter Stoekl, " Georg Tranoscius, der groesste lutherische Liederdichter der Slowakei,' ' in Desider Alexy (ed .), Roland Steinacker: Ein Leben fuer Kirche und Volk : Festschrift zur 90 Geburtstag von R . Steinacker (Stuttgart: 1960) , 54-78 . (40) Gogolak, I, 84 . (41) Ibid . , 61-65. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 . ' The Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness DAVID P . DANIEL The Pennsylvania State University - Erie For many of the descendants of Slovak immigrants to the United States , the history of the Reformation in Slovakia and its impact upon the emergence of an ethnic self-consciousness among these people is an unknown aspect of their Slovak heritage. This is not surprising for the cultural significance of the Reformation for the Slovaks has not been examined extensively in western histories of the Reformation Era of East Central Europe, Czechoslovakia, Hungary , or of the Slovak people . (1) Czech historians usually do little more than assert that the Reformation fostered or reinforced, especially by the continuing use of the Kralice Bible by Slovak Lutherans, the cultural and linguistic ties between the Czechs and the Slovaks . Hungarian scholars , on the other hand, seldom differentiate between the Reformation in Slovakia and its course the remaining counties of Hungary. Even many Slovak scholars, especially those of the Catholic tradition , quickly pass over the Reformation Era and its significance for the Slovaks. At the same time, a growing number of European and American scholars has recognized that the Reformation was one of the major milestones in the development of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness.(2) In their attempts to unravel the complexities of Slovak history, they have sought to explain why, during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries , many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were products of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia. Unfortunately , few of their findings have found their way into the literature available to the English-reading public. Moreover , most of these studies have focused primarily upon the language and literature of the Slovaks and have not considered to any great extent the non-literary aspects of ethnicity and ethnic self-consciousness. Certainly the study of ethnicity and of cultural history does require an extensive examination of the language and literature of a particular people . Literature, in the broadest sense of that word, encapsulates the language , manners , mores, and other peculiarities of the culture of any people. On the other hand, it must also be recognized that a people 's •in 50 SLOVAKIA awareness of its own particular identity vis-a-vis other groups does not arise solely from the fact that it employs a distinct language. A common history, a sense of common destiny, and access to institutions, however primitive they might be, wherein a people can give expression to their own conceptions of themselves and determine their own future, are also necessary for the development and preservation of an ethnic selfconsciousness . In this light, the Reformation of the sixteenth century must be considered as one of the major forces contributing to the emergence of an ethnic, though not a political, self-consciousness among the Slovaks. SOME GENERAL FEATURES OF THE REFORMATION IN SLOVAKIA Before turning to the question of how the Reformation contributed to the growth of Slovak ethnic self-consciousness, it might be helpful to review , at least in some general outlines, the major features of the Reformation in Slovakia.(3) As elsewhere in Europe, the Reformation in Slovakia was rooted in long lasting conflicts within Hungary. The extra-imperial nature of the Sacred Crown of Hungary, the ardent nationalism of the Magyars , the conflict between the Habsburgs and the Zapolyas for the throne of Hungary, the multiplicity of ethnic groups with their inter-ethnic rivalries, the proximity of the Turks, and the complex political relationships between the various segments of the population and between all of them and the kings of Hungary created a chaotic situation within Hungary which enabled the Reformation to spread quickly throughout East Central Europe in general and Slovakia in particular. This political and social situation was exacerbated, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, by the failure of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to remedy some ma'{_1ifold abuses which were abhorrent to many. Simony, pluralism, absenteeism, feuds among the hierarchs, incessant demands for funds ; paris.hes and- even bishoprics remaining vacant for years or suffering under incompetent or miserably trained curates - all were being criticized with increasing regularity by both clergy and laymen. Since the hierarchy failed to act to cleanse the Church of the most egregious abuses in practice and theology or to stem the tide of moral laxity, many secular leaders and clerics in Slovakia early heeded Luther' s call for the reform of the life of the Church. Luther's teachings spread quickly into all regions of Slovakia but especially into the cities of central and eastern Slovakia which were SLOVAKIA 51 predominantly German in population. Town after town, noble after noble, went over to the standard of reform. It would be erroneous to assume, as many have, that the laymen and clerics who supported the Reformation did so only out of base economic motives. and a desire for self-aggrandizement. While there were some who were notv eluctant to expropriate the endowments of the Church to enrich themselves , and this included some who remained Catholics , the bulk of the evidence which is available indicates that a great number of magistrates and magnates were conscientiously and legitimately concerned with the quality of pastoral service being provided to them and to those dependent upon them. They were seeking to purify the Church of its most egregious abuses and staunchly defended their rights to encourage the free preaching of the Gospel in their territories and to oversee the collection and distribution of funds for the charitable activities of the Church. These individuals frequently aided the evangelical cause with both money and political support. Many laymen made substantial grants to enable students and pastors from Slovakia to study Lutheran theology abroad or to establish local academies , staffed by reformist rectors and teachers, in the cities and throughout the countryside of Slovakia. This active supervision of the local congregations by the nobles and city councils was possible not only because of the impotency of the hierarchy after 1526 but also because of the provisions of the charters of privileges to the cities and of the patents of nobility which granted to these laymen substantial rights and prerogatives in the supervision of the churches and their resources . (4) So it was that the Lutheran Reformation spread quickly into and throughout Slovakia. Merchants traveling to Germany returned with copies of Luther's writings after 1518 while, beginning in 1522 with the matriculation of George Baumhenckel from Banska Bystrica , an ever increasing stream of students left Slovakia to study at the University of Wittenberg.(5) By 1525 reformist doctrines were known and accepted in Banska Bystrica, Bardejov , Levoca, and in many of the smaller towns and villages of Slovakia. Despite attempts to limit the spread of Lutheranism by the passage of anti-heretic laws by the Hungarian Diets of 1523 and 1525 , the Reformation continued to spread. The defeat of the Hungarian forces by the Turks at Mohacs in 1526, which resulted in the death of King Lous II, the Cardinal Primate of Hungary, several bishops and high nobles , and scores of parish priests and lower nobles, led to a prolonged struggle over the throne of Hungary between Ferdinand I and John Zapolya , the latter supporter by the lesser Magyar nobles . This accentuated the difficulties within Hungary as a 52 SLOVAKIA whole and made it possible for the Reformation to spread throughout Slovakia without meeting any really effective resistance . (6) Because of this leadership vacuum in both Church and State during the early years of the Reformation, the Lutheran movement in Slovakia achieved its successes with a minimum of conflict, a development which is quite remarkable in comparison to what transpired in the rest of Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century. The Lutheran leaders were able to work within and utilize the structures and institutions of the Catholic Church as they moved to fill the vacuum in ecclesiastical leadership at the local and regional levels. Lutheran pastors were called as preachers to serve the congregations in the cities and the countryside and gradually became a majority within the various seniorats or pastoral conferences . By the middle of the sixteenth century, most of the seniorats in Slovakia were comprised of and headed by Lutherans. It is also interesting to note that the particular lization and factionalization which characterized the northern and western European Reformation by 1520 did not emerge in Slovakia until the middle of the century, after the evangelical reform movement was well established. After 1550, however, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to recover its strength and, especially after the Council of Trent, inaugurated measures designed to regain that which had been lost through weakness and neglect. Aided by Emperor Ferdinand I, the Roman Catholic hierarchy began to apply against the Lutherans the laws of the Diet of 1548 proscribing Anabaptist and Sacramentarian theologies . Seeking to differentiate between their views and those of the other reformist groups in Hungary and to identify themselves clearly with the Augsburg Confession, which had originally been accepted by Emperor Charles V in 1530 and subsequently recognized by Ferdinand and by the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, the Lutherans of Slovakia began to define their faith and dociifine more precisely. Within a period of 21 years, the Lutherans of Slov~ia adopted three major regional confessions of faith, all of them based primarily upon the Augsburg Confession and its Apology and the writings of Philip Melanchthon . In 1548 the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia, Bardejov , Levoca, Presov, Kosice, and Sabinov, united in accepting the Confessio Pentapolitana prepared by Leonard Stoeckel, Rector of the so-called "Humanist" school in Bardejov. Ten years later, the seven mining cities of central Slovakia, Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica, Kremnica, Nova Bana, Pukanec, tubietova, and Banska Bela, accepted the Confessio Montana prepared by Ulrich Cubicularius. In 1569, the towns of Spis county followed the lead of the larger cities and accepted SLOVAKIA 53 the Confessio Scepusia~a written by Cyriak Koch and Valentin Megander.(7) ' , The supporters of Helvetic theologies did not remain idle, for they too adopted several confessions of faith which defined their doctrine more precisely. As a result, by 1575 the reformation movements in Hungary had divided into separate and distinct groups. Despite a few exceptions , for there were a few Calvinist Slovaks and Lutheran Magyars, the Magyar protestants were adherents to Helvetic Reformed theology while the vast majority of Slovaks and Germans adhered to the faith expressed in their own and the Augsburg confessions. The confessionalism which established the hegemony of Lutheranism in Slovakia and the denominationalization of the Reformation by 1575 did not, however, bring to an end the theological problems of, or controversies among, the Lutherans , and between the Lutherans and the Reformed. After 1580 , the doctrines of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Lord' s Supper and the Communication of Attributes, that is that the attributes of Christ's divine nature were communicated to his human nature , continued to plague the Lutherans in Slovakia.(8) From the Synod of Kremnica in 1580 until the synods of Zilina (1610) and Spisske Podhradie (1614) , the Lutherans of Slovakia debated these theological points in connection with the question of whether or not they should accept the Formula of Concord (1577) , as contained in the Book of Concord (1580) , as normative for their own theology. Since the Lutherans of Slovakia had consistently defended their right to practice the Lutheran faith by citing its recognition in Germany by the Hungarian kings as emperors , many were reluctant to accept the Formula and Book of Concord as their doctrinal norm . They felt that they could be charged with having accepted a new , nonrecognized confession of faith. They preferred, therefore , to stand by their own confession of faith. There were also some who were reluctant to accept the Formula of Concord because they suspected that it was intended to displace the writings of Philip Melanchthon who had taught and befriended many of the clergy of Slovakia while they were studying at the University of Wittenberg . Many of these individuals tended to question the precise definitions and formulations of the doctrines of the Eucharist and the Communication of Attributes contained in the Formula and most of these individuals were of German ancestry. The defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy as defined by the Formula, therefore , attacked these moderates as Cryptocalvinists. Among the leading spokesmen for Lutheran orthodoxy were the Slovaks Elias Lani and Severinus Scultety who, together with the 54 SLOVAKIA nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic de Hradecz and the German Albert Grawer , urged the acceptance of the Book of Concord at the colloquies held in Csepreg (1591) and in Kezmarok (1595-1596), and at many of the synods held regularly by the various regional pastoral conferences throughout eastern Slovakia. (9) The debate over the acceptance of the Book of Concord might have been even more prolonged had not the political situation changed drastically. In 1592 the truce between the Habsburgs and the Turks was shattered and the Fifteen Years' War ensued. During the course of this struggle, the Catholic hierarchy tried to confiscate the churches of the Lutherans in several cities in Slovakia while, in 1604, Matthias II attempted to extend royal authority by repudiating the rights of the nobles and the cities to discuss matters pertaining to religion in the Diet of Hungary. As in the first days of the Reformation, the lay leaders came to the aid of the Protestant groups. The Reformed magnate, Stephen Bocskay of Transylvania, took up arms against the Habsburgs and, after gaining control of royal Hungary (Slovakia), forced Matthias to repudiate as unconstitutional the decree of 1604 and to accept the Peace of Vienna of 1606 which established the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to exist in Hungary much as the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 had sanctioned Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.(10) The terms of the Peace of Vienna were further refined and defined by the decisions of the Diet of 1608 which not only clearly sanctioned the right of the Lutherans and Calvinists to practice their own faith but also to establish their own independent ecclesiastical institutions . Under the sponsorship of the Palatine (Chancellor) of Hungary, the Lutheran magnate George Thurzo, representatives of the Lutherans in the counties of western Slovakia met in Zilina on March 27-30, 1610 and created three superintendencies to administer the Lutheran congregations .(11) The Synod also established the rules governing the administrative and other activities of the superintendents and accepted the Formula of Concord and the Book of Concord as the norm and guide for Lutheran doctrine. Already accepted py the Lutherans in Gerner county in 1604, and in Turiec county in 1608 ~t the Synod of Turciansky Sviity Martin,(12) the Book of Concord was also accepted by the eastern cities of Spis and Saris counties in January of 1614 at the Synod of Spisske Podhradie. (13) It is important to note that the organizations established by the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, as well as those of the other regions of Slovakia which had been or would be confirmed by the Palatine, resulted in a diminution of lay influence in the ecclesiastical SLOVAKIA 55 organizations in favor of clerical authority and administration. This development was _contracy to trends elsewhere in Europe . To be sure, the local congregations s\ill had lay patrons or defenders but the superintendencies and districts were independent of direct lay supervision. This centralization of the regional administration of the Lutheran churches in the hands of the clergy while, at the same time, the superintendencies remained independent of each other, both helped and hindered the maintenance of Lutheranism in Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries . The lack of a single administrative unit for all the Lutherans in Slovakia made it difficult for them to resist effectively the combined forces of the Roman Catholic Church and the Habsburgs. On the other hand, since the leadership of the Lutheran movement was primarily in the hands of the clergy, it was able to survive the strong pressures exerted upon it by the state and the noble families who returned to the Catholic Church. Despite the vicissitudes of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the Lutherans continued to maintain their faith and practices despite greatly reduced numbers and stringent restrictions. Although Slovak Lutherans became and have remained a minority within the Slovak people, the Reformation remained indelibly etched upon the consciousness of the Slovaks. As F. G. Heymann noted: Among the Slovak gentry and intellegentsia, Lutheranism maintained a foothold, and its adherents remained one of the most active, culturally productive and nationally conscious elements of the Slovak people in the period down to the late eighteenth century .(14) Indeed, many of the leaders of the national revival of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries in Slovakia, as well as in Bohemia and Hungary, were raised in Lutheran homes and parsonages and were imbued with the evangelical heritage. Jan Kollar, I.:udovit Stur, Jozef Hurban, Michal Miloslav Hodza, Karol Kuzmany , and many others, were either Lutheran clergymen or teachers, or the sons of Lutheran pastors and teachers.(15) What explains this tenacity of the Lutheran tradition in Slovakia and its impact upon the development of Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness? In what way did the Lutheran Reformation aid in the development of the ethnic awareness of the Slovaks? Although many explanations can be proferred, it appears that the Reformation contributed to the growth of a Slovak ethnic self-awareness and a Slovak 56 SLOVAKIA culture in at least three ways. The Reformation provided an opportunity for Slovaks to assume leadership roles in the Lutheran Church in Slovakia as administrators and theologians. The Lutheran movement established evangelical schools throughout Slovakia which provided Slovaks with an opportunity to obtain more than a rudimentary education. Finally, the liturgical, devotional, and theological works produced by Slovak Lutherans enabled them to maintain their peculiar identity vis-a-vis both the Magyars and the Germans. SLOVAKS AS LEADERS OF LUTHERANISM IN SLOVAKIA During the early years of the Reformation in Slovakia, the first to adhere to the teachings of Luther were the Germans of the cities of central and eastern Slovakia. The Slovaks were drawn to Lutheranism slowly but steadily, following the lead of the German population and of the magnates and nobles. However, by the last third of the sixteenth century, Slovaks had become the majority in the Lutheran movement and Slovak clerics began to emerge as leaders in the administration of the Lutheran congregations and seniorats and as influential theologians. It was during the theological controversies over the acceptance of the Formula and Book of Concord that Slovak clergy emerged as the defenders of Lutheran orthodoxy in Slovakia. Elias Lani, Severin Skultety and the nobleman Gregor Horvath Stancic were unswerving in their advocacy of the Book of Concord at the synods and colloquies held during the last decade of the sixteenth century. It is interesting to note that the Book of Concord was accepted first in those seniorats and districts in which Slovaks were in the majority while the cities of the central montana district and of Spis and Saris counties where German clergy were in the majority, the Book of Concord was accepted only after the synods of Zilina and Spisske Podhradie, and even then, only at the urging of the Thurzos and with some reluctance . While the reasons for the Slovak acceptance of Lutheran orthodoxy are still difficult to determine with any certainty, there is evidence that one of the reasons was the influence of the Lutheran school at Straza, supported by Stancic, and others like it in Slovakia. Althq_ugh many Slovaks went to Wittenberg, there were others who received 'their theological education in Slovakia and Strafa was the foremost school among those providing instruction in theology in Slovakia. Stancic, the patron of the school, was no mere theological dilettante but a capable lay theologian cognizant of theological developments at home and in Germany and SLOVAKIA 57 Switzerland.(16) His support for the Book of Concord and Lutheran orthodoxy permeated his shortlived school whose most illustrious graduate and teacher was Elias Lani.(17) Lani was on~ of th~ most persuasive and forceful leaders of Lutheranism in Slovakia dµring the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and must be considered one of the leading organizers and theologians of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia. While still in eastern Slovakia during the 1590s, Lani participated in the colloquies held at Csepreg and Kezmarok and, during the disputes with Sebastian Ambrosius or Lam and other Cryptocalvinists over adiaphora or nonessential theological matters, such as the use of pictures in churches, Lani wrote several defenses of the orthodox Lutheran position upholding Christian liberty.(18) He subsequently moved to Mosovce where, in 1598, he was elected Senior of the pastoral conferences in Turiec county and there gained the acceptance of the Formula of Concord and of rules governing the life of the clergy of the conference. Shortly after the Synod of Turciansky Svaty Martin of March 1608 he was called to serve as the Pastor at Vel'ka Bytca, the residence of George Thurzo and there served the Palatine as pastor and advisor. Elected Senior of the Upper Trencin Seniorat in January 1609 he was instrumental in assisting Thurzo in organizing the Synod of Zilina and his influence can be clearly seen in the deliberations and decisions of the Synod.(19) While Lani, who died in 1618, was the most notable of the Slovak theologians of the Reformation Era, he was certainly not the only Slovak to attain a position of leadership within the Church. Severin Skultety was a lector in Bardejov, a teacher at Presov, and the Senior of the five royal free cities of eastern Slovakia from 1593 until his death in 1600. He , too, was an associate of Stancic and a supporter of the Book of Concord. He began a history of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia and, along with other original works, published in Bardejov in 1581 a translation into Slovak of Luther's Small Catechism. (20) Other theologians of significance include Jan Pruno, who published a SlovakLatin edition of the Small Catechism in Hlohovec c. 1585, and also Leonard Mokosin, Senior in Liptov, who authored an epic poem based upon the books of the Old Testament. Slovaks, such as Daniel Pribis, Stefan Pilarik , and Jakub Jakubei, the intellectual presager of Jan Kollar, continued to make important contributions to the theological development of the Lutheran movement in Slovakia during the seventeenth century. Although most of the works of these theologians were written in Latin and were heavily influenced by the Lutheran theologians of Germany, it must be recognized that the theological 58 SLOVAKIA activity of Slovaks enabled Lutheranism in Slovakia to become more than merely a German religion. Slovaks were also active in the administration of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia, especially in the counties of western Slovakia. At the Synod of Zilina, the three superintendents elected by the nobles, clergy, and representatives of some of the towns, were the Slovaks Lani, Samuel Melikus, and Isaak Abrahamides Hrochotius or Hrochotsky, to whom the two German and the Magyar inspectors were responsible.(21) They were followed by a long line of Slovak superintendents who administered the various districts or superintendencies of the Lutherans in Slovakia. Of the seven major superintendencies, Germans predominated only in the one for the mining cities of central Slovakia and in the two in Spis and Saris counties for the five royal free cities and for the 24 Spis cities. The rest were largely Slovak and normally headed by Slovak superintendents. The Slovak influence in the administration of the Lutheran Church can be even more clearly appreciated when it is recognized that the majority of the some 800-900 Lutheran congregations in Slovakia were composed of Slovaks and had pastors of the same background. Even in the towns where the German population predominated, Slovaks had their own congregations and pastors who ministered to their specific needs, preaching to and teaching the members of these congregations in their own language. By preaching and teaching in the vernacular, the Slovak Lutheran clergymen perpetuated the use of Slovak and fostered the awareness of the Slovaks as a particular and distinct ethnic group within the Hungarian kingdom. As theologians and administrators the Slovak clergy guided and enriched the life of Slovak Lutherans and afforded them an opportunity to express their own faith in a language comprehensible to them. At the same time, the availability of positions as clerics in the Lutheran church made it possible for Slovak individuals to achieve positions of prominence and leadership in their communities and aided in the creation of a Slovak intelligentsia. \ LUTHERANISM, EDUCATION, AND SLOVAK ETHNICITY Among the institutions which helped to spread the Lutheran Reformation throughout Slovakia and which, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, perpetuated its heritage, the evangelical schools of Slovakia were especially important. Lutherans throughout SLOVAKIA 59 Europe emphasized popular education, and evangelical schools were established and supported by Lutheran communities. According to Johann Rezik, there were four types of schools which emerged in Slovakia during the Reformation Era: the Scholae Magnatum et Nob ilium; the Scholae Civitatenses; the Scholae Oppidane ; and the Scholae Pagenses ~(22) Th~se city, town and village schools, supported by the local authorities or by nobles, did not differ so much in their curricula as in the scope of their programs, the character of their patrons, and in the size and composition of their student bodies . The most important were the city Latin schools, especially those of the larger free cities, which were often endowed by a magnate in addition to receiving regular financial support from the magistrates of the cities.(23) Under lay control, but usually directed by a rector who had received some theological training, the municipal Latin schools became the centers of reformist teaching and continued the humanist pedagogical tradition in Slovakia. Although many would close because of financial difficulties or were taken over by Roman Catholics during the turmoil of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the schools of Slovakia attained a great repute throughout Hungary and were recognized for their academic excellence in both the German states and in Poland. The most significant of the early evangelical schools were located in Kezmarok, Presov, Banska Bystrica, Levoca, and Bardejov.(24) Under the rectorate of Leonard Stoeckel (d. 1560) a protege and friend of Melanchthon, Bardejov was considered the premier educational institution in Slovakia and attracted the sons of magnates and nobles as well as of the citizens of the cities. Stoeckel prepared the Leges Scholae Bartphensis in 1540 which combined the classic humanist pedagogical concerns with Lutheran theology .(25) Borrowing heavily but not slavishly from the German humanists, such as John Agricola, Herman Talechi and Philip Melanchthon, Stoeckel constructed a curriculum which emphasized the study of Latin, the classical authors, and the Lutheran faith . Latin was the medium of instruction and each day began with readings from the Scriptures while regular attendance at church services was also required. The students also put on plays, with heavy doctrinal content, for the community and, under the direction of a cantor, sang at regular and special services in the town church. Although other school orders, such as those for Banska Bystrica and Banska Stiavnica by Michael Pechov, and variations on Abraham Schremmel's ordinances for the Strasbourg schools were also used in Slovakia, the Leges of Stoeckel was the most influential. (26) His 60 SLOVAKIA teaching of the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession through the humanist methodology became standard in the evangelical schools of Slovakia. Not only were the instructors Lutheran, but the materials used for instruction also had a Lutheran perspective, for among the textbooks used were the Scriptures, Luther's Small Catechism, Melanchthon's Examen Theologicum, Loci Communes, Rhetorica, Dialectica, and his Entymoligia.(27) It should also be noted that although most of the academic materials and instruction were in Latin, during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries some scholarly works in Slovak began to appear ; indeed, most of the works published in Slovak during the sixteenth century, even of a non-theological nature, were published by evangelicals who maintained numerous presses throughout Slovakia. While the curricula of these schools were not intended to meet the particular needs of Slovaks , but were to provide all students with a sound basic humanist education in preparation for further study at the major universities of Europe, especially Wittenberg, the schools did admit students of Slovak birth. In fact there were schools, such as those at Zilina, Turciansky Svaty Martin, Mosovce, Trencin, and Straza where the majority of students were Slovak.(28) The school at Straza became a center for the study of Lutheran theology for those Slovaks who were unable to go abroad to complete their education. All of these schools provided Slovaks with an opportunity to acquire more than just a rudimentary education and prepared them to assume positions of leadership and responsibility in Slovakia. The Slovak intelligentsia of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, as were their counterparts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, were greatly influenced by intellectual developments in Germany and they not only participated in the broader intellectual movements of Europe but adapted them to meet their own particular needs and the situation within Slovakia. The writings of Slovak Lutheran intellectuals and the curricula of the Lutheran schools of Slovakia helped to foster a greater appreciation of the heritage and culture of the Slovak people and it is not surprising that many of the leaders of the Slovak national revival were educated in the Lutheran tradition in the evangelical schools of Sloyakia. \ LUTHERANISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF SLOVAK LITERATURE During the early stages of the Reformation in Slovakia there were no works published in Slovak. The clergy of Slovak ancestry, educated SLOVAKIA 61 in the Latin schools, could read for themselves the works published in Latin and German and were usually content to utilize Latin, the lingua franca of the sixteenth · century, to express publicly their own theological views. But, as '\ more and more Slovaks adhered to the Lutheran faith with its emph~sis upon vernacular worship, the need for devotional and liturgical works in Slovak became increasingly obvious. Already in 1546 the first work published in Slovak, a devotional book by Vasek z Zalesin, was printed in Wittenberg while the first book in Slovak published in Slovakia was Scultety' s translation of the Small Catechism of Luther. (29) Of more immediate significance for the spread of Lutheranism among the Slovaks was the development of Slovak liturgies and hymnody. During the early years of the Reformation this need was met by borrowing materials produced by Czech Utraquists and the Unitas Fratrum, which could be used by Slovaks without any great difficulty, and by translations into Slovak of hymns by Luther and other reformers and of German orders of worship , especially the Wittenberg Order of 1533.(30) By 1560 there were reports of Lutheran services being held in Slovak not only in the almost completely Slovak areas of Liptov county and along the Vah but also in the mining cities of central Slovakia.(31) In 1580 the Synod of Trencin approved its own church order, the Canones rituum sacrorum Trenchini, which established in 27 articles the rules governing the liturgical life of the Lutherans in the region along the Vah river.(32) The use of Slovak in worship was also encouraged by the appearance of the Bohemian Agenda of 1581. This agenda was used as a guide in the preparation of the Bystrica Agenda, in manuscript form, in 1585. Revised in 1595 and again in 1608, the Bystrica Agenda was approved in 1613 by the Lutheran superintendents of western Slovakia who, following the directions of the Synod of Zilina, were to establish a standard for the liturgical practices of the Slovak congregations under their jurisdiction. (33) But these agendas and church orders, which aided in the standardization of liturgical language and practice among the Lutheran congregations of Slovakia, could not meet all of the worship and devotional needs of the Slovak population since literary Slovak had not yet been codified . These needs were met by the appearance of a new Czech translation of the Bible and by the compilation of an hymnbook by George Tranovsky. These works provided the Slovaks with a vernacular devotional literature in kralicina Czech which was adopted and adapted for use as the literary language of the Slovak Lutherans until the 19th century. 62 SLOVAKIA Since the Germans of Slovakia generally utilized the Bible translation of Luther it was the Slovaks who most acutely felt the need for a vernacular Bible. Early in the Reformation Era they relied on the old Slavic version of Sts. Cyril and Methodius or on the Venetian or Nuremberg Czech translations which had found their way into Slovakia.(34) However, the Kralice Bible translation proved to be the most acceptable of the Czech translations and became the standard one used by the Slovak Lutherans, remaining in general use even into the twentieth century. The Kralice Bible, published in six volumes from 1579-1593, was the work of a translation committee under the chairmanship of a Moravian Bishop of the Unitas Fratrum. John Zerotin of Moravia opened his castle to them and helped to underwrite the expenses involved in the printing of the translation.(35) George Thurzo, a close friend of Zerotin, obtained copies of the work and encouraged its use by the Slovak Lutherans in his lands who did appropriate it for both public and private devotions.(36) Throughout Hungary and Slovakia meanwhile, the use of hymns sung by the congregation had become quite common early in the Reformation. The earliest hymns used by the Slovaks were translations of the Psalms or of the medieval "gradual" or "sequence" hymns and were usually prepared in manuscript form.(37) Many of Luther's hymns and those of his co-workers were translated while Czech evangelical or Hussite hymns were borrowed intact or rephrased. Among the early Slovak hymn writers were George Banovsky, Jan Pruno, Elias Lani, and Daniel Pribis. Pribis, for example , supplemented his Catechism of 1634 with a collection of 113 hymns in Slovak which included seven of his own and eight by Lani.(38) The most noted writer and compiler of hymns for the Slovak Lutherans was Tranovsky. Born in 1591 in Tesin (eastern Silesia) , Tranovsky was brought up in the Lutheran faith and in April 1607 entered the University of Wittenberg. After a short stay in Prague he traveled to eastern Moravia but , after the outbreak of the Thirty Years ' War in 1618 Tranovsky was forced to flee to Slovakia where, on May 29, 1637, he died while serving as the pastor of the Slovak Lutheran congregation at Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas.(39) His Cithara Sanctorum, or Harp of the Saints , was a devotional aitd liturgical guide for individuals as well as a hymnbook for congregations ; Seven hundred pages long, the first edition of the work was -divided into four major sections , each containing hymns for the various seasons , festivals , and services of the ecclesiastical year, along with a section of hymns on specific doctrines arranged according to the structure of the Small Catechism of Luther. The hymnal proper was followed by a series of SLOVAKIA 63 \ indices , a collection of prayers , and an indication of the preferred liturgy to be used. No other book , except for the Kralice Bible, had such a great significance for the Slovak Lutherans. It can be said that the Cithara Sanctorum , or " Tranoscius " as it became popularly known , was the Slovak expression , in song and verse , of the spirit and content of the Lutheran Reformation and became the focus of Slovak Lutheran devotional life . Both Jan Kollar and P. J . Safarik emphasized the cultural significance of the "Tranoscius" and openly acknowledged their own indebtedness to Tranovsky.(40) But if the Kralice Bible and the ''Tranoscius '' were the epitome of Slovak Lutheran devotional and cultural expressions they were not the only influences upon the development of Slovak literature. Slovak postilla or sermon collections were also produced late in the sixteenth century while Nikodem Sartorius of Zvolen prepared the first Slovak commentary on the Bible.(41) Prayer books and religious poetry collections also became very popular. While it would certainly be an overstatement to claim that the heritage of Reformation Lutheranism was the only or even the most notable influence upon the development of a Slovak ethnic selfconsciousness , it would be equally erroneous not to recognize that the Reformation and the Lutheran heritage did help to foster such a selfconsciousness . As for other peoples elsewhere in Europe, the Lutheran Reformation accentuated the linguistic and ethnic peculiarities of the Slovaks and , as the Slovak Lutherans continued to practice their faith and worship in their own langauge and to guide the fortunes of their own church, they kept alive, in their religious life and experiences, their own ethno-linguistic individuality and identity. It is not surprising then, that from the Lutheran tradition came many of those leaders of the national revival who, while they examined and treasured their past, also sought to mold the destiny of their people and to make them into a modern nation. FOOTNOTES David P . Daniel , The Historiograp hy of the R eformation in Slo vakia (St . Louis, Mo.: 1977), 4. (1) (2) The most significant recent work on the history of the Slovaks and their ethnic selfconsciousness is the three volume study of Ludwig von Gogolak, B eitriige zur Geschichte des slowak ischen Volk es (Munich : 1963-1972 ). Volume I, Die N ationswerdung de r Slowaken und die Anfiinge der tschechoslowakischen Frag e, 1526-1790 is an exce llent examination of the relationship of the Reformation to Slovak ethnicity. An earlier study of importance is T. J . G. Locher, Die nationale Differe nzierung und 64 SLOVAKIA lntegrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Haarlem: 1931) . (3) For a more detailed survey of the Reformation Era in Slovakia in English see David P. Daniel , "Highlights of the Lutheran Reformation in Slovakia," Concordia Theological Quarterly 42 :1 (1978), 21-34. (4) Gustav Hammann, " Magister Nicolaus von Sabinov : Ein Beitrag uber den Humanismus und die fruehe Reformation in der Slowakei," Zeitschrift fu er Ostforschung 16 (1967), 25-40 . (5) Johann Borbis, Die euangelisch-lutherische Kirche Ungarns (Noerdlingen: 1864), 29-30; J . P. Tomasik, Andenken an die 300-jahrige Jubelfeier der euangelischen Gemeine in der k. Freistadt Leutschau (Leutschau : 1844) , 17-18. (6)Branislav Varsik, "K pociatkom Reformacie na Slovensku ," Historica Slouaca I/II (1940-41), 304-335. (7) Viktor Bruckner (ed .), Gedenkbuch anlasslich der 400-jahrigen Jahreswende der Confessio Augustana (Leipzig : 1930) , 3-67 . (8) Daniel , "Highlights," 29-30. (9) Jan Kvacala , Dejiny Reformacie na Slo ue nsku (Lipt . Sv. Mikulas: 1935), 131-136. Kvacala's book is the standard history of the Slovak Reformation in Slovak. For other works on the Reformation in Slovakia see Jarold K. Zeman , The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) (Ann Arbor: 1977), and also Daniel, The Historiography of the Reformation in Slovakia. (10) An excellent study of the circumstances surrounding Bocskay 's Rebellion and the Peace of Vienna is Geza Lencz, Der Au/stand Bocskays und der Wiener Friede. Eine kirchenhistorische Studie (Debreczen: 1917) . (11) Borbis , 124-126 ; Kvacala , 147-148. (12) Kvacala, 132; Otto Skrovina, Z historie turc':ianskeho euanj. se niorcitu ajeho sborou (Tore . Sv. Martin : 1929), 9-10 . (13) For the acts of the Synod of Zilina and of Spisske Podhradie see Johannes Szeberinyi, Corpus maxime memorabilium synodorum euangelicarum Augustanae Confessionis in Hungaria cum praefatione Historica in Singulas (Pesthini: 1848) , 1542 . (14) Frederick G. Heymann, Poland and Czechoslovakia (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1966) , 63. (15) See Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary. Slavs and Panslauism (New York : 1906) for the earliest study of the Slovaks and the Slovak national revival in English. (16) Stancic translated into Hungarian several works of the noted orthodox Lutheran theologian , Martin Chernnitz . He also wrote an \ account of the colloquy held at Csepreg : Historia Colloquii Chepregiensis, De Coen~ Domini _. . . (Bartphae: 1591) . (17) For an examination of the life of Lani see Jan Mocko, Elicis Lcini, prvy superintendent cirkue euanj. augs. uyzn. u Uhrach ajeho doba (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1902). His theological significance is treated by Jan Kvacala, " El. Lani a vit'azstvo lutherskeho smeru v evanjelickej cirkvi na Slovensku," Viera a ueda I (1930), 153-165 . (18) Elias Lani, Scutum Libertatis Christianae in usu Ceremoniarum nominatim autem imaginum: oppositum Disceptationi D. Thomae Fabricii Tholnensis, Ministri Patakini, de Christianorum imaginibus (Bartphae : 1595); and also Defen sio libertatis SLOVAKIA 65 Christianae in vsv imaginum Historico, quam pro asserendo scvto svo, adversvs Exarmationem Thomae Fabricij (Bartphae : n.d.). (19) Juraj Janoska, 0 Synode Zilinskej (Lipt. Sv. Mikulas: 1910) and E. A. Doleschall, "Die Silleiner Synode," Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft fuer die Geschichte des Protestantismus in Oesterreic_h 4 (1883), 96-104. (20) Gogolak, I, 43. (21) Borbis, 47 . (22) Kvacala, Dejiny, 101-102. (23) Peter Vajcik, Skolstvo, §tudijne a §kolske poriadky na Slovensku v 16. storoc5i (Bratislava: 1955). 27, 57; Johann Liptak and Roland Steinacker, Deutsche ev. Schulwesen in der Slowakei (Stuttgart: 1957) , 5-15; Johann Liptak, Geschichte des evangelischenLyzeumsA .B . inKiismark (Kiismark: 1933) , 17-18, 26-29. (24) Vajcik, 2-13 . (25) Johann Samuel Klein, Nachrichten von den Lebensumstiinden und Schriften evangelischer Prediger in alien Gemeine des Koenigreichs Ungarn I (Leipzig: 1787), 332-341; E. Szelenyi, " Ev. Pedagoes," in V. Bruckner (Ed.), Gedenkbuch, 439-440. (26) Vajcik, 81 ff. and 109 ff. (27) Ibid . , 110-112; 120-123. See also Janos Breznyik , A Selmecbcinyai cigost. hitv. evang. egyhaz es lyceum tortenete (Selmecbanyan: 1883) , 350-364. (28) Gogolak, I, 45-46. (29) Ibid., 44 . (30) Jan Petrik, Dejiny slovenskych evanjelickych a. v. sluiieb Bozich (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1946) , 54-62, 99-103. (31) Gogolak, I, 46-47. (32) Petrik, 65-91. (33) Ibid., 103-116. (34) Edmund DeSchweinitz, History of the Church Known as the Unitas Fratrum (Bethlehem, Pa.: 1901), 410. (35) Ibid., 423-424; Mirjam Bohatcova, " Bible Kralicka, jeji vznik a vyznam," in Vlasta Fialova, Kralice (Brno: 1959), 51-61. (36) Gogolak, I, 59. (37) Mihaly Bucsay, Geschichte des Protestantismus in Ungarn (Stuttgart: 1959), 66-67 , 76 . (38) Jaroslav Vajda, "A History of the Cithara Sanctorum (Tranoscius) (unpulished B.D. thesis, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, 1944) , 13 f. (39) For the life and significance of Tranovsky see Jan P . Durovic, Zivotopis Juraja Tranovskeho (Lipt. Sv . Mikulas: 1942) , Jan Mocko, Zivot Jura Tranovskeho (Senice : 1891), and Walter Stoekl, " Georg Tranoscius, der groesste lutherische Liederdichter der Slowakei,' ' in Desider Alexy (ed .), Roland Steinacker: Ein Leben fuer Kirche und Volk : Festschrift zur 90 Geburtstag von R . Steinacker (Stuttgart: 1960) , 54-78 . (40) Gogolak, I, 84 . (41) Ibid . , 61-65.  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 Protestant Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness Description An account of the resource David P. Daniel Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 49-65 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Daniel, David P., 1940-2020 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/f8f04562f35d87cec81d0b41a57be2ae.pdf fb7d43c15ae28febe25da74d42ab375f PDF Text Text 66 SLOVAKIA From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M . MARK STOLARIK Although Slovaks have lived in the United States for over a hundred years, professional American historians have only recently begun to study them. This lack of concern for the second-largest Slavic group in America cannot be attributed to a lack of sources. Pioneers among these immigrants left us not only their published reminiscences but also led the way in reconstructing the histories of their communities. While a few members of the second generation tried to carry on the work of their fathers, their efforts paled in comparison . Historians in Slovakia, meanwhile, began to write about their countrymen in the United States and, whether as political emigres or as devoted Marxists, they initiated the first professional studies of these people. Native Americans, on the other hand, originally discussed Slovaks as either a threat to the American way of life or else as potential converts to the Social Gospel movement. For generations native historians ignored these and other Eastern Europeans in the naive belief that they would disappear in the ''melting pot.'' Only with the ethnic revival of the 1960s did some Ame~ican professionals of varying backgrounds begin to study these people:,. _ The everyday life of Slovaks in the United States has been portrayed at various levels, ranging from simple memoirs to complicated mobility studies. Some of the pioneers contented themselves with describing life in the New World as they remembered it. Others analyzed the growing ethnic neighborhoods , while others still began to collect materials and describe three major institutions of AmericanSlovak communities - the parishes, lodges and newspapers. Such M. Mark Stolarik has been designated as the Director of the Balch Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . This essay is reprinted from the International Migration Review (X , 1, Spring 1976). �SLOVAKIA 67 activities eventually led to full-scale community studies and attempts at an overall history of all Slovak groups in America. Even though the first two generations failed in the latter effort, they did provide the groundwork for later historians. By the 1960s scholars in both Europe and America used new methods such as demographic analysis, studies of marriage , educatiQn anct social mobility, to try to complete the story and put it into a broader context. The earliest description~' bf Slovak life in America came either as observations or else as reminiscences by pioneers . Daniel Sustek, a journeyman carpenter and one of the first Slovaks to arrive in the United States , described his experiences over a ten-year period beginning in 1873 in the self-help monthly Obzor.(1) Besides focusing on his problems of adjusting to the new land, Sustek described the strange way of life he found here and provided his countrymen with extensive advice on how to make the trip, where to find work, what kind of wages to expect and how to behave in the presence of non-Slovaks. Sustek' s reports are reminiscent of Alexis de Tocqueville and Lord Bryce especially when, after having initially praised the "equality" of all Americans , Sustek discovers the great gulf between rich and poor and concludes that in this regard the United States is not so different from Europe after all. While Sustek focused largely on his own experiences, Father Stefan Furdek provided us with the first description of Slovak community life in America. Having come to Cleveland in 1882 to serve an already-existing Czech parish, Furdek helped the earliest Slovak arrivals to organize themselves into lodges and parishes and he also established their first Catholic newspaper. By 1893 he felt experienced enough to write an article entitled " Z Ameriky" (From America) for an Old World annual in which he eulogized the political freedom of the New Land but warned intellectuals against immigrating to this country because their chances of finding a livelihood outside of manual labor were slim.(2) Furdek thus perceived the major role his people would play in providing labor for America's industries and the marginal impact they would have upon the intellectual and cultural life of the United States. In a later article , "Vselico z Ameriky" (Tidbits from America), he continued the story by focusing on working conditions in the mines and mills, on life in ethnic neighborhoods and on the need for immigrants to rely upon family or friends in order to survive and be successful in the New World.(3) He wrote dozens of similar articles in his Jednota (Union) newspaper and almanac of the same name between 1890 and 1914 and he remains a major source for the study of early American-Slovak life. �68 SLOVAKIA Father Matus Jankola, Furdek ' s friend and colleague , joined the latter in describing the activities of his countrymen in the United States during the early years of Slovak immigration. In "Crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa. " (Sketches from a Catholic Slovak Parish in Pittston, Pa.), he not only described the daily life of a coal miner but also focused on the relations of Slovaks with other ethnic groups. He complained about his countrymen' s propensity to emulate other Eastern Europeans in seeking financial control over their own parishes, a phenomenon known as "lay trusteeism" and a perpetual headache to both priests and bishops at the tum of the century.(4) In another penetrating article entitled "Nase skoly" (Our Schools), J ankola severely criticized Slovak parochial schools of his day for their inadequate facilities and teaching methods and urged his countrymen to establish a teaching order of nuns to upgrade the whole system .(5) Like Furdek , Jankola wrote dozens of articles in the Jednota newspaper and almanac between 1896 and 1916 and these are excellent sources for the study of American-Slovak history. While Furdek and J ankola described Slovak life in general, another clergyman zeroed in on the business community. Pavel Jamarik, a convert to Congregationalism and an exponent of the 'Protestant ethic,' sought to determine how many of his people were engaged in business and thus ''making it. '' He distributed a questionnaire to Slovak leaders in Cleveland, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut and, much to his dismay, discovered that fewer than one percent in each city owned business enterprises. He soberly concluded in ' ' Zivot americkych Slovakov dakedy a teraz'' (The Life of American Slovaks in the Past and Today)(6) that most of his people rejected the American route to social mobility through business enterprise and implicitly hinted that they would remain in the workingclass for some time to come. Such penetrating analyses, while vety valuable, were also rare. More common were reminiscences by "olq timers ~• of days gone by. Jozef Rusek , editor of the Jednota almanac, interviewed a Slovak who had arrived in Cleveland in 1880 and published his story under the rubric "V Novej Zemi" (In the New Land).(7) In this fascinating article the anonymous informant described the poor economic conditions that had driven him out of his homeland, the miserable ocean-crossing in steerage and all the difficulties he had encountered in making his way to Cleveland and finding suitable employment. A series of similar articles entitled "Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers) appeared in another almanac a short while later.(8) By collecting and publishing these reminiscences ethnic editors showed their appreciation for oral history �SLOVAKIA 69 long before American historians deemed it worthy of notice. In spite of this concel'Il with oral history, only one major leader of the American-Slovak COlllil1\Unity has left us his memoirs. Perhaps the reason for this dearth of autobiographies lies in the fact that Furdek died unexpectedly in 1914 and Jankola in 1916. In any case, P. V. Rovnianek, founder of the National Slovak Society in 1890 and for many years editor of the extremely popular Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News) penned his observations and reminiscences in a book with a very revealing title : Zapisky za iiva pochovaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive). (9) Here Rovnianek revealed how he had to leave the Budapest seminary in 1888 because of his nationalist views and how he came to America and quickly decided to work for national causes. He also detailed many of the arguments that he had had with other leaders, some of which resulted in costly lawsuits. Unfortunately, he covered up the misdeeds that led to the downfall of his financial empire in 1911. This, plus his tremendous conceit, detracted from an otherwise lucid and penetrating commentary. Shortly after their arrival in America, Slovak immigrants congregated in certain neighborhoods of cities where they established organizations that served to promote and solidify a new community existence . Three such institutions ranked highest in importance: the parish, the fraternal and the newspaper. By 1920, when these neighborhoods matured, Slovaks had almost 400 parishes of all denominations, hundreds of local and dozens of national fratemals and scores of daily , weekly and monthly periodical publications . It is no surprise , therefore, that when certain Slovak leaders began to record their earliest history in America, they turned their attention to these institutions. Father Furdek began the history of one group of these institutions with a lenghty article about "Slovenske osady v Amerike" (Slovak Parishes in America.) Having relied upon church records and interviews supplied by fellow-priests and cooperative laymen, Furdek presented us with short, informative histories of every Slovak Catholic parish established in the New World until 1906.(10) No sooner had Furdek published his analysis than a controversy broke out between boosters of Slovak parishes in Streator, Illinois and Hazleton, Pennsylvania . Worshippers in both areas claimed that theirs was the oldest Slovak Catholic parish in the United States. Although the debate remains unresolved to this day , Jozef G. Skurka, in "Prva slovenska rim. katolicka osada v Amerike" (The First Slovak Roman Catholic Parish in America) presented the arguments of both sides and left the final decision to the reader. (11) �70 SLOVAKIA Furdek's article began a trend that led not only to similar efforts by leaders of other denominations but it may also have prompted the later publication of jubilee books and a few full-fledged histories of church groups . Thus, Josef Nadenicek, a Calvinist minister, had his coreligionists aid him in compiling histories of all their parishes in the United States and he published these under the general heading of "Kratke dejiny cirkvi" (Short Histories of Our Parishes) giving the contributors full credit for their efforts .(12) Other religious leaders published even more detailed stories in special anniversary booklets. Examples are Strieborne jubileum osady sv. Vendelina, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928 (Silver Jubilee of St. Wendelin's Parish, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928,(13) and Father George S. Dargay' s Historical Sketch of the Church of St. Cyril of Minneapolis, Minn., 1891-1941. (14) A committee of priests and laymen usually compiled such histories, relying upon parish records, newspaper accounts and the memories of pioneers for sources. Even though other congregations published similar jubilee books, they seldom contained the whole truth because most immigrant parishes at the turn of the century experienced some sort of conflict between laymen and pastor or bishop. The present writer described problems of this sort in "Lay Initiative in American-Slovak Parishes, 1880-1930,"(15) in the hope that even professional church historians would dig deeper into the sources and abandon their preoccupation with consensus history. Meanwhile, one might suppose that with so many parishes having recorded their own history, a larger synthesis would have appeared. Only two historians have made such an attempt in the Slovak community and their efforts leave much to be desired. Pastor George Dolak, a member of the second generation, wrote an official History of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States of America, 1920-1927(16) and, as the title suggests, he covered only a short period and ignored the two other Synods to which Slovaks belong. Indeed, one looks in vain in this book fa'( an explanation of this split among Slovak Lutherans in America. Similarly,_ while the emigre historian Frantisek Hrusovsky did a creditable job in recording the story of Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak Religious Orders in America), (17) he too steered clear of all controversy. Inadequate as these works are, they remain the only attempted syntheses of various Slovak religious groups in America. No one has yet written an overall history of Slovak Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran or Calvinist denominations in the United States and their relation to New or Old World counterparts. Scholars have barely scratched the surface of this vast subject. �SLOVAKIA ' 71 Equal in importance to'. parishes in immigrant communities were fraternal benefit societies. In many instances these preceded the founding of churches and became their chief bulwarks. By 1890 several dozen local societies existed and many of these later merged into larger, national organizations such as the First Catholic Slovak Union or the National Slovak Society . By 1920 these and other fraternals enrolled over one-third of the 600,000 plus Slovak immigrants who had come to America. By providing much needed and inexpensive life insurance , plus taking an active role in community and national affairs , they became indispensable to the growth and survival of ethnic communities. Realizing the importance of fratemals, officers of the National Slovak Society determined to record some of their history. In 1909 they commissioned their editor Ignac Gessay to write the history of their organization. He eagerly read old newspapers, minute-books, pamphlets and other materials, some of which have since disappeared. He also interviewed as many "old timers" as he could. By 1911 he published two articles, one entitled " Spolky pred organisaciami" (Societies Before Organizations) in which he presented an excellent survey of the first forty local fraternal-benefit societies established by American Slovaks before national bodies appeared in 1890.(18) Gessay had hoped that he could continue in his work and eventually publish an overall history of his people but his friendship with P. V. Rovnianek prevented it . When the latter's financial institution bankrupted in 1911, thereby ruining a great many Slovaks and weakening the Society, Rovnianek had to flee for his life and Gessay lost his commission. Into the void stepped Jan A. Feriencik, another editor, determined to complete the story . Using Gessay's notes (without giving him credit) and engaging in his own research, he did produce, among other things, " Vyznam Nar. Slovenskeho Spolku" (The Significance of the National Slovak Society) .(19) In this brief article he surveyed the history of the Society from 1890 to 1914, concentrating on the highlights and praising its achievements. Although Feriencik did write articles dealing with other aspects of the Slovak experience in America (discussed below), he too failed to complete a monograph on either the NSS or on the history of American Slovaks . Shortly thereafter a group of Slovak Calvinists also set out to write the history of their organization. The Rev. Frantisek Uherka urged the officers of each branch of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union to compile a short history of their lodge on the basis of minute books, newspaper articles and interviews . They did as requested and Uherka then published these histories under the general heading " Kratke �72 SLOVAKIA dejiny jednotlivych sborov Slov. Kalv. Presb. Jednoty. " (Short Histories of the Lodges of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union) , giving the contributors full credit.(20) He also compiled a general history of the national organization , based on the information provided by lodges as well as his reading of the head-office 's minute-books and on his own memory and entitled it "Kratky prehfad S.K.P . Jednoty, 1901-1926 ," (Short Over-View of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union). (21) The largest of the fraternals , the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile, held back from such undertakings for several generations. Its individual lodges did often publish jubilee histories such as " Memoirs of the Golden Jubilee of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Society, 1883-1938" and these often provided fascinating insights into their individual achievements .(22) The national organization, however, resolved to sponsor an overall history only when its 75th anniversary approached. It commissioned Jozef Pauco, an emigre journalist, to undertake this task and he completed it by 1965 under the heading 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union).(23) Pauco presented a strictly chronological year-by-year account, devoid of any analysis or criticism. He simply listed the society's growth and achievements. Thus, although a few Slovak societies did promote studies of their own achievements and one even commissioned a book, much of their history remains to be uncovered. Besides the need for full-length monographs of such important organizations as the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies ' Association, the Slovak Evangelical Union and so on , studies of the impact these and other societies have had on ethnic community life over the last 100 years should be made. How did these societies help the immigrant adjust to the New World? Did they supplant labor unions? Did they foster or hinder assimilation? Why did they splinter along religious and ideological lines? Why did women set up their own fratemals? Did fraternals promote Slovak culture in the .New World? What is their present status? What does the future h&d for them? How do they compare to societies founded by other grouf)s? These are just a few of the questions that need answering before we can understand the role that fraternal-benefit societies played in the life of American Slovaks. The third major component of growing Slovak communities was their newspaper press . Since most Slovaks initially came to America to make their " fortune " and return home , they became very interested in news of the home country published in their own language. The few intellectuals who accompanied these people to the United States �SLOVAKIA 73 quickly discovered this thir~t for news and satiated it with more than 200 periodicals between 1886 and the present. Among them were official organs of fraternal-benefit societies, independent dailies, weeklies and monthlies, labor newspapers, satirical journals, religious periodicals and so on. Having realized the importance of the newspaper press to the Slovak community, two journalists made a serious attempt to depict its history. Jan A. Feriencik, mentioned above, made the first attempt at a comprehensive history in "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Letters in America).(24) Since he tried to describe sixty titles in a few pages, his effort was very unbalanced. Moreover, he relied too much on memory and some of his assertions were false. Nevertheless, he did record some titles that have long since disappeared and th.u s he performed a vital service for later historians. Konstantin Culen, a post-World War II emigre journalist, expressed his appreciation to Feriencik and tried to complete the story in Slovenske casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America).(25) He gathered together titles of more than 230 Slovak periodicals published in this country and commented on each although he knew more about some papers and less about others, and thus his book is very uneven. In fact, since he died before the manuscript was completed, his colleague Jozef Pauco tried to finish the job. The periodicals are not organized according to subject, they simply appear in alphabetical order. Furthermore, there is no table of contents and no index. Unless one knows in advance the exact name of a publication, this book is extremely difficult to use. Feriencik and Culen did only half the job. They listed the titles and described the editorial policy of the founders . No one has done a comprehensive history of any one of the major dailies or weeklies . It would be instructive to know, from a content-analysis, how various Slovak newspapers in America viewed this country, its much-vaunted equality and democracy and their perception of the role of their readers. Robert E. Park attempted such a study in his Immigrant Press and Its Control(26) but since he covered so many different nationalities, his assessment was necessarily shallow. A good history of the Slovak press, as well as that of other ethnic groups in America, is sorely needed. Shortly after having recorded the history of their lodges, parishes and newspapers, American Slovaks began to think of the larger story. A few of them started to publish histories of communities that covered members of all denominations . These have since been supplemented �74 SLOVAKIA by works of professional scholarship, although their number remains small. The first attempt at writing local history was made by lgnac Gessay. Hoping to eventually publish a general work on American Slovaks, this newspaper editor began to gather materials about their oldest communities. One of these was Streator, Illinois, in the bituminous coal fields and Gessay presented its story from the 1870s to 1910 in "Streatorski Slovaci a ich pokrok" (Streator Slovaks and their Progress).(27) Since this was a first attempt written for a national almanac, it necessarily gave only the highlights of the story. Better and more comprehensive histories appeared a short while later. Imrich Mazar, a local lodge leader, compiled a remarkable work entitled Dejiny Binghamtonskych Slovakov za dobu styridsat rokov, 1879-1919 (Forty Years of the History of Binghamton Slovaks, 18791919).(28) Mazar interviewed pioneers of the community, consulted church and lodge records and read of his people's exploits in the press. Using such sources he very ably covered the story of all aspects of the community - its general history, the story of its fraternals, churches and clubs and the involvement of the local community in the CzechoSlovak liberation movement of World War I. Jan Pankuch did a similarly excellent job in Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovakov (A History of Cleveland and Lakewood Slovaks). (29) A newspaper editor by profession, Pankuch persevered in his efforts even after the Great Depression had erupted and he published the book with his own dwindling resources. The only major criticisms that one can make of these two books is that they are poorly organized and lack perspective. Since neither Mazar nor Pankuch had any historical training, they dared not judge what was important and what was not. They recorded everything they had heard or discovered in an often haphazard manner and this made the reading of their books difficult. On the other hand, by not rejecting anything, they made their works invaluable sources for a later generation of historians . .. Two scholars interested in American-Slovak history appeared in the 1960s to make good use of previous pioneering efforts. Josef Barton studied the social mobility of three ethnic groups in Cleveland and included the Slovaks among them . In his Peasants and Strangers,(30) a spin-off of his dissertation, he relied quite extensively on Pankuch for the background story. The present writer, commissioned to write a joint history with another author about the Cleveland Slovak community, used Pankuch as a source quite liberally.(31) Hopefully these will be followed by studies of Slovaks in other cities, enabling future historians �SLOVAKIA 75 to compare the fortunes of these people in a wide variety of geographical areas, thus gaining a better perspective on the whole story of immigration. Along with recording much local information, American Slovaks naturally desired an overall view of their coming and settlement in various parts of the New World. Once again the pioneers led the way but this undertaking prove~ too much for them. They had to settle for histories written by a later generation of immigrants and these stories are, as yet, incomplete. lgnac Gessay and Jan A. Feriencik first attempted to compile a general history of their people. Gessay, as we have already seen, did not finish the task.(32) Jan Feriencik inherited not only Gessay 's job but also his notes. Supplementing these with his own research, he published " Nacrtok prist'ahovalectva slovenskeho do Ameriky" (A Sketch of Slovak Immigration to America).(33) Relying upon old newspapers , minute-books, Gessay's notes and his own memory, Feriencik produced a useful, if jaundiced (he was very anti-Semitic) survey of the coming of his people to the New World. He had hoped to produce a full-length monograph on this subject but died before he could do so. With Feriencik's death, along with that of most of his firstgeneration colleagues in the 1920s, the task of recording AmericanSlovak history fell to the second generation . Having absolutely no help from Anglo-American historians, who in the first half of the twentieth century seemed completely uninterested in the history of recent immigration, as Arthur M. Schlesinger lamented,(34) the second generation failed to even match the efforts of their fathers. Andrew P . Slabey and Sister M. Martina Tybor are good examples of second-generation American-Slovak scholars . The former was one of the first Slovak university graduates in the United States and he set out to write a " Prehl'ad dejin Slovakov v Amerike " (A Survey of the History of American Slovaks) in 1926 but he did not finish the task until almost fifty years had passed! (35) Not only did he complete his work at a snail's pace but he based much of his first installment on the research of Gessay and Feriencik, whom he neglected to give credit, and his analysis was much inferior to theirs. The second article came largely from memory . In both he seemed more interested in promoting ' 'Czechoslovakism' ' (36) than in a genuine history of his people. Sister M. Martina Tybor, on the other hand, has made use of original sources but she has seldom told the full story . Thus , in " A Composite Picture of a Slovak Immigrant's Early Experiences,"(37) she presented a very good account of how a ' 'typical ' ' immigrant may �76 SLOVAKIA have fared upon arrival in America but she glossed over the many problems he may also have encountered. Similarly, in "Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916: Slovak-American Priest, Leader, Educator, "(38) she presented an interesting biography of this important early leader but again neglected to mention the many problems he had experienced in dealing with other priests and with his lay followers . Neither Slabey nor Tybor produced a full-length monograph. In the absence of any general histories of American Slovaks, two more recent immigrants set out to fill the void. The first was Konstantin Culen, a journalist by profession, who was drawn to the history of American Slovaks by his involvement in politics in the Old Country. Culen determined to examine the nature and extent of the nationalism that had motivated American Slovaks to make an agreement with the Czechs which guaranteed the Slovaks home-rule in the new Republic of Czecho-Slovakia. After having published one book dealing with such nationalism,(39) he decided to broaden his research and, after publishing numerous articles in various almanacs, he completed the very impressive Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America).(40) In this work he detailed both the social and political history of his countrymen to 1914. He read widely in their newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, books , minute-books and so on and tried, as best he could, to follow the rules of the historical profession. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the temptations of "filiopietism" and began the story with tales of Slovaks having come in the 17th .century , of their having participated in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and, therefore, having as good a claim to this country as anyone else. Furthermore, he relied too much on Slovak sources , neglecting many English-language studies of immigration at the turn of the century. After the Second World War, with his dreams of an independent Slovakia shattered, Culen immigrated to the United States and tried to carry on his work but found the climate among his people too hostile . He initially worked on the editorial staffs of several American and Canadian Slovak newspapers and publish~d dozens of articles. These were eventually gathered and published in' three important books: J. Slovensky: iivotopis zakladatel'a prvych slovenskych novin v Amerike (J. Slovensky: Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America);(41) Slovensk e casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America) ;(42) and V zajati falosn ych legiend a nen<ivistneho srdca (Imprisoned by False Legends and a Hateful Heart).(43) In the first of these he recounted how American Slovaks established their oldest newspaper. The second book , which we have already discussed, gave the story of their newspaper press. The third is virtually unknown , for �SLOVAKIA 77 he circulated only a few copies to his most trusted friends, but it is also the most important. In it he detailed the hostility which he and many other members of the post-war generation encountered from their lesseducated American countrymen. This is a fascinating phenomenon of rejection of one group oy another based on education and social standing, and since World\ War II it has been typical of many ethnic groups in the United States. Culen had so many arguments with American-Slovak leaders that he was virtually expelled from the community and died alienated from it in 1964. Shortly thereafter the present writer began to follow in Culen's footsteps. Born in Slovakia but educated in North America, he began a study of the political participation of his people in the World War I liberation movement(44) and then turned to their social history. Having used some of their parish and lodge records, supplemented by newspaper articles, he published ''The Slovak Immigrant is Not Anonymous," (45) in which he called on other scholars of immigration to make use of such sources. A little later he detailed some of the problems his countrymen had encountered with the largely IrishCatholic Church in America(46) and he also wrote a brief history of the Cleveland Slovak community.(47) At present he is preparing his dissertation, "Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 1870-1918"(48) for publication as a book. Meanwhile, in the decades since the Second World War, a few people have also concerned themselves with biographies of Slovak pioneers to this country. Konstantin Culen wrote a brief treatise on Jan Slovensky, founder of the first Slovak newspaper in America. (49) While he described adequately Slovensky' s early life and his work in the United States, he did not know all the circumstances surrounding his death by suicide and the work thus remains incomplete. Vincent Holecek, a self-styled historian of Slovaks all over the world, produced a short biography of P. V. Rovnianek entitled Slava a poniienie (Glory and Shame)(50) but ended it in 1907, before Rovnianek's tragic bankruptcy and, thus, also failed to tell the whole story. Jozef Pauco glorified the lives of Stefan Furdek and Matus Jankola(51) and later compiled Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike (Slovak Pioneers in America),(52) which covered the lives of fifty-five important and unimportant countrymen (there seemed to be no rationale for their selection). Finally, Sister M. Martina Tybor eulogized Matus Jankola in two very similar articles published in different joumals.(53) With the exception of Culen, all of the above were more concerned with edifying their subjects than with reaching critical and balanced conclusions. �78 SLOVAKIA Clearly this is another area of American-Slovak history that needs elaboration. The study of Slovak immigration, however, has not been confined to residents of North America. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948 a new school of Marxist historians appeared and some of them took an interest in their brethren overseas. Utilizing new disciplines such as demography and uncovering hitherto unprocessed county documents, they added new dimensions to the study of immigration, especially to its impact on the home country. Jim Sveton, a demographer , led the way. In his "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo v obdobi uhorskeho kapitalizmu" (Slovak Emigration in the Era of Hungarian Capitalism),(54) he studied the impact of mass migration on the remaining population. Using village birth and death records, he calculated the net loss of population due to emigration and discovered that the Slovaks were second only to the Irish in per capita emigration and population decline in the 19th century. These views were further elaborated in Obyvatel'stvo Slovenska za kapitalizmu (The Population of Slovakia Under Capitalism).(55) Jan Hanzlik followed in Sveton' s footsteps and in four articles showed the high level to which the new discipline of demography had risen. His "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo na prahu imperializmu" (Slovak Emigration on the Threshold of Imperialism)(56) dealt with the net loss of population due to emigration based on village censuses for the heaviest years of migration, 1901-1910. In "Vyst'ahovalectvo z vychodneho Slovenska" (Emigration from Eastern Slovakia)(57) he focused on that region of the country which had lost the most people and blamed the Magyars for the exodus because they had refused to industrialize Hungary. He expanded his research in "Vyvoj obyvatel'stva na Slovensku v obdobi 1869-1961 " (The Evolution of the Population of Slovakia in the Years 1861-1961). (58) Besides studying the impact emigration had had on the population for over a hundred years , he also blamed the Czechs for having prompted the industrialization of Bohemia-Moravia at th\ expense of Slovakia after 1918 and thus having contributed to the contiQued emigration of Slovaks from their native land in the twentieth century. Finally, in ' ' Zaciatky vyst'ahovalectva zo Slovenska do USA a jeho priebeh az do roku 1918, jeho priciny a nasledky" (The Beginnings of Slovak Emigration to America, Its Causes and Consequences to 1918),(59) Hanzlik summarized his research and that of other interested scholars and presented a very creditable interpretation of the impact of Slovak emigration to 1918. �SLOVAKIA 79 Once their demographer-colleagues had opened the field, Marxist historians also began to take notice of emigration. Ladislav Tajtak focused on that part of the country which had lost the most people in ''Vychodoslovenske vyst'ahovalectvo do prvej svetovej vojny'' (Eastern Slovak Emigration to the Fill.st World War)(60) and he carefully showed which of the eastern countries had lost the largest numbers and why. In a later work, "K zaciatkom Amerikansko-Slovenskych Novin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny)(6l) he traced, for the first time since Culen's Janka Slovensky, the history of the first Slovak newspaper in America. Frantisek Bielik and Elo Rakos, meanwhile, collected and published the most relevant documents pertaining to emigration in Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo: Dokumenty I, do roku 1918 (Slovak Emigration: Documents I, to 1918)(62) and a little later documents to 1939 in a book with a similar title. (63) They also provided a good introduction to both sets of documents. Finally, Milos Gosiorovsky legitimized all this concern with countrymen in capitalist America by publishing ''Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky a robotnicke hnutie" (Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky and the Workers' Movement)(64) in which he tried to link the workers' (communist) movements of the two worlds. Even though scholars in Slovakia have taken notice of their countrymen abroad, their perspective has been limited by ideological considerations. As I have pointed out in "Agrarian Problems in Slovakia, 1848-1918: An Historiographic Essay,"(65) Marxist scholars in the Old World must tow the party line. Thus, they can cite the works of Konstantin Culen and other ''bourgeois'' writers only at great peril to their own freedom and they have had to embellish their books and articles with liberal references to Marx, Lenin (and Stalin in the 1950s) and other prophets of the new order. Furthermore, these scholars can seldom, if ever, travel to the United States, and thus rich AmericanSlovak archives are beyond their reach. Therefore, they have necessarily concentrated on the impact of emigration on the home country and have only touched on the history of their countrymen abroad. Another approach to the study of immigration has been the novel. While traditional scholarly works have analyzed the nature and experience of the ethnic community in the midst of a new environment, the novel has become an important vehicle for understanding the dynamics of the situation and for expressing the feelings of the people . American Slovaks have been pleased with three outstanding novelists in this regard - Thomas Bell, Michael Novak and Sonya Jason. Bell , in Out of this Furnace ,(66) provided a moving account of �80 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of the first three generations in the steel mills of Braddock, Pennsylvania. His book was so painfully realistic that most of his countrymen avoided reading it. In a different vein Michael Novak described the difficulties that an upwardly-mobile third-generation American Slovak encountered in coping with the largely Anglo-Saxon world in Naked I Leave(67) and in the more analytical Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics .(68) Finally, Sonya Jason, also a product of a Pennsylvania steel town, portrayed the reaction of a third-generation woman to the insatiable demands of American armies for immigrant bodies in Concommitant Soldier: Woman and War.(69) One can only lament the dearth of such novels in the United States. While various aspects of Slovak immigration have been covered by members of this ethnic group, native Americans have seldom noticed these people and when they have, it has been either in the context of nativism or else as a part of the history of immigration in general. Nativism , that ideological disease which breeds hostility towards immigrants, infected the minds of some Americans at the tum of the century, causing them to write books extremely hostile to the ''new'' immigrants from Southeastern Europe, from whence the Slovaks came. Howard B. Grose, for instance, in a book aimed at Protestant Missionaries entitled Aliens or Americans?(70) deemed the newcomers to be a "heathen" threat to America and advocated their forceful conversion to Protestant Christianity in order to "Americanize" them. The theme of the immigrant "menace" also found its way into socalled scholarly works. Annie Marian Maclean, who fancied herself a "Progressive" social scientist, surveyed Southeastern Europeans in Pennsylvania and published " Life in the Pennsylvania Coal Fields with Particular Reference to Women, '' in a muckrating style that very much pleased the readers of the American Journal of Sociology .(71) Helen L. Wilson and Eunice W. Smith engaged in similar exposes for the AJS , devoting entire articles to individual ethnic groups, among them being "Chicago Housing Conditions , VIII: Among the Slovaks in the Twentieth Ward. "(72) Both of these works, in their lurid descriptions of immigrant ghettoes, warned Americans of the possible destruction of their society through unrestricted immigration. Nativist scholarship reached its pinnacle in an official government report which summarized all the prejudices then rampant in the United States towards Southeastern Europeans: \Established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the Dillingham Co~ission, _on Immigration reported in 1911 that the newcomers, among them the Slovaks, were a menace to American society because they allegedly bred slums, engaged in criminal activities and retarded the labor movement.(73) �SLOVAKIA ~ 81 However, as Maldwyn Jones'8.Ild Oscar Handlin have recently shown, the commissioners twisted the statistics to suit their preconceived notions.(74) Ironically enough, if one ignores the conclusions of the commissioners and uses only the raw statistics, one can discover in this Report a great deal of valuable material pertaining to the social history of Slovaks and other Southeastern Europeans in America at the tum of the century. Not all Americans, of course, accepted the findings of the Report or agreed with its conclusions. A small group of scholars, usually members of the "Social Gospel" movement which sought to help the poor and downtrodden, viewed the ''new'' immigrants sympathetically. Their writings served as a healthy counterweight to nativist attacks on these people. One of the first American defenders of Southern and Eastern Europeans was the Rev. Peter Roberts. A member of the Presbyterian Home Mission Society, Roberts set about describing, in great detail, the everyday life of the new immigrants (and these included the Slovaks) in their new social setting. His Anthracite Coal Communities(75) and The New Immigration: A Study of the Industrial and Social Life of Southeastern Europeans in America(76) are classics in sociological analysis. Rather than seeking evidence of these peoples' "inferiority," as various nativists had done, Roberts visited them, observed their habits and concluded that they fit very well into the American capitalist system, even if they did have to start at the bottom. While Roberts dealt with Southeastern Europeans in general, Emily Greene Balch focused on the Slavic nationalities in particular and produced the as yet unsurpassed Our Slavic Fellow-Citizens.(77) By devoting an entire chapter to each Slavic group and then doing a general analysis of them all, she showed the way to later generations of historians. She not only studied American-Slavic communities and talked with their people but also visited their homelands to get a transAtlantic perspective on the whole process of migration. This professor of political economy was so far ahead of her time that to this day no American historian has written a book of comparable depth and scope about the various Slavic ethnic groups in this country. One reason why American historians have not yet superseded Emily Greene Balch is that for generations the former simply ignored the history of Southeastern Europeans. Between the 1920s when the United States passed its restrictive immigration quota laws which presumed that everyone would disappear into the " melting pot " and the 1960s when an ethnic revival swept the country, virtually no books or articles concerned with Slavic immigrants appeared in any major �82 SLOVAKIA historical journals or university presses. A small group of Czech scholars and their sympathizers produced a few interesting studies but these paled in comparison to earlier efforts by immigrants themselves. Indeed, even when a few American historians did begin to notice the Slavs in the 1960s, their studies remained very superficial. The first Czech scholar to write about American Slovaks was Tomas Capek of New York. A lawyer by profession, he accepted a commission from the National Slovak Society and wrote The Slovaks of Hungary: Slavs and Pan-Slavism,(78) which was in effect the first history of these people in the English language. Later he and his son published The Czechoslovaks, the second half of which dealt with the Slovaks under the heading The Slovaks in America . (79) The latter work, consisting chiefly of impressions gathered from various informants, was vastly inferior to the first study which was grounded on a stronger scholarly base. However, since these were virtually the only studies of American Slovaks in the English language, leaders of the community which they described did treasure them. Josef Slabey Roucek followed in the Capeks' footsteps and tried to carry on their work. One of the few sociologists in the United States who could read various Slavic languages in the 1930s and 1940s, Roucek did write several articles about these peoples including ''The Passing of American Czechoslovaks.'' (80) In this and in similar works about other Slavic groups, Roucek bowed to the current ideology and predicted the rapid disappearance of all ethnic Americans into the ''melting pot.'' Since he was virtually alone in his concern for American Slavs, Roucek by default dominated this field for many years. Virtually his only competitor was Andrew A. Marchbin. The latter wrote peripherally about the Slovaks in "Early Emigration from Hungary to Canada," (81) and in " Hungarian Activities in Western Pennsylvania.'' (82) While Roucek tended to mix the Slovaks together with the Czechs, Marchbin mixed them with the Magyars, since he dealt with an earlier period. The latter did, however, mention the problems that divided the Slovaks from the Magyars while Roucek tried to cover up the differences between Czechs and Slovaks. In any case, both sociologists were good representatives of the dearth of American ethnic studies until the 1960s. In the decade of Vietnam and the Black Revolution , certain American scholars finally came to the reaJization that ethnicity was here to stay. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P . Moynihan said as much in their Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroe's, Puerto Ricans, Jews , Italians and Irish of New York City. (83) Influenced by these and other sociological works, a few historians set out to systematically collect �SLOVAKIA 83 materials pertaining to immigrant history and to write books and articles about Southeastern Europeans who had for so long been neglected by American scholars . Timothy L. Smith helped establish the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota in 1963 and he also urged fellow-historians in "New Approaches to the History of Immigration in Tw~ntieth-C~ntury America" (84) to study the longneglected peoples of Souther.n and Eastern Europe . While he seemed to be going against the tide in stressing the assimilation of these people in this and in subsequent articles ,(85) he did study the Slovaks, among others, and he did bring the attention of America's scholars to this neglected area of historical inquiry. His colleague Victor R. Greene, meanwhile , focused on the Poles and Lithuanians and peripherally on the Slovaks in Slavs on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite, (86) the first major work about these peoples since the 1920s! If one were to fault either of these scholars , it would be for their preoccupation with the history of several ethnic groups at once while neglecting to study any one of them in any great detail. Smith always speaks of several ethnic groups in his articles and too often assumes that they are all alike in their reaction to such American institutions as the public schools.(87) Greene, similarly, always speaks of the "Slavs" when, in reality, he is dealing only with the Poles and a few Lithuanians , and the latter are not Slavs. This practice is apparent in most of his articles and it often leads him to make erroneous conclusions about non-Poles.(88) The present writer sees in Smith 's and Greene 's articles a bit of the bias of the American historical profession . It is all right for Kenneth Lockridge or John Demos or Philip Grev en to devote entire monographs to tiny English settlements in New England(89) but somehow it is not all right for Timothy Smith or Victor Greene to study only the Slovaks, or Poles, or Croats, or other Southeastern Europeans. The assumption exists among most members of the profession that White Anglo-Saxon peoples are more important than other ethnic groups and , therefore , deserve more attention while the Slavs or even the Southeastern Europeans must be treated as a whole because individually they are not very important . Trying to overcome such discrimination should be one of the objectives of a future generation of historians. CONCLUSION It should be apparent, the refore, that the historiography of Slovak immigration to America has undergone many changes and that much of the story remains untold . Until very recently the best works on this �84 SLOVAKIA subject were those written by the pioneers themselves . Long before professional historians even bothered to study immigration, various ethnic leaders began to gather and read manuscript and printed materials of the past, they interviewed ''old timers " before oral history became fashionable and they made predictions about their communities that were uncannily accurate. Such ground-breaking efforts disprove Edward N. Saveth ' s charges that histories written by immigrants themselves are of little value because they are filled with filiopietism . (90) While the first generation did a commendable job in recording its people 's past, the second lagged behind and had to be aided by scholars in the Old World and, ultimately, by better-trained members of the third generation. Perhaps reacting to the pressures of ''Americanization,'' few American-born Slovaks bothered to write their own history and those who did so expended less effort at it than had their fathers. Members of the second generation produced no major monographs, only short articles that dealt with some particular aspect of their experience or convictions. Into this vacuum stepped Old World historians like Konstantin Culen who gave American Slovaks their first systematic history and various Marxist scholars who began to treat emigration as a major social problem. Finally , with the ethnic revival of the 1960s there came not only a new interest in immigration by Anglo-American historians like Timothy L. Smith but also a professional treatment of the subject by a new breed of "ethnic" historians such as Josef Barton and Mark Stolarik. The latter two deeply immersed themselves into the sources and began for the first time to reproduce the history of American Slovaks for an English-speaking audience , Barton's and Stolarik 's efforts have un"covered only the tip of the iceberg. In looking at social mobility, for instance, they have studied but the first two generations , and only Roman Catholics at that. The fate of the third and fourth generations remains unknown as does the behavior of the Lutherans, Greek Catholics and Calvinists. Did Slovak Protestants react to America differently from Catholics, as Max Weber would have predicted? If so , then perhaps their history should be studied separately from the majority Catholic group and the differences and similarities should then be compared and contrasted with other American religious and ethnic groups. The role of Slovaks in the American labor movement also remains untold. While the present writer touched upon this story in his dissertation , the total picture is so vast and the evidence is so great that one could devote an entire monograph to it. Attitudes towards manual �SLOVAKIA 85 labor, the factory system, unions, strikes, socialism and so on need to be clarified and compared with other ethnic groups in order to rescue American labor history from its preoccupation with the history of unions as institutions and channel it back to the history of the workers themselves. What of those immig\ants who returned home? Slovaks had a return rate of 20 percent. Why did these people not remain in the " promised land?" How did they fare upon their return to the Old Country? Did they have any economic, social, or cultural impact upon their brethren back home? No one has yet dealt with this aspect of immigration. Slovak involvement in American politics also remains a mystery. Which political party did the earliest immigrants support and which do their descendants? Did they join the ' 'city machines' ' immediately and if so, why? Did they have "ward-heelers" of their own or did some other ethnic group perform this function for them? What influence, if any, has the "Slovak vote" had upon local, state and national politics? All of these questions remain unanswered. The whole subject of assimilation also needs more study. Using Milton Gordon's seven steps towards complete or "structural" assimilation,(91) an " index" of assimilation is needed to determine how far American Slovaks have proceeded along this path and to provide a way of comparing them with other ethnic groups. Those who have resisted assimilation should also be studied. What role did their fraternal-benefit societies play in this opposition? Did their concept of family , neighborhood and life in general also lead to rejection of assimilation? Are their values radically different from Anglo-American ones and, if so, are they healthy or dangerous to the host society? Finally , the present state of the community needs attention. Are American-Slovaks happy? Did this country fulfill their aspirations or leave them disappointed? Is there a "generation-gap" in attitudes towards the American way of life? How do Slovaks react to other ethnic groups, particularly blacks? Have they dispersed from their original communities into all parts of the city or have they congregated in certain suburbs and why? Are immigrants in certain regions or cities better off than in others and why? · These are just a few of the questions that need answering. And they need not apply only to Slovaks. The vast majority of Southern and Eastern European ethnic groups have for too long been ignored by American historians.(92) Until we know their stories as well as we do the Anglo-American one, we will not really understand this country. �86 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) Obzor (Skalica, Slovakia), July 5 , 1873 and intermittently through July 5 , 1883 . (2) Tovarysstvo (Rufomberok , Slovakia) I (1893), 233-8. (3) Ibid . , III (1900), 293-300. (4) Ibid ., 301-5. (5) Kalendar J ednota, 1899 (Cleveland) , 135-6. (6) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku (Pittsburgh), I (No. 2-3, 1915), 98-109 . (7) Kalendar Jednota, 1911 , 75-89. (8) Narodny Kalendar (Pittsburgh), 1927-30. (9) Pittsburgh, 1924. (10) Kalendar Jednota, 1906, 33-114 . (11) Kalendar Jednota, 1911, 90-5. (12) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927 (Pittsburgh), 97-147 . (13) Cleveland , 1928. (14) Minneapolis, 1941. (15) Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, 83 (Sept.-Dec. 1972), 151-8. (16) St . Louis, 1955. (17) Cleveland , 1955 . (18) Narodny Kalendar, 1911, 66-77 . (19) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (No. 2-3, 1915), 90-7. (20) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927, 57-80 . (21) Ibid ., 37-56. (22) Minneapolis, 1938. (23) Cleveland, 1965. (24) Sbornik Narodneho Slovensk eho Spolku, I (No . 2-3, 1915) , 20-39 . (25) Published posthumously in Cleveland, 1970. (26) New York, 1922 . (27) Narodny Kalendar, 1911 , 117-28. (28) Binghamton , New York, 1919. (29) Cleveland, 1930. (30) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (31) The Slovak Community of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1978), co-authored with Sister M. Martina Tybor. (32) See above. ' , (33) Sbornik Narodneho Slove nskeho Spolku, I (No . 2-:t. 1915), 9~19 . (34) " The Significance of Immigration in American History, " Th e American Journal of Sociology, 27 (1921), 71-85. It is revealing that this article appeared in a sociology journal and not in an historical one . (35) Narodny Kale ndar, 1926, 41-59 and 1972 , 60-7. �SLOVAKIA 87 (36) A "Czechoslovak" is a Czech or Slovak who believes that these two peoples are really one nation and he downplays their cultural differences. (37) Jednota Annual Furdek (Cleveland), 8, (1969) , 3-23. (38) Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), XXIll (1972) , 161-92. (39) Pittsburghsk<i dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement) , Bratislava , 1937. (40) 2 Volumes, Bratislava, 1942. (41) Winnipeg, 1954. (42) Cleveland , 1970. (43) Mimeographed author 's publication , New York, 1961. (44) " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918," Slovak Studies VIII _(Rome , 1?68). 7-84 . (45) Jednota Annual Furdek, X (~971), 99-105 . (46) See above. (47) See above. (48) Ph.D. thesis, University of Minnesota, 1974 . (49) See above . (50) New York, 1957. (51) Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectuo (Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration). Cleveland, 1955; and Matus Jankola, knaz a n<irodouec (Matus Jankola, Priest and Patiot), Danville, Pa . , 1959. (52) Cleveland, 1973. (53) See above and "Father Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916," Slovak Studies, IX (1969) . 75-94. (54) Ekonomicky casopis, 4 (1956), 171-91. (55) Bratislava, 1958. (56) Geograficky casopis, XIII (1961), 195-210. (57) In I.:udovit Holotik (Ed.), Prispeuky k dejin<im uychodneho Slouenska (Contributions to the History of Eastern Slovakia). Bratislava, 1964, 220-32 . (58) Geograficky casopis, 19 (1967). 3-28 . (59) In Josef Polisensky (Ed.), Zaciatky ceskej a slouenskej emigr<icie do USA (The Beginnings of Czech and Slovak Immigration to the U.S.A.) (Bratislava, 1970), 49-96 . (60) Noue obzory (Kosice, Slovakia), Ill (1961), 221-47. (61) In Polisensky , op. cit. , 186-96. (62) Bratislava, 1969. (63) Martin, Slovakia, 1975. (64) In Polisensky, op. cit., 197-207. (65) Histoire sociale/Social History, VII (May , 1974) , 111-20. (66) Boston, 1941. (67) New York, 1970. (68) New York , 1971 . (69) Santa Monica, Calif., 1973. �88 SLOVAKIA (70) New York , 1906. (71) 14 (1908-9). 329-51. (72) 20 (1914), 145-69. (73) Reports of the Immigration Commission, 42 Volumes (Washington, 61st Congress, Senate, 1911). (74) See Maldwyn Jones , American Immigration (Chicago, 1960), 177-82 and Oscar Handlin 's Introduction to the R eports of the Immigration Commission, Volume I (Arno Press Reprint, New York , 1970) , 1-XLVI. (75) 2 volumes, New York, 1904. (76) New York, 1912 . (77) New York, 1910. (78) New York, 1906. (79) New York, 1921. (80) American Journal of Sociology, (1933-4), 611-25 . (81) Slavic Review, Xfil (1934), 127-38. (82) The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 23 (1940) , 163-74. (83) New York , 1963. (84) American Historical Review, 71 (July, 1966), 1265-79. (85) See for example " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education, 18801930," American Quarterly, XXI (Fall , 1969). 523-43; and "Lay Initiative in the Religious Life of American Immigrants, " in Tamara Hareven (Ed .), Anonymous Americans: Explorations in Nineteenth-Century Social History (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. , 1971) , 214-49. (86) Notre Dame, 1968. (87) "Immigrant Social Aspirations, " op cit. (88) See for example his ''For God and Country: The Origins of Slavic SelfConsciousness in America," Church History, 35 (December, 1966), 1-15 and " Slavic American Nationalism, 1870-1918," in Anna Cienciala (Ed.) , American Contributions to the Seventh International Congress of Slavists, Warsaw , August 21-7, 1973, Vol. ill: H istory (The Hague , 1973) , 197-215 . (89) Ke nneth Lockridge, A New England To wn: The First Hundred Years (New York, 1970); John Demos , A L(ttle Commonweafth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony (New York , 1970) ; and Philip Greven, Four Generations: Population, Land and Family in Colonial Andover, Massachusetts (Ithaca, 1970). (90) American Historian s and European Immigration, 1875-1925 (New York, 1948) . (91) Assimilation in American Life : The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins (New York, 1964) . \ (92) For an excellent analysis of the present state of immigration historiography see Rudolph J . Vecoli, " European Americans : From Immigrants to Ethnics, " in William H . Cartwright and Richard L. Watson (Eds.), The R einterpretation of American History and Culture (Washington , 1973) , 81-112 . � 66 SLOVAKIA From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M . MARK STOLARIK Although Slovaks have lived in the United States for over a hundred years, professional American historians have only recently begun to study them. This lack of concern for the second-largest Slavic group in America cannot be attributed to a lack of sources. Pioneers among these immigrants left us not only their published reminiscences but also led the way in reconstructing the histories of their communities. While a few members of the second generation tried to carry on the work of their fathers, their efforts paled in comparison . Historians in Slovakia, meanwhile, began to write about their countrymen in the United States and, whether as political emigres or as devoted Marxists, they initiated the first professional studies of these people. Native Americans, on the other hand, originally discussed Slovaks as either a threat to the American way of life or else as potential converts to the Social Gospel movement. For generations native historians ignored these and other Eastern Europeans in the naive belief that they would disappear in the ''melting pot.'' Only with the ethnic revival of the 1960s did some Ame~ican professionals of varying backgrounds begin to study these people:,. _ The everyday life of Slovaks in the United States has been portrayed at various levels, ranging from simple memoirs to complicated mobility studies. Some of the pioneers contented themselves with describing life in the New World as they remembered it. Others analyzed the growing ethnic neighborhoods , while others still began to collect materials and describe three major institutions of AmericanSlovak communities - the parishes, lodges and newspapers. Such M. Mark Stolarik has been designated as the Director of the Balch Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . This essay is reprinted from the International Migration Review (X , 1, Spring 1976). �SLOVAKIA 67 activities eventually led to full-scale community studies and attempts at an overall history of all Slovak groups in America. Even though the first two generations failed in the latter effort, they did provide the groundwork for later historians. By the 1960s scholars in both Europe and America used new methods such as demographic analysis, studies of marriage , educatiQn anct social mobility, to try to complete the story and put it into a broader context. The earliest description~' bf Slovak life in America came either as observations or else as reminiscences by pioneers . Daniel Sustek, a journeyman carpenter and one of the first Slovaks to arrive in the United States , described his experiences over a ten-year period beginning in 1873 in the self-help monthly Obzor.(1) Besides focusing on his problems of adjusting to the new land, Sustek described the strange way of life he found here and provided his countrymen with extensive advice on how to make the trip, where to find work, what kind of wages to expect and how to behave in the presence of non-Slovaks. Sustek' s reports are reminiscent of Alexis de Tocqueville and Lord Bryce especially when, after having initially praised the "equality" of all Americans , Sustek discovers the great gulf between rich and poor and concludes that in this regard the United States is not so different from Europe after all. While Sustek focused largely on his own experiences, Father Stefan Furdek provided us with the first description of Slovak community life in America. Having come to Cleveland in 1882 to serve an already-existing Czech parish, Furdek helped the earliest Slovak arrivals to organize themselves into lodges and parishes and he also established their first Catholic newspaper. By 1893 he felt experienced enough to write an article entitled " Z Ameriky" (From America) for an Old World annual in which he eulogized the political freedom of the New Land but warned intellectuals against immigrating to this country because their chances of finding a livelihood outside of manual labor were slim.(2) Furdek thus perceived the major role his people would play in providing labor for America's industries and the marginal impact they would have upon the intellectual and cultural life of the United States. In a later article , "Vselico z Ameriky" (Tidbits from America), he continued the story by focusing on working conditions in the mines and mills, on life in ethnic neighborhoods and on the need for immigrants to rely upon family or friends in order to survive and be successful in the New World.(3) He wrote dozens of similar articles in his Jednota (Union) newspaper and almanac of the same name between 1890 and 1914 and he remains a major source for the study of early American-Slovak life. �68 SLOVAKIA Father Matus Jankola, Furdek ' s friend and colleague , joined the latter in describing the activities of his countrymen in the United States during the early years of Slovak immigration. In "Crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa. " (Sketches from a Catholic Slovak Parish in Pittston, Pa.), he not only described the daily life of a coal miner but also focused on the relations of Slovaks with other ethnic groups. He complained about his countrymen' s propensity to emulate other Eastern Europeans in seeking financial control over their own parishes, a phenomenon known as "lay trusteeism" and a perpetual headache to both priests and bishops at the tum of the century.(4) In another penetrating article entitled "Nase skoly" (Our Schools), J ankola severely criticized Slovak parochial schools of his day for their inadequate facilities and teaching methods and urged his countrymen to establish a teaching order of nuns to upgrade the whole system .(5) Like Furdek , Jankola wrote dozens of articles in the Jednota newspaper and almanac between 1896 and 1916 and these are excellent sources for the study of American-Slovak history. While Furdek and J ankola described Slovak life in general, another clergyman zeroed in on the business community. Pavel Jamarik, a convert to Congregationalism and an exponent of the 'Protestant ethic,' sought to determine how many of his people were engaged in business and thus ''making it. '' He distributed a questionnaire to Slovak leaders in Cleveland, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut and, much to his dismay, discovered that fewer than one percent in each city owned business enterprises. He soberly concluded in ' ' Zivot americkych Slovakov dakedy a teraz'' (The Life of American Slovaks in the Past and Today)(6) that most of his people rejected the American route to social mobility through business enterprise and implicitly hinted that they would remain in the workingclass for some time to come. Such penetrating analyses, while vety valuable, were also rare. More common were reminiscences by "olq timers ~• of days gone by. Jozef Rusek , editor of the Jednota almanac, interviewed a Slovak who had arrived in Cleveland in 1880 and published his story under the rubric "V Novej Zemi" (In the New Land).(7) In this fascinating article the anonymous informant described the poor economic conditions that had driven him out of his homeland, the miserable ocean-crossing in steerage and all the difficulties he had encountered in making his way to Cleveland and finding suitable employment. A series of similar articles entitled "Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers) appeared in another almanac a short while later.(8) By collecting and publishing these reminiscences ethnic editors showed their appreciation for oral history �SLOVAKIA 69 long before American historians deemed it worthy of notice. In spite of this concel'Il with oral history, only one major leader of the American-Slovak COlllil1\Unity has left us his memoirs. Perhaps the reason for this dearth of autobiographies lies in the fact that Furdek died unexpectedly in 1914 and Jankola in 1916. In any case, P. V. Rovnianek, founder of the National Slovak Society in 1890 and for many years editor of the extremely popular Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News) penned his observations and reminiscences in a book with a very revealing title : Zapisky za iiva pochovaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive). (9) Here Rovnianek revealed how he had to leave the Budapest seminary in 1888 because of his nationalist views and how he came to America and quickly decided to work for national causes. He also detailed many of the arguments that he had had with other leaders, some of which resulted in costly lawsuits. Unfortunately, he covered up the misdeeds that led to the downfall of his financial empire in 1911. This, plus his tremendous conceit, detracted from an otherwise lucid and penetrating commentary. Shortly after their arrival in America, Slovak immigrants congregated in certain neighborhoods of cities where they established organizations that served to promote and solidify a new community existence . Three such institutions ranked highest in importance: the parish, the fraternal and the newspaper. By 1920, when these neighborhoods matured, Slovaks had almost 400 parishes of all denominations, hundreds of local and dozens of national fratemals and scores of daily , weekly and monthly periodical publications . It is no surprise , therefore, that when certain Slovak leaders began to record their earliest history in America, they turned their attention to these institutions. Father Furdek began the history of one group of these institutions with a lenghty article about "Slovenske osady v Amerike" (Slovak Parishes in America.) Having relied upon church records and interviews supplied by fellow-priests and cooperative laymen, Furdek presented us with short, informative histories of every Slovak Catholic parish established in the New World until 1906.(10) No sooner had Furdek published his analysis than a controversy broke out between boosters of Slovak parishes in Streator, Illinois and Hazleton, Pennsylvania . Worshippers in both areas claimed that theirs was the oldest Slovak Catholic parish in the United States. Although the debate remains unresolved to this day , Jozef G. Skurka, in "Prva slovenska rim. katolicka osada v Amerike" (The First Slovak Roman Catholic Parish in America) presented the arguments of both sides and left the final decision to the reader. (11) �70 SLOVAKIA Furdek's article began a trend that led not only to similar efforts by leaders of other denominations but it may also have prompted the later publication of jubilee books and a few full-fledged histories of church groups . Thus, Josef Nadenicek, a Calvinist minister, had his coreligionists aid him in compiling histories of all their parishes in the United States and he published these under the general heading of "Kratke dejiny cirkvi" (Short Histories of Our Parishes) giving the contributors full credit for their efforts .(12) Other religious leaders published even more detailed stories in special anniversary booklets. Examples are Strieborne jubileum osady sv. Vendelina, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928 (Silver Jubilee of St. Wendelin's Parish, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928,(13) and Father George S. Dargay' s Historical Sketch of the Church of St. Cyril of Minneapolis, Minn., 1891-1941. (14) A committee of priests and laymen usually compiled such histories, relying upon parish records, newspaper accounts and the memories of pioneers for sources. Even though other congregations published similar jubilee books, they seldom contained the whole truth because most immigrant parishes at the turn of the century experienced some sort of conflict between laymen and pastor or bishop. The present writer described problems of this sort in "Lay Initiative in American-Slovak Parishes, 1880-1930,"(15) in the hope that even professional church historians would dig deeper into the sources and abandon their preoccupation with consensus history. Meanwhile, one might suppose that with so many parishes having recorded their own history, a larger synthesis would have appeared. Only two historians have made such an attempt in the Slovak community and their efforts leave much to be desired. Pastor George Dolak, a member of the second generation, wrote an official History of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States of America, 1920-1927(16) and, as the title suggests, he covered only a short period and ignored the two other Synods to which Slovaks belong. Indeed, one looks in vain in this book fa'( an explanation of this split among Slovak Lutherans in America. Similarly,_ while the emigre historian Frantisek Hrusovsky did a creditable job in recording the story of Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak Religious Orders in America), (17) he too steered clear of all controversy. Inadequate as these works are, they remain the only attempted syntheses of various Slovak religious groups in America. No one has yet written an overall history of Slovak Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran or Calvinist denominations in the United States and their relation to New or Old World counterparts. Scholars have barely scratched the surface of this vast subject. �SLOVAKIA ' 71 Equal in importance to'. parishes in immigrant communities were fraternal benefit societies. In many instances these preceded the founding of churches and became their chief bulwarks. By 1890 several dozen local societies existed and many of these later merged into larger, national organizations such as the First Catholic Slovak Union or the National Slovak Society . By 1920 these and other fraternals enrolled over one-third of the 600,000 plus Slovak immigrants who had come to America. By providing much needed and inexpensive life insurance , plus taking an active role in community and national affairs , they became indispensable to the growth and survival of ethnic communities. Realizing the importance of fratemals, officers of the National Slovak Society determined to record some of their history. In 1909 they commissioned their editor Ignac Gessay to write the history of their organization. He eagerly read old newspapers, minute-books, pamphlets and other materials, some of which have since disappeared. He also interviewed as many "old timers" as he could. By 1911 he published two articles, one entitled " Spolky pred organisaciami" (Societies Before Organizations) in which he presented an excellent survey of the first forty local fraternal-benefit societies established by American Slovaks before national bodies appeared in 1890.(18) Gessay had hoped that he could continue in his work and eventually publish an overall history of his people but his friendship with P. V. Rovnianek prevented it . When the latter's financial institution bankrupted in 1911, thereby ruining a great many Slovaks and weakening the Society, Rovnianek had to flee for his life and Gessay lost his commission. Into the void stepped Jan A. Feriencik, another editor, determined to complete the story . Using Gessay's notes (without giving him credit) and engaging in his own research, he did produce, among other things, " Vyznam Nar. Slovenskeho Spolku" (The Significance of the National Slovak Society) .(19) In this brief article he surveyed the history of the Society from 1890 to 1914, concentrating on the highlights and praising its achievements. Although Feriencik did write articles dealing with other aspects of the Slovak experience in America (discussed below), he too failed to complete a monograph on either the NSS or on the history of American Slovaks . Shortly thereafter a group of Slovak Calvinists also set out to write the history of their organization. The Rev. Frantisek Uherka urged the officers of each branch of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union to compile a short history of their lodge on the basis of minute books, newspaper articles and interviews . They did as requested and Uherka then published these histories under the general heading " Kratke �72 SLOVAKIA dejiny jednotlivych sborov Slov. Kalv. Presb. Jednoty. " (Short Histories of the Lodges of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union) , giving the contributors full credit.(20) He also compiled a general history of the national organization , based on the information provided by lodges as well as his reading of the head-office 's minute-books and on his own memory and entitled it "Kratky prehfad S.K.P . Jednoty, 1901-1926 ," (Short Over-View of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union). (21) The largest of the fraternals , the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile, held back from such undertakings for several generations. Its individual lodges did often publish jubilee histories such as " Memoirs of the Golden Jubilee of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Society, 1883-1938" and these often provided fascinating insights into their individual achievements .(22) The national organization, however, resolved to sponsor an overall history only when its 75th anniversary approached. It commissioned Jozef Pauco, an emigre journalist, to undertake this task and he completed it by 1965 under the heading 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union).(23) Pauco presented a strictly chronological year-by-year account, devoid of any analysis or criticism. He simply listed the society's growth and achievements. Thus, although a few Slovak societies did promote studies of their own achievements and one even commissioned a book, much of their history remains to be uncovered. Besides the need for full-length monographs of such important organizations as the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies ' Association, the Slovak Evangelical Union and so on , studies of the impact these and other societies have had on ethnic community life over the last 100 years should be made. How did these societies help the immigrant adjust to the New World? Did they supplant labor unions? Did they foster or hinder assimilation? Why did they splinter along religious and ideological lines? Why did women set up their own fratemals? Did fraternals promote Slovak culture in the .New World? What is their present status? What does the future h&d for them? How do they compare to societies founded by other grouf)s? These are just a few of the questions that need answering before we can understand the role that fraternal-benefit societies played in the life of American Slovaks. The third major component of growing Slovak communities was their newspaper press . Since most Slovaks initially came to America to make their " fortune " and return home , they became very interested in news of the home country published in their own language. The few intellectuals who accompanied these people to the United States �SLOVAKIA 73 quickly discovered this thir~t for news and satiated it with more than 200 periodicals between 1886 and the present. Among them were official organs of fraternal-benefit societies, independent dailies, weeklies and monthlies, labor newspapers, satirical journals, religious periodicals and so on. Having realized the importance of the newspaper press to the Slovak community, two journalists made a serious attempt to depict its history. Jan A. Feriencik, mentioned above, made the first attempt at a comprehensive history in "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Letters in America).(24) Since he tried to describe sixty titles in a few pages, his effort was very unbalanced. Moreover, he relied too much on memory and some of his assertions were false. Nevertheless, he did record some titles that have long since disappeared and th.u s he performed a vital service for later historians. Konstantin Culen, a post-World War II emigre journalist, expressed his appreciation to Feriencik and tried to complete the story in Slovenske casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America).(25) He gathered together titles of more than 230 Slovak periodicals published in this country and commented on each although he knew more about some papers and less about others, and thus his book is very uneven. In fact, since he died before the manuscript was completed, his colleague Jozef Pauco tried to finish the job. The periodicals are not organized according to subject, they simply appear in alphabetical order. Furthermore, there is no table of contents and no index. Unless one knows in advance the exact name of a publication, this book is extremely difficult to use. Feriencik and Culen did only half the job. They listed the titles and described the editorial policy of the founders . No one has done a comprehensive history of any one of the major dailies or weeklies . It would be instructive to know, from a content-analysis, how various Slovak newspapers in America viewed this country, its much-vaunted equality and democracy and their perception of the role of their readers. Robert E. Park attempted such a study in his Immigrant Press and Its Control(26) but since he covered so many different nationalities, his assessment was necessarily shallow. A good history of the Slovak press, as well as that of other ethnic groups in America, is sorely needed. Shortly after having recorded the history of their lodges, parishes and newspapers, American Slovaks began to think of the larger story. A few of them started to publish histories of communities that covered members of all denominations . These have since been supplemented �74 SLOVAKIA by works of professional scholarship, although their number remains small. The first attempt at writing local history was made by lgnac Gessay. Hoping to eventually publish a general work on American Slovaks, this newspaper editor began to gather materials about their oldest communities. One of these was Streator, Illinois, in the bituminous coal fields and Gessay presented its story from the 1870s to 1910 in "Streatorski Slovaci a ich pokrok" (Streator Slovaks and their Progress).(27) Since this was a first attempt written for a national almanac, it necessarily gave only the highlights of the story. Better and more comprehensive histories appeared a short while later. Imrich Mazar, a local lodge leader, compiled a remarkable work entitled Dejiny Binghamtonskych Slovakov za dobu styridsat rokov, 1879-1919 (Forty Years of the History of Binghamton Slovaks, 18791919).(28) Mazar interviewed pioneers of the community, consulted church and lodge records and read of his people's exploits in the press. Using such sources he very ably covered the story of all aspects of the community - its general history, the story of its fraternals, churches and clubs and the involvement of the local community in the CzechoSlovak liberation movement of World War I. Jan Pankuch did a similarly excellent job in Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovakov (A History of Cleveland and Lakewood Slovaks). (29) A newspaper editor by profession, Pankuch persevered in his efforts even after the Great Depression had erupted and he published the book with his own dwindling resources. The only major criticisms that one can make of these two books is that they are poorly organized and lack perspective. Since neither Mazar nor Pankuch had any historical training, they dared not judge what was important and what was not. They recorded everything they had heard or discovered in an often haphazard manner and this made the reading of their books difficult. On the other hand, by not rejecting anything, they made their works invaluable sources for a later generation of historians . .. Two scholars interested in American-Slovak history appeared in the 1960s to make good use of previous pioneering efforts. Josef Barton studied the social mobility of three ethnic groups in Cleveland and included the Slovaks among them . In his Peasants and Strangers,(30) a spin-off of his dissertation, he relied quite extensively on Pankuch for the background story. The present writer, commissioned to write a joint history with another author about the Cleveland Slovak community, used Pankuch as a source quite liberally.(31) Hopefully these will be followed by studies of Slovaks in other cities, enabling future historians �SLOVAKIA 75 to compare the fortunes of these people in a wide variety of geographical areas, thus gaining a better perspective on the whole story of immigration. Along with recording much local information, American Slovaks naturally desired an overall view of their coming and settlement in various parts of the New World. Once again the pioneers led the way but this undertaking prove~ too much for them. They had to settle for histories written by a later generation of immigrants and these stories are, as yet, incomplete. lgnac Gessay and Jan A. Feriencik first attempted to compile a general history of their people. Gessay, as we have already seen, did not finish the task.(32) Jan Feriencik inherited not only Gessay 's job but also his notes. Supplementing these with his own research, he published " Nacrtok prist'ahovalectva slovenskeho do Ameriky" (A Sketch of Slovak Immigration to America).(33) Relying upon old newspapers , minute-books, Gessay's notes and his own memory, Feriencik produced a useful, if jaundiced (he was very anti-Semitic) survey of the coming of his people to the New World. He had hoped to produce a full-length monograph on this subject but died before he could do so. With Feriencik's death, along with that of most of his firstgeneration colleagues in the 1920s, the task of recording AmericanSlovak history fell to the second generation . Having absolutely no help from Anglo-American historians, who in the first half of the twentieth century seemed completely uninterested in the history of recent immigration, as Arthur M. Schlesinger lamented,(34) the second generation failed to even match the efforts of their fathers. Andrew P . Slabey and Sister M. Martina Tybor are good examples of second-generation American-Slovak scholars . The former was one of the first Slovak university graduates in the United States and he set out to write a " Prehl'ad dejin Slovakov v Amerike " (A Survey of the History of American Slovaks) in 1926 but he did not finish the task until almost fifty years had passed! (35) Not only did he complete his work at a snail's pace but he based much of his first installment on the research of Gessay and Feriencik, whom he neglected to give credit, and his analysis was much inferior to theirs. The second article came largely from memory . In both he seemed more interested in promoting ' 'Czechoslovakism' ' (36) than in a genuine history of his people. Sister M. Martina Tybor, on the other hand, has made use of original sources but she has seldom told the full story . Thus , in " A Composite Picture of a Slovak Immigrant's Early Experiences,"(37) she presented a very good account of how a ' 'typical ' ' immigrant may �76 SLOVAKIA have fared upon arrival in America but she glossed over the many problems he may also have encountered. Similarly, in "Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916: Slovak-American Priest, Leader, Educator, "(38) she presented an interesting biography of this important early leader but again neglected to mention the many problems he had experienced in dealing with other priests and with his lay followers . Neither Slabey nor Tybor produced a full-length monograph. In the absence of any general histories of American Slovaks, two more recent immigrants set out to fill the void. The first was Konstantin Culen, a journalist by profession, who was drawn to the history of American Slovaks by his involvement in politics in the Old Country. Culen determined to examine the nature and extent of the nationalism that had motivated American Slovaks to make an agreement with the Czechs which guaranteed the Slovaks home-rule in the new Republic of Czecho-Slovakia. After having published one book dealing with such nationalism,(39) he decided to broaden his research and, after publishing numerous articles in various almanacs, he completed the very impressive Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America).(40) In this work he detailed both the social and political history of his countrymen to 1914. He read widely in their newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, books , minute-books and so on and tried, as best he could, to follow the rules of the historical profession. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the temptations of "filiopietism" and began the story with tales of Slovaks having come in the 17th .century , of their having participated in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and, therefore, having as good a claim to this country as anyone else. Furthermore, he relied too much on Slovak sources , neglecting many English-language studies of immigration at the turn of the century. After the Second World War, with his dreams of an independent Slovakia shattered, Culen immigrated to the United States and tried to carry on his work but found the climate among his people too hostile . He initially worked on the editorial staffs of several American and Canadian Slovak newspapers and publish~d dozens of articles. These were eventually gathered and published in' three important books: J. Slovensky: iivotopis zakladatel'a prvych slovenskych novin v Amerike (J. Slovensky: Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America);(41) Slovensk e casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America) ;(42) and V zajati falosn ych legiend a nen<ivistneho srdca (Imprisoned by False Legends and a Hateful Heart).(43) In the first of these he recounted how American Slovaks established their oldest newspaper. The second book , which we have already discussed, gave the story of their newspaper press. The third is virtually unknown , for �SLOVAKIA 77 he circulated only a few copies to his most trusted friends, but it is also the most important. In it he detailed the hostility which he and many other members of the post-war generation encountered from their lesseducated American countrymen. This is a fascinating phenomenon of rejection of one group oy another based on education and social standing, and since World\ War II it has been typical of many ethnic groups in the United States. Culen had so many arguments with American-Slovak leaders that he was virtually expelled from the community and died alienated from it in 1964. Shortly thereafter the present writer began to follow in Culen's footsteps. Born in Slovakia but educated in North America, he began a study of the political participation of his people in the World War I liberation movement(44) and then turned to their social history. Having used some of their parish and lodge records, supplemented by newspaper articles, he published ''The Slovak Immigrant is Not Anonymous," (45) in which he called on other scholars of immigration to make use of such sources. A little later he detailed some of the problems his countrymen had encountered with the largely IrishCatholic Church in America(46) and he also wrote a brief history of the Cleveland Slovak community.(47) At present he is preparing his dissertation, "Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 1870-1918"(48) for publication as a book. Meanwhile, in the decades since the Second World War, a few people have also concerned themselves with biographies of Slovak pioneers to this country. Konstantin Culen wrote a brief treatise on Jan Slovensky, founder of the first Slovak newspaper in America. (49) While he described adequately Slovensky' s early life and his work in the United States, he did not know all the circumstances surrounding his death by suicide and the work thus remains incomplete. Vincent Holecek, a self-styled historian of Slovaks all over the world, produced a short biography of P. V. Rovnianek entitled Slava a poniienie (Glory and Shame)(50) but ended it in 1907, before Rovnianek's tragic bankruptcy and, thus, also failed to tell the whole story. Jozef Pauco glorified the lives of Stefan Furdek and Matus Jankola(51) and later compiled Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike (Slovak Pioneers in America),(52) which covered the lives of fifty-five important and unimportant countrymen (there seemed to be no rationale for their selection). Finally, Sister M. Martina Tybor eulogized Matus Jankola in two very similar articles published in different joumals.(53) With the exception of Culen, all of the above were more concerned with edifying their subjects than with reaching critical and balanced conclusions. �78 SLOVAKIA Clearly this is another area of American-Slovak history that needs elaboration. The study of Slovak immigration, however, has not been confined to residents of North America. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948 a new school of Marxist historians appeared and some of them took an interest in their brethren overseas. Utilizing new disciplines such as demography and uncovering hitherto unprocessed county documents, they added new dimensions to the study of immigration, especially to its impact on the home country. Jim Sveton, a demographer , led the way. In his "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo v obdobi uhorskeho kapitalizmu" (Slovak Emigration in the Era of Hungarian Capitalism),(54) he studied the impact of mass migration on the remaining population. Using village birth and death records, he calculated the net loss of population due to emigration and discovered that the Slovaks were second only to the Irish in per capita emigration and population decline in the 19th century. These views were further elaborated in Obyvatel'stvo Slovenska za kapitalizmu (The Population of Slovakia Under Capitalism).(55) Jan Hanzlik followed in Sveton' s footsteps and in four articles showed the high level to which the new discipline of demography had risen. His "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo na prahu imperializmu" (Slovak Emigration on the Threshold of Imperialism)(56) dealt with the net loss of population due to emigration based on village censuses for the heaviest years of migration, 1901-1910. In "Vyst'ahovalectvo z vychodneho Slovenska" (Emigration from Eastern Slovakia)(57) he focused on that region of the country which had lost the most people and blamed the Magyars for the exodus because they had refused to industrialize Hungary. He expanded his research in "Vyvoj obyvatel'stva na Slovensku v obdobi 1869-1961 " (The Evolution of the Population of Slovakia in the Years 1861-1961). (58) Besides studying the impact emigration had had on the population for over a hundred years , he also blamed the Czechs for having prompted the industrialization of Bohemia-Moravia at th\ expense of Slovakia after 1918 and thus having contributed to the contiQued emigration of Slovaks from their native land in the twentieth century. Finally, in ' ' Zaciatky vyst'ahovalectva zo Slovenska do USA a jeho priebeh az do roku 1918, jeho priciny a nasledky" (The Beginnings of Slovak Emigration to America, Its Causes and Consequences to 1918),(59) Hanzlik summarized his research and that of other interested scholars and presented a very creditable interpretation of the impact of Slovak emigration to 1918. �SLOVAKIA 79 Once their demographer-colleagues had opened the field, Marxist historians also began to take notice of emigration. Ladislav Tajtak focused on that part of the country which had lost the most people in ''Vychodoslovenske vyst'ahovalectvo do prvej svetovej vojny'' (Eastern Slovak Emigration to the Fill.st World War)(60) and he carefully showed which of the eastern countries had lost the largest numbers and why. In a later work, "K zaciatkom Amerikansko-Slovenskych Novin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny)(6l) he traced, for the first time since Culen's Janka Slovensky, the history of the first Slovak newspaper in America. Frantisek Bielik and Elo Rakos, meanwhile, collected and published the most relevant documents pertaining to emigration in Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo: Dokumenty I, do roku 1918 (Slovak Emigration: Documents I, to 1918)(62) and a little later documents to 1939 in a book with a similar title. (63) They also provided a good introduction to both sets of documents. Finally, Milos Gosiorovsky legitimized all this concern with countrymen in capitalist America by publishing ''Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky a robotnicke hnutie" (Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky and the Workers' Movement)(64) in which he tried to link the workers' (communist) movements of the two worlds. Even though scholars in Slovakia have taken notice of their countrymen abroad, their perspective has been limited by ideological considerations. As I have pointed out in "Agrarian Problems in Slovakia, 1848-1918: An Historiographic Essay,"(65) Marxist scholars in the Old World must tow the party line. Thus, they can cite the works of Konstantin Culen and other ''bourgeois'' writers only at great peril to their own freedom and they have had to embellish their books and articles with liberal references to Marx, Lenin (and Stalin in the 1950s) and other prophets of the new order. Furthermore, these scholars can seldom, if ever, travel to the United States, and thus rich AmericanSlovak archives are beyond their reach. Therefore, they have necessarily concentrated on the impact of emigration on the home country and have only touched on the history of their countrymen abroad. Another approach to the study of immigration has been the novel. While traditional scholarly works have analyzed the nature and experience of the ethnic community in the midst of a new environment, the novel has become an important vehicle for understanding the dynamics of the situation and for expressing the feelings of the people . American Slovaks have been pleased with three outstanding novelists in this regard - Thomas Bell, Michael Novak and Sonya Jason. Bell , in Out of this Furnace ,(66) provided a moving account of �80 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of the first three generations in the steel mills of Braddock, Pennsylvania. His book was so painfully realistic that most of his countrymen avoided reading it. In a different vein Michael Novak described the difficulties that an upwardly-mobile third-generation American Slovak encountered in coping with the largely Anglo-Saxon world in Naked I Leave(67) and in the more analytical Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics .(68) Finally, Sonya Jason, also a product of a Pennsylvania steel town, portrayed the reaction of a third-generation woman to the insatiable demands of American armies for immigrant bodies in Concommitant Soldier: Woman and War.(69) One can only lament the dearth of such novels in the United States. While various aspects of Slovak immigration have been covered by members of this ethnic group, native Americans have seldom noticed these people and when they have, it has been either in the context of nativism or else as a part of the history of immigration in general. Nativism , that ideological disease which breeds hostility towards immigrants, infected the minds of some Americans at the tum of the century, causing them to write books extremely hostile to the ''new'' immigrants from Southeastern Europe, from whence the Slovaks came. Howard B. Grose, for instance, in a book aimed at Protestant Missionaries entitled Aliens or Americans?(70) deemed the newcomers to be a "heathen" threat to America and advocated their forceful conversion to Protestant Christianity in order to "Americanize" them. The theme of the immigrant "menace" also found its way into socalled scholarly works. Annie Marian Maclean, who fancied herself a "Progressive" social scientist, surveyed Southeastern Europeans in Pennsylvania and published " Life in the Pennsylvania Coal Fields with Particular Reference to Women, '' in a muckrating style that very much pleased the readers of the American Journal of Sociology .(71) Helen L. Wilson and Eunice W. Smith engaged in similar exposes for the AJS , devoting entire articles to individual ethnic groups, among them being "Chicago Housing Conditions , VIII: Among the Slovaks in the Twentieth Ward. "(72) Both of these works, in their lurid descriptions of immigrant ghettoes, warned Americans of the possible destruction of their society through unrestricted immigration. Nativist scholarship reached its pinnacle in an official government report which summarized all the prejudices then rampant in the United States towards Southeastern Europeans: \Established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the Dillingham Co~ission, _on Immigration reported in 1911 that the newcomers, among them the Slovaks, were a menace to American society because they allegedly bred slums, engaged in criminal activities and retarded the labor movement.(73) �SLOVAKIA ~ 81 However, as Maldwyn Jones'8.Ild Oscar Handlin have recently shown, the commissioners twisted the statistics to suit their preconceived notions.(74) Ironically enough, if one ignores the conclusions of the commissioners and uses only the raw statistics, one can discover in this Report a great deal of valuable material pertaining to the social history of Slovaks and other Southeastern Europeans in America at the tum of the century. Not all Americans, of course, accepted the findings of the Report or agreed with its conclusions. A small group of scholars, usually members of the "Social Gospel" movement which sought to help the poor and downtrodden, viewed the ''new'' immigrants sympathetically. Their writings served as a healthy counterweight to nativist attacks on these people. One of the first American defenders of Southern and Eastern Europeans was the Rev. Peter Roberts. A member of the Presbyterian Home Mission Society, Roberts set about describing, in great detail, the everyday life of the new immigrants (and these included the Slovaks) in their new social setting. His Anthracite Coal Communities(75) and The New Immigration: A Study of the Industrial and Social Life of Southeastern Europeans in America(76) are classics in sociological analysis. Rather than seeking evidence of these peoples' "inferiority," as various nativists had done, Roberts visited them, observed their habits and concluded that they fit very well into the American capitalist system, even if they did have to start at the bottom. While Roberts dealt with Southeastern Europeans in general, Emily Greene Balch focused on the Slavic nationalities in particular and produced the as yet unsurpassed Our Slavic Fellow-Citizens.(77) By devoting an entire chapter to each Slavic group and then doing a general analysis of them all, she showed the way to later generations of historians. She not only studied American-Slavic communities and talked with their people but also visited their homelands to get a transAtlantic perspective on the whole process of migration. This professor of political economy was so far ahead of her time that to this day no American historian has written a book of comparable depth and scope about the various Slavic ethnic groups in this country. One reason why American historians have not yet superseded Emily Greene Balch is that for generations the former simply ignored the history of Southeastern Europeans. Between the 1920s when the United States passed its restrictive immigration quota laws which presumed that everyone would disappear into the " melting pot " and the 1960s when an ethnic revival swept the country, virtually no books or articles concerned with Slavic immigrants appeared in any major �82 SLOVAKIA historical journals or university presses. A small group of Czech scholars and their sympathizers produced a few interesting studies but these paled in comparison to earlier efforts by immigrants themselves. Indeed, even when a few American historians did begin to notice the Slavs in the 1960s, their studies remained very superficial. The first Czech scholar to write about American Slovaks was Tomas Capek of New York. A lawyer by profession, he accepted a commission from the National Slovak Society and wrote The Slovaks of Hungary: Slavs and Pan-Slavism,(78) which was in effect the first history of these people in the English language. Later he and his son published The Czechoslovaks, the second half of which dealt with the Slovaks under the heading The Slovaks in America . (79) The latter work, consisting chiefly of impressions gathered from various informants, was vastly inferior to the first study which was grounded on a stronger scholarly base. However, since these were virtually the only studies of American Slovaks in the English language, leaders of the community which they described did treasure them. Josef Slabey Roucek followed in the Capeks' footsteps and tried to carry on their work. One of the few sociologists in the United States who could read various Slavic languages in the 1930s and 1940s, Roucek did write several articles about these peoples including ''The Passing of American Czechoslovaks.'' (80) In this and in similar works about other Slavic groups, Roucek bowed to the current ideology and predicted the rapid disappearance of all ethnic Americans into the ''melting pot.'' Since he was virtually alone in his concern for American Slavs, Roucek by default dominated this field for many years. Virtually his only competitor was Andrew A. Marchbin. The latter wrote peripherally about the Slovaks in "Early Emigration from Hungary to Canada," (81) and in " Hungarian Activities in Western Pennsylvania.'' (82) While Roucek tended to mix the Slovaks together with the Czechs, Marchbin mixed them with the Magyars, since he dealt with an earlier period. The latter did, however, mention the problems that divided the Slovaks from the Magyars while Roucek tried to cover up the differences between Czechs and Slovaks. In any case, both sociologists were good representatives of the dearth of American ethnic studies until the 1960s. In the decade of Vietnam and the Black Revolution , certain American scholars finally came to the reaJization that ethnicity was here to stay. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P . Moynihan said as much in their Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroe's, Puerto Ricans, Jews , Italians and Irish of New York City. (83) Influenced by these and other sociological works, a few historians set out to systematically collect �SLOVAKIA 83 materials pertaining to immigrant history and to write books and articles about Southeastern Europeans who had for so long been neglected by American scholars . Timothy L. Smith helped establish the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota in 1963 and he also urged fellow-historians in "New Approaches to the History of Immigration in Tw~ntieth-C~ntury America" (84) to study the longneglected peoples of Souther.n and Eastern Europe . While he seemed to be going against the tide in stressing the assimilation of these people in this and in subsequent articles ,(85) he did study the Slovaks, among others, and he did bring the attention of America's scholars to this neglected area of historical inquiry. His colleague Victor R. Greene, meanwhile , focused on the Poles and Lithuanians and peripherally on the Slovaks in Slavs on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite, (86) the first major work about these peoples since the 1920s! If one were to fault either of these scholars , it would be for their preoccupation with the history of several ethnic groups at once while neglecting to study any one of them in any great detail. Smith always speaks of several ethnic groups in his articles and too often assumes that they are all alike in their reaction to such American institutions as the public schools.(87) Greene, similarly, always speaks of the "Slavs" when, in reality, he is dealing only with the Poles and a few Lithuanians , and the latter are not Slavs. This practice is apparent in most of his articles and it often leads him to make erroneous conclusions about non-Poles.(88) The present writer sees in Smith 's and Greene 's articles a bit of the bias of the American historical profession . It is all right for Kenneth Lockridge or John Demos or Philip Grev en to devote entire monographs to tiny English settlements in New England(89) but somehow it is not all right for Timothy Smith or Victor Greene to study only the Slovaks, or Poles, or Croats, or other Southeastern Europeans. The assumption exists among most members of the profession that White Anglo-Saxon peoples are more important than other ethnic groups and , therefore , deserve more attention while the Slavs or even the Southeastern Europeans must be treated as a whole because individually they are not very important . Trying to overcome such discrimination should be one of the objectives of a future generation of historians. CONCLUSION It should be apparent, the refore, that the historiography of Slovak immigration to America has undergone many changes and that much of the story remains untold . Until very recently the best works on this �84 SLOVAKIA subject were those written by the pioneers themselves . Long before professional historians even bothered to study immigration, various ethnic leaders began to gather and read manuscript and printed materials of the past, they interviewed ''old timers " before oral history became fashionable and they made predictions about their communities that were uncannily accurate. Such ground-breaking efforts disprove Edward N. Saveth ' s charges that histories written by immigrants themselves are of little value because they are filled with filiopietism . (90) While the first generation did a commendable job in recording its people 's past, the second lagged behind and had to be aided by scholars in the Old World and, ultimately, by better-trained members of the third generation. Perhaps reacting to the pressures of ''Americanization,'' few American-born Slovaks bothered to write their own history and those who did so expended less effort at it than had their fathers. Members of the second generation produced no major monographs, only short articles that dealt with some particular aspect of their experience or convictions. Into this vacuum stepped Old World historians like Konstantin Culen who gave American Slovaks their first systematic history and various Marxist scholars who began to treat emigration as a major social problem. Finally , with the ethnic revival of the 1960s there came not only a new interest in immigration by Anglo-American historians like Timothy L. Smith but also a professional treatment of the subject by a new breed of "ethnic" historians such as Josef Barton and Mark Stolarik. The latter two deeply immersed themselves into the sources and began for the first time to reproduce the history of American Slovaks for an English-speaking audience , Barton's and Stolarik 's efforts have un"covered only the tip of the iceberg. In looking at social mobility, for instance, they have studied but the first two generations , and only Roman Catholics at that. The fate of the third and fourth generations remains unknown as does the behavior of the Lutherans, Greek Catholics and Calvinists. Did Slovak Protestants react to America differently from Catholics, as Max Weber would have predicted? If so , then perhaps their history should be studied separately from the majority Catholic group and the differences and similarities should then be compared and contrasted with other American religious and ethnic groups. The role of Slovaks in the American labor movement also remains untold. While the present writer touched upon this story in his dissertation , the total picture is so vast and the evidence is so great that one could devote an entire monograph to it. Attitudes towards manual �SLOVAKIA 85 labor, the factory system, unions, strikes, socialism and so on need to be clarified and compared with other ethnic groups in order to rescue American labor history from its preoccupation with the history of unions as institutions and channel it back to the history of the workers themselves. What of those immig\ants who returned home? Slovaks had a return rate of 20 percent. Why did these people not remain in the " promised land?" How did they fare upon their return to the Old Country? Did they have any economic, social, or cultural impact upon their brethren back home? No one has yet dealt with this aspect of immigration. Slovak involvement in American politics also remains a mystery. Which political party did the earliest immigrants support and which do their descendants? Did they join the ' 'city machines' ' immediately and if so, why? Did they have "ward-heelers" of their own or did some other ethnic group perform this function for them? What influence, if any, has the "Slovak vote" had upon local, state and national politics? All of these questions remain unanswered. The whole subject of assimilation also needs more study. Using Milton Gordon's seven steps towards complete or "structural" assimilation,(91) an " index" of assimilation is needed to determine how far American Slovaks have proceeded along this path and to provide a way of comparing them with other ethnic groups. Those who have resisted assimilation should also be studied. What role did their fraternal-benefit societies play in this opposition? Did their concept of family , neighborhood and life in general also lead to rejection of assimilation? Are their values radically different from Anglo-American ones and, if so, are they healthy or dangerous to the host society? Finally , the present state of the community needs attention. Are American-Slovaks happy? Did this country fulfill their aspirations or leave them disappointed? Is there a "generation-gap" in attitudes towards the American way of life? How do Slovaks react to other ethnic groups, particularly blacks? Have they dispersed from their original communities into all parts of the city or have they congregated in certain suburbs and why? Are immigrants in certain regions or cities better off than in others and why? · These are just a few of the questions that need answering. And they need not apply only to Slovaks. The vast majority of Southern and Eastern European ethnic groups have for too long been ignored by American historians.(92) Until we know their stories as well as we do the Anglo-American one, we will not really understand this country. �86 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) Obzor (Skalica, Slovakia), July 5 , 1873 and intermittently through July 5 , 1883 . (2) Tovarysstvo (Rufomberok , Slovakia) I (1893), 233-8. (3) Ibid . , III (1900), 293-300. (4) Ibid ., 301-5. (5) Kalendar J ednota, 1899 (Cleveland) , 135-6. (6) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku (Pittsburgh), I (No. 2-3, 1915), 98-109 . (7) Kalendar Jednota, 1911 , 75-89. (8) Narodny Kalendar (Pittsburgh), 1927-30. (9) Pittsburgh, 1924. (10) Kalendar Jednota, 1906, 33-114 . (11) Kalendar Jednota, 1911, 90-5. (12) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927 (Pittsburgh), 97-147 . (13) Cleveland , 1928. (14) Minneapolis, 1941. (15) Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, 83 (Sept.-Dec. 1972), 151-8. (16) St . Louis, 1955. (17) Cleveland , 1955 . (18) Narodny Kalendar, 1911, 66-77 . (19) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (No. 2-3, 1915), 90-7. (20) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927, 57-80 . (21) Ibid ., 37-56. (22) Minneapolis, 1938. (23) Cleveland, 1965. (24) Sbornik Narodneho Slovensk eho Spolku, I (No . 2-3, 1915) , 20-39 . (25) Published posthumously in Cleveland, 1970. (26) New York, 1922 . (27) Narodny Kalendar, 1911 , 117-28. (28) Binghamton , New York, 1919. (29) Cleveland, 1930. (30) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (31) The Slovak Community of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1978), co-authored with Sister M. Martina Tybor. (32) See above. ' , (33) Sbornik Narodneho Slove nskeho Spolku, I (No . 2-:t. 1915), 9~19 . (34) " The Significance of Immigration in American History, " Th e American Journal of Sociology, 27 (1921), 71-85. It is revealing that this article appeared in a sociology journal and not in an historical one . (35) Narodny Kale ndar, 1926, 41-59 and 1972 , 60-7. �SLOVAKIA 87 (36) A "Czechoslovak" is a Czech or Slovak who believes that these two peoples are really one nation and he downplays their cultural differences. (37) Jednota Annual Furdek (Cleveland), 8, (1969) , 3-23. (38) Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), XXIll (1972) , 161-92. (39) Pittsburghsk<i dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement) , Bratislava , 1937. (40) 2 Volumes, Bratislava, 1942. (41) Winnipeg, 1954. (42) Cleveland , 1970. (43) Mimeographed author 's publication , New York, 1961. (44) " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918," Slovak Studies VIII _(Rome , 1?68). 7-84 . (45) Jednota Annual Furdek, X (~971), 99-105 . (46) See above. (47) See above. (48) Ph.D. thesis, University of Minnesota, 1974 . (49) See above . (50) New York, 1957. (51) Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectuo (Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration). Cleveland, 1955; and Matus Jankola, knaz a n<irodouec (Matus Jankola, Priest and Patiot), Danville, Pa . , 1959. (52) Cleveland, 1973. (53) See above and "Father Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916," Slovak Studies, IX (1969) . 75-94. (54) Ekonomicky casopis, 4 (1956), 171-91. (55) Bratislava, 1958. (56) Geograficky casopis, XIII (1961), 195-210. (57) In I.:udovit Holotik (Ed.), Prispeuky k dejin<im uychodneho Slouenska (Contributions to the History of Eastern Slovakia). Bratislava, 1964, 220-32 . (58) Geograficky casopis, 19 (1967). 3-28 . (59) In Josef Polisensky (Ed.), Zaciatky ceskej a slouenskej emigr<icie do USA (The Beginnings of Czech and Slovak Immigration to the U.S.A.) (Bratislava, 1970), 49-96 . (60) Noue obzory (Kosice, Slovakia), Ill (1961), 221-47. (61) In Polisensky , op. cit. , 186-96. (62) Bratislava, 1969. (63) Martin, Slovakia, 1975. (64) In Polisensky, op. cit., 197-207. (65) Histoire sociale/Social History, VII (May , 1974) , 111-20. (66) Boston, 1941. (67) New York, 1970. (68) New York , 1971 . (69) Santa Monica, Calif., 1973. �88 SLOVAKIA (70) New York , 1906. (71) 14 (1908-9). 329-51. (72) 20 (1914), 145-69. (73) Reports of the Immigration Commission, 42 Volumes (Washington, 61st Congress, Senate, 1911). (74) See Maldwyn Jones , American Immigration (Chicago, 1960), 177-82 and Oscar Handlin 's Introduction to the R eports of the Immigration Commission, Volume I (Arno Press Reprint, New York , 1970) , 1-XLVI. (75) 2 volumes, New York, 1904. (76) New York, 1912 . (77) New York, 1910. (78) New York, 1906. (79) New York, 1921. (80) American Journal of Sociology, (1933-4), 611-25 . (81) Slavic Review, Xfil (1934), 127-38. (82) The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 23 (1940) , 163-74. (83) New York , 1963. (84) American Historical Review, 71 (July, 1966), 1265-79. (85) See for example " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education, 18801930," American Quarterly, XXI (Fall , 1969). 523-43; and "Lay Initiative in the Religious Life of American Immigrants, " in Tamara Hareven (Ed .), Anonymous Americans: Explorations in Nineteenth-Century Social History (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. , 1971) , 214-49. (86) Notre Dame, 1968. (87) "Immigrant Social Aspirations, " op cit. (88) See for example his ''For God and Country: The Origins of Slavic SelfConsciousness in America," Church History, 35 (December, 1966), 1-15 and " Slavic American Nationalism, 1870-1918," in Anna Cienciala (Ed.) , American Contributions to the Seventh International Congress of Slavists, Warsaw , August 21-7, 1973, Vol. ill: H istory (The Hague , 1973) , 197-215 . (89) Ke nneth Lockridge, A New England To wn: The First Hundred Years (New York, 1970); John Demos , A L(ttle Commonweafth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony (New York , 1970) ; and Philip Greven, Four Generations: Population, Land and Family in Colonial Andover, Massachusetts (Ithaca, 1970). (90) American Historian s and European Immigration, 1875-1925 (New York, 1948) . (91) Assimilation in American Life : The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins (New York, 1964) . \ (92) For an excellent analysis of the present state of immigration historiography see Rudolph J . Vecoli, " European Americans : From Immigrants to Ethnics, " in William H . Cartwright and Richard L. Watson (Eds.), The R einterpretation of American History and Culture (Washington , 1973) , 81-112 . � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 66 SLOVAKIA From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States M . MARK STOLARIK Although Slovaks have lived in the United States for over a hundred years, professional American historians have only recently begun to study them. This lack of concern for the second-largest Slavic group in America cannot be attributed to a lack of sources. Pioneers among these immigrants left us not only their published reminiscences but also led the way in reconstructing the histories of their communities. While a few members of the second generation tried to carry on the work of their fathers, their efforts paled in comparison . Historians in Slovakia, meanwhile, began to write about their countrymen in the United States and, whether as political emigres or as devoted Marxists, they initiated the first professional studies of these people. Native Americans, on the other hand, originally discussed Slovaks as either a threat to the American way of life or else as potential converts to the Social Gospel movement. For generations native historians ignored these and other Eastern Europeans in the naive belief that they would disappear in the ''melting pot.'' Only with the ethnic revival of the 1960s did some Ame~ican professionals of varying backgrounds begin to study these people:,. _ The everyday life of Slovaks in the United States has been portrayed at various levels, ranging from simple memoirs to complicated mobility studies. Some of the pioneers contented themselves with describing life in the New World as they remembered it. Others analyzed the growing ethnic neighborhoods , while others still began to collect materials and describe three major institutions of AmericanSlovak communities - the parishes, lodges and newspapers. Such M. Mark Stolarik has been designated as the Director of the Balch Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . This essay is reprinted from the International Migration Review (X , 1, Spring 1976). SLOVAKIA 67 activities eventually led to full-scale community studies and attempts at an overall history of all Slovak groups in America. Even though the first two generations failed in the latter effort, they did provide the groundwork for later historians. By the 1960s scholars in both Europe and America used new methods such as demographic analysis, studies of marriage , educatiQn anct social mobility, to try to complete the story and put it into a broader context. The earliest description~' bf Slovak life in America came either as observations or else as reminiscences by pioneers . Daniel Sustek, a journeyman carpenter and one of the first Slovaks to arrive in the United States , described his experiences over a ten-year period beginning in 1873 in the self-help monthly Obzor.(1) Besides focusing on his problems of adjusting to the new land, Sustek described the strange way of life he found here and provided his countrymen with extensive advice on how to make the trip, where to find work, what kind of wages to expect and how to behave in the presence of non-Slovaks. Sustek' s reports are reminiscent of Alexis de Tocqueville and Lord Bryce especially when, after having initially praised the "equality" of all Americans , Sustek discovers the great gulf between rich and poor and concludes that in this regard the United States is not so different from Europe after all. While Sustek focused largely on his own experiences, Father Stefan Furdek provided us with the first description of Slovak community life in America. Having come to Cleveland in 1882 to serve an already-existing Czech parish, Furdek helped the earliest Slovak arrivals to organize themselves into lodges and parishes and he also established their first Catholic newspaper. By 1893 he felt experienced enough to write an article entitled " Z Ameriky" (From America) for an Old World annual in which he eulogized the political freedom of the New Land but warned intellectuals against immigrating to this country because their chances of finding a livelihood outside of manual labor were slim.(2) Furdek thus perceived the major role his people would play in providing labor for America's industries and the marginal impact they would have upon the intellectual and cultural life of the United States. In a later article , "Vselico z Ameriky" (Tidbits from America), he continued the story by focusing on working conditions in the mines and mills, on life in ethnic neighborhoods and on the need for immigrants to rely upon family or friends in order to survive and be successful in the New World.(3) He wrote dozens of similar articles in his Jednota (Union) newspaper and almanac of the same name between 1890 and 1914 and he remains a major source for the study of early American-Slovak life. 68 SLOVAKIA Father Matus Jankola, Furdek ' s friend and colleague , joined the latter in describing the activities of his countrymen in the United States during the early years of Slovak immigration. In "Crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa. " (Sketches from a Catholic Slovak Parish in Pittston, Pa.), he not only described the daily life of a coal miner but also focused on the relations of Slovaks with other ethnic groups. He complained about his countrymen' s propensity to emulate other Eastern Europeans in seeking financial control over their own parishes, a phenomenon known as "lay trusteeism" and a perpetual headache to both priests and bishops at the tum of the century.(4) In another penetrating article entitled "Nase skoly" (Our Schools), J ankola severely criticized Slovak parochial schools of his day for their inadequate facilities and teaching methods and urged his countrymen to establish a teaching order of nuns to upgrade the whole system .(5) Like Furdek , Jankola wrote dozens of articles in the Jednota newspaper and almanac between 1896 and 1916 and these are excellent sources for the study of American-Slovak history. While Furdek and J ankola described Slovak life in general, another clergyman zeroed in on the business community. Pavel Jamarik, a convert to Congregationalism and an exponent of the 'Protestant ethic,' sought to determine how many of his people were engaged in business and thus ''making it. '' He distributed a questionnaire to Slovak leaders in Cleveland, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut and, much to his dismay, discovered that fewer than one percent in each city owned business enterprises. He soberly concluded in ' ' Zivot americkych Slovakov dakedy a teraz'' (The Life of American Slovaks in the Past and Today)(6) that most of his people rejected the American route to social mobility through business enterprise and implicitly hinted that they would remain in the workingclass for some time to come. Such penetrating analyses, while vety valuable, were also rare. More common were reminiscences by "olq timers ~• of days gone by. Jozef Rusek , editor of the Jednota almanac, interviewed a Slovak who had arrived in Cleveland in 1880 and published his story under the rubric "V Novej Zemi" (In the New Land).(7) In this fascinating article the anonymous informant described the poor economic conditions that had driven him out of his homeland, the miserable ocean-crossing in steerage and all the difficulties he had encountered in making his way to Cleveland and finding suitable employment. A series of similar articles entitled "Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers) appeared in another almanac a short while later.(8) By collecting and publishing these reminiscences ethnic editors showed their appreciation for oral history SLOVAKIA 69 long before American historians deemed it worthy of notice. In spite of this concel'Il with oral history, only one major leader of the American-Slovak COlllil1\Unity has left us his memoirs. Perhaps the reason for this dearth of autobiographies lies in the fact that Furdek died unexpectedly in 1914 and Jankola in 1916. In any case, P. V. Rovnianek, founder of the National Slovak Society in 1890 and for many years editor of the extremely popular Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News) penned his observations and reminiscences in a book with a very revealing title : Zapisky za iiva pochovaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive). (9) Here Rovnianek revealed how he had to leave the Budapest seminary in 1888 because of his nationalist views and how he came to America and quickly decided to work for national causes. He also detailed many of the arguments that he had had with other leaders, some of which resulted in costly lawsuits. Unfortunately, he covered up the misdeeds that led to the downfall of his financial empire in 1911. This, plus his tremendous conceit, detracted from an otherwise lucid and penetrating commentary. Shortly after their arrival in America, Slovak immigrants congregated in certain neighborhoods of cities where they established organizations that served to promote and solidify a new community existence . Three such institutions ranked highest in importance: the parish, the fraternal and the newspaper. By 1920, when these neighborhoods matured, Slovaks had almost 400 parishes of all denominations, hundreds of local and dozens of national fratemals and scores of daily , weekly and monthly periodical publications . It is no surprise , therefore, that when certain Slovak leaders began to record their earliest history in America, they turned their attention to these institutions. Father Furdek began the history of one group of these institutions with a lenghty article about "Slovenske osady v Amerike" (Slovak Parishes in America.) Having relied upon church records and interviews supplied by fellow-priests and cooperative laymen, Furdek presented us with short, informative histories of every Slovak Catholic parish established in the New World until 1906.(10) No sooner had Furdek published his analysis than a controversy broke out between boosters of Slovak parishes in Streator, Illinois and Hazleton, Pennsylvania . Worshippers in both areas claimed that theirs was the oldest Slovak Catholic parish in the United States. Although the debate remains unresolved to this day , Jozef G. Skurka, in "Prva slovenska rim. katolicka osada v Amerike" (The First Slovak Roman Catholic Parish in America) presented the arguments of both sides and left the final decision to the reader. (11) 70 SLOVAKIA Furdek's article began a trend that led not only to similar efforts by leaders of other denominations but it may also have prompted the later publication of jubilee books and a few full-fledged histories of church groups . Thus, Josef Nadenicek, a Calvinist minister, had his coreligionists aid him in compiling histories of all their parishes in the United States and he published these under the general heading of "Kratke dejiny cirkvi" (Short Histories of Our Parishes) giving the contributors full credit for their efforts .(12) Other religious leaders published even more detailed stories in special anniversary booklets. Examples are Strieborne jubileum osady sv. Vendelina, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928 (Silver Jubilee of St. Wendelin's Parish, Cleveland, Ohio, 1903-1928,(13) and Father George S. Dargay' s Historical Sketch of the Church of St. Cyril of Minneapolis, Minn., 1891-1941. (14) A committee of priests and laymen usually compiled such histories, relying upon parish records, newspaper accounts and the memories of pioneers for sources. Even though other congregations published similar jubilee books, they seldom contained the whole truth because most immigrant parishes at the turn of the century experienced some sort of conflict between laymen and pastor or bishop. The present writer described problems of this sort in "Lay Initiative in American-Slovak Parishes, 1880-1930,"(15) in the hope that even professional church historians would dig deeper into the sources and abandon their preoccupation with consensus history. Meanwhile, one might suppose that with so many parishes having recorded their own history, a larger synthesis would have appeared. Only two historians have made such an attempt in the Slovak community and their efforts leave much to be desired. Pastor George Dolak, a member of the second generation, wrote an official History of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States of America, 1920-1927(16) and, as the title suggests, he covered only a short period and ignored the two other Synods to which Slovaks belong. Indeed, one looks in vain in this book fa'( an explanation of this split among Slovak Lutherans in America. Similarly,_ while the emigre historian Frantisek Hrusovsky did a creditable job in recording the story of Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak Religious Orders in America), (17) he too steered clear of all controversy. Inadequate as these works are, they remain the only attempted syntheses of various Slovak religious groups in America. No one has yet written an overall history of Slovak Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran or Calvinist denominations in the United States and their relation to New or Old World counterparts. Scholars have barely scratched the surface of this vast subject. SLOVAKIA ' 71 Equal in importance to'. parishes in immigrant communities were fraternal benefit societies. In many instances these preceded the founding of churches and became their chief bulwarks. By 1890 several dozen local societies existed and many of these later merged into larger, national organizations such as the First Catholic Slovak Union or the National Slovak Society . By 1920 these and other fraternals enrolled over one-third of the 600,000 plus Slovak immigrants who had come to America. By providing much needed and inexpensive life insurance , plus taking an active role in community and national affairs , they became indispensable to the growth and survival of ethnic communities. Realizing the importance of fratemals, officers of the National Slovak Society determined to record some of their history. In 1909 they commissioned their editor Ignac Gessay to write the history of their organization. He eagerly read old newspapers, minute-books, pamphlets and other materials, some of which have since disappeared. He also interviewed as many "old timers" as he could. By 1911 he published two articles, one entitled " Spolky pred organisaciami" (Societies Before Organizations) in which he presented an excellent survey of the first forty local fraternal-benefit societies established by American Slovaks before national bodies appeared in 1890.(18) Gessay had hoped that he could continue in his work and eventually publish an overall history of his people but his friendship with P. V. Rovnianek prevented it . When the latter's financial institution bankrupted in 1911, thereby ruining a great many Slovaks and weakening the Society, Rovnianek had to flee for his life and Gessay lost his commission. Into the void stepped Jan A. Feriencik, another editor, determined to complete the story . Using Gessay's notes (without giving him credit) and engaging in his own research, he did produce, among other things, " Vyznam Nar. Slovenskeho Spolku" (The Significance of the National Slovak Society) .(19) In this brief article he surveyed the history of the Society from 1890 to 1914, concentrating on the highlights and praising its achievements. Although Feriencik did write articles dealing with other aspects of the Slovak experience in America (discussed below), he too failed to complete a monograph on either the NSS or on the history of American Slovaks . Shortly thereafter a group of Slovak Calvinists also set out to write the history of their organization. The Rev. Frantisek Uherka urged the officers of each branch of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union to compile a short history of their lodge on the basis of minute books, newspaper articles and interviews . They did as requested and Uherka then published these histories under the general heading " Kratke 72 SLOVAKIA dejiny jednotlivych sborov Slov. Kalv. Presb. Jednoty. " (Short Histories of the Lodges of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union) , giving the contributors full credit.(20) He also compiled a general history of the national organization , based on the information provided by lodges as well as his reading of the head-office 's minute-books and on his own memory and entitled it "Kratky prehfad S.K.P . Jednoty, 1901-1926 ," (Short Over-View of the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union). (21) The largest of the fraternals , the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile, held back from such undertakings for several generations. Its individual lodges did often publish jubilee histories such as " Memoirs of the Golden Jubilee of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Society, 1883-1938" and these often provided fascinating insights into their individual achievements .(22) The national organization, however, resolved to sponsor an overall history only when its 75th anniversary approached. It commissioned Jozef Pauco, an emigre journalist, to undertake this task and he completed it by 1965 under the heading 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union).(23) Pauco presented a strictly chronological year-by-year account, devoid of any analysis or criticism. He simply listed the society's growth and achievements. Thus, although a few Slovak societies did promote studies of their own achievements and one even commissioned a book, much of their history remains to be uncovered. Besides the need for full-length monographs of such important organizations as the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies ' Association, the Slovak Evangelical Union and so on , studies of the impact these and other societies have had on ethnic community life over the last 100 years should be made. How did these societies help the immigrant adjust to the New World? Did they supplant labor unions? Did they foster or hinder assimilation? Why did they splinter along religious and ideological lines? Why did women set up their own fratemals? Did fraternals promote Slovak culture in the .New World? What is their present status? What does the future h&d for them? How do they compare to societies founded by other grouf)s? These are just a few of the questions that need answering before we can understand the role that fraternal-benefit societies played in the life of American Slovaks. The third major component of growing Slovak communities was their newspaper press . Since most Slovaks initially came to America to make their " fortune " and return home , they became very interested in news of the home country published in their own language. The few intellectuals who accompanied these people to the United States SLOVAKIA 73 quickly discovered this thir~t for news and satiated it with more than 200 periodicals between 1886 and the present. Among them were official organs of fraternal-benefit societies, independent dailies, weeklies and monthlies, labor newspapers, satirical journals, religious periodicals and so on. Having realized the importance of the newspaper press to the Slovak community, two journalists made a serious attempt to depict its history. Jan A. Feriencik, mentioned above, made the first attempt at a comprehensive history in "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Letters in America).(24) Since he tried to describe sixty titles in a few pages, his effort was very unbalanced. Moreover, he relied too much on memory and some of his assertions were false. Nevertheless, he did record some titles that have long since disappeared and th.u s he performed a vital service for later historians. Konstantin Culen, a post-World War II emigre journalist, expressed his appreciation to Feriencik and tried to complete the story in Slovenske casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America).(25) He gathered together titles of more than 230 Slovak periodicals published in this country and commented on each although he knew more about some papers and less about others, and thus his book is very uneven. In fact, since he died before the manuscript was completed, his colleague Jozef Pauco tried to finish the job. The periodicals are not organized according to subject, they simply appear in alphabetical order. Furthermore, there is no table of contents and no index. Unless one knows in advance the exact name of a publication, this book is extremely difficult to use. Feriencik and Culen did only half the job. They listed the titles and described the editorial policy of the founders . No one has done a comprehensive history of any one of the major dailies or weeklies . It would be instructive to know, from a content-analysis, how various Slovak newspapers in America viewed this country, its much-vaunted equality and democracy and their perception of the role of their readers. Robert E. Park attempted such a study in his Immigrant Press and Its Control(26) but since he covered so many different nationalities, his assessment was necessarily shallow. A good history of the Slovak press, as well as that of other ethnic groups in America, is sorely needed. Shortly after having recorded the history of their lodges, parishes and newspapers, American Slovaks began to think of the larger story. A few of them started to publish histories of communities that covered members of all denominations . These have since been supplemented 74 SLOVAKIA by works of professional scholarship, although their number remains small. The first attempt at writing local history was made by lgnac Gessay. Hoping to eventually publish a general work on American Slovaks, this newspaper editor began to gather materials about their oldest communities. One of these was Streator, Illinois, in the bituminous coal fields and Gessay presented its story from the 1870s to 1910 in "Streatorski Slovaci a ich pokrok" (Streator Slovaks and their Progress).(27) Since this was a first attempt written for a national almanac, it necessarily gave only the highlights of the story. Better and more comprehensive histories appeared a short while later. Imrich Mazar, a local lodge leader, compiled a remarkable work entitled Dejiny Binghamtonskych Slovakov za dobu styridsat rokov, 1879-1919 (Forty Years of the History of Binghamton Slovaks, 18791919).(28) Mazar interviewed pioneers of the community, consulted church and lodge records and read of his people's exploits in the press. Using such sources he very ably covered the story of all aspects of the community - its general history, the story of its fraternals, churches and clubs and the involvement of the local community in the CzechoSlovak liberation movement of World War I. Jan Pankuch did a similarly excellent job in Dejiny Clevelandskych a Lakewoodskych Slovakov (A History of Cleveland and Lakewood Slovaks). (29) A newspaper editor by profession, Pankuch persevered in his efforts even after the Great Depression had erupted and he published the book with his own dwindling resources. The only major criticisms that one can make of these two books is that they are poorly organized and lack perspective. Since neither Mazar nor Pankuch had any historical training, they dared not judge what was important and what was not. They recorded everything they had heard or discovered in an often haphazard manner and this made the reading of their books difficult. On the other hand, by not rejecting anything, they made their works invaluable sources for a later generation of historians . .. Two scholars interested in American-Slovak history appeared in the 1960s to make good use of previous pioneering efforts. Josef Barton studied the social mobility of three ethnic groups in Cleveland and included the Slovaks among them . In his Peasants and Strangers,(30) a spin-off of his dissertation, he relied quite extensively on Pankuch for the background story. The present writer, commissioned to write a joint history with another author about the Cleveland Slovak community, used Pankuch as a source quite liberally.(31) Hopefully these will be followed by studies of Slovaks in other cities, enabling future historians SLOVAKIA 75 to compare the fortunes of these people in a wide variety of geographical areas, thus gaining a better perspective on the whole story of immigration. Along with recording much local information, American Slovaks naturally desired an overall view of their coming and settlement in various parts of the New World. Once again the pioneers led the way but this undertaking prove~ too much for them. They had to settle for histories written by a later generation of immigrants and these stories are, as yet, incomplete. lgnac Gessay and Jan A. Feriencik first attempted to compile a general history of their people. Gessay, as we have already seen, did not finish the task.(32) Jan Feriencik inherited not only Gessay 's job but also his notes. Supplementing these with his own research, he published " Nacrtok prist'ahovalectva slovenskeho do Ameriky" (A Sketch of Slovak Immigration to America).(33) Relying upon old newspapers , minute-books, Gessay's notes and his own memory, Feriencik produced a useful, if jaundiced (he was very anti-Semitic) survey of the coming of his people to the New World. He had hoped to produce a full-length monograph on this subject but died before he could do so. With Feriencik's death, along with that of most of his firstgeneration colleagues in the 1920s, the task of recording AmericanSlovak history fell to the second generation . Having absolutely no help from Anglo-American historians, who in the first half of the twentieth century seemed completely uninterested in the history of recent immigration, as Arthur M. Schlesinger lamented,(34) the second generation failed to even match the efforts of their fathers. Andrew P . Slabey and Sister M. Martina Tybor are good examples of second-generation American-Slovak scholars . The former was one of the first Slovak university graduates in the United States and he set out to write a " Prehl'ad dejin Slovakov v Amerike " (A Survey of the History of American Slovaks) in 1926 but he did not finish the task until almost fifty years had passed! (35) Not only did he complete his work at a snail's pace but he based much of his first installment on the research of Gessay and Feriencik, whom he neglected to give credit, and his analysis was much inferior to theirs. The second article came largely from memory . In both he seemed more interested in promoting ' 'Czechoslovakism' ' (36) than in a genuine history of his people. Sister M. Martina Tybor, on the other hand, has made use of original sources but she has seldom told the full story . Thus , in " A Composite Picture of a Slovak Immigrant's Early Experiences,"(37) she presented a very good account of how a ' 'typical ' ' immigrant may 76 SLOVAKIA have fared upon arrival in America but she glossed over the many problems he may also have encountered. Similarly, in "Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916: Slovak-American Priest, Leader, Educator, "(38) she presented an interesting biography of this important early leader but again neglected to mention the many problems he had experienced in dealing with other priests and with his lay followers . Neither Slabey nor Tybor produced a full-length monograph. In the absence of any general histories of American Slovaks, two more recent immigrants set out to fill the void. The first was Konstantin Culen, a journalist by profession, who was drawn to the history of American Slovaks by his involvement in politics in the Old Country. Culen determined to examine the nature and extent of the nationalism that had motivated American Slovaks to make an agreement with the Czechs which guaranteed the Slovaks home-rule in the new Republic of Czecho-Slovakia. After having published one book dealing with such nationalism,(39) he decided to broaden his research and, after publishing numerous articles in various almanacs, he completed the very impressive Dejiny Slov<ikov v Amerike (A History of Slovaks in America).(40) In this work he detailed both the social and political history of his countrymen to 1914. He read widely in their newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, books , minute-books and so on and tried, as best he could, to follow the rules of the historical profession. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the temptations of "filiopietism" and began the story with tales of Slovaks having come in the 17th .century , of their having participated in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and, therefore, having as good a claim to this country as anyone else. Furthermore, he relied too much on Slovak sources , neglecting many English-language studies of immigration at the turn of the century. After the Second World War, with his dreams of an independent Slovakia shattered, Culen immigrated to the United States and tried to carry on his work but found the climate among his people too hostile . He initially worked on the editorial staffs of several American and Canadian Slovak newspapers and publish~d dozens of articles. These were eventually gathered and published in' three important books: J. Slovensky: iivotopis zakladatel'a prvych slovenskych novin v Amerike (J. Slovensky: Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America);(41) Slovensk e casopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America) ;(42) and V zajati falosn ych legiend a nen<ivistneho srdca (Imprisoned by False Legends and a Hateful Heart).(43) In the first of these he recounted how American Slovaks established their oldest newspaper. The second book , which we have already discussed, gave the story of their newspaper press. The third is virtually unknown , for SLOVAKIA 77 he circulated only a few copies to his most trusted friends, but it is also the most important. In it he detailed the hostility which he and many other members of the post-war generation encountered from their lesseducated American countrymen. This is a fascinating phenomenon of rejection of one group oy another based on education and social standing, and since World\ War II it has been typical of many ethnic groups in the United States. Culen had so many arguments with American-Slovak leaders that he was virtually expelled from the community and died alienated from it in 1964. Shortly thereafter the present writer began to follow in Culen's footsteps. Born in Slovakia but educated in North America, he began a study of the political participation of his people in the World War I liberation movement(44) and then turned to their social history. Having used some of their parish and lodge records, supplemented by newspaper articles, he published ''The Slovak Immigrant is Not Anonymous," (45) in which he called on other scholars of immigration to make use of such sources. A little later he detailed some of the problems his countrymen had encountered with the largely IrishCatholic Church in America(46) and he also wrote a brief history of the Cleveland Slovak community.(47) At present he is preparing his dissertation, "Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 1870-1918"(48) for publication as a book. Meanwhile, in the decades since the Second World War, a few people have also concerned themselves with biographies of Slovak pioneers to this country. Konstantin Culen wrote a brief treatise on Jan Slovensky, founder of the first Slovak newspaper in America. (49) While he described adequately Slovensky' s early life and his work in the United States, he did not know all the circumstances surrounding his death by suicide and the work thus remains incomplete. Vincent Holecek, a self-styled historian of Slovaks all over the world, produced a short biography of P. V. Rovnianek entitled Slava a poniienie (Glory and Shame)(50) but ended it in 1907, before Rovnianek's tragic bankruptcy and, thus, also failed to tell the whole story. Jozef Pauco glorified the lives of Stefan Furdek and Matus Jankola(51) and later compiled Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike (Slovak Pioneers in America),(52) which covered the lives of fifty-five important and unimportant countrymen (there seemed to be no rationale for their selection). Finally, Sister M. Martina Tybor eulogized Matus Jankola in two very similar articles published in different joumals.(53) With the exception of Culen, all of the above were more concerned with edifying their subjects than with reaching critical and balanced conclusions. 78 SLOVAKIA Clearly this is another area of American-Slovak history that needs elaboration. The study of Slovak immigration, however, has not been confined to residents of North America. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948 a new school of Marxist historians appeared and some of them took an interest in their brethren overseas. Utilizing new disciplines such as demography and uncovering hitherto unprocessed county documents, they added new dimensions to the study of immigration, especially to its impact on the home country. Jim Sveton, a demographer , led the way. In his "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo v obdobi uhorskeho kapitalizmu" (Slovak Emigration in the Era of Hungarian Capitalism),(54) he studied the impact of mass migration on the remaining population. Using village birth and death records, he calculated the net loss of population due to emigration and discovered that the Slovaks were second only to the Irish in per capita emigration and population decline in the 19th century. These views were further elaborated in Obyvatel'stvo Slovenska za kapitalizmu (The Population of Slovakia Under Capitalism).(55) Jan Hanzlik followed in Sveton' s footsteps and in four articles showed the high level to which the new discipline of demography had risen. His "Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo na prahu imperializmu" (Slovak Emigration on the Threshold of Imperialism)(56) dealt with the net loss of population due to emigration based on village censuses for the heaviest years of migration, 1901-1910. In "Vyst'ahovalectvo z vychodneho Slovenska" (Emigration from Eastern Slovakia)(57) he focused on that region of the country which had lost the most people and blamed the Magyars for the exodus because they had refused to industrialize Hungary. He expanded his research in "Vyvoj obyvatel'stva na Slovensku v obdobi 1869-1961 " (The Evolution of the Population of Slovakia in the Years 1861-1961). (58) Besides studying the impact emigration had had on the population for over a hundred years , he also blamed the Czechs for having prompted the industrialization of Bohemia-Moravia at th\ expense of Slovakia after 1918 and thus having contributed to the contiQued emigration of Slovaks from their native land in the twentieth century. Finally, in ' ' Zaciatky vyst'ahovalectva zo Slovenska do USA a jeho priebeh az do roku 1918, jeho priciny a nasledky" (The Beginnings of Slovak Emigration to America, Its Causes and Consequences to 1918),(59) Hanzlik summarized his research and that of other interested scholars and presented a very creditable interpretation of the impact of Slovak emigration to 1918. SLOVAKIA 79 Once their demographer-colleagues had opened the field, Marxist historians also began to take notice of emigration. Ladislav Tajtak focused on that part of the country which had lost the most people in ''Vychodoslovenske vyst'ahovalectvo do prvej svetovej vojny'' (Eastern Slovak Emigration to the Fill.st World War)(60) and he carefully showed which of the eastern countries had lost the largest numbers and why. In a later work, "K zaciatkom Amerikansko-Slovenskych Novin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny)(6l) he traced, for the first time since Culen's Janka Slovensky, the history of the first Slovak newspaper in America. Frantisek Bielik and Elo Rakos, meanwhile, collected and published the most relevant documents pertaining to emigration in Slovenske vyst'ahovalectvo: Dokumenty I, do roku 1918 (Slovak Emigration: Documents I, to 1918)(62) and a little later documents to 1939 in a book with a similar title. (63) They also provided a good introduction to both sets of documents. Finally, Milos Gosiorovsky legitimized all this concern with countrymen in capitalist America by publishing ''Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky a robotnicke hnutie" (Frantisek Pucher-Ciernovodsky and the Workers' Movement)(64) in which he tried to link the workers' (communist) movements of the two worlds. Even though scholars in Slovakia have taken notice of their countrymen abroad, their perspective has been limited by ideological considerations. As I have pointed out in "Agrarian Problems in Slovakia, 1848-1918: An Historiographic Essay,"(65) Marxist scholars in the Old World must tow the party line. Thus, they can cite the works of Konstantin Culen and other ''bourgeois'' writers only at great peril to their own freedom and they have had to embellish their books and articles with liberal references to Marx, Lenin (and Stalin in the 1950s) and other prophets of the new order. Furthermore, these scholars can seldom, if ever, travel to the United States, and thus rich AmericanSlovak archives are beyond their reach. Therefore, they have necessarily concentrated on the impact of emigration on the home country and have only touched on the history of their countrymen abroad. Another approach to the study of immigration has been the novel. While traditional scholarly works have analyzed the nature and experience of the ethnic community in the midst of a new environment, the novel has become an important vehicle for understanding the dynamics of the situation and for expressing the feelings of the people . American Slovaks have been pleased with three outstanding novelists in this regard - Thomas Bell, Michael Novak and Sonya Jason. Bell , in Out of this Furnace ,(66) provided a moving account of 80 SLOVAKIA the sufferings of the first three generations in the steel mills of Braddock, Pennsylvania. His book was so painfully realistic that most of his countrymen avoided reading it. In a different vein Michael Novak described the difficulties that an upwardly-mobile third-generation American Slovak encountered in coping with the largely Anglo-Saxon world in Naked I Leave(67) and in the more analytical Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics .(68) Finally, Sonya Jason, also a product of a Pennsylvania steel town, portrayed the reaction of a third-generation woman to the insatiable demands of American armies for immigrant bodies in Concommitant Soldier: Woman and War.(69) One can only lament the dearth of such novels in the United States. While various aspects of Slovak immigration have been covered by members of this ethnic group, native Americans have seldom noticed these people and when they have, it has been either in the context of nativism or else as a part of the history of immigration in general. Nativism , that ideological disease which breeds hostility towards immigrants, infected the minds of some Americans at the tum of the century, causing them to write books extremely hostile to the ''new'' immigrants from Southeastern Europe, from whence the Slovaks came. Howard B. Grose, for instance, in a book aimed at Protestant Missionaries entitled Aliens or Americans?(70) deemed the newcomers to be a "heathen" threat to America and advocated their forceful conversion to Protestant Christianity in order to "Americanize" them. The theme of the immigrant "menace" also found its way into socalled scholarly works. Annie Marian Maclean, who fancied herself a "Progressive" social scientist, surveyed Southeastern Europeans in Pennsylvania and published " Life in the Pennsylvania Coal Fields with Particular Reference to Women, '' in a muckrating style that very much pleased the readers of the American Journal of Sociology .(71) Helen L. Wilson and Eunice W. Smith engaged in similar exposes for the AJS , devoting entire articles to individual ethnic groups, among them being "Chicago Housing Conditions , VIII: Among the Slovaks in the Twentieth Ward. "(72) Both of these works, in their lurid descriptions of immigrant ghettoes, warned Americans of the possible destruction of their society through unrestricted immigration. Nativist scholarship reached its pinnacle in an official government report which summarized all the prejudices then rampant in the United States towards Southeastern Europeans: \Established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the Dillingham Co~ission, _on Immigration reported in 1911 that the newcomers, among them the Slovaks, were a menace to American society because they allegedly bred slums, engaged in criminal activities and retarded the labor movement.(73) SLOVAKIA ~ 81 However, as Maldwyn Jones'8.Ild Oscar Handlin have recently shown, the commissioners twisted the statistics to suit their preconceived notions.(74) Ironically enough, if one ignores the conclusions of the commissioners and uses only the raw statistics, one can discover in this Report a great deal of valuable material pertaining to the social history of Slovaks and other Southeastern Europeans in America at the tum of the century. Not all Americans, of course, accepted the findings of the Report or agreed with its conclusions. A small group of scholars, usually members of the "Social Gospel" movement which sought to help the poor and downtrodden, viewed the ''new'' immigrants sympathetically. Their writings served as a healthy counterweight to nativist attacks on these people. One of the first American defenders of Southern and Eastern Europeans was the Rev. Peter Roberts. A member of the Presbyterian Home Mission Society, Roberts set about describing, in great detail, the everyday life of the new immigrants (and these included the Slovaks) in their new social setting. His Anthracite Coal Communities(75) and The New Immigration: A Study of the Industrial and Social Life of Southeastern Europeans in America(76) are classics in sociological analysis. Rather than seeking evidence of these peoples' "inferiority," as various nativists had done, Roberts visited them, observed their habits and concluded that they fit very well into the American capitalist system, even if they did have to start at the bottom. While Roberts dealt with Southeastern Europeans in general, Emily Greene Balch focused on the Slavic nationalities in particular and produced the as yet unsurpassed Our Slavic Fellow-Citizens.(77) By devoting an entire chapter to each Slavic group and then doing a general analysis of them all, she showed the way to later generations of historians. She not only studied American-Slavic communities and talked with their people but also visited their homelands to get a transAtlantic perspective on the whole process of migration. This professor of political economy was so far ahead of her time that to this day no American historian has written a book of comparable depth and scope about the various Slavic ethnic groups in this country. One reason why American historians have not yet superseded Emily Greene Balch is that for generations the former simply ignored the history of Southeastern Europeans. Between the 1920s when the United States passed its restrictive immigration quota laws which presumed that everyone would disappear into the " melting pot " and the 1960s when an ethnic revival swept the country, virtually no books or articles concerned with Slavic immigrants appeared in any major 82 SLOVAKIA historical journals or university presses. A small group of Czech scholars and their sympathizers produced a few interesting studies but these paled in comparison to earlier efforts by immigrants themselves. Indeed, even when a few American historians did begin to notice the Slavs in the 1960s, their studies remained very superficial. The first Czech scholar to write about American Slovaks was Tomas Capek of New York. A lawyer by profession, he accepted a commission from the National Slovak Society and wrote The Slovaks of Hungary: Slavs and Pan-Slavism,(78) which was in effect the first history of these people in the English language. Later he and his son published The Czechoslovaks, the second half of which dealt with the Slovaks under the heading The Slovaks in America . (79) The latter work, consisting chiefly of impressions gathered from various informants, was vastly inferior to the first study which was grounded on a stronger scholarly base. However, since these were virtually the only studies of American Slovaks in the English language, leaders of the community which they described did treasure them. Josef Slabey Roucek followed in the Capeks' footsteps and tried to carry on their work. One of the few sociologists in the United States who could read various Slavic languages in the 1930s and 1940s, Roucek did write several articles about these peoples including ''The Passing of American Czechoslovaks.'' (80) In this and in similar works about other Slavic groups, Roucek bowed to the current ideology and predicted the rapid disappearance of all ethnic Americans into the ''melting pot.'' Since he was virtually alone in his concern for American Slavs, Roucek by default dominated this field for many years. Virtually his only competitor was Andrew A. Marchbin. The latter wrote peripherally about the Slovaks in "Early Emigration from Hungary to Canada," (81) and in " Hungarian Activities in Western Pennsylvania.'' (82) While Roucek tended to mix the Slovaks together with the Czechs, Marchbin mixed them with the Magyars, since he dealt with an earlier period. The latter did, however, mention the problems that divided the Slovaks from the Magyars while Roucek tried to cover up the differences between Czechs and Slovaks. In any case, both sociologists were good representatives of the dearth of American ethnic studies until the 1960s. In the decade of Vietnam and the Black Revolution , certain American scholars finally came to the reaJization that ethnicity was here to stay. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P . Moynihan said as much in their Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroe's, Puerto Ricans, Jews , Italians and Irish of New York City. (83) Influenced by these and other sociological works, a few historians set out to systematically collect SLOVAKIA 83 materials pertaining to immigrant history and to write books and articles about Southeastern Europeans who had for so long been neglected by American scholars . Timothy L. Smith helped establish the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota in 1963 and he also urged fellow-historians in "New Approaches to the History of Immigration in Tw~ntieth-C~ntury America" (84) to study the longneglected peoples of Souther.n and Eastern Europe . While he seemed to be going against the tide in stressing the assimilation of these people in this and in subsequent articles ,(85) he did study the Slovaks, among others, and he did bring the attention of America's scholars to this neglected area of historical inquiry. His colleague Victor R. Greene, meanwhile , focused on the Poles and Lithuanians and peripherally on the Slovaks in Slavs on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite, (86) the first major work about these peoples since the 1920s! If one were to fault either of these scholars , it would be for their preoccupation with the history of several ethnic groups at once while neglecting to study any one of them in any great detail. Smith always speaks of several ethnic groups in his articles and too often assumes that they are all alike in their reaction to such American institutions as the public schools.(87) Greene, similarly, always speaks of the "Slavs" when, in reality, he is dealing only with the Poles and a few Lithuanians , and the latter are not Slavs. This practice is apparent in most of his articles and it often leads him to make erroneous conclusions about non-Poles.(88) The present writer sees in Smith 's and Greene 's articles a bit of the bias of the American historical profession . It is all right for Kenneth Lockridge or John Demos or Philip Grev en to devote entire monographs to tiny English settlements in New England(89) but somehow it is not all right for Timothy Smith or Victor Greene to study only the Slovaks, or Poles, or Croats, or other Southeastern Europeans. The assumption exists among most members of the profession that White Anglo-Saxon peoples are more important than other ethnic groups and , therefore , deserve more attention while the Slavs or even the Southeastern Europeans must be treated as a whole because individually they are not very important . Trying to overcome such discrimination should be one of the objectives of a future generation of historians. CONCLUSION It should be apparent, the refore, that the historiography of Slovak immigration to America has undergone many changes and that much of the story remains untold . Until very recently the best works on this 84 SLOVAKIA subject were those written by the pioneers themselves . Long before professional historians even bothered to study immigration, various ethnic leaders began to gather and read manuscript and printed materials of the past, they interviewed ''old timers " before oral history became fashionable and they made predictions about their communities that were uncannily accurate. Such ground-breaking efforts disprove Edward N. Saveth ' s charges that histories written by immigrants themselves are of little value because they are filled with filiopietism . (90) While the first generation did a commendable job in recording its people 's past, the second lagged behind and had to be aided by scholars in the Old World and, ultimately, by better-trained members of the third generation. Perhaps reacting to the pressures of ''Americanization,'' few American-born Slovaks bothered to write their own history and those who did so expended less effort at it than had their fathers. Members of the second generation produced no major monographs, only short articles that dealt with some particular aspect of their experience or convictions. Into this vacuum stepped Old World historians like Konstantin Culen who gave American Slovaks their first systematic history and various Marxist scholars who began to treat emigration as a major social problem. Finally , with the ethnic revival of the 1960s there came not only a new interest in immigration by Anglo-American historians like Timothy L. Smith but also a professional treatment of the subject by a new breed of "ethnic" historians such as Josef Barton and Mark Stolarik. The latter two deeply immersed themselves into the sources and began for the first time to reproduce the history of American Slovaks for an English-speaking audience , Barton's and Stolarik 's efforts have un"covered only the tip of the iceberg. In looking at social mobility, for instance, they have studied but the first two generations , and only Roman Catholics at that. The fate of the third and fourth generations remains unknown as does the behavior of the Lutherans, Greek Catholics and Calvinists. Did Slovak Protestants react to America differently from Catholics, as Max Weber would have predicted? If so , then perhaps their history should be studied separately from the majority Catholic group and the differences and similarities should then be compared and contrasted with other American religious and ethnic groups. The role of Slovaks in the American labor movement also remains untold. While the present writer touched upon this story in his dissertation , the total picture is so vast and the evidence is so great that one could devote an entire monograph to it. Attitudes towards manual SLOVAKIA 85 labor, the factory system, unions, strikes, socialism and so on need to be clarified and compared with other ethnic groups in order to rescue American labor history from its preoccupation with the history of unions as institutions and channel it back to the history of the workers themselves. What of those immig\ants who returned home? Slovaks had a return rate of 20 percent. Why did these people not remain in the " promised land?" How did they fare upon their return to the Old Country? Did they have any economic, social, or cultural impact upon their brethren back home? No one has yet dealt with this aspect of immigration. Slovak involvement in American politics also remains a mystery. Which political party did the earliest immigrants support and which do their descendants? Did they join the ' 'city machines' ' immediately and if so, why? Did they have "ward-heelers" of their own or did some other ethnic group perform this function for them? What influence, if any, has the "Slovak vote" had upon local, state and national politics? All of these questions remain unanswered. The whole subject of assimilation also needs more study. Using Milton Gordon's seven steps towards complete or "structural" assimilation,(91) an " index" of assimilation is needed to determine how far American Slovaks have proceeded along this path and to provide a way of comparing them with other ethnic groups. Those who have resisted assimilation should also be studied. What role did their fraternal-benefit societies play in this opposition? Did their concept of family , neighborhood and life in general also lead to rejection of assimilation? Are their values radically different from Anglo-American ones and, if so, are they healthy or dangerous to the host society? Finally , the present state of the community needs attention. Are American-Slovaks happy? Did this country fulfill their aspirations or leave them disappointed? Is there a "generation-gap" in attitudes towards the American way of life? How do Slovaks react to other ethnic groups, particularly blacks? Have they dispersed from their original communities into all parts of the city or have they congregated in certain suburbs and why? Are immigrants in certain regions or cities better off than in others and why? · These are just a few of the questions that need answering. And they need not apply only to Slovaks. The vast majority of Southern and Eastern European ethnic groups have for too long been ignored by American historians.(92) Until we know their stories as well as we do the Anglo-American one, we will not really understand this country. 86 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) Obzor (Skalica, Slovakia), July 5 , 1873 and intermittently through July 5 , 1883 . (2) Tovarysstvo (Rufomberok , Slovakia) I (1893), 233-8. (3) Ibid . , III (1900), 293-300. (4) Ibid ., 301-5. (5) Kalendar J ednota, 1899 (Cleveland) , 135-6. (6) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku (Pittsburgh), I (No. 2-3, 1915), 98-109 . (7) Kalendar Jednota, 1911 , 75-89. (8) Narodny Kalendar (Pittsburgh), 1927-30. (9) Pittsburgh, 1924. (10) Kalendar Jednota, 1906, 33-114 . (11) Kalendar Jednota, 1911, 90-5. (12) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927 (Pittsburgh), 97-147 . (13) Cleveland , 1928. (14) Minneapolis, 1941. (15) Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, 83 (Sept.-Dec. 1972), 151-8. (16) St . Louis, 1955. (17) Cleveland , 1955 . (18) Narodny Kalendar, 1911, 66-77 . (19) Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (No. 2-3, 1915), 90-7. (20) Kalendar pre Slovenskych Kalvinov, 1927, 57-80 . (21) Ibid ., 37-56. (22) Minneapolis, 1938. (23) Cleveland, 1965. (24) Sbornik Narodneho Slovensk eho Spolku, I (No . 2-3, 1915) , 20-39 . (25) Published posthumously in Cleveland, 1970. (26) New York, 1922 . (27) Narodny Kalendar, 1911 , 117-28. (28) Binghamton , New York, 1919. (29) Cleveland, 1930. (30) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (31) The Slovak Community of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1978), co-authored with Sister M. Martina Tybor. (32) See above. ' , (33) Sbornik Narodneho Slove nskeho Spolku, I (No . 2-:t. 1915), 9~19 . (34) " The Significance of Immigration in American History, " Th e American Journal of Sociology, 27 (1921), 71-85. It is revealing that this article appeared in a sociology journal and not in an historical one . (35) Narodny Kale ndar, 1926, 41-59 and 1972 , 60-7. SLOVAKIA 87 (36) A "Czechoslovak" is a Czech or Slovak who believes that these two peoples are really one nation and he downplays their cultural differences. (37) Jednota Annual Furdek (Cleveland), 8, (1969) , 3-23. (38) Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), XXIll (1972) , 161-92. (39) Pittsburghsk<i dohoda (The Pittsburgh Agreement) , Bratislava , 1937. (40) 2 Volumes, Bratislava, 1942. (41) Winnipeg, 1954. (42) Cleveland , 1970. (43) Mimeographed author 's publication , New York, 1961. (44) " The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of Czecho-Slovakia, 1914-1918," Slovak Studies VIII _(Rome , 1?68). 7-84 . (45) Jednota Annual Furdek, X (~971), 99-105 . (46) See above. (47) See above. (48) Ph.D. thesis, University of Minnesota, 1974 . (49) See above . (50) New York, 1957. (51) Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectuo (Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration). Cleveland, 1955; and Matus Jankola, knaz a n<irodouec (Matus Jankola, Priest and Patiot), Danville, Pa . , 1959. (52) Cleveland, 1973. (53) See above and "Father Matthew Jankola, 1872-1916," Slovak Studies, IX (1969) . 75-94. (54) Ekonomicky casopis, 4 (1956), 171-91. (55) Bratislava, 1958. (56) Geograficky casopis, XIII (1961), 195-210. (57) In I.:udovit Holotik (Ed.), Prispeuky k dejin<im uychodneho Slouenska (Contributions to the History of Eastern Slovakia). Bratislava, 1964, 220-32 . (58) Geograficky casopis, 19 (1967). 3-28 . (59) In Josef Polisensky (Ed.), Zaciatky ceskej a slouenskej emigr<icie do USA (The Beginnings of Czech and Slovak Immigration to the U.S.A.) (Bratislava, 1970), 49-96 . (60) Noue obzory (Kosice, Slovakia), Ill (1961), 221-47. (61) In Polisensky , op. cit. , 186-96. (62) Bratislava, 1969. (63) Martin, Slovakia, 1975. (64) In Polisensky, op. cit., 197-207. (65) Histoire sociale/Social History, VII (May , 1974) , 111-20. (66) Boston, 1941. (67) New York, 1970. (68) New York , 1971 . (69) Santa Monica, Calif., 1973. 88 SLOVAKIA (70) New York , 1906. (71) 14 (1908-9). 329-51. (72) 20 (1914), 145-69. (73) Reports of the Immigration Commission, 42 Volumes (Washington, 61st Congress, Senate, 1911). (74) See Maldwyn Jones , American Immigration (Chicago, 1960), 177-82 and Oscar Handlin 's Introduction to the R eports of the Immigration Commission, Volume I (Arno Press Reprint, New York , 1970) , 1-XLVI. (75) 2 volumes, New York, 1904. (76) New York, 1912 . (77) New York, 1910. (78) New York, 1906. (79) New York, 1921. (80) American Journal of Sociology, (1933-4), 611-25 . (81) Slavic Review, Xfil (1934), 127-38. (82) The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 23 (1940) , 163-74. (83) New York , 1963. (84) American Historical Review, 71 (July, 1966), 1265-79. (85) See for example " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education, 18801930," American Quarterly, XXI (Fall , 1969). 523-43; and "Lay Initiative in the Religious Life of American Immigrants, " in Tamara Hareven (Ed .), Anonymous Americans: Explorations in Nineteenth-Century Social History (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. , 1971) , 214-49. (86) Notre Dame, 1968. (87) "Immigrant Social Aspirations, " op cit. (88) See for example his ''For God and Country: The Origins of Slavic SelfConsciousness in America," Church History, 35 (December, 1966), 1-15 and " Slavic American Nationalism, 1870-1918," in Anna Cienciala (Ed.) , American Contributions to the Seventh International Congress of Slavists, Warsaw , August 21-7, 1973, Vol. ill: H istory (The Hague , 1973) , 197-215 . (89) Ke nneth Lockridge, A New England To wn: The First Hundred Years (New York, 1970); John Demos , A L(ttle Commonweafth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony (New York , 1970) ; and Philip Greven, Four Generations: Population, Land and Family in Colonial Andover, Massachusetts (Ithaca, 1970). (90) American Historian s and European Immigration, 1875-1925 (New York, 1948) . (91) Assimilation in American Life : The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins (New York, 1964) . \ (92) For an excellent analysis of the present state of immigration historiography see Rudolph J . Vecoli, " European Americans : From Immigrants to Ethnics, " in William H . Cartwright and Richard L. Watson (Eds.), The R einterpretation of American History and Culture (Washington , 1973) , 81-112 .  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 From Field to Factory: The Historiography of Slovak Immigration to the United States Description An account of the resource M. Mark Stolarik Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 66-88 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stolarik, M. Mark, 1943- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/fbccf65c4a7f79fdd3ea5bfe315fa952.pdf 0ebc7ab64a23699ec918ee01fdbd6556 PDF Text Text 89 SLOVAKIA A Note for Researchers The Slavic-~merican Imprint Collection Southern lllin~is University, Edwardsville STANLEY B. KIMBALL The bulk of this 2,693 title collection consists of Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene books and periodicals published in the middle Midwest since 1918, but hundreds of other items by other peoples and outside this time-space framework have been collected. The collection is revealing of Slavic-American attitudes on all kinds of subjects , the problems of Americanization, settlement patterns, political (especially radical) developments, biculturalism, and will be helpful to students and scholf1rs interested in linguistics, literature, the social sciences, ethnic studies, and American Studies. In 1972 the card catalog of this collection was published in book form; a 1977 supplement is being prepared for publication. The following table describes the collection. Books Pamphlets Bulgaro-Macedonian Croat Czech Polish Russian Serb Slovak Slovene Ukrainian Hungarian Lithuanian Rumanian Albanian Greek Latvian Totals 46 77 822 412 34 24 102 118 18 110 32 9 Almanacs 4 12 148 7 2 7 109 40 4 7 1 18 102 25 10 4 20 9 3 5 1 26 10 12 2 1 8 91 6 7 1 1 1 4 3 1,819 Periodicals Newspapers Manuscripts 1 342 192 67 109 Our earliest date is 1873. There are publications from 26 states (and Canada) and 149 cities and towns . A few related items published by East European non-Slavs are also included. �� 89 SLOVAKIA A Note for Researchers The Slavic-~merican Imprint Collection Southern lllin~is University, Edwardsville STANLEY B. KIMBALL The bulk of this 2,693 title collection consists of Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene books and periodicals published in the middle Midwest since 1918, but hundreds of other items by other peoples and outside this time-space framework have been collected. The collection is revealing of Slavic-American attitudes on all kinds of subjects , the problems of Americanization, settlement patterns, political (especially radical) developments, biculturalism, and will be helpful to students and scholf1rs interested in linguistics, literature, the social sciences, ethnic studies, and American Studies. In 1972 the card catalog of this collection was published in book form; a 1977 supplement is being prepared for publication. The following table describes the collection. Books Pamphlets Bulgaro-Macedonian Croat Czech Polish Russian Serb Slovak Slovene Ukrainian Hungarian Lithuanian Rumanian Albanian Greek Latvian Totals 46 77 822 412 34 24 102 118 18 110 32 9 Almanacs 4 12 148 7 2 7 109 40 4 7 1 18 102 25 10 4 20 9 3 5 1 26 10 12 2 1 8 91 6 7 1 1 1 4 3 1,819 Periodicals Newspapers Manuscripts 1 342 192 67 109 Our earliest date is 1873. There are publications from 26 states (and Canada) and 149 cities and towns . A few related items published by East European non-Slavs are also included. �� 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 89 SLOVAKIA A Note for Researchers The Slavic-~merican Imprint Collection Southern lllin~is University, Edwardsville STANLEY B. KIMBALL The bulk of this 2,693 title collection consists of Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene books and periodicals published in the middle Midwest since 1918, but hundreds of other items by other peoples and outside this time-space framework have been collected. The collection is revealing of Slavic-American attitudes on all kinds of subjects , the problems of Americanization, settlement patterns, political (especially radical) developments, biculturalism, and will be helpful to students and scholf1rs interested in linguistics, literature, the social sciences, ethnic studies, and American Studies. In 1972 the card catalog of this collection was published in book form; a 1977 supplement is being prepared for publication. The following table describes the collection. Books Pamphlets Bulgaro-Macedonian Croat Czech Polish Russian Serb Slovak Slovene Ukrainian Hungarian Lithuanian Rumanian Albanian Greek Latvian Totals 46 77 822 412 34 24 102 118 18 110 32 9 Almanacs 4 12 148 7 2 7 109 40 4 7 1 18 102 25 10 4 20 9 3 5 1 26 10 12 2 1 8 91 6 7 1 1 1 4 3 1,819 Periodicals Newspapers Manuscripts 1 342 192 67 109 Our earliest date is 1873. There are publications from 26 states (and Canada) and 149 cities and towns . A few related items published by East European non-Slavs are also included.  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 Note for Researchers: The Slavic-American Imprint Collection Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Description An account of the resource Stanley B. Kimball Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 p. 89 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kimball, Stanley Buchholz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8551ab5435f9dd199dfbb961c9ab1d10.pdf 6d13c72011732b268a7d45c0a7db8ecc PDF Text Text FICTION ��SLOVAKIA 93 Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner GEORGE P. RESICK What has been and what is now the environment of the rough , tough , and hard-working ' 'man of the earth' '? How did he live in the 1800s and early 1900s, lifting himself by his very bootstraps by means of his miner's union in his earnest desire to make his life better and to become accepted at least as a middle-class American? He came from nearly every ethnic group possible - the Welsh, Irish , Slovaks , Scots , Poles , Hungarians , Italians, Blacks and others. He was often referred to as a dumb "Hunky," Dago , Griener, Johnny Bull and other names which caused many verbal and physical battles . Although the modern Black man rightly feels the injustice of discrimination , a member of these other ethnic groups , too, had to come through many a heartbreak as to " what side of town " he could live in, what games he could participate in, and in what section of the school room he could be seated. Even when he came to the mines his ethnic background determined the section of the mine he was to be assigned to and the classification of the work within this area. This period of discrimination was shortened by inter-marriages between ethnic groups and the desire by individuals in all ethnic groups to achieve success in their work. Athletics served as a social elevator for many , since work and athletics were the center of community activities. Before too long, it was discovered that the word " dumb, " as related to the miner and his family , was in essence a lack of education rather than intelligence . The processes of increased educational opportunities and greater social acceptance were extremely slow. Few sons or daughters of miners finished high school prior to 1930. Education ended for them the day they obtained their ' 'working papers. ' ' The sons went to the mines and the daughters to factories, stores or to domestic service. In the entire community of three thousand in which the author was born and reared there were probably less than six miners ' children who went to college prior to 1932. Only one teacher in this same community was college-educated. In retrospect, it is heart-rending to recall how few of the ethnicgroup parents could either read or write in any language, let alone English. Many could not even sign for their pay checks but simply marked an X for their signatures . Because of this, they were open game �94 SLOVAKIA for the "con" artist who took advantage of the uneducated. Letters were written for them and read to them until their own children obtained the minimal education to perform this function. These brave, strong people migrated to this country for the expressed purpose of ''the right to work as a free individual'' and to have the right to worship God in the way they choose. Although history records great people and movements, it must be pointed out that a vital part of the growth of this nation was due to groups such as miners , farmers, etc. who became the backbone of the industrial complex. The brave miner has played his part in bringing this nation to its leadership position in the world today. The road to recognition was not a rosy one for the miner and his family when one recalls his early environment: the rows of company houses or the so-called "patch," some of which still exist; the traditional little outhouse (two-seater) in the backyard; the two chimneys for the cooking and heating stoves; the place behind one of these stoves for the Saturday night bath in a galvanized tub; the two or three beds where a family of five to ten was "accommodated" - three to a bed; the backyard garden of nearly every family which became a necessity for summer existence and for preserving some food stuff for winter or when ''work was slow''; the coal shed and chicken coop or pig sty in the backyard; the many ingenious ideas for survival, such as picking berries, wild-roots, chestnuts and other free foods. The " company house " was part of the vicious circle by which the coal company completely controlled the life of the miner. These houses were unpainted clapboard of the cheapest construction, all identical. It wasn 't unusual for a drunken miner to enter the wrong house since the only difference was his house's position in the row . The more fortunate had water in the kitchen but practically none of them had sanitary facilities. The company rarely repaired the houses and, since the miner didn 't own them, maintenance was always minimal. These homes were often inhabited by rats, mice, roaches, ants and flies , which destroyed some of the food badly needed by the family. These facts were brought out clearly in recent years when the coal companies sold these houses to the miners. A dramatic change took ~lace and the houses immediately improved immeasurably . _ A picture of the miner's environment wouldn 't be complete without comment on the special row of company houses for the mine administrators , which included the superintendent (super), the pit boss and the fire boss. These men were the "elite" of the mining camps , and their houses the envy of . the miners since they included indoor toilets, indoor baths and a central furnace (they usually were furnished �SLOVAKIA 95 free coal). The residents of these homes dressed well and didn't have to resort to placing cardboard in the soles of their shoes to protect their feet. Even a more integral part of the vicious circle was the company store. Its only parallel in modem society is the loan shark business. If ever a story were written by a company store manager it would be as startling as any in the country's history. The coal company store surely must be given recognition as one of the initiators of the credit card system. To this day many ~odem coal miners absolutely forbid their wives to have credit cards or establish credit at legitimate stores because of their memories of the company store. There were numerous families who lived in virtual slavery due to the fact that they lived in the company house, shopped at the company store and worked in the company mine. If the coal company had a store, the miner was forced to shop at the store or seek employment elsewhere . The coal company used "scrip," a written order for the amount of the miner's earnings for the day. The man's wife could then go to the store to purchase the bare necessities to keep the family alive. The prices at the company store were always much higher than the independent stores in the area. The company store stocked every item possible to keep the miner from finding an excuse to visit any other local merchant, except the town saloon. This latter precaution was unnecessary since the miner rarely got any of his salary in cash, except for a required monetary remuneration which usually amounted to one dollar. The company store never needed to advertise or have "sales." It had a ' 'captive'' clientele which allowed the store manager to raise prices beyond normal to show management an increased profit. As the miner's union became stronger in the early 1930s, it slowly brought the demise of one of the most vicious of the '' free enterprise ' ' systems in the history of this nation. Even then it was a slow death, as mine officials would remind the miner that he must buy something at the company store. The miner usually agreed to purchase some furniture or appliance from the company store and to have a minimum of $10 taken from his earnings each payday. Slowly, however, the company store died out since it could not compete with the open market. What a vicious circle had been the lot of the entrapped miner: no job unless he bought at the store; usually no cash left on payday which meant he couldn't move; the mine operator making the profits on his productive work, his store purchases and the rental of his home. The miner was virtually a captive in a free society. If the "Union " never accomplished another thing, it certainly lifted the "yoke of indebtedness" from the shoulders of the miner by �96 SLOVAKIA combatting the effects of the company store on his life. These disgraceful conditions still exist in some small mining communities where the coal company owns all the property, including the stores and gas stations. They literally "own the town." However, in most mining communities now, many stores are operated by individuals in open competition with company stores. Try to imagine, if you can, the plight of a coal miner's family of four to fourteen children, all of them dependent upon the wages of the father-miner. Imagine the impossibility of providing a proper diet on the father's wages of from $1.50 to $3.50 per day. To do this he even went into the mines on days that the mine was not in operation. He would stock (store) coal and take up the bottom or top rock to permit him to lay his new track. He performed all this so that he might be ready to load coal on work days and keep up with the alloted number of mine cars assigned to him. He would walk into the mines several hours before starting time (7 a.m.) on workdays to hand pump (or remove with a bucket) the water that had accumulated in his place of work. He did this without pay. How did the miner and his family manage? Without a doubt, it wasn 't easy, and in some cases he didn 't manage. Many of the miners' families died before they reached the age of ·50, although life expectancy was much higher in this country. The only way they survived even to that age was that the typical mother would make certain, by one means or another, that a bag of flour, a bag of potatoes, some cabbage, beans, cornmeal and a few other staples were on hand. These mothers were masters of ingenuity on how to make cabbage, beans and flour into mouth-watering delicacies for their children . But they had to serve the same foods so often that, in later years, the children detested the very sight of these foods. In these present times one reads of poverty, relief, food stamps, etc. but in all the years since the author 's boyhood there has been no poverty that could in any way compare to that of the early days in the mining community. How did these people survive? Those that did had outside food sources such as a few chickens , a pig or cow. On the days the mines were idle, the miner became a gardener ~d raised fresh vegetables. He spent many hours planting, weeding, reII].oving ii?-sects (insecticides were not in use then). Some of those garde_n s would have compared favorably with the experimental gardens run by the Department of Agriculture . The miner also became a hunter and a fisherman, not for the sport itself, but for the food it provided for his family. This did not reduce in way the pleasures of the activity. In some critical periods the father-miner and his sons became thieves, visiting local farms at night �SLOVAKIA 97 and stealing chickens, com and fruit in order to survive. Some of them were caught, beaten or jailed, and then their families were in deep difficulty since they (those caught) could not earn the pittance available to them. What type of man is this who lived through the conditions described above, and still today goes deep into the bowels of the earth to earn his living? The aver~ge coal miner was and is hardworking, tough talking, sometimes hard drinking, and many times a deliberate braggard . He can load a tremendous tonnage of coal and later stand at his favorite bar with his mining buddies. In fact, sometimes it seemed as though the coal dust was ankle-deep near the bar. In the '' cross-cut dinner hole ' ' of the mines, he brags about his tremendous conquests of women. This is depicted in his graffiti drawn with white chalk upon the black coal or rock walls or roof. He is direct rather than devious and obscure. This point is well illustrated by the comment of a young miner, who, when discussing his relationship with women, said that upon meeting a woman in whom he was interested he immediately asked her if she " screwed." When asked if he didn't get his face slapped, he replied "often, but on the other hand you'd be surprised how often I got a positive answer ." He may better be described by the poem entitled ' 'Lust.' ' He grabbed me round my slender neck I could not call or scream. He dragged me to this dingy room Where we would not be seen. He tore away my flimsy wrap and looked upon my form. I was so cold and damp and scared, While he was hot and warm. He drained me of my very self, I could not make him stop . His feverish lips he pressed to mine; I gave him every drop . He made me what I am today, That's why you find me here , A broken bottle thrown away That was once full of beer. Anon. This author has been employed as a coal miner, mine official, mine inspector and coal operator for more than 44 years and cannot help but �98 SLOVAKIA feel that the American public has had a mistaken image of the coal miner. This may be due to reports and articles written by writers who lack insight and experience in the mining industry. A true story may illustrate this point. A coal miner's son met and became interested in a New York banker's daughter while attending the same college. Eventually the banker invited the family to visit them in New York. Upon seeing the coal miner, one of the banker's first remarks was ''You aren't at all what I expected!" What had he expected? Did he expect a dirty, uncouth and stupid individual often portrayed in the media? In reality the average miner is a hard worker; he is honest with a sharp and inventive mind; he is cooperative and, in most instances, religious. He is probably cleaner than many white or blue collar workers since he is forced to bathe everyday. Unfortunately his lack of opportunity for education has been confused with the lack of motivation for an education. This is now changed and the educational level among the miners has risen drastically in the last score of years. His higher salary scale now enables him to live at the middle-class level of society . In the early days of mining, in order to eke out a living, many a miner did not hesitate to get up as early as 3 a.m., walk into the mine with only water in his dinner pail, and begin his preliminary work. He, at times, shifted as many as ten loaded coal cars in order to get the one empty car left from the previous day's work. If there were no empty cars available for loading, he performed many time-consuming tasks known as "dead work" since it was done without pay. These tasks included taking up the bottom rock for additional height, laying the track, setting the safety timbers, removing water from the work area, cleaning slate and impurities from the coal to be loaded, and even piling coal in areas to permit more rapid loading, since the only thing that counted, and for which he was paid, was the actual coal he loaded into the cars . All this preliminary work w~s done so that he would "have the jump on his fellow miners" when the day's work actually started . When one considers all this so-called "dead work ," isn't it natural that the miner demanded more, or at least some pay , for his "dead work"? This is one of the underlying reasons that the miner formed and supported his union . Many of these early miners did more free (dead work) before the starting time of 7 a.m. than do many of the modern miners at their hourly rate of six and seven dollars per hour. At times an unexpected rockfall would consume most of his working day and this had an immediate effect on his family since it was directly connected with the food purchases for that day. �SLOVAKIA 99 The wife and mother, .too, got up at this time (or earlier) to see that her husband had his break{ast if food was available , and to pack the lunch pail when food was plentiful. After her husband left for work, she began a back-breaking day of kneading and baking bread, washing clothes and wringing them out by hand to be hung out to dry. After an hour or two she would awaken the children and supervise their preparation for school which included the everlasting job of mending to hold the threads of their garments together. Her work continued until she was ready for her trip to the weigh-scales to obtain a slip for the coal her husband loaded that day. This slip would determine how much food would be available for the family that night and the next day. On the days the rock fell to interfere with the loading of coal, the soup was thinner and the dish of beans and meat was mostly beans. The best time of her day was when the children came from school and the closing whistle sounded from the mines. The worst times in her life were when the mine whistle blew before the regular quitting time. This meant that there was trouble in the mines , and a shiver went down the collective spines of all the wives in the community. It usually meant an injury, with a loss of earning power, or that at least one or more of the women would be widows with a family to rear. One of the saddest sights in the world is a gatheimg of the babushka-headed wives in their vigil during the period that their husbands are entombed by an explosion or cavein. An ode of songs was written about Floyd Collins, a cave explorer, who was caught in a cave fall-in, but no such ode or song was ever written about the Joe Slowboski's who, while pinned under a rock fall, have their still live flesh eaten by the rats which inhabit the mines. A description of the early coal miner's apparel seems to be in order here . His wearing apparel has and will continue to change almost as frequently as the equipment and machinery with which he labors. The well-dressed miner wore the very conventional bib-overalls (now in style with the teenagers) , a cloth or canvas cap with a leather frontal attachment for his carbide lamp, soft-toed miner's boots, a pair of gauntlet gloves , and a denim jacket with at least four pockets so he could carry his carbide-cader (container), blasting caps, blasting powder, squibs (a predecessor of the blasting cap), lamp cleaning tools, and his ever-present " railroad type" watch attached to a chain and placed carefully in the left breast pocket. However, the poor miner was not dressed in this fashion . He wore a pair of his old suit pants , patched or re-patched many times. His shirt was probably one of his discarded hunting shirts, and his shoes were discarded dress shoes repaired by tacking pieces of leather or rubber on the soles and heels . He didn 't wear gloves , but had, instead, a pair of well-calloused hands complete �100 SLOVAKIA with bruised knuckles and fingers . He couldn't afford a watch and he carried all the equipment described above in a 25 pound sugar sack. A new miner (a "greenie" ) was rapidly spotted by his unmarked apparel and the appearance of his hands . The dress of the modern miner is quite different. If the weather is cold he will be wearing insulated underwear, a matched shirt and trouser outfit , hard-toed shoes or boots (with steel plates for safety) a pair of denim cover-alls, wrist-cuff gloves , special leg bands to keep the trouser legs from contacting moving chains or ropes, a special strong plastic hard-hat with an attachment clip for his battery-powered headlamp, a wide leather belt with attachments for his lamp batter, self rescue kit and a few tools. For a time-piece he wears a shock-proof wrist watch. He is provided with a dust respirator that aids in keeping him from getting his lungs loaded with fine dust particles. In certain periods he must wear a dust counter to show the fine <lush count surrounding his work area. When fully dressed with all this special equipment, he is carrying an additional weight of about fifteen pounds. The mine official or mine inspector will be carrying, in addition , a flame safety , a methane detector, an anenometer, a roof testing stick. This additional equipment weighs about twenty-five pounds above that of the clothing. An eight-hour shift with that equipment is fatiguing without any actual work . The early miner was a pick and shovel miner and the "low coal" miner will be depicted here since the author's early experiences were in the low coal field. The mine can best be described as an underground city with the main mine entries as the city's boulevards. The mine's butt, or cross entries, are compared with a city's side streets and the mine ' s crosscuts as the city's narrow streets or alley ways. Along the main entries , side entries and cross cuts are located the pump stations, sub-stations , supply houses , dispatcher 's room and foreman's office. These stimulate the stores and business houses on the surface. As in the city , transportation is an important part of life in the mines . The mine tracks, locomotives , strings of coal cars, powered trolley feeder lines , telephone lines, walkie-talkie equi}iment all play a vital role in this function. Even the rush of the currents 'Of air passing continuously along the entries reminds one of standing on a comer in Pittsburgh , Columbus or Chicago on a breezy March morning. When one adds the waterlines, airlines, rock-dust boreholes and other accommodations , one has the complete " Bowel City, U.S.A. " However, in order to understand fully the miner 's environment one must concentrate on the underground streets , side streets and alleys. These were usually 12 to 18 feet wide and ranged from 28 inches to 10 feet in height. It is within �SLOVAKIA 101 this locale that the miner must perform his assigned duties. In the low coal seruns (under 50 inches) the miner spent most of his workshift of eight hours on his knees or in a crouched position. He could only stretch out by lying down or going out to the main heading (entry) where additional height permitted standing room for at least the shorter miners. Miners in the high-seruned coal mines could work in the standing position. In all coal mines, the miner worked under an immediate cover of various types of slate, shale, sand rock or other rock formations such as one might observe in a "rock cut" along a modern highway. The lowcoal miner, working within a height of less than 50 inches, did most of his work with a dual-pointed pick and a broad, flat shovel. He had the srune feel for his own pick and shovel as does the concert violinist for his own bow. He made his work area safer by placing props (sawed-off trees) between the floor and roof. These were made tight by a wooden wedge driven along the roof which served as a cap on the prop. These roof supports were placed at distances determined by safety laws and the wishes of the mine officials. Although the purpose of these props was to keep the roof from caving in and falling upon him, many miners did not put up these supports if they interfered with their loading operation. The pick-miner would dig down all the loose coal from the front and side walls of the coal seam. He would then lie on the mine floor, many times in small pools of water, to undermine the "face of the coal seam'' to a depth of three, four or five feet. This undercut near the face was about twelve to fifteen inches in height to permit the head, arms and shoulders to intrude underneath the undercut coal. This undercut extended the entire width of the entry, room or corridor which, as explained earlier, was from ten to eighteen feet. The miner then drilled holes to the depth of the undercut with a long drill called an auger. It resembles a cork screw and crune in lengths from five to eight feet. These holes were packed with black powder or dynamite and ignited with either a lighted squab (a fireworks type of lighter) or a blasting cap ignited by an electric charge. When the coal was blasted loose, the miner would break up the larger lumps (if any remained) and then shovel the coal into a mine car that he had pushed into his place (room) by hand . On occasion the car was pulled into his area by mules or horses. The above method of work continued every day. The miner spent most of his time in the crouched position or on his knees. He was the recipient of many bruises, cuts, scars, swellings and soreness. If the average citizen went through one such week , he would appreciate the �102 SLOVAKIA position of the miner when he fought for a union, and then utilized the union by means of strikes and walk-outs to achieve his goal of a decent wage for his efforts . Even into the 1930s coal miners went into the mines before daybreak and returned after dark. In a six-day week the only time the miner saw daylight was on Sunday. He had to work these long hours to provide food and clothing for his family. For these efforts he received 25 cents per hour and less than 25 cents per ton of loaded coal. Few miners made the sum of $5.00 per day. In those days, a father, uncle or brother took on the task of "breaking in " a new miner. If a boy entered the mine for training under a stranger, he got his identification check number on a "boycar '' basis which was generally every third mine car loaded. There also was an established custom whereby a companydesignated "weigh boss" (who was generally a " master " at "shortweighing" or "losing" car checks for the convenience of mine management) was employed as an official. He had the added crude duty of giving a miner a " dirty coal" slip. This indicated a loaded minecar of coal would be deducted, lost, or the workman would be given a day off for "loading dirty coal," or possibly discharged from his employment. One can readily see how easily it could become convenient to lay off or discharge a miner who was pro-union or an "agitator" at any given time. In a number of cases, the mine worker made a side agreement with the officials whereby he would be given some preferences as to the number of mine cars allotted to him or the ''privilege'' to work on days the mine was not scheduled for work. The mine foreman or his assistant thus became involved in many situations not of their own choosing. Is it any wonder that in a mine foreman examination, as recently as 1971, the question was asked as to what qualifications, other than those required by mining laws, a mine foreman should possess? One applicant, apparently of the old school, actually wrote, "He has to be a liar and a thief." (This was not the proper answer for the examination.) The physical conditions under which .t he pre-1920 coal miner had to perform his assigned duties were nothing short of atrocious. There was a poor, or the absolute minimum, supply of available timber to support the mine roof, and mine ventilation ·and direction of air to the working places of the miner was far below the minimum legally required standards of even that time . There were days on which a mine ventilating fan was in operation only part of the day when miners were �SLOVAKIA 103 actually in the mine. There were stoppings (walls) in crosscuts built to force air to work areas made of bone coal (impure) . These stoppages leaked like sieves which defeated the purpose of the stopping. There were areas where wprkmen had to fan the explosive smoke with their coats or coal shovels so tha\ they could see well enough to load their mine cars. There were situations where men used open-type carbide lamps that could ignite explosive gas . There were other situations where unsafe and open-type mining machinery was used, and where requirements for clearances along locomotives, mine cars and mine entries were abused or ignored. In other situations workmen were permitted to use black blasting powder for blasting coal and rock. The blasting shots fired in the work area resembled a " Fourth of July" celebration . There were cases where mine officials visited the mine workmen only once a week , once a year or when the mine inspector was in the area. Other times they visited the work areas only after an emergency or accident . The miners thought of as dumb "Hunkies," " Dagos ," or "Polacks " we re treated as an expendable commodity. When expended , it was only necessary to send to the old country for another boat-load of greenhorns. In those early days of mining when one walked down the main entry and heard the voices of the workers, one could envision the Tower of Babel or a gathering at the United Nations. From room to room the language shifted from Polish to Slovak, from German to Welsh , from Serbian to German, from Croatian to Italian, and sometimes to English, but usually a broken variety. One could spend a month in the mines without hearing one proper English sentence. Mining terminology took on ethnic overtones such as " hunky wedge," "scotch block ," "dago dolly," and "hunky pump ." In addition to this, coal mining terms, or language , varied (still does) from one mining area to another. For instance , the low-coal men in Pennsylvania call a temporary roof support a "prop" while the high-coal miners in the same state call it a ' 'post,' ' though their meaning and purpose are synonymous. This type of terminology was accepted by members of all ethnic groups in that locale . These expressions in the mines sound like another language , and any man from the street or from the news media would be fortunate to recognize ten percent of them . There are several terms which denote the quality of the atmosphere in the mines. Few people outside the mines could interpret the expression, " we need air," for the request to improve the ventilation of the work area by extending the line brattice (temporary wall) or canvas check curtain to force air into a required area . Similarly the �104 SLOVAKIA term "I found gas" in a miner's language means that he noted some evidence of methane on his flame safety lamp or on the methane detector. A third term, ' ' black damp,'' denotes a high content of carbon dioxide or a deficiency of oxygen (usually less than 15 percent). The term "hunky wedge" was derived from a patient workman who tapered a short piece of wood to fit over a mine post (prop) to make it secure and aid in controlling the mine roof. At a later date these wooden wedges were known as cap pieces, and were prepared by the sawmill and brought to the worker ready for use. The pressure of the earth and rock above the coal seam squeezes this coal seam until it breaks up and crumbles, especially when there are large spaces of unsupported roof. As the different rooms ran their ultimate distance as determined by good mining practices or limits of (mineral) rights, the "ribs" of coal left between the rooms were finally removed. The removal of these ribs or stumps was an art with the early pick-coal men. They brought the roof pressure to bear upon a block of coal which eliminated the hard pick work. The expressions for this operation were "easy coal" or "push coal." The miners who performed this operation were called "stump men." Althouh the work was easier in this area and the pay better, it was also more dangerous since there was the constant danger of being trapped or crushed by the falling rocks from the roof. A good "stump man" controlled the caving for his own safety. The term "dago-dolly" was used to describe a device which was invented to move the heavy steel rails into their positions in the mine track. Initially, the miner pulled the rail with his hands or his pick. Some miner developed a two-wheeled conveyance with attached handle and grip on the rail. This reduced the back-breaking work of pulling rails into place. The "hunky pump " was a horizontal-stoked pump that had to be operated manually to remove the water from the working place so that the miner could lay on the mine floor to dig the undercut in his coal. In many cases, the miner would go into the mines by 5 a.m. and begin pumping the water out of his place so that he could begin mining coal at 7 a.m. with the other miners . Again, this work of pumping was done without pay. \ There are many " holes " in mining terniinology_and they caused confusion to those outside the mining community. " Dog hole " was a mine operated into the hillside. It had poor ventilation ; was poorly maintained and usually employed those workers nobody else would hire . They were run on a shoe-string and usually produced coal for home use . " Man hole " is synonymous with a shelter hole or a hole in �105 SLOVAKIA the rib of coal. Aftimes, tbe miner, walking along the entry way, was faced with on-coming (or koing) traffic or locomotive and coal cars , either empty or loaded. Since these entry ways were narrow and the cars rolled, a hole was cut into the entry wall or rib to accommodate from one to three miners . Since these were spaced at specified distances, at the sound of the trip (string) of cars , the miner would seek out the nearest man hole. Incidently, the word locomotive was rarely used . The machine used to pull cars was simply referred to as •'the motor." The "dinner-hole" was generally a main side track off the main entry or so-called cross-cut. At this area men gathered to eat their lunches and there they hung their favorite pin-ups (obtained from calendars) or drew their own nudes with white chalk on the coal surface. This art resembles that found in public toilets today. The name •'tickle-back'' was given to those low-seamed coal mines that were less than 36 inches in height. Some were. as low as 28 to 29 inches . It wasn 't any wonder than the miner had numerous sores covering his back where he hit the uneven places on the mine roof. The unusual expression "to set a crib" has nothing to do with preparing a bed for the baby. It was one of most effective means of supporting the roof by erecting a framework of 5" x5"x30" wooden blocks at strategic places in a grill-work fashion. The term was also used when the individual miner filled in one side of his emptied work place with rock, slate and dirty coal and cribbed the ends to build up a wall like appearance. This was also called the • gob '' pile . The miner's light in the evaluation of mining has had a number of terms . The pit lamp, bug lamp , carbide lamp and cap lamp are examples of these. The pit and carbide lamps are practically extinct and will shortly be found only in the museums of mining. The battery powered light has completely taken over. The term "shooting off the solid" was an illegal and unsafe practice employed by some miners who wished to avoid the timeconsuming and back-breaking work of under-cutting the coal in preparation for blasting. The process was simply that of drilling holes in the solid coal near the roof or floor and blasting it loose with explosives. The danger in this process was that since the coal had no place to move, at times the pressure of the concussion broke the slate or rock of the roof and made it unsafe for the miner. The term hand me the persuader'' was not referring to a whip for animals or humans but a sledge hammer used by the so-called mechanics who were in a hurry. They used them to drive shafts , gears , etc. into their proper alignment. Such a sight would have caused the 1 11 �106 SLOVAKIA inventor of that machine to tum over in his grave. The sledge was the answer to all difficult problems. The term "yellow boy" was and is used in conjunction with iron pyrites found in the mine water. It clogs the pipe lines and sump areas and is a nemesis to the present environmentalist. The '' go devil'' is the apparatus which is used to ream this material out of the pipes. It may be a simple rod, wire or spring or it may be attached to a motor which turns it in a boring fashion . The term "black damp" was explained earlier. The term was taken from the ancient term " damp of darkness " and means a condition where there is less than 15 percent oxygen or where carbon dioxide exists in heavy concentrations in the mine atmosphere. It probably got its name by ''putting someone's lights out.'' In contrast to this, the term "white damp" was a name for carbon monoxide and "stink damp " was the presence of hydrogen sulphide. As any high school chemistry student knows, this latter material had the odor of rotten eggs. " Bug dust" has nothing to do with insecticides. This dust is the result of machine mining and the breaking up of the coal seam into fine particles. After machine mining this fine dust must be removed from the undercut of coal. This permits the explosive to work more effectively by blasting the coal away from the mine roof. Some of the terms heard about the mine had meanings related to mining but not to the actual work of the mines. One such term was the " hoot-owl" shift from 11 p .m. to 7 a.m., or midnight to 8 a.m. Miners usually rotated shifts and this was the one disliked by most since it was impossible to become acclimated to a change in sleeping hours every three weeks. The expression, " today the eagle shifts, " was a wellknown expression for payday in the mines. Also , on his way home he might "stop at the grab, " which meant to stop at the company store. The name was derived from the fact that the company store grabbed all they earned. While at the store they bought "dog meat" for the lunch pails . This was the cheapest form of ground meat, a form of bologna. In addition to the terms above the miners had some descriptive nicknames for each other. It was not unusu~l to meet "Cadillac Joe ," " Quick-Steps, " "Moose, " or " Shorty, " as ope walked along a " mantrip" which was ready to enter the mines. Only the cowboys of the old West had such descriptive names for each other. Thus, it is evident that the coal miners actually do have a language which only other miners understand. I believe it would be appropriate for the media to become conversant with the language of the mines , especially when describing a mine disaster. � FICTION ��SLOVAKIA 93 Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner GEORGE P. RESICK What has been and what is now the environment of the rough , tough , and hard-working ' 'man of the earth' '? How did he live in the 1800s and early 1900s, lifting himself by his very bootstraps by means of his miner's union in his earnest desire to make his life better and to become accepted at least as a middle-class American? He came from nearly every ethnic group possible - the Welsh, Irish , Slovaks , Scots , Poles , Hungarians , Italians, Blacks and others. He was often referred to as a dumb "Hunky," Dago , Griener, Johnny Bull and other names which caused many verbal and physical battles . Although the modern Black man rightly feels the injustice of discrimination , a member of these other ethnic groups , too, had to come through many a heartbreak as to " what side of town " he could live in, what games he could participate in, and in what section of the school room he could be seated. Even when he came to the mines his ethnic background determined the section of the mine he was to be assigned to and the classification of the work within this area. This period of discrimination was shortened by inter-marriages between ethnic groups and the desire by individuals in all ethnic groups to achieve success in their work. Athletics served as a social elevator for many , since work and athletics were the center of community activities. Before too long, it was discovered that the word " dumb, " as related to the miner and his family , was in essence a lack of education rather than intelligence . The processes of increased educational opportunities and greater social acceptance were extremely slow. Few sons or daughters of miners finished high school prior to 1930. Education ended for them the day they obtained their ' 'working papers. ' ' The sons went to the mines and the daughters to factories, stores or to domestic service. In the entire community of three thousand in which the author was born and reared there were probably less than six miners ' children who went to college prior to 1932. Only one teacher in this same community was college-educated. In retrospect, it is heart-rending to recall how few of the ethnicgroup parents could either read or write in any language, let alone English. Many could not even sign for their pay checks but simply marked an X for their signatures . Because of this, they were open game �94 SLOVAKIA for the "con" artist who took advantage of the uneducated. Letters were written for them and read to them until their own children obtained the minimal education to perform this function. These brave, strong people migrated to this country for the expressed purpose of ''the right to work as a free individual'' and to have the right to worship God in the way they choose. Although history records great people and movements, it must be pointed out that a vital part of the growth of this nation was due to groups such as miners , farmers, etc. who became the backbone of the industrial complex. The brave miner has played his part in bringing this nation to its leadership position in the world today. The road to recognition was not a rosy one for the miner and his family when one recalls his early environment: the rows of company houses or the so-called "patch," some of which still exist; the traditional little outhouse (two-seater) in the backyard; the two chimneys for the cooking and heating stoves; the place behind one of these stoves for the Saturday night bath in a galvanized tub; the two or three beds where a family of five to ten was "accommodated" - three to a bed; the backyard garden of nearly every family which became a necessity for summer existence and for preserving some food stuff for winter or when ''work was slow''; the coal shed and chicken coop or pig sty in the backyard; the many ingenious ideas for survival, such as picking berries, wild-roots, chestnuts and other free foods. The " company house " was part of the vicious circle by which the coal company completely controlled the life of the miner. These houses were unpainted clapboard of the cheapest construction, all identical. It wasn 't unusual for a drunken miner to enter the wrong house since the only difference was his house's position in the row . The more fortunate had water in the kitchen but practically none of them had sanitary facilities. The company rarely repaired the houses and, since the miner didn 't own them, maintenance was always minimal. These homes were often inhabited by rats, mice, roaches, ants and flies , which destroyed some of the food badly needed by the family. These facts were brought out clearly in recent years when the coal companies sold these houses to the miners. A dramatic change took ~lace and the houses immediately improved immeasurably . _ A picture of the miner's environment wouldn 't be complete without comment on the special row of company houses for the mine administrators , which included the superintendent (super), the pit boss and the fire boss. These men were the "elite" of the mining camps , and their houses the envy of . the miners since they included indoor toilets, indoor baths and a central furnace (they usually were furnished �SLOVAKIA 95 free coal). The residents of these homes dressed well and didn't have to resort to placing cardboard in the soles of their shoes to protect their feet. Even a more integral part of the vicious circle was the company store. Its only parallel in modem society is the loan shark business. If ever a story were written by a company store manager it would be as startling as any in the country's history. The coal company store surely must be given recognition as one of the initiators of the credit card system. To this day many ~odem coal miners absolutely forbid their wives to have credit cards or establish credit at legitimate stores because of their memories of the company store. There were numerous families who lived in virtual slavery due to the fact that they lived in the company house, shopped at the company store and worked in the company mine. If the coal company had a store, the miner was forced to shop at the store or seek employment elsewhere . The coal company used "scrip," a written order for the amount of the miner's earnings for the day. The man's wife could then go to the store to purchase the bare necessities to keep the family alive. The prices at the company store were always much higher than the independent stores in the area. The company store stocked every item possible to keep the miner from finding an excuse to visit any other local merchant, except the town saloon. This latter precaution was unnecessary since the miner rarely got any of his salary in cash, except for a required monetary remuneration which usually amounted to one dollar. The company store never needed to advertise or have "sales." It had a ' 'captive'' clientele which allowed the store manager to raise prices beyond normal to show management an increased profit. As the miner's union became stronger in the early 1930s, it slowly brought the demise of one of the most vicious of the '' free enterprise ' ' systems in the history of this nation. Even then it was a slow death, as mine officials would remind the miner that he must buy something at the company store. The miner usually agreed to purchase some furniture or appliance from the company store and to have a minimum of $10 taken from his earnings each payday. Slowly, however, the company store died out since it could not compete with the open market. What a vicious circle had been the lot of the entrapped miner: no job unless he bought at the store; usually no cash left on payday which meant he couldn't move; the mine operator making the profits on his productive work, his store purchases and the rental of his home. The miner was virtually a captive in a free society. If the "Union " never accomplished another thing, it certainly lifted the "yoke of indebtedness" from the shoulders of the miner by �96 SLOVAKIA combatting the effects of the company store on his life. These disgraceful conditions still exist in some small mining communities where the coal company owns all the property, including the stores and gas stations. They literally "own the town." However, in most mining communities now, many stores are operated by individuals in open competition with company stores. Try to imagine, if you can, the plight of a coal miner's family of four to fourteen children, all of them dependent upon the wages of the father-miner. Imagine the impossibility of providing a proper diet on the father's wages of from $1.50 to $3.50 per day. To do this he even went into the mines on days that the mine was not in operation. He would stock (store) coal and take up the bottom or top rock to permit him to lay his new track. He performed all this so that he might be ready to load coal on work days and keep up with the alloted number of mine cars assigned to him. He would walk into the mines several hours before starting time (7 a.m.) on workdays to hand pump (or remove with a bucket) the water that had accumulated in his place of work. He did this without pay. How did the miner and his family manage? Without a doubt, it wasn 't easy, and in some cases he didn 't manage. Many of the miners' families died before they reached the age of ·50, although life expectancy was much higher in this country. The only way they survived even to that age was that the typical mother would make certain, by one means or another, that a bag of flour, a bag of potatoes, some cabbage, beans, cornmeal and a few other staples were on hand. These mothers were masters of ingenuity on how to make cabbage, beans and flour into mouth-watering delicacies for their children . But they had to serve the same foods so often that, in later years, the children detested the very sight of these foods. In these present times one reads of poverty, relief, food stamps, etc. but in all the years since the author 's boyhood there has been no poverty that could in any way compare to that of the early days in the mining community. How did these people survive? Those that did had outside food sources such as a few chickens , a pig or cow. On the days the mines were idle, the miner became a gardener ~d raised fresh vegetables. He spent many hours planting, weeding, reII].oving ii?-sects (insecticides were not in use then). Some of those garde_n s would have compared favorably with the experimental gardens run by the Department of Agriculture . The miner also became a hunter and a fisherman, not for the sport itself, but for the food it provided for his family. This did not reduce in way the pleasures of the activity. In some critical periods the father-miner and his sons became thieves, visiting local farms at night �SLOVAKIA 97 and stealing chickens, com and fruit in order to survive. Some of them were caught, beaten or jailed, and then their families were in deep difficulty since they (those caught) could not earn the pittance available to them. What type of man is this who lived through the conditions described above, and still today goes deep into the bowels of the earth to earn his living? The aver~ge coal miner was and is hardworking, tough talking, sometimes hard drinking, and many times a deliberate braggard . He can load a tremendous tonnage of coal and later stand at his favorite bar with his mining buddies. In fact, sometimes it seemed as though the coal dust was ankle-deep near the bar. In the '' cross-cut dinner hole ' ' of the mines, he brags about his tremendous conquests of women. This is depicted in his graffiti drawn with white chalk upon the black coal or rock walls or roof. He is direct rather than devious and obscure. This point is well illustrated by the comment of a young miner, who, when discussing his relationship with women, said that upon meeting a woman in whom he was interested he immediately asked her if she " screwed." When asked if he didn't get his face slapped, he replied "often, but on the other hand you'd be surprised how often I got a positive answer ." He may better be described by the poem entitled ' 'Lust.' ' He grabbed me round my slender neck I could not call or scream. He dragged me to this dingy room Where we would not be seen. He tore away my flimsy wrap and looked upon my form. I was so cold and damp and scared, While he was hot and warm. He drained me of my very self, I could not make him stop . His feverish lips he pressed to mine; I gave him every drop . He made me what I am today, That's why you find me here , A broken bottle thrown away That was once full of beer. Anon. This author has been employed as a coal miner, mine official, mine inspector and coal operator for more than 44 years and cannot help but �98 SLOVAKIA feel that the American public has had a mistaken image of the coal miner. This may be due to reports and articles written by writers who lack insight and experience in the mining industry. A true story may illustrate this point. A coal miner's son met and became interested in a New York banker's daughter while attending the same college. Eventually the banker invited the family to visit them in New York. Upon seeing the coal miner, one of the banker's first remarks was ''You aren't at all what I expected!" What had he expected? Did he expect a dirty, uncouth and stupid individual often portrayed in the media? In reality the average miner is a hard worker; he is honest with a sharp and inventive mind; he is cooperative and, in most instances, religious. He is probably cleaner than many white or blue collar workers since he is forced to bathe everyday. Unfortunately his lack of opportunity for education has been confused with the lack of motivation for an education. This is now changed and the educational level among the miners has risen drastically in the last score of years. His higher salary scale now enables him to live at the middle-class level of society . In the early days of mining, in order to eke out a living, many a miner did not hesitate to get up as early as 3 a.m., walk into the mine with only water in his dinner pail, and begin his preliminary work. He, at times, shifted as many as ten loaded coal cars in order to get the one empty car left from the previous day's work. If there were no empty cars available for loading, he performed many time-consuming tasks known as "dead work" since it was done without pay. These tasks included taking up the bottom rock for additional height, laying the track, setting the safety timbers, removing water from the work area, cleaning slate and impurities from the coal to be loaded, and even piling coal in areas to permit more rapid loading, since the only thing that counted, and for which he was paid, was the actual coal he loaded into the cars . All this preliminary work w~s done so that he would "have the jump on his fellow miners" when the day's work actually started . When one considers all this so-called "dead work ," isn't it natural that the miner demanded more, or at least some pay , for his "dead work"? This is one of the underlying reasons that the miner formed and supported his union . Many of these early miners did more free (dead work) before the starting time of 7 a.m. than do many of the modern miners at their hourly rate of six and seven dollars per hour. At times an unexpected rockfall would consume most of his working day and this had an immediate effect on his family since it was directly connected with the food purchases for that day. �SLOVAKIA 99 The wife and mother, .too, got up at this time (or earlier) to see that her husband had his break{ast if food was available , and to pack the lunch pail when food was plentiful. After her husband left for work, she began a back-breaking day of kneading and baking bread, washing clothes and wringing them out by hand to be hung out to dry. After an hour or two she would awaken the children and supervise their preparation for school which included the everlasting job of mending to hold the threads of their garments together. Her work continued until she was ready for her trip to the weigh-scales to obtain a slip for the coal her husband loaded that day. This slip would determine how much food would be available for the family that night and the next day. On the days the rock fell to interfere with the loading of coal, the soup was thinner and the dish of beans and meat was mostly beans. The best time of her day was when the children came from school and the closing whistle sounded from the mines. The worst times in her life were when the mine whistle blew before the regular quitting time. This meant that there was trouble in the mines , and a shiver went down the collective spines of all the wives in the community. It usually meant an injury, with a loss of earning power, or that at least one or more of the women would be widows with a family to rear. One of the saddest sights in the world is a gatheimg of the babushka-headed wives in their vigil during the period that their husbands are entombed by an explosion or cavein. An ode of songs was written about Floyd Collins, a cave explorer, who was caught in a cave fall-in, but no such ode or song was ever written about the Joe Slowboski's who, while pinned under a rock fall, have their still live flesh eaten by the rats which inhabit the mines. A description of the early coal miner's apparel seems to be in order here . His wearing apparel has and will continue to change almost as frequently as the equipment and machinery with which he labors. The well-dressed miner wore the very conventional bib-overalls (now in style with the teenagers) , a cloth or canvas cap with a leather frontal attachment for his carbide lamp, soft-toed miner's boots, a pair of gauntlet gloves , and a denim jacket with at least four pockets so he could carry his carbide-cader (container), blasting caps, blasting powder, squibs (a predecessor of the blasting cap), lamp cleaning tools, and his ever-present " railroad type" watch attached to a chain and placed carefully in the left breast pocket. However, the poor miner was not dressed in this fashion . He wore a pair of his old suit pants , patched or re-patched many times. His shirt was probably one of his discarded hunting shirts, and his shoes were discarded dress shoes repaired by tacking pieces of leather or rubber on the soles and heels . He didn 't wear gloves , but had, instead, a pair of well-calloused hands complete �100 SLOVAKIA with bruised knuckles and fingers . He couldn't afford a watch and he carried all the equipment described above in a 25 pound sugar sack. A new miner (a "greenie" ) was rapidly spotted by his unmarked apparel and the appearance of his hands . The dress of the modern miner is quite different. If the weather is cold he will be wearing insulated underwear, a matched shirt and trouser outfit , hard-toed shoes or boots (with steel plates for safety) a pair of denim cover-alls, wrist-cuff gloves , special leg bands to keep the trouser legs from contacting moving chains or ropes, a special strong plastic hard-hat with an attachment clip for his battery-powered headlamp, a wide leather belt with attachments for his lamp batter, self rescue kit and a few tools. For a time-piece he wears a shock-proof wrist watch. He is provided with a dust respirator that aids in keeping him from getting his lungs loaded with fine dust particles. In certain periods he must wear a dust counter to show the fine <lush count surrounding his work area. When fully dressed with all this special equipment, he is carrying an additional weight of about fifteen pounds. The mine official or mine inspector will be carrying, in addition , a flame safety , a methane detector, an anenometer, a roof testing stick. This additional equipment weighs about twenty-five pounds above that of the clothing. An eight-hour shift with that equipment is fatiguing without any actual work . The early miner was a pick and shovel miner and the "low coal" miner will be depicted here since the author's early experiences were in the low coal field. The mine can best be described as an underground city with the main mine entries as the city's boulevards. The mine's butt, or cross entries, are compared with a city's side streets and the mine ' s crosscuts as the city's narrow streets or alley ways. Along the main entries , side entries and cross cuts are located the pump stations, sub-stations , supply houses , dispatcher 's room and foreman's office. These stimulate the stores and business houses on the surface. As in the city , transportation is an important part of life in the mines . The mine tracks, locomotives , strings of coal cars, powered trolley feeder lines , telephone lines, walkie-talkie equi}iment all play a vital role in this function. Even the rush of the currents 'Of air passing continuously along the entries reminds one of standing on a comer in Pittsburgh , Columbus or Chicago on a breezy March morning. When one adds the waterlines, airlines, rock-dust boreholes and other accommodations , one has the complete " Bowel City, U.S.A. " However, in order to understand fully the miner 's environment one must concentrate on the underground streets , side streets and alleys. These were usually 12 to 18 feet wide and ranged from 28 inches to 10 feet in height. It is within �SLOVAKIA 101 this locale that the miner must perform his assigned duties. In the low coal seruns (under 50 inches) the miner spent most of his workshift of eight hours on his knees or in a crouched position. He could only stretch out by lying down or going out to the main heading (entry) where additional height permitted standing room for at least the shorter miners. Miners in the high-seruned coal mines could work in the standing position. In all coal mines, the miner worked under an immediate cover of various types of slate, shale, sand rock or other rock formations such as one might observe in a "rock cut" along a modern highway. The lowcoal miner, working within a height of less than 50 inches, did most of his work with a dual-pointed pick and a broad, flat shovel. He had the srune feel for his own pick and shovel as does the concert violinist for his own bow. He made his work area safer by placing props (sawed-off trees) between the floor and roof. These were made tight by a wooden wedge driven along the roof which served as a cap on the prop. These roof supports were placed at distances determined by safety laws and the wishes of the mine officials. Although the purpose of these props was to keep the roof from caving in and falling upon him, many miners did not put up these supports if they interfered with their loading operation. The pick-miner would dig down all the loose coal from the front and side walls of the coal seam. He would then lie on the mine floor, many times in small pools of water, to undermine the "face of the coal seam'' to a depth of three, four or five feet. This undercut near the face was about twelve to fifteen inches in height to permit the head, arms and shoulders to intrude underneath the undercut coal. This undercut extended the entire width of the entry, room or corridor which, as explained earlier, was from ten to eighteen feet. The miner then drilled holes to the depth of the undercut with a long drill called an auger. It resembles a cork screw and crune in lengths from five to eight feet. These holes were packed with black powder or dynamite and ignited with either a lighted squab (a fireworks type of lighter) or a blasting cap ignited by an electric charge. When the coal was blasted loose, the miner would break up the larger lumps (if any remained) and then shovel the coal into a mine car that he had pushed into his place (room) by hand . On occasion the car was pulled into his area by mules or horses. The above method of work continued every day. The miner spent most of his time in the crouched position or on his knees. He was the recipient of many bruises, cuts, scars, swellings and soreness. If the average citizen went through one such week , he would appreciate the �102 SLOVAKIA position of the miner when he fought for a union, and then utilized the union by means of strikes and walk-outs to achieve his goal of a decent wage for his efforts . Even into the 1930s coal miners went into the mines before daybreak and returned after dark. In a six-day week the only time the miner saw daylight was on Sunday. He had to work these long hours to provide food and clothing for his family. For these efforts he received 25 cents per hour and less than 25 cents per ton of loaded coal. Few miners made the sum of $5.00 per day. In those days, a father, uncle or brother took on the task of "breaking in " a new miner. If a boy entered the mine for training under a stranger, he got his identification check number on a "boycar '' basis which was generally every third mine car loaded. There also was an established custom whereby a companydesignated "weigh boss" (who was generally a " master " at "shortweighing" or "losing" car checks for the convenience of mine management) was employed as an official. He had the added crude duty of giving a miner a " dirty coal" slip. This indicated a loaded minecar of coal would be deducted, lost, or the workman would be given a day off for "loading dirty coal," or possibly discharged from his employment. One can readily see how easily it could become convenient to lay off or discharge a miner who was pro-union or an "agitator" at any given time. In a number of cases, the mine worker made a side agreement with the officials whereby he would be given some preferences as to the number of mine cars allotted to him or the ''privilege'' to work on days the mine was not scheduled for work. The mine foreman or his assistant thus became involved in many situations not of their own choosing. Is it any wonder that in a mine foreman examination, as recently as 1971, the question was asked as to what qualifications, other than those required by mining laws, a mine foreman should possess? One applicant, apparently of the old school, actually wrote, "He has to be a liar and a thief." (This was not the proper answer for the examination.) The physical conditions under which .t he pre-1920 coal miner had to perform his assigned duties were nothing short of atrocious. There was a poor, or the absolute minimum, supply of available timber to support the mine roof, and mine ventilation ·and direction of air to the working places of the miner was far below the minimum legally required standards of even that time . There were days on which a mine ventilating fan was in operation only part of the day when miners were �SLOVAKIA 103 actually in the mine. There were stoppings (walls) in crosscuts built to force air to work areas made of bone coal (impure) . These stoppages leaked like sieves which defeated the purpose of the stopping. There were areas where wprkmen had to fan the explosive smoke with their coats or coal shovels so tha\ they could see well enough to load their mine cars. There were situations where men used open-type carbide lamps that could ignite explosive gas . There were other situations where unsafe and open-type mining machinery was used, and where requirements for clearances along locomotives, mine cars and mine entries were abused or ignored. In other situations workmen were permitted to use black blasting powder for blasting coal and rock. The blasting shots fired in the work area resembled a " Fourth of July" celebration . There were cases where mine officials visited the mine workmen only once a week , once a year or when the mine inspector was in the area. Other times they visited the work areas only after an emergency or accident . The miners thought of as dumb "Hunkies," " Dagos ," or "Polacks " we re treated as an expendable commodity. When expended , it was only necessary to send to the old country for another boat-load of greenhorns. In those early days of mining when one walked down the main entry and heard the voices of the workers, one could envision the Tower of Babel or a gathering at the United Nations. From room to room the language shifted from Polish to Slovak, from German to Welsh , from Serbian to German, from Croatian to Italian, and sometimes to English, but usually a broken variety. One could spend a month in the mines without hearing one proper English sentence. Mining terminology took on ethnic overtones such as " hunky wedge," "scotch block ," "dago dolly," and "hunky pump ." In addition to this, coal mining terms, or language , varied (still does) from one mining area to another. For instance , the low-coal men in Pennsylvania call a temporary roof support a "prop" while the high-coal miners in the same state call it a ' 'post,' ' though their meaning and purpose are synonymous. This type of terminology was accepted by members of all ethnic groups in that locale . These expressions in the mines sound like another language , and any man from the street or from the news media would be fortunate to recognize ten percent of them . There are several terms which denote the quality of the atmosphere in the mines. Few people outside the mines could interpret the expression, " we need air," for the request to improve the ventilation of the work area by extending the line brattice (temporary wall) or canvas check curtain to force air into a required area . Similarly the �104 SLOVAKIA term "I found gas" in a miner's language means that he noted some evidence of methane on his flame safety lamp or on the methane detector. A third term, ' ' black damp,'' denotes a high content of carbon dioxide or a deficiency of oxygen (usually less than 15 percent). The term "hunky wedge" was derived from a patient workman who tapered a short piece of wood to fit over a mine post (prop) to make it secure and aid in controlling the mine roof. At a later date these wooden wedges were known as cap pieces, and were prepared by the sawmill and brought to the worker ready for use. The pressure of the earth and rock above the coal seam squeezes this coal seam until it breaks up and crumbles, especially when there are large spaces of unsupported roof. As the different rooms ran their ultimate distance as determined by good mining practices or limits of (mineral) rights, the "ribs" of coal left between the rooms were finally removed. The removal of these ribs or stumps was an art with the early pick-coal men. They brought the roof pressure to bear upon a block of coal which eliminated the hard pick work. The expressions for this operation were "easy coal" or "push coal." The miners who performed this operation were called "stump men." Althouh the work was easier in this area and the pay better, it was also more dangerous since there was the constant danger of being trapped or crushed by the falling rocks from the roof. A good "stump man" controlled the caving for his own safety. The term "dago-dolly" was used to describe a device which was invented to move the heavy steel rails into their positions in the mine track. Initially, the miner pulled the rail with his hands or his pick. Some miner developed a two-wheeled conveyance with attached handle and grip on the rail. This reduced the back-breaking work of pulling rails into place. The "hunky pump " was a horizontal-stoked pump that had to be operated manually to remove the water from the working place so that the miner could lay on the mine floor to dig the undercut in his coal. In many cases, the miner would go into the mines by 5 a.m. and begin pumping the water out of his place so that he could begin mining coal at 7 a.m. with the other miners . Again, this work of pumping was done without pay. \ There are many " holes " in mining terniinology_and they caused confusion to those outside the mining community. " Dog hole " was a mine operated into the hillside. It had poor ventilation ; was poorly maintained and usually employed those workers nobody else would hire . They were run on a shoe-string and usually produced coal for home use . " Man hole " is synonymous with a shelter hole or a hole in �105 SLOVAKIA the rib of coal. Aftimes, tbe miner, walking along the entry way, was faced with on-coming (or koing) traffic or locomotive and coal cars , either empty or loaded. Since these entry ways were narrow and the cars rolled, a hole was cut into the entry wall or rib to accommodate from one to three miners . Since these were spaced at specified distances, at the sound of the trip (string) of cars , the miner would seek out the nearest man hole. Incidently, the word locomotive was rarely used . The machine used to pull cars was simply referred to as •'the motor." The "dinner-hole" was generally a main side track off the main entry or so-called cross-cut. At this area men gathered to eat their lunches and there they hung their favorite pin-ups (obtained from calendars) or drew their own nudes with white chalk on the coal surface. This art resembles that found in public toilets today. The name •'tickle-back'' was given to those low-seamed coal mines that were less than 36 inches in height. Some were. as low as 28 to 29 inches . It wasn 't any wonder than the miner had numerous sores covering his back where he hit the uneven places on the mine roof. The unusual expression "to set a crib" has nothing to do with preparing a bed for the baby. It was one of most effective means of supporting the roof by erecting a framework of 5" x5"x30" wooden blocks at strategic places in a grill-work fashion. The term was also used when the individual miner filled in one side of his emptied work place with rock, slate and dirty coal and cribbed the ends to build up a wall like appearance. This was also called the • gob '' pile . The miner's light in the evaluation of mining has had a number of terms . The pit lamp, bug lamp , carbide lamp and cap lamp are examples of these. The pit and carbide lamps are practically extinct and will shortly be found only in the museums of mining. The battery powered light has completely taken over. The term "shooting off the solid" was an illegal and unsafe practice employed by some miners who wished to avoid the timeconsuming and back-breaking work of under-cutting the coal in preparation for blasting. The process was simply that of drilling holes in the solid coal near the roof or floor and blasting it loose with explosives. The danger in this process was that since the coal had no place to move, at times the pressure of the concussion broke the slate or rock of the roof and made it unsafe for the miner. The term hand me the persuader'' was not referring to a whip for animals or humans but a sledge hammer used by the so-called mechanics who were in a hurry. They used them to drive shafts , gears , etc. into their proper alignment. Such a sight would have caused the 1 11 �106 SLOVAKIA inventor of that machine to tum over in his grave. The sledge was the answer to all difficult problems. The term "yellow boy" was and is used in conjunction with iron pyrites found in the mine water. It clogs the pipe lines and sump areas and is a nemesis to the present environmentalist. The '' go devil'' is the apparatus which is used to ream this material out of the pipes. It may be a simple rod, wire or spring or it may be attached to a motor which turns it in a boring fashion . The term "black damp" was explained earlier. The term was taken from the ancient term " damp of darkness " and means a condition where there is less than 15 percent oxygen or where carbon dioxide exists in heavy concentrations in the mine atmosphere. It probably got its name by ''putting someone's lights out.'' In contrast to this, the term "white damp" was a name for carbon monoxide and "stink damp " was the presence of hydrogen sulphide. As any high school chemistry student knows, this latter material had the odor of rotten eggs. " Bug dust" has nothing to do with insecticides. This dust is the result of machine mining and the breaking up of the coal seam into fine particles. After machine mining this fine dust must be removed from the undercut of coal. This permits the explosive to work more effectively by blasting the coal away from the mine roof. Some of the terms heard about the mine had meanings related to mining but not to the actual work of the mines. One such term was the " hoot-owl" shift from 11 p .m. to 7 a.m., or midnight to 8 a.m. Miners usually rotated shifts and this was the one disliked by most since it was impossible to become acclimated to a change in sleeping hours every three weeks. The expression, " today the eagle shifts, " was a wellknown expression for payday in the mines. Also , on his way home he might "stop at the grab, " which meant to stop at the company store. The name was derived from the fact that the company store grabbed all they earned. While at the store they bought "dog meat" for the lunch pails . This was the cheapest form of ground meat, a form of bologna. In addition to the terms above the miners had some descriptive nicknames for each other. It was not unusu~l to meet "Cadillac Joe ," " Quick-Steps, " "Moose, " or " Shorty, " as ope walked along a " mantrip" which was ready to enter the mines. Only the cowboys of the old West had such descriptive names for each other. Thus, it is evident that the coal miners actually do have a language which only other miners understand. I believe it would be appropriate for the media to become conversant with the language of the mines , especially when describing a mine disaster. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 FICTION SLOVAKIA 93 Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner GEORGE P. RESICK What has been and what is now the environment of the rough , tough , and hard-working ' 'man of the earth' '? How did he live in the 1800s and early 1900s, lifting himself by his very bootstraps by means of his miner's union in his earnest desire to make his life better and to become accepted at least as a middle-class American? He came from nearly every ethnic group possible - the Welsh, Irish , Slovaks , Scots , Poles , Hungarians , Italians, Blacks and others. He was often referred to as a dumb "Hunky," Dago , Griener, Johnny Bull and other names which caused many verbal and physical battles . Although the modern Black man rightly feels the injustice of discrimination , a member of these other ethnic groups , too, had to come through many a heartbreak as to " what side of town " he could live in, what games he could participate in, and in what section of the school room he could be seated. Even when he came to the mines his ethnic background determined the section of the mine he was to be assigned to and the classification of the work within this area. This period of discrimination was shortened by inter-marriages between ethnic groups and the desire by individuals in all ethnic groups to achieve success in their work. Athletics served as a social elevator for many , since work and athletics were the center of community activities. Before too long, it was discovered that the word " dumb, " as related to the miner and his family , was in essence a lack of education rather than intelligence . The processes of increased educational opportunities and greater social acceptance were extremely slow. Few sons or daughters of miners finished high school prior to 1930. Education ended for them the day they obtained their ' 'working papers. ' ' The sons went to the mines and the daughters to factories, stores or to domestic service. In the entire community of three thousand in which the author was born and reared there were probably less than six miners ' children who went to college prior to 1932. Only one teacher in this same community was college-educated. In retrospect, it is heart-rending to recall how few of the ethnicgroup parents could either read or write in any language, let alone English. Many could not even sign for their pay checks but simply marked an X for their signatures . Because of this, they were open game 94 SLOVAKIA for the "con" artist who took advantage of the uneducated. Letters were written for them and read to them until their own children obtained the minimal education to perform this function. These brave, strong people migrated to this country for the expressed purpose of ''the right to work as a free individual'' and to have the right to worship God in the way they choose. Although history records great people and movements, it must be pointed out that a vital part of the growth of this nation was due to groups such as miners , farmers, etc. who became the backbone of the industrial complex. The brave miner has played his part in bringing this nation to its leadership position in the world today. The road to recognition was not a rosy one for the miner and his family when one recalls his early environment: the rows of company houses or the so-called "patch," some of which still exist; the traditional little outhouse (two-seater) in the backyard; the two chimneys for the cooking and heating stoves; the place behind one of these stoves for the Saturday night bath in a galvanized tub; the two or three beds where a family of five to ten was "accommodated" - three to a bed; the backyard garden of nearly every family which became a necessity for summer existence and for preserving some food stuff for winter or when ''work was slow''; the coal shed and chicken coop or pig sty in the backyard; the many ingenious ideas for survival, such as picking berries, wild-roots, chestnuts and other free foods. The " company house " was part of the vicious circle by which the coal company completely controlled the life of the miner. These houses were unpainted clapboard of the cheapest construction, all identical. It wasn 't unusual for a drunken miner to enter the wrong house since the only difference was his house's position in the row . The more fortunate had water in the kitchen but practically none of them had sanitary facilities. The company rarely repaired the houses and, since the miner didn 't own them, maintenance was always minimal. These homes were often inhabited by rats, mice, roaches, ants and flies , which destroyed some of the food badly needed by the family. These facts were brought out clearly in recent years when the coal companies sold these houses to the miners. A dramatic change took ~lace and the houses immediately improved immeasurably . _ A picture of the miner's environment wouldn 't be complete without comment on the special row of company houses for the mine administrators , which included the superintendent (super), the pit boss and the fire boss. These men were the "elite" of the mining camps , and their houses the envy of . the miners since they included indoor toilets, indoor baths and a central furnace (they usually were furnished SLOVAKIA 95 free coal). The residents of these homes dressed well and didn't have to resort to placing cardboard in the soles of their shoes to protect their feet. Even a more integral part of the vicious circle was the company store. Its only parallel in modem society is the loan shark business. If ever a story were written by a company store manager it would be as startling as any in the country's history. The coal company store surely must be given recognition as one of the initiators of the credit card system. To this day many ~odem coal miners absolutely forbid their wives to have credit cards or establish credit at legitimate stores because of their memories of the company store. There were numerous families who lived in virtual slavery due to the fact that they lived in the company house, shopped at the company store and worked in the company mine. If the coal company had a store, the miner was forced to shop at the store or seek employment elsewhere . The coal company used "scrip," a written order for the amount of the miner's earnings for the day. The man's wife could then go to the store to purchase the bare necessities to keep the family alive. The prices at the company store were always much higher than the independent stores in the area. The company store stocked every item possible to keep the miner from finding an excuse to visit any other local merchant, except the town saloon. This latter precaution was unnecessary since the miner rarely got any of his salary in cash, except for a required monetary remuneration which usually amounted to one dollar. The company store never needed to advertise or have "sales." It had a ' 'captive'' clientele which allowed the store manager to raise prices beyond normal to show management an increased profit. As the miner's union became stronger in the early 1930s, it slowly brought the demise of one of the most vicious of the '' free enterprise ' ' systems in the history of this nation. Even then it was a slow death, as mine officials would remind the miner that he must buy something at the company store. The miner usually agreed to purchase some furniture or appliance from the company store and to have a minimum of $10 taken from his earnings each payday. Slowly, however, the company store died out since it could not compete with the open market. What a vicious circle had been the lot of the entrapped miner: no job unless he bought at the store; usually no cash left on payday which meant he couldn't move; the mine operator making the profits on his productive work, his store purchases and the rental of his home. The miner was virtually a captive in a free society. If the "Union " never accomplished another thing, it certainly lifted the "yoke of indebtedness" from the shoulders of the miner by 96 SLOVAKIA combatting the effects of the company store on his life. These disgraceful conditions still exist in some small mining communities where the coal company owns all the property, including the stores and gas stations. They literally "own the town." However, in most mining communities now, many stores are operated by individuals in open competition with company stores. Try to imagine, if you can, the plight of a coal miner's family of four to fourteen children, all of them dependent upon the wages of the father-miner. Imagine the impossibility of providing a proper diet on the father's wages of from $1.50 to $3.50 per day. To do this he even went into the mines on days that the mine was not in operation. He would stock (store) coal and take up the bottom or top rock to permit him to lay his new track. He performed all this so that he might be ready to load coal on work days and keep up with the alloted number of mine cars assigned to him. He would walk into the mines several hours before starting time (7 a.m.) on workdays to hand pump (or remove with a bucket) the water that had accumulated in his place of work. He did this without pay. How did the miner and his family manage? Without a doubt, it wasn 't easy, and in some cases he didn 't manage. Many of the miners' families died before they reached the age of ·50, although life expectancy was much higher in this country. The only way they survived even to that age was that the typical mother would make certain, by one means or another, that a bag of flour, a bag of potatoes, some cabbage, beans, cornmeal and a few other staples were on hand. These mothers were masters of ingenuity on how to make cabbage, beans and flour into mouth-watering delicacies for their children . But they had to serve the same foods so often that, in later years, the children detested the very sight of these foods. In these present times one reads of poverty, relief, food stamps, etc. but in all the years since the author 's boyhood there has been no poverty that could in any way compare to that of the early days in the mining community. How did these people survive? Those that did had outside food sources such as a few chickens , a pig or cow. On the days the mines were idle, the miner became a gardener ~d raised fresh vegetables. He spent many hours planting, weeding, reII].oving ii?-sects (insecticides were not in use then). Some of those garde_n s would have compared favorably with the experimental gardens run by the Department of Agriculture . The miner also became a hunter and a fisherman, not for the sport itself, but for the food it provided for his family. This did not reduce in way the pleasures of the activity. In some critical periods the father-miner and his sons became thieves, visiting local farms at night SLOVAKIA 97 and stealing chickens, com and fruit in order to survive. Some of them were caught, beaten or jailed, and then their families were in deep difficulty since they (those caught) could not earn the pittance available to them. What type of man is this who lived through the conditions described above, and still today goes deep into the bowels of the earth to earn his living? The aver~ge coal miner was and is hardworking, tough talking, sometimes hard drinking, and many times a deliberate braggard . He can load a tremendous tonnage of coal and later stand at his favorite bar with his mining buddies. In fact, sometimes it seemed as though the coal dust was ankle-deep near the bar. In the '' cross-cut dinner hole ' ' of the mines, he brags about his tremendous conquests of women. This is depicted in his graffiti drawn with white chalk upon the black coal or rock walls or roof. He is direct rather than devious and obscure. This point is well illustrated by the comment of a young miner, who, when discussing his relationship with women, said that upon meeting a woman in whom he was interested he immediately asked her if she " screwed." When asked if he didn't get his face slapped, he replied "often, but on the other hand you'd be surprised how often I got a positive answer ." He may better be described by the poem entitled ' 'Lust.' ' He grabbed me round my slender neck I could not call or scream. He dragged me to this dingy room Where we would not be seen. He tore away my flimsy wrap and looked upon my form. I was so cold and damp and scared, While he was hot and warm. He drained me of my very self, I could not make him stop . His feverish lips he pressed to mine; I gave him every drop . He made me what I am today, That's why you find me here , A broken bottle thrown away That was once full of beer. Anon. This author has been employed as a coal miner, mine official, mine inspector and coal operator for more than 44 years and cannot help but 98 SLOVAKIA feel that the American public has had a mistaken image of the coal miner. This may be due to reports and articles written by writers who lack insight and experience in the mining industry. A true story may illustrate this point. A coal miner's son met and became interested in a New York banker's daughter while attending the same college. Eventually the banker invited the family to visit them in New York. Upon seeing the coal miner, one of the banker's first remarks was ''You aren't at all what I expected!" What had he expected? Did he expect a dirty, uncouth and stupid individual often portrayed in the media? In reality the average miner is a hard worker; he is honest with a sharp and inventive mind; he is cooperative and, in most instances, religious. He is probably cleaner than many white or blue collar workers since he is forced to bathe everyday. Unfortunately his lack of opportunity for education has been confused with the lack of motivation for an education. This is now changed and the educational level among the miners has risen drastically in the last score of years. His higher salary scale now enables him to live at the middle-class level of society . In the early days of mining, in order to eke out a living, many a miner did not hesitate to get up as early as 3 a.m., walk into the mine with only water in his dinner pail, and begin his preliminary work. He, at times, shifted as many as ten loaded coal cars in order to get the one empty car left from the previous day's work. If there were no empty cars available for loading, he performed many time-consuming tasks known as "dead work" since it was done without pay. These tasks included taking up the bottom rock for additional height, laying the track, setting the safety timbers, removing water from the work area, cleaning slate and impurities from the coal to be loaded, and even piling coal in areas to permit more rapid loading, since the only thing that counted, and for which he was paid, was the actual coal he loaded into the cars . All this preliminary work w~s done so that he would "have the jump on his fellow miners" when the day's work actually started . When one considers all this so-called "dead work ," isn't it natural that the miner demanded more, or at least some pay , for his "dead work"? This is one of the underlying reasons that the miner formed and supported his union . Many of these early miners did more free (dead work) before the starting time of 7 a.m. than do many of the modern miners at their hourly rate of six and seven dollars per hour. At times an unexpected rockfall would consume most of his working day and this had an immediate effect on his family since it was directly connected with the food purchases for that day. SLOVAKIA 99 The wife and mother, .too, got up at this time (or earlier) to see that her husband had his break{ast if food was available , and to pack the lunch pail when food was plentiful. After her husband left for work, she began a back-breaking day of kneading and baking bread, washing clothes and wringing them out by hand to be hung out to dry. After an hour or two she would awaken the children and supervise their preparation for school which included the everlasting job of mending to hold the threads of their garments together. Her work continued until she was ready for her trip to the weigh-scales to obtain a slip for the coal her husband loaded that day. This slip would determine how much food would be available for the family that night and the next day. On the days the rock fell to interfere with the loading of coal, the soup was thinner and the dish of beans and meat was mostly beans. The best time of her day was when the children came from school and the closing whistle sounded from the mines. The worst times in her life were when the mine whistle blew before the regular quitting time. This meant that there was trouble in the mines , and a shiver went down the collective spines of all the wives in the community. It usually meant an injury, with a loss of earning power, or that at least one or more of the women would be widows with a family to rear. One of the saddest sights in the world is a gatheimg of the babushka-headed wives in their vigil during the period that their husbands are entombed by an explosion or cavein. An ode of songs was written about Floyd Collins, a cave explorer, who was caught in a cave fall-in, but no such ode or song was ever written about the Joe Slowboski's who, while pinned under a rock fall, have their still live flesh eaten by the rats which inhabit the mines. A description of the early coal miner's apparel seems to be in order here . His wearing apparel has and will continue to change almost as frequently as the equipment and machinery with which he labors. The well-dressed miner wore the very conventional bib-overalls (now in style with the teenagers) , a cloth or canvas cap with a leather frontal attachment for his carbide lamp, soft-toed miner's boots, a pair of gauntlet gloves , and a denim jacket with at least four pockets so he could carry his carbide-cader (container), blasting caps, blasting powder, squibs (a predecessor of the blasting cap), lamp cleaning tools, and his ever-present " railroad type" watch attached to a chain and placed carefully in the left breast pocket. However, the poor miner was not dressed in this fashion . He wore a pair of his old suit pants , patched or re-patched many times. His shirt was probably one of his discarded hunting shirts, and his shoes were discarded dress shoes repaired by tacking pieces of leather or rubber on the soles and heels . He didn 't wear gloves , but had, instead, a pair of well-calloused hands complete 100 SLOVAKIA with bruised knuckles and fingers . He couldn't afford a watch and he carried all the equipment described above in a 25 pound sugar sack. A new miner (a "greenie" ) was rapidly spotted by his unmarked apparel and the appearance of his hands . The dress of the modern miner is quite different. If the weather is cold he will be wearing insulated underwear, a matched shirt and trouser outfit , hard-toed shoes or boots (with steel plates for safety) a pair of denim cover-alls, wrist-cuff gloves , special leg bands to keep the trouser legs from contacting moving chains or ropes, a special strong plastic hard-hat with an attachment clip for his battery-powered headlamp, a wide leather belt with attachments for his lamp batter, self rescue kit and a few tools. For a time-piece he wears a shock-proof wrist watch. He is provided with a dust respirator that aids in keeping him from getting his lungs loaded with fine dust particles. In certain periods he must wear a dust counter to show the fine <lush count surrounding his work area. When fully dressed with all this special equipment, he is carrying an additional weight of about fifteen pounds. The mine official or mine inspector will be carrying, in addition , a flame safety , a methane detector, an anenometer, a roof testing stick. This additional equipment weighs about twenty-five pounds above that of the clothing. An eight-hour shift with that equipment is fatiguing without any actual work . The early miner was a pick and shovel miner and the "low coal" miner will be depicted here since the author's early experiences were in the low coal field. The mine can best be described as an underground city with the main mine entries as the city's boulevards. The mine's butt, or cross entries, are compared with a city's side streets and the mine ' s crosscuts as the city's narrow streets or alley ways. Along the main entries , side entries and cross cuts are located the pump stations, sub-stations , supply houses , dispatcher 's room and foreman's office. These stimulate the stores and business houses on the surface. As in the city , transportation is an important part of life in the mines . The mine tracks, locomotives , strings of coal cars, powered trolley feeder lines , telephone lines, walkie-talkie equi}iment all play a vital role in this function. Even the rush of the currents 'Of air passing continuously along the entries reminds one of standing on a comer in Pittsburgh , Columbus or Chicago on a breezy March morning. When one adds the waterlines, airlines, rock-dust boreholes and other accommodations , one has the complete " Bowel City, U.S.A. " However, in order to understand fully the miner 's environment one must concentrate on the underground streets , side streets and alleys. These were usually 12 to 18 feet wide and ranged from 28 inches to 10 feet in height. It is within SLOVAKIA 101 this locale that the miner must perform his assigned duties. In the low coal seruns (under 50 inches) the miner spent most of his workshift of eight hours on his knees or in a crouched position. He could only stretch out by lying down or going out to the main heading (entry) where additional height permitted standing room for at least the shorter miners. Miners in the high-seruned coal mines could work in the standing position. In all coal mines, the miner worked under an immediate cover of various types of slate, shale, sand rock or other rock formations such as one might observe in a "rock cut" along a modern highway. The lowcoal miner, working within a height of less than 50 inches, did most of his work with a dual-pointed pick and a broad, flat shovel. He had the srune feel for his own pick and shovel as does the concert violinist for his own bow. He made his work area safer by placing props (sawed-off trees) between the floor and roof. These were made tight by a wooden wedge driven along the roof which served as a cap on the prop. These roof supports were placed at distances determined by safety laws and the wishes of the mine officials. Although the purpose of these props was to keep the roof from caving in and falling upon him, many miners did not put up these supports if they interfered with their loading operation. The pick-miner would dig down all the loose coal from the front and side walls of the coal seam. He would then lie on the mine floor, many times in small pools of water, to undermine the "face of the coal seam'' to a depth of three, four or five feet. This undercut near the face was about twelve to fifteen inches in height to permit the head, arms and shoulders to intrude underneath the undercut coal. This undercut extended the entire width of the entry, room or corridor which, as explained earlier, was from ten to eighteen feet. The miner then drilled holes to the depth of the undercut with a long drill called an auger. It resembles a cork screw and crune in lengths from five to eight feet. These holes were packed with black powder or dynamite and ignited with either a lighted squab (a fireworks type of lighter) or a blasting cap ignited by an electric charge. When the coal was blasted loose, the miner would break up the larger lumps (if any remained) and then shovel the coal into a mine car that he had pushed into his place (room) by hand . On occasion the car was pulled into his area by mules or horses. The above method of work continued every day. The miner spent most of his time in the crouched position or on his knees. He was the recipient of many bruises, cuts, scars, swellings and soreness. If the average citizen went through one such week , he would appreciate the 102 SLOVAKIA position of the miner when he fought for a union, and then utilized the union by means of strikes and walk-outs to achieve his goal of a decent wage for his efforts . Even into the 1930s coal miners went into the mines before daybreak and returned after dark. In a six-day week the only time the miner saw daylight was on Sunday. He had to work these long hours to provide food and clothing for his family. For these efforts he received 25 cents per hour and less than 25 cents per ton of loaded coal. Few miners made the sum of $5.00 per day. In those days, a father, uncle or brother took on the task of "breaking in " a new miner. If a boy entered the mine for training under a stranger, he got his identification check number on a "boycar '' basis which was generally every third mine car loaded. There also was an established custom whereby a companydesignated "weigh boss" (who was generally a " master " at "shortweighing" or "losing" car checks for the convenience of mine management) was employed as an official. He had the added crude duty of giving a miner a " dirty coal" slip. This indicated a loaded minecar of coal would be deducted, lost, or the workman would be given a day off for "loading dirty coal," or possibly discharged from his employment. One can readily see how easily it could become convenient to lay off or discharge a miner who was pro-union or an "agitator" at any given time. In a number of cases, the mine worker made a side agreement with the officials whereby he would be given some preferences as to the number of mine cars allotted to him or the ''privilege'' to work on days the mine was not scheduled for work. The mine foreman or his assistant thus became involved in many situations not of their own choosing. Is it any wonder that in a mine foreman examination, as recently as 1971, the question was asked as to what qualifications, other than those required by mining laws, a mine foreman should possess? One applicant, apparently of the old school, actually wrote, "He has to be a liar and a thief." (This was not the proper answer for the examination.) The physical conditions under which .t he pre-1920 coal miner had to perform his assigned duties were nothing short of atrocious. There was a poor, or the absolute minimum, supply of available timber to support the mine roof, and mine ventilation ·and direction of air to the working places of the miner was far below the minimum legally required standards of even that time . There were days on which a mine ventilating fan was in operation only part of the day when miners were SLOVAKIA 103 actually in the mine. There were stoppings (walls) in crosscuts built to force air to work areas made of bone coal (impure) . These stoppages leaked like sieves which defeated the purpose of the stopping. There were areas where wprkmen had to fan the explosive smoke with their coats or coal shovels so tha\ they could see well enough to load their mine cars. There were situations where men used open-type carbide lamps that could ignite explosive gas . There were other situations where unsafe and open-type mining machinery was used, and where requirements for clearances along locomotives, mine cars and mine entries were abused or ignored. In other situations workmen were permitted to use black blasting powder for blasting coal and rock. The blasting shots fired in the work area resembled a " Fourth of July" celebration . There were cases where mine officials visited the mine workmen only once a week , once a year or when the mine inspector was in the area. Other times they visited the work areas only after an emergency or accident . The miners thought of as dumb "Hunkies," " Dagos ," or "Polacks " we re treated as an expendable commodity. When expended , it was only necessary to send to the old country for another boat-load of greenhorns. In those early days of mining when one walked down the main entry and heard the voices of the workers, one could envision the Tower of Babel or a gathering at the United Nations. From room to room the language shifted from Polish to Slovak, from German to Welsh , from Serbian to German, from Croatian to Italian, and sometimes to English, but usually a broken variety. One could spend a month in the mines without hearing one proper English sentence. Mining terminology took on ethnic overtones such as " hunky wedge," "scotch block ," "dago dolly," and "hunky pump ." In addition to this, coal mining terms, or language , varied (still does) from one mining area to another. For instance , the low-coal men in Pennsylvania call a temporary roof support a "prop" while the high-coal miners in the same state call it a ' 'post,' ' though their meaning and purpose are synonymous. This type of terminology was accepted by members of all ethnic groups in that locale . These expressions in the mines sound like another language , and any man from the street or from the news media would be fortunate to recognize ten percent of them . There are several terms which denote the quality of the atmosphere in the mines. Few people outside the mines could interpret the expression, " we need air," for the request to improve the ventilation of the work area by extending the line brattice (temporary wall) or canvas check curtain to force air into a required area . Similarly the 104 SLOVAKIA term "I found gas" in a miner's language means that he noted some evidence of methane on his flame safety lamp or on the methane detector. A third term, ' ' black damp,'' denotes a high content of carbon dioxide or a deficiency of oxygen (usually less than 15 percent). The term "hunky wedge" was derived from a patient workman who tapered a short piece of wood to fit over a mine post (prop) to make it secure and aid in controlling the mine roof. At a later date these wooden wedges were known as cap pieces, and were prepared by the sawmill and brought to the worker ready for use. The pressure of the earth and rock above the coal seam squeezes this coal seam until it breaks up and crumbles, especially when there are large spaces of unsupported roof. As the different rooms ran their ultimate distance as determined by good mining practices or limits of (mineral) rights, the "ribs" of coal left between the rooms were finally removed. The removal of these ribs or stumps was an art with the early pick-coal men. They brought the roof pressure to bear upon a block of coal which eliminated the hard pick work. The expressions for this operation were "easy coal" or "push coal." The miners who performed this operation were called "stump men." Althouh the work was easier in this area and the pay better, it was also more dangerous since there was the constant danger of being trapped or crushed by the falling rocks from the roof. A good "stump man" controlled the caving for his own safety. The term "dago-dolly" was used to describe a device which was invented to move the heavy steel rails into their positions in the mine track. Initially, the miner pulled the rail with his hands or his pick. Some miner developed a two-wheeled conveyance with attached handle and grip on the rail. This reduced the back-breaking work of pulling rails into place. The "hunky pump " was a horizontal-stoked pump that had to be operated manually to remove the water from the working place so that the miner could lay on the mine floor to dig the undercut in his coal. In many cases, the miner would go into the mines by 5 a.m. and begin pumping the water out of his place so that he could begin mining coal at 7 a.m. with the other miners . Again, this work of pumping was done without pay. \ There are many " holes " in mining terniinology_and they caused confusion to those outside the mining community. " Dog hole " was a mine operated into the hillside. It had poor ventilation ; was poorly maintained and usually employed those workers nobody else would hire . They were run on a shoe-string and usually produced coal for home use . " Man hole " is synonymous with a shelter hole or a hole in 105 SLOVAKIA the rib of coal. Aftimes, tbe miner, walking along the entry way, was faced with on-coming (or koing) traffic or locomotive and coal cars , either empty or loaded. Since these entry ways were narrow and the cars rolled, a hole was cut into the entry wall or rib to accommodate from one to three miners . Since these were spaced at specified distances, at the sound of the trip (string) of cars , the miner would seek out the nearest man hole. Incidently, the word locomotive was rarely used . The machine used to pull cars was simply referred to as •'the motor." The "dinner-hole" was generally a main side track off the main entry or so-called cross-cut. At this area men gathered to eat their lunches and there they hung their favorite pin-ups (obtained from calendars) or drew their own nudes with white chalk on the coal surface. This art resembles that found in public toilets today. The name •'tickle-back'' was given to those low-seamed coal mines that were less than 36 inches in height. Some were. as low as 28 to 29 inches . It wasn 't any wonder than the miner had numerous sores covering his back where he hit the uneven places on the mine roof. The unusual expression "to set a crib" has nothing to do with preparing a bed for the baby. It was one of most effective means of supporting the roof by erecting a framework of 5" x5"x30" wooden blocks at strategic places in a grill-work fashion. The term was also used when the individual miner filled in one side of his emptied work place with rock, slate and dirty coal and cribbed the ends to build up a wall like appearance. This was also called the • gob '' pile . The miner's light in the evaluation of mining has had a number of terms . The pit lamp, bug lamp , carbide lamp and cap lamp are examples of these. The pit and carbide lamps are practically extinct and will shortly be found only in the museums of mining. The battery powered light has completely taken over. The term "shooting off the solid" was an illegal and unsafe practice employed by some miners who wished to avoid the timeconsuming and back-breaking work of under-cutting the coal in preparation for blasting. The process was simply that of drilling holes in the solid coal near the roof or floor and blasting it loose with explosives. The danger in this process was that since the coal had no place to move, at times the pressure of the concussion broke the slate or rock of the roof and made it unsafe for the miner. The term hand me the persuader'' was not referring to a whip for animals or humans but a sledge hammer used by the so-called mechanics who were in a hurry. They used them to drive shafts , gears , etc. into their proper alignment. Such a sight would have caused the 1 11 106 SLOVAKIA inventor of that machine to tum over in his grave. The sledge was the answer to all difficult problems. The term "yellow boy" was and is used in conjunction with iron pyrites found in the mine water. It clogs the pipe lines and sump areas and is a nemesis to the present environmentalist. The '' go devil'' is the apparatus which is used to ream this material out of the pipes. It may be a simple rod, wire or spring or it may be attached to a motor which turns it in a boring fashion . The term "black damp" was explained earlier. The term was taken from the ancient term " damp of darkness " and means a condition where there is less than 15 percent oxygen or where carbon dioxide exists in heavy concentrations in the mine atmosphere. It probably got its name by ''putting someone's lights out.'' In contrast to this, the term "white damp" was a name for carbon monoxide and "stink damp " was the presence of hydrogen sulphide. As any high school chemistry student knows, this latter material had the odor of rotten eggs. " Bug dust" has nothing to do with insecticides. This dust is the result of machine mining and the breaking up of the coal seam into fine particles. After machine mining this fine dust must be removed from the undercut of coal. This permits the explosive to work more effectively by blasting the coal away from the mine roof. Some of the terms heard about the mine had meanings related to mining but not to the actual work of the mines. One such term was the " hoot-owl" shift from 11 p .m. to 7 a.m., or midnight to 8 a.m. Miners usually rotated shifts and this was the one disliked by most since it was impossible to become acclimated to a change in sleeping hours every three weeks. The expression, " today the eagle shifts, " was a wellknown expression for payday in the mines. Also , on his way home he might "stop at the grab, " which meant to stop at the company store. The name was derived from the fact that the company store grabbed all they earned. While at the store they bought "dog meat" for the lunch pails . This was the cheapest form of ground meat, a form of bologna. In addition to the terms above the miners had some descriptive nicknames for each other. It was not unusu~l to meet "Cadillac Joe ," " Quick-Steps, " "Moose, " or " Shorty, " as ope walked along a " mantrip" which was ready to enter the mines. Only the cowboys of the old West had such descriptive names for each other. Thus, it is evident that the coal miners actually do have a language which only other miners understand. I believe it would be appropriate for the media to become conversant with the language of the mines , especially when describing a mine disaster.  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 Reminiscences of a Slovak Miner Description An account of the resource George P. Resick Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 93-106 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Resick, George P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/059d24587795e9ea830314094d3a750e.pdf 443b160de78b9ea4fd8cd32ba2f3cf8c PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 107 The Man 'Who Made Good in America THOMAS BELL In the spring of 1910, three men were sitting in a grimy courtyard, talking. All were Slovak steelworkers, fair, solidly-built men in their late thirties. The oldest, Mike Dobrejcak, was wearing slippers and a long-sleeved undershirt; he had got out of bed only an hour or so before, and would soon be going off to a night ' s work in the blast furnaces . The others , his brother Joe and his best friend Steve Bodnar, were cleanfaced and clean-shirted, notice to all the small world of a steel town that they weren't working. Times were bad; not as bad as they had been during the panic three years before, but bad enough. The courtyard, its paving gritty with mill dust, was closed in by the brick row in which Mike lived, by the fire-escaped back of a Washington Street saloon , and by the board fence against which Bodnar had titled his chair. Two doors down the row several men were playing cards, their table an old box, and at the far end of the yard, in the comer formed by the communal outhouse and another fence, a loom had been set up and some women were weaving carpets from old rags . It was a fine May afternoon; the three men could feel the warmth of the smoke-hazed sun penetrating their clothes. The saloon-keeper' s hired girl, who had entertained them briefly by coming out on the fire escape above them to wash a window, had clambered back inside , taking her ankles with her, and now the men were talking, like a good many other people in Braddock, about Andy Toth. * * * On a bleak New Year's Eve many years before, about midway in time between the Braddock lockout with which Carnegie began his war on the steelworkers ' union , and the Homestead lockout with which he finished it in 1892, there had been serious trouble at the mill gate in Braddock . The workers had asked for New Year ' s Day off and the This short story was first printed in Mainstream (1947) and is reprinted by permission of Marie Be ll. �108 SLOVAKIA company had refused, whereupon the day men gathered before the gate and tried to keep the incoming night men from going to work. Foremen and mill cops intervened, and very shortly a small riot was raging up and down Thirteenth Street. When it was over there were a number of broken heads on both sides and one man, an Irish foreman, was dead. Andy Toth, a laborer in the blast furnaces who 'd just recently come to America, married and the father of two boys, was arrested and tried for murder. He admitted participating in the fighting but denied that he 'd struck the foreman. He was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to hang, a sentence that was later commuted to life imprisonment. Still protesting his innocence , he disappeared into the state penitentiary, and after a while people stopped talking about him; and after another while everybody except his family - and perhaps the family of the dead foreman - had forgotten him. Now people were talking about him again, for after all these years it turned out that he was just as innocent as he'd always claimed to be. It seemed that a man in the old country, convinced he was dying, had confessed to the crime for which another man had already spent nearly twenty years in prison. His name was Steve Toth but he was no relation. The name was a common one; toth was the Hungarian word for Slovak. Contrary to his expectations, the repentant Steve Toth didn 't die. Meanwhile, however, the village notar, perhaps wondering if Steve Toth had been in his right mind when he told his fantastic story, had written to Braddock; and after a suitable interval Andy Toth's sons, now grown men, journeyed to Europe. Assured that he was safe as long as he didn 't return to America, Steve Toth talked freely . He hadn 't meant to kill anyone , he said. Everyone was fighting, and that he rather than someone else had struck the fatal blow , that it had proved fatal at all, was pure chance. He'd left Braddock at once and returned to the old country . When he heard that the police, to whom one immigrant laborer named Toth was apparently as good as another, had arrested Andy Toth, he had been afraid to reveal the truth. But he was glad \ he said, to get it off his conscience at last. . _ What Andy Toth ' s sons felt or thought as they listened to him was not known. They returned to Braddock laden with affidavits and documents and set about getting their father out of jail. There was a picture of him in the newspapers on his release , a stout, white-haired, dazed looking man. He carried a rosary and he was quoted as saying that he 'd always known he would be freed some day �' SLOVAKIA 109 because he had prayed every night and his faith in God' s goodness had never wavered. Several priests took his words, his history, for a text the following Sunday . Andy Toth did not breathe the free air of America long; almost as soon as it could be arranged, he went back to the old country. He wife, who had taken in boarders to support herself and her family, had died while he was in prison. His sons were American citizens with wives and American-born children. Andy Toth went back to the old country - to die , he said ; a sentiment everyone understood and no one took literally. What made the First Ward gasp, however, was the report that the steel company , in an unprecedented manifestation of generosity and remorse, had given him a check equal to all the wages he would have earned if he'd been working in the mill during his long years in prison . * * * People never get tired to talking about money. '' How much do you think he got?'' Joe asked. " It should be easy to figure out," Mike replied . "Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day, seven days a week. ' ' " For twenty years. " "Ah." ''That sounds like a lot of money. '' A breeze rustled the drying leaves of the Pentecostal linden branches nailed over Mike's doorway, as over most of the doorways in the row . In Twelfth Street, on the other side of the board fence, a huckster was crying his chant of potatoes, cabbages and onions , and small boys with nothing better to do were echoing him mockingly . " You know how to figure , Mike. See what it comes to. " Mike smiled tolerantly, not unwilling to show off his learning. "If you like." He leaned around the comer of the doorway and called into the kitchen where Mary was getting his supper and packing his lunch bucket. "Marchal See if you can find me a pencil and paper." She came to the door, a small, tired women in a soiled dress , a year-old baby in her arms. The baby was gnawing gummily on a piece of bacon rind hung from a string around its neck. '' What do you want with a pencil and paper?'' she asked . Like the men, she spoke in Slovak. "We want to find out how much money the company gave Andy Toth .'' " Ach, you men! You'd do better to start getting ready for work. " But she brought him what he wanted, a brown paper bag and a stubby pencil. �110 SLOVAKIA Mike flattened the bag on his knee and wet the pencil with his tongue. " Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day." He put the figures down and multiplied carefully. " One dollar and sixty-eight cents. " ''I could have told you that, '' Bodnar said. "Seven days a week - " Another pause. " It comes to eleven dollars and seventy-six cents." " What about the long tum?" Joe asked. " That's twelve hours more every other week." " Yes, but how do we know the company figured in the long turns? " "If he ' d been working he would have had to put them in, like everybody else. And they say the company paid him just as though he'd been working. What do you think, Stefan?" Bodnar said it sounded reasonable to him. But that , he went on drily , made it also certain the company would think differently. " If you start figuring it so exactly you ' ll need a better man with figures than I, " Mike said. " What about the times they cut wages? " " And don't forget they weren 't paying any fourteen cents an hour in those days ," Bodnar said . " I went into the mill for seventy-five cents a day. " "And shutdowns and layoffs ," Joe agreed, nodding. " God knows we 've had more than enough of those in the last twenty years. ' ' Mike protested, ''The more you talk the harder you make it.'' They thought it over. One of the card players rose and crossed the yard to the outhouse , making some remark to the women at the loom as he passed and laughing as he shut himself inside . '' Let's keep it simple, '' Mike said. '' A straight twelve hours a day , seven days a week, with no wage cuts or layoffs .'' Bodnar grunted . " I'd like a job in a mill like that. Where is it? " " In heaven , maybe ," Joe suggested. Bodnar turned his face and spat. ' 'Or in hell .' ' " Be quiet, " Mike said, " or I'll be here all day. " He was putting down figures again. ''Fifty-two times eleven-seventy-six - '' He multiplied and added. ''It comes to six hund\ed eleven dollars and fiftytwo cents a year, " he announced . " That much? " · " In twenty years it should make a nice piece of money," Joe observed reflectively . "Now I know why bankers enjoy their work . " Mike was staring at the paper. " You put down some figures , add them up and there you are rich. '' �\ ' SLOVAKIA 111 " How much in twenty years?" Bodnar asked. " One minute. It comes to - " Again Mike 's pencil moved, while the others watched it, absorbed. '' Boie moj! '' " Well? Well? Don 't just sit there. Tell us. " " As God is my judge, it comes to twelve thousand , two hundred thirty dollars and forty cents exactly. ' ' They stared at him blankly. " How much did you say? " Mike repeated the figure. ''Twelve thousand!'' Mike nodded. " In one piece, cash money. " " Jeiis! Twelve thousand dollars! " "I don 't believe it. " " There are the figures. " The immensity of the sum overwhelmed them. Speechless they stared at the paper on Mike 's knee. ' 'Good God! ' ' Bodnar exclaimed. ' 'When I heard they were giving him some money I wished him joy of it. I didn 't think much about it. I supposed it would come to a few hundred dollars more or less , little enough for what he suffered. But twelve thousand dollars!'' " It's a lot of money, " Mike admitted. " It's a fortune! And for what?" Mike glanced at his friend. ' 'Do you begrudge him the money? ' ' Bodnar stared at the paper on Mike 's knee and then struck a match and re-lit his pipe, emotion making him suck on it with loud, smacking noises . ' 'If I do, then may God forgive me. But what I'm thinking is that I was working in the mill when they took him off to jail, and so were you for that matter , and we 're working still. And do we have any twelve thousand dollars to show for it? Twelve thousand dollars? Twelve thousand turds! '' " We didn 't sit in jail for twenty years ." '' Devil take me if I wouldn't be glad to sit in the strongest jail they have for that kind of money! " ''Twenty years in jail is a long time , Stefan. '' ' 'Twenty years in that God-damned mill is a long time too , my friend! ' ' "Yes. Yes , it is. " " And what have we to show for it? Who 's the better off today? Look at us !" He gestured abruptly, taking in themselves, the mean yard , the card player reappearing in the door of the outhouse , sliding his thumbs up and down under his suspenders. " I ask you , who 's the �SLOVAKIA 112 better off? Toth, gone back to the old country with a fortune in his pocket and the rest of his life to do as he likes, - or we, breaking our backs in the blast furnaces to keep body and soul together?'' Mike didn't reply. Joe shrugged slightly, one hand holding his pipe near his mouth, the other cupping an elbow. "Itell you, Mike, it starts a man thinking." "Yes." Mary called, "Mihal, it's getting late!" In some upstairs bedroom a melancholy boarder, far from home, was hunched over an accordian and singing about a girl whose lover from over the wooded mountains never came to see her anymore, though once they had made love every hour, every minute, every day of the week including Saturday: '' Za hory, lesy, mti milti, kde si .. . '' The mills and blast furnaces were a low rumble on the other side of the housetops , and of his song. ''Mihal!'' After a while he got slowly to his feet. ''Toth could make a pretty good speech when he gets back to his village," he said. Bodnar grunted, still seething. Joe looked up at his brother. "A speech?'' Mike nodded, and a far-away look came into his eyes and his voice took on the formal tone appropriate to oratory . ''I was thinking he could stand up before the people who had gathered to welcome him home and he could say to them, ' My friends, in my youth I went to America to make my fortune, as the saying is . I dreamt of some day returning here rich and famous. Money in my pocket, maybe even my picture in the papers. You all know what thoughts will come into a young man's head when he is going to America. So off I went and now I've come back, and here I am. Rich and famous.' ' ' Mike stood above them for a moment, a faint, twisted smile on his lips . " Rich and famous," he repeated quietly. Then he shook his head, as a man will when he finds something too much for him, and went inside to get ready for work. � SLOVAKIA 107 The Man 'Who Made Good in America THOMAS BELL In the spring of 1910, three men were sitting in a grimy courtyard, talking. All were Slovak steelworkers, fair, solidly-built men in their late thirties. The oldest, Mike Dobrejcak, was wearing slippers and a long-sleeved undershirt; he had got out of bed only an hour or so before, and would soon be going off to a night ' s work in the blast furnaces . The others , his brother Joe and his best friend Steve Bodnar, were cleanfaced and clean-shirted, notice to all the small world of a steel town that they weren't working. Times were bad; not as bad as they had been during the panic three years before, but bad enough. The courtyard, its paving gritty with mill dust, was closed in by the brick row in which Mike lived, by the fire-escaped back of a Washington Street saloon , and by the board fence against which Bodnar had titled his chair. Two doors down the row several men were playing cards, their table an old box, and at the far end of the yard, in the comer formed by the communal outhouse and another fence, a loom had been set up and some women were weaving carpets from old rags . It was a fine May afternoon; the three men could feel the warmth of the smoke-hazed sun penetrating their clothes. The saloon-keeper' s hired girl, who had entertained them briefly by coming out on the fire escape above them to wash a window, had clambered back inside , taking her ankles with her, and now the men were talking, like a good many other people in Braddock, about Andy Toth. * * * On a bleak New Year's Eve many years before, about midway in time between the Braddock lockout with which Carnegie began his war on the steelworkers ' union , and the Homestead lockout with which he finished it in 1892, there had been serious trouble at the mill gate in Braddock . The workers had asked for New Year ' s Day off and the This short story was first printed in Mainstream (1947) and is reprinted by permission of Marie Be ll. �108 SLOVAKIA company had refused, whereupon the day men gathered before the gate and tried to keep the incoming night men from going to work. Foremen and mill cops intervened, and very shortly a small riot was raging up and down Thirteenth Street. When it was over there were a number of broken heads on both sides and one man, an Irish foreman, was dead. Andy Toth, a laborer in the blast furnaces who 'd just recently come to America, married and the father of two boys, was arrested and tried for murder. He admitted participating in the fighting but denied that he 'd struck the foreman. He was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to hang, a sentence that was later commuted to life imprisonment. Still protesting his innocence , he disappeared into the state penitentiary, and after a while people stopped talking about him; and after another while everybody except his family - and perhaps the family of the dead foreman - had forgotten him. Now people were talking about him again, for after all these years it turned out that he was just as innocent as he'd always claimed to be. It seemed that a man in the old country, convinced he was dying, had confessed to the crime for which another man had already spent nearly twenty years in prison. His name was Steve Toth but he was no relation. The name was a common one; toth was the Hungarian word for Slovak. Contrary to his expectations, the repentant Steve Toth didn 't die. Meanwhile, however, the village notar, perhaps wondering if Steve Toth had been in his right mind when he told his fantastic story, had written to Braddock; and after a suitable interval Andy Toth's sons, now grown men, journeyed to Europe. Assured that he was safe as long as he didn 't return to America, Steve Toth talked freely . He hadn 't meant to kill anyone , he said. Everyone was fighting, and that he rather than someone else had struck the fatal blow , that it had proved fatal at all, was pure chance. He'd left Braddock at once and returned to the old country . When he heard that the police, to whom one immigrant laborer named Toth was apparently as good as another, had arrested Andy Toth, he had been afraid to reveal the truth. But he was glad \ he said, to get it off his conscience at last. . _ What Andy Toth ' s sons felt or thought as they listened to him was not known. They returned to Braddock laden with affidavits and documents and set about getting their father out of jail. There was a picture of him in the newspapers on his release , a stout, white-haired, dazed looking man. He carried a rosary and he was quoted as saying that he 'd always known he would be freed some day �' SLOVAKIA 109 because he had prayed every night and his faith in God' s goodness had never wavered. Several priests took his words, his history, for a text the following Sunday . Andy Toth did not breathe the free air of America long; almost as soon as it could be arranged, he went back to the old country. He wife, who had taken in boarders to support herself and her family, had died while he was in prison. His sons were American citizens with wives and American-born children. Andy Toth went back to the old country - to die , he said ; a sentiment everyone understood and no one took literally. What made the First Ward gasp, however, was the report that the steel company , in an unprecedented manifestation of generosity and remorse, had given him a check equal to all the wages he would have earned if he'd been working in the mill during his long years in prison . * * * People never get tired to talking about money. '' How much do you think he got?'' Joe asked. " It should be easy to figure out," Mike replied . "Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day, seven days a week. ' ' " For twenty years. " "Ah." ''That sounds like a lot of money. '' A breeze rustled the drying leaves of the Pentecostal linden branches nailed over Mike's doorway, as over most of the doorways in the row . In Twelfth Street, on the other side of the board fence, a huckster was crying his chant of potatoes, cabbages and onions , and small boys with nothing better to do were echoing him mockingly . " You know how to figure , Mike. See what it comes to. " Mike smiled tolerantly, not unwilling to show off his learning. "If you like." He leaned around the comer of the doorway and called into the kitchen where Mary was getting his supper and packing his lunch bucket. "Marchal See if you can find me a pencil and paper." She came to the door, a small, tired women in a soiled dress , a year-old baby in her arms. The baby was gnawing gummily on a piece of bacon rind hung from a string around its neck. '' What do you want with a pencil and paper?'' she asked . Like the men, she spoke in Slovak. "We want to find out how much money the company gave Andy Toth .'' " Ach, you men! You'd do better to start getting ready for work. " But she brought him what he wanted, a brown paper bag and a stubby pencil. �110 SLOVAKIA Mike flattened the bag on his knee and wet the pencil with his tongue. " Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day." He put the figures down and multiplied carefully. " One dollar and sixty-eight cents. " ''I could have told you that, '' Bodnar said. "Seven days a week - " Another pause. " It comes to eleven dollars and seventy-six cents." " What about the long tum?" Joe asked. " That's twelve hours more every other week." " Yes, but how do we know the company figured in the long turns? " "If he ' d been working he would have had to put them in, like everybody else. And they say the company paid him just as though he'd been working. What do you think, Stefan?" Bodnar said it sounded reasonable to him. But that , he went on drily , made it also certain the company would think differently. " If you start figuring it so exactly you ' ll need a better man with figures than I, " Mike said. " What about the times they cut wages? " " And don't forget they weren 't paying any fourteen cents an hour in those days ," Bodnar said . " I went into the mill for seventy-five cents a day. " "And shutdowns and layoffs ," Joe agreed, nodding. " God knows we 've had more than enough of those in the last twenty years. ' ' Mike protested, ''The more you talk the harder you make it.'' They thought it over. One of the card players rose and crossed the yard to the outhouse , making some remark to the women at the loom as he passed and laughing as he shut himself inside . '' Let's keep it simple, '' Mike said. '' A straight twelve hours a day , seven days a week, with no wage cuts or layoffs .'' Bodnar grunted . " I'd like a job in a mill like that. Where is it? " " In heaven , maybe ," Joe suggested. Bodnar turned his face and spat. ' 'Or in hell .' ' " Be quiet, " Mike said, " or I'll be here all day. " He was putting down figures again. ''Fifty-two times eleven-seventy-six - '' He multiplied and added. ''It comes to six hund\ed eleven dollars and fiftytwo cents a year, " he announced . " That much? " · " In twenty years it should make a nice piece of money," Joe observed reflectively . "Now I know why bankers enjoy their work . " Mike was staring at the paper. " You put down some figures , add them up and there you are rich. '' �\ ' SLOVAKIA 111 " How much in twenty years?" Bodnar asked. " One minute. It comes to - " Again Mike 's pencil moved, while the others watched it, absorbed. '' Boie moj! '' " Well? Well? Don 't just sit there. Tell us. " " As God is my judge, it comes to twelve thousand , two hundred thirty dollars and forty cents exactly. ' ' They stared at him blankly. " How much did you say? " Mike repeated the figure. ''Twelve thousand!'' Mike nodded. " In one piece, cash money. " " Jeiis! Twelve thousand dollars! " "I don 't believe it. " " There are the figures. " The immensity of the sum overwhelmed them. Speechless they stared at the paper on Mike 's knee. ' 'Good God! ' ' Bodnar exclaimed. ' 'When I heard they were giving him some money I wished him joy of it. I didn 't think much about it. I supposed it would come to a few hundred dollars more or less , little enough for what he suffered. But twelve thousand dollars!'' " It's a lot of money, " Mike admitted. " It's a fortune! And for what?" Mike glanced at his friend. ' 'Do you begrudge him the money? ' ' Bodnar stared at the paper on Mike 's knee and then struck a match and re-lit his pipe, emotion making him suck on it with loud, smacking noises . ' 'If I do, then may God forgive me. But what I'm thinking is that I was working in the mill when they took him off to jail, and so were you for that matter , and we 're working still. And do we have any twelve thousand dollars to show for it? Twelve thousand dollars? Twelve thousand turds! '' " We didn 't sit in jail for twenty years ." '' Devil take me if I wouldn't be glad to sit in the strongest jail they have for that kind of money! " ''Twenty years in jail is a long time , Stefan. '' ' 'Twenty years in that God-damned mill is a long time too , my friend! ' ' "Yes. Yes , it is. " " And what have we to show for it? Who 's the better off today? Look at us !" He gestured abruptly, taking in themselves, the mean yard , the card player reappearing in the door of the outhouse , sliding his thumbs up and down under his suspenders. " I ask you , who 's the �SLOVAKIA 112 better off? Toth, gone back to the old country with a fortune in his pocket and the rest of his life to do as he likes, - or we, breaking our backs in the blast furnaces to keep body and soul together?'' Mike didn't reply. Joe shrugged slightly, one hand holding his pipe near his mouth, the other cupping an elbow. "Itell you, Mike, it starts a man thinking." "Yes." Mary called, "Mihal, it's getting late!" In some upstairs bedroom a melancholy boarder, far from home, was hunched over an accordian and singing about a girl whose lover from over the wooded mountains never came to see her anymore, though once they had made love every hour, every minute, every day of the week including Saturday: '' Za hory, lesy, mti milti, kde si .. . '' The mills and blast furnaces were a low rumble on the other side of the housetops , and of his song. ''Mihal!'' After a while he got slowly to his feet. ''Toth could make a pretty good speech when he gets back to his village," he said. Bodnar grunted, still seething. Joe looked up at his brother. "A speech?'' Mike nodded, and a far-away look came into his eyes and his voice took on the formal tone appropriate to oratory . ''I was thinking he could stand up before the people who had gathered to welcome him home and he could say to them, ' My friends, in my youth I went to America to make my fortune, as the saying is . I dreamt of some day returning here rich and famous. Money in my pocket, maybe even my picture in the papers. You all know what thoughts will come into a young man's head when he is going to America. So off I went and now I've come back, and here I am. Rich and famous.' ' ' Mike stood above them for a moment, a faint, twisted smile on his lips . " Rich and famous," he repeated quietly. Then he shook his head, as a man will when he finds something too much for him, and went inside to get ready for work. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 107 The Man 'Who Made Good in America THOMAS BELL In the spring of 1910, three men were sitting in a grimy courtyard, talking. All were Slovak steelworkers, fair, solidly-built men in their late thirties. The oldest, Mike Dobrejcak, was wearing slippers and a long-sleeved undershirt; he had got out of bed only an hour or so before, and would soon be going off to a night ' s work in the blast furnaces . The others , his brother Joe and his best friend Steve Bodnar, were cleanfaced and clean-shirted, notice to all the small world of a steel town that they weren't working. Times were bad; not as bad as they had been during the panic three years before, but bad enough. The courtyard, its paving gritty with mill dust, was closed in by the brick row in which Mike lived, by the fire-escaped back of a Washington Street saloon , and by the board fence against which Bodnar had titled his chair. Two doors down the row several men were playing cards, their table an old box, and at the far end of the yard, in the comer formed by the communal outhouse and another fence, a loom had been set up and some women were weaving carpets from old rags . It was a fine May afternoon; the three men could feel the warmth of the smoke-hazed sun penetrating their clothes. The saloon-keeper' s hired girl, who had entertained them briefly by coming out on the fire escape above them to wash a window, had clambered back inside , taking her ankles with her, and now the men were talking, like a good many other people in Braddock, about Andy Toth. * * * On a bleak New Year's Eve many years before, about midway in time between the Braddock lockout with which Carnegie began his war on the steelworkers ' union , and the Homestead lockout with which he finished it in 1892, there had been serious trouble at the mill gate in Braddock . The workers had asked for New Year ' s Day off and the This short story was first printed in Mainstream (1947) and is reprinted by permission of Marie Be ll. 108 SLOVAKIA company had refused, whereupon the day men gathered before the gate and tried to keep the incoming night men from going to work. Foremen and mill cops intervened, and very shortly a small riot was raging up and down Thirteenth Street. When it was over there were a number of broken heads on both sides and one man, an Irish foreman, was dead. Andy Toth, a laborer in the blast furnaces who 'd just recently come to America, married and the father of two boys, was arrested and tried for murder. He admitted participating in the fighting but denied that he 'd struck the foreman. He was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to hang, a sentence that was later commuted to life imprisonment. Still protesting his innocence , he disappeared into the state penitentiary, and after a while people stopped talking about him; and after another while everybody except his family - and perhaps the family of the dead foreman - had forgotten him. Now people were talking about him again, for after all these years it turned out that he was just as innocent as he'd always claimed to be. It seemed that a man in the old country, convinced he was dying, had confessed to the crime for which another man had already spent nearly twenty years in prison. His name was Steve Toth but he was no relation. The name was a common one; toth was the Hungarian word for Slovak. Contrary to his expectations, the repentant Steve Toth didn 't die. Meanwhile, however, the village notar, perhaps wondering if Steve Toth had been in his right mind when he told his fantastic story, had written to Braddock; and after a suitable interval Andy Toth's sons, now grown men, journeyed to Europe. Assured that he was safe as long as he didn 't return to America, Steve Toth talked freely . He hadn 't meant to kill anyone , he said. Everyone was fighting, and that he rather than someone else had struck the fatal blow , that it had proved fatal at all, was pure chance. He'd left Braddock at once and returned to the old country . When he heard that the police, to whom one immigrant laborer named Toth was apparently as good as another, had arrested Andy Toth, he had been afraid to reveal the truth. But he was glad \ he said, to get it off his conscience at last. . _ What Andy Toth ' s sons felt or thought as they listened to him was not known. They returned to Braddock laden with affidavits and documents and set about getting their father out of jail. There was a picture of him in the newspapers on his release , a stout, white-haired, dazed looking man. He carried a rosary and he was quoted as saying that he 'd always known he would be freed some day ' SLOVAKIA 109 because he had prayed every night and his faith in God' s goodness had never wavered. Several priests took his words, his history, for a text the following Sunday . Andy Toth did not breathe the free air of America long; almost as soon as it could be arranged, he went back to the old country. He wife, who had taken in boarders to support herself and her family, had died while he was in prison. His sons were American citizens with wives and American-born children. Andy Toth went back to the old country - to die , he said ; a sentiment everyone understood and no one took literally. What made the First Ward gasp, however, was the report that the steel company , in an unprecedented manifestation of generosity and remorse, had given him a check equal to all the wages he would have earned if he'd been working in the mill during his long years in prison . * * * People never get tired to talking about money. '' How much do you think he got?'' Joe asked. " It should be easy to figure out," Mike replied . "Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day, seven days a week. ' ' " For twenty years. " "Ah." ''That sounds like a lot of money. '' A breeze rustled the drying leaves of the Pentecostal linden branches nailed over Mike's doorway, as over most of the doorways in the row . In Twelfth Street, on the other side of the board fence, a huckster was crying his chant of potatoes, cabbages and onions , and small boys with nothing better to do were echoing him mockingly . " You know how to figure , Mike. See what it comes to. " Mike smiled tolerantly, not unwilling to show off his learning. "If you like." He leaned around the comer of the doorway and called into the kitchen where Mary was getting his supper and packing his lunch bucket. "Marchal See if you can find me a pencil and paper." She came to the door, a small, tired women in a soiled dress , a year-old baby in her arms. The baby was gnawing gummily on a piece of bacon rind hung from a string around its neck. '' What do you want with a pencil and paper?'' she asked . Like the men, she spoke in Slovak. "We want to find out how much money the company gave Andy Toth .'' " Ach, you men! You'd do better to start getting ready for work. " But she brought him what he wanted, a brown paper bag and a stubby pencil. 110 SLOVAKIA Mike flattened the bag on his knee and wet the pencil with his tongue. " Fourteen cents an hour, twelve hours a day." He put the figures down and multiplied carefully. " One dollar and sixty-eight cents. " ''I could have told you that, '' Bodnar said. "Seven days a week - " Another pause. " It comes to eleven dollars and seventy-six cents." " What about the long tum?" Joe asked. " That's twelve hours more every other week." " Yes, but how do we know the company figured in the long turns? " "If he ' d been working he would have had to put them in, like everybody else. And they say the company paid him just as though he'd been working. What do you think, Stefan?" Bodnar said it sounded reasonable to him. But that , he went on drily , made it also certain the company would think differently. " If you start figuring it so exactly you ' ll need a better man with figures than I, " Mike said. " What about the times they cut wages? " " And don't forget they weren 't paying any fourteen cents an hour in those days ," Bodnar said . " I went into the mill for seventy-five cents a day. " "And shutdowns and layoffs ," Joe agreed, nodding. " God knows we 've had more than enough of those in the last twenty years. ' ' Mike protested, ''The more you talk the harder you make it.'' They thought it over. One of the card players rose and crossed the yard to the outhouse , making some remark to the women at the loom as he passed and laughing as he shut himself inside . '' Let's keep it simple, '' Mike said. '' A straight twelve hours a day , seven days a week, with no wage cuts or layoffs .'' Bodnar grunted . " I'd like a job in a mill like that. Where is it? " " In heaven , maybe ," Joe suggested. Bodnar turned his face and spat. ' 'Or in hell .' ' " Be quiet, " Mike said, " or I'll be here all day. " He was putting down figures again. ''Fifty-two times eleven-seventy-six - '' He multiplied and added. ''It comes to six hund\ed eleven dollars and fiftytwo cents a year, " he announced . " That much? " · " In twenty years it should make a nice piece of money," Joe observed reflectively . "Now I know why bankers enjoy their work . " Mike was staring at the paper. " You put down some figures , add them up and there you are rich. '' \ ' SLOVAKIA 111 " How much in twenty years?" Bodnar asked. " One minute. It comes to - " Again Mike 's pencil moved, while the others watched it, absorbed. '' Boie moj! '' " Well? Well? Don 't just sit there. Tell us. " " As God is my judge, it comes to twelve thousand , two hundred thirty dollars and forty cents exactly. ' ' They stared at him blankly. " How much did you say? " Mike repeated the figure. ''Twelve thousand!'' Mike nodded. " In one piece, cash money. " " Jeiis! Twelve thousand dollars! " "I don 't believe it. " " There are the figures. " The immensity of the sum overwhelmed them. Speechless they stared at the paper on Mike 's knee. ' 'Good God! ' ' Bodnar exclaimed. ' 'When I heard they were giving him some money I wished him joy of it. I didn 't think much about it. I supposed it would come to a few hundred dollars more or less , little enough for what he suffered. But twelve thousand dollars!'' " It's a lot of money, " Mike admitted. " It's a fortune! And for what?" Mike glanced at his friend. ' 'Do you begrudge him the money? ' ' Bodnar stared at the paper on Mike 's knee and then struck a match and re-lit his pipe, emotion making him suck on it with loud, smacking noises . ' 'If I do, then may God forgive me. But what I'm thinking is that I was working in the mill when they took him off to jail, and so were you for that matter , and we 're working still. And do we have any twelve thousand dollars to show for it? Twelve thousand dollars? Twelve thousand turds! '' " We didn 't sit in jail for twenty years ." '' Devil take me if I wouldn't be glad to sit in the strongest jail they have for that kind of money! " ''Twenty years in jail is a long time , Stefan. '' ' 'Twenty years in that God-damned mill is a long time too , my friend! ' ' "Yes. Yes , it is. " " And what have we to show for it? Who 's the better off today? Look at us !" He gestured abruptly, taking in themselves, the mean yard , the card player reappearing in the door of the outhouse , sliding his thumbs up and down under his suspenders. " I ask you , who 's the SLOVAKIA 112 better off? Toth, gone back to the old country with a fortune in his pocket and the rest of his life to do as he likes, - or we, breaking our backs in the blast furnaces to keep body and soul together?'' Mike didn't reply. Joe shrugged slightly, one hand holding his pipe near his mouth, the other cupping an elbow. "Itell you, Mike, it starts a man thinking." "Yes." Mary called, "Mihal, it's getting late!" In some upstairs bedroom a melancholy boarder, far from home, was hunched over an accordian and singing about a girl whose lover from over the wooded mountains never came to see her anymore, though once they had made love every hour, every minute, every day of the week including Saturday: '' Za hory, lesy, mti milti, kde si .. . '' The mills and blast furnaces were a low rumble on the other side of the housetops , and of his song. ''Mihal!'' After a while he got slowly to his feet. ''Toth could make a pretty good speech when he gets back to his village," he said. Bodnar grunted, still seething. Joe looked up at his brother. "A speech?'' Mike nodded, and a far-away look came into his eyes and his voice took on the formal tone appropriate to oratory . ''I was thinking he could stand up before the people who had gathered to welcome him home and he could say to them, ' My friends, in my youth I went to America to make my fortune, as the saying is . I dreamt of some day returning here rich and famous. Money in my pocket, maybe even my picture in the papers. You all know what thoughts will come into a young man's head when he is going to America. So off I went and now I've come back, and here I am. Rich and famous.' ' ' Mike stood above them for a moment, a faint, twisted smile on his lips . " Rich and famous," he repeated quietly. Then he shook his head, as a man will when he finds something too much for him, and went inside to get ready for work.  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 Man Who Made Good in America Description An account of the resource Thomas Bell Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 107-112 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bell, Thomas, 1903-1961 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e053232aaec8337193ecdbab999efecc.pdf 8df400c730f836773bf33452cb91075d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 113 "Baked Blockheads" . (a fragment) \ FRANTISEK HECKO (1905-1960) In the morning, as soon as Michael Habdzha, a pudgy and stem peasant of Zelena Misa, stepped out of his house, his son Urban took his wife Christine (nee Svata) by the hand; and like children walking to school, they went hand-in-hand to the notary, signed a contract and a note , and bought a house with two vineyards in Wolfsvale . The entire transaction was very brief: Christine removed a linen pouch from the bosom of her dress, unwrapped the protective cover of the pouch, and took out twenty hundred-crown banknotes , part of which she earned through her own sweat and tears and part of which they had received after long supplication from the elders of Podhaj. Having placed the money on the desk in front of the notary, Christine and her husband signed the contract, and Theophil Hrzhic and Dominik Palkovic, the guarantors , vouched the draft with an additional fifteen-hundred crowns . The notary winked deliberately at the young woman and said, " So-o-o! Live in the house happily and use your property in good health! You-u-u made a go-o-od bargain. " The young couple left the notary office with pale faces, empty pockets, and shoulders slumping somewhat. It was hard to say what burdened their hearts the most; whether it was the property acquired in Wolfsvale , or the draft note for fifteen-hundred crowns, or the speed with which the transaction was performed. The notary put five of Christine's hundred-crown banknotes in his pocket, while the remaining fifteen bills he placed in his desk drawer for the former owner of the Wolfsvale property, Joseph Deograts, who, to the surprise of all, had emigrated with his family to America. The notary patted his pocket as if dusting his suit after contact with a hairy animal and mumbled, " Donkeys .. . both of you !" The young Habdzhas did not return home through the village. They walked through the barnyards, and even there they turned on purpose across Cabbage Fields and Hemp Fields towards Scabby Water. In Little Willows near the river, Christine's teeth began to rattle. She wept, while Urban, the vein on his forehead swollen, was angry because she regretted spending the money. They would have �114 SLOVAKIA walked this way and cried and been angry with each other, had the woman not grabbed the man in her arms . Tears in her eyes, she said with bluish lips , " Urban!" Her voice was like the cry of a drowning person. "Dear Christine!" She had never heard her name pronounced so tenderly . ' 'I'm scared, so scared that I'm shivering!'' Indeed, cold fever shuddered through her body. ' 'Don't be afraid and don't shiver! Do you realize, godly woman, the meaning of having one's own house?" The entire world turned around her. She knew, yes, and how well she knew it! But now she was glad because her Urban knew it, too. " I'm sorry if you think that I regret spending the money." And added still with tears in her eyes: ' 'But I'm afraid of the hell that will follow when those in the upper room learn what we did. I would rather take little Marc and fly directly over to Wolfsvale. Virgin Mary, help me!" It was not the money that worried her. She was concerned about the storm which would suddenly explode in the Habdzha's proud home • when papa and mama learned that the "baked blockheads" had once again challenged their absolute rule and played a stupid trick on them. Urban now knew for sure that his Christine was more dec~nt than he had ever thought her to be. He was very happy because of that, and his heart beat like a hammer. Laughing loudly, he lifted his wife up and tried to rock his longlegged girl in his arms while walking forward . But ~ime and time again she slipped in his hands. She did not know whether to slide down to the ground or to wind her arms around her husband's neck. She let him carry her for some distance, while a sweet indecision intoxicated her. But the moment was so great that it could not culminate in an ordinary embrace. He looked into her eyes and saw that her tears had seemingly dried: Christine 's shy girlishness retreated before a relentlessly onrushing womanly ripeness. \ Urban understood. And before she could,have opened her mouth, he let her touch the ground and outran her, calling to her, " Let' s go, Christine, let' s leave today! " " Yes , yes, yes! " The marks of feminine consent - her smile, the burning coals in her eyes , and fully expanded bosom - betrayed her thoughts clearly. Both found in their agreement a starting point, simple and direct, a stunning view of freedom craved by everything young and healthy in the world. �SLOVAKIA 115 Intoxicated spiritually, they sped up from Little Willows and ran across the Meadows to the bridge. The bridge, a formless stone structure thrown clumsily over the river bed of Scabby Water, connected Zelena Misa with Wolfsvale in the fields. A blackened statue of St. John Nepomucene haa stood on the bridge for long centuries, guarding the entrance to W olfsvale and looking with bulging, hateful eyes toward Zelena Misa. Both sat down on a low brick balustrade near the statue . St. John's eyes, from the Wolfsvale side, shone with goodness and won their approval. Urban and Christine looked down on troughlike W olfsvale , full of trees and grapevines, stakes and bushwood. The property which they acquired that day at the notary and which belonged to them was located beyond Goatshead, in Wolf Comers , now the wildest and deepest part of Wolfsvale. And perhaps because of the location and nature of their property, they felt twice as strongly that they aleady belonged there, among the grapevines and trees. When they walked down from the bridge toward Zelena Misa, a feeling of contempt toward the village took possession of them. The village seemed ugly, bare, and worn out. Sitting on a flat hill, the village was kneaded formlessly of brick clay and covered with fat straw. Even the church stuck upward like a fence post. Urban and Christine had acted wisely in drawing a good human being, their grandmother, into their secret plans . A less pious and more honest woman than her daughter Veronina, the devoted and servile wife of Michael Habdzha and the fierce mother of Urban, their grandmother Louise Kristova (nee Hrzhichova), proved to be very helpful to them. She advised then not to start before noon. Free as she was in all her actions , she did not need to account for her comings and goings . She ran to hire a wagoner with a long wagon and a cart, so they could take all their belongings . She also knew that her son-in-law, the farmer, would return only at sunset , for he had gone to Holy Hill from which one does not return quickly. Her daughter - as soon as she was rid of the morning cooking - grasped the opportunity provided by her husband 's absence , to " hit" the bottle, lie in the upper room , and tell the world to go to hell. Urban's brothers, Nicholas and Philip , and his sister Josephine , oppressed like Urban and Christine, were ready to assist in all the operations when they found the young couple was about to sneak out from the lower room . Joyfully anticipating their parents' anger, they danced in the yard. �116 SLOVAKIA In the Habdzha household, there had always been shouting and fighting ever since the house was built, with its four windows facing the square of Zelena Misa. The reins of the household had been held since time immemorial by the man, sharp as a razor, while the ladle had always been held in the hand of a woman as angry as a snake. If the Archangel Michael had established the man as the head of the household to beat all the others, the woman was certainly awarded by the Devil to the man to support him with anger and sly financial machinations. Only Urban, the " scoundrel," took it into his head to violate this age-old tradition. He had suddenly ceased to obey. He was, to be sure, more stubborn and sharper than his honorable ancestors. But at the same time , he had in his chest a greater heart and more mad handsomeness in his face. In the retinue of the Habdzhas , he might have been mistaken for a noble . Because of his rebellious character, he had not brought a respectible bride into the house , but a maidservant, almost with a child in her hands. He tore the Habdzhas' homespun customs to shreds. He turned the household upsidedown. And as if this were not enough , this ungrateful fellow took the side of a woman who sang non-peasant ballads about orphans and injustices above her son' s cradle. Because of these insults , the old Habdzhas bore an everlasting grudge against the beggarly lower room, and, except to give orders for work , they did not address Urban and Christine with a decent word. But Christine , like Urban before her, won the grandmother and her brothers- and sister-in-law to her side. No one could have endured the tears she shed in the corners. Even a beggar standing in the door took it upon himself to chide Veronica for mistreating her daughter-inlaw. Still nothing moved the old ones. It did not help that grandmother poured kitchen slop over Veronica, that Nicholas and Philip broke the chaff cutter in the barn , that Josephine stuck out her tongue at her father ; nor did the store room door chopped to pieces and other asininities committed by Urban affect his parents. It did not help either that the young people worked like dragons. They thought, the donkeys , that they might ~ ppease the old ones, and that peace would reign in the house . The oldsters were pleased, of course, with the output of the young. Because of that , they fed them, for the kitchen was open to all. But punishment - that was another matter! The old did not punish the young as workers , no - God forbid! - they could not find better hands. Yet the young deserved to suffer, to suffer greatly, for they were unworthy, for they had sinned against their ancestors , moldering, God knows how long, in the cemetery of �SLOVAKIA 117 Zelena Misa. In the opinion of the old ones, the young must suffer even more for Marc, who was born a month after the wedding. The child , having trespassed so vilely against tradition, was simply not considered a member of the family. He was a worm-eaten fruit. He was something that screeched aimlessly and would not be missed had he broken his neck. In such a case, there would at least be an empty comer for a more Christian apple. Yet the child, even in the midst of anger and hate , grew like a mushroom and was so dear that to harm him would have wrecked the entire house. And so the old had to shun the bastard. And for exactly the same reason, it was clear that Urban and Christine had no other choice than to disappear from the sight of the old ones . And so, as grandmother advised, that day when Michael Habdzha left for Holy Hill and his wife Veronica was digesting her extra quart of red wine and snorting in the upper room, the young Habdzhas loaded their few belongings safely onto the wagon and cart. Grandmother gave them their due portion of victuals and kitchen utensils from the common kitchen . Josephine brought grandmother's spotted cow from the stable. Nicholas and Philip tied together several bundles of clover and threw a sheaf of straw down from the hay loft. Christine took Marc in her knapsack. Veronica did not awake. Everything in the house was carried out without bangs or pangs. Yet, grandmother - God knows what kind of sorrow took hold of her eighty-year-old heart - was unable to part with Christine. The wagoner with his wagon and Urban with the cart and cow moved slowly down the street. Urban' s brothers and sister accompanied the fleeing couple. Everything was bundled together and dragged down the street. Only Christine and her grandmother-in-law , standing in the wide-open gate , wiped their eyes with the comers of their aprons. Even the lazy residents of Zelena Misa, crawling out of their clay holes to see what was going on, considered this long parting to be a stupid thing. It was fatal, indeed, to spend so much time taking leave. When the young woman finally set her foot outside the gate , old Habdzha , rather untimely, was about to enter at that very moment. Both the departing woman and the entering man stiffened in their positions. He changed from blue to black with anger ; she became pale with shame and dread. " Are you leaving? " He stood half-bent, supported by a walking stick. Yet his head was raised toward her. He confronted her menacingly. He looked hateful. Her heart pounded as she considered by-passing him. But she was unable to move from the spot. She only turned round and round . She felt as if she were nailed to the ground. Unable to hide her face , she �118 SLOVAKIA tried at least to avoid the recriminating look of her father-in-law. Luckily, sorrow overcame her, and the tears beclouded her eyes. This confused Habdzha. He bent to one side, by-passing her. He walked slowly, staring directly in her eyes. Then he spat and mumbled, "You pig!" What? Grandmother saw little Marc turn in the knapsack and look at her, spreading his little hands toward her. She blessed him, making the sign of the cross with her bony hand in the air. At the same time, the ugly word fell like cow's dung from the mouth of her son-in-law and hit her ears . With a hand weighted with anger, she slapped him across the mouth. There! Michael Habdzha stiffened. Blood sped into his face. He opened his mouth, gasping for air. He choked. Through a red fog, he saw and heard the onlookers of Zelena Misa laugh as they retreated into their doorways . He took his head in his hands. His heart, the wild Habdzha heart with thin walls, started its awful gallop. He mumbled something, something incomprehensible and disastrous, something lost in the sad moment when he slid down to the earth. (1946) '\ � SLOVAKIA 113 "Baked Blockheads" . (a fragment) \ FRANTISEK HECKO (1905-1960) In the morning, as soon as Michael Habdzha, a pudgy and stem peasant of Zelena Misa, stepped out of his house, his son Urban took his wife Christine (nee Svata) by the hand; and like children walking to school, they went hand-in-hand to the notary, signed a contract and a note , and bought a house with two vineyards in Wolfsvale . The entire transaction was very brief: Christine removed a linen pouch from the bosom of her dress, unwrapped the protective cover of the pouch, and took out twenty hundred-crown banknotes , part of which she earned through her own sweat and tears and part of which they had received after long supplication from the elders of Podhaj. Having placed the money on the desk in front of the notary, Christine and her husband signed the contract, and Theophil Hrzhic and Dominik Palkovic, the guarantors , vouched the draft with an additional fifteen-hundred crowns . The notary winked deliberately at the young woman and said, " So-o-o! Live in the house happily and use your property in good health! You-u-u made a go-o-od bargain. " The young couple left the notary office with pale faces, empty pockets, and shoulders slumping somewhat. It was hard to say what burdened their hearts the most; whether it was the property acquired in Wolfsvale , or the draft note for fifteen-hundred crowns, or the speed with which the transaction was performed. The notary put five of Christine's hundred-crown banknotes in his pocket, while the remaining fifteen bills he placed in his desk drawer for the former owner of the Wolfsvale property, Joseph Deograts, who, to the surprise of all, had emigrated with his family to America. The notary patted his pocket as if dusting his suit after contact with a hairy animal and mumbled, " Donkeys .. . both of you !" The young Habdzhas did not return home through the village. They walked through the barnyards, and even there they turned on purpose across Cabbage Fields and Hemp Fields towards Scabby Water. In Little Willows near the river, Christine's teeth began to rattle. She wept, while Urban, the vein on his forehead swollen, was angry because she regretted spending the money. They would have �114 SLOVAKIA walked this way and cried and been angry with each other, had the woman not grabbed the man in her arms . Tears in her eyes, she said with bluish lips , " Urban!" Her voice was like the cry of a drowning person. "Dear Christine!" She had never heard her name pronounced so tenderly . ' 'I'm scared, so scared that I'm shivering!'' Indeed, cold fever shuddered through her body. ' 'Don't be afraid and don't shiver! Do you realize, godly woman, the meaning of having one's own house?" The entire world turned around her. She knew, yes, and how well she knew it! But now she was glad because her Urban knew it, too. " I'm sorry if you think that I regret spending the money." And added still with tears in her eyes: ' 'But I'm afraid of the hell that will follow when those in the upper room learn what we did. I would rather take little Marc and fly directly over to Wolfsvale. Virgin Mary, help me!" It was not the money that worried her. She was concerned about the storm which would suddenly explode in the Habdzha's proud home • when papa and mama learned that the "baked blockheads" had once again challenged their absolute rule and played a stupid trick on them. Urban now knew for sure that his Christine was more dec~nt than he had ever thought her to be. He was very happy because of that, and his heart beat like a hammer. Laughing loudly, he lifted his wife up and tried to rock his longlegged girl in his arms while walking forward . But ~ime and time again she slipped in his hands. She did not know whether to slide down to the ground or to wind her arms around her husband's neck. She let him carry her for some distance, while a sweet indecision intoxicated her. But the moment was so great that it could not culminate in an ordinary embrace. He looked into her eyes and saw that her tears had seemingly dried: Christine 's shy girlishness retreated before a relentlessly onrushing womanly ripeness. \ Urban understood. And before she could,have opened her mouth, he let her touch the ground and outran her, calling to her, " Let' s go, Christine, let' s leave today! " " Yes , yes, yes! " The marks of feminine consent - her smile, the burning coals in her eyes , and fully expanded bosom - betrayed her thoughts clearly. Both found in their agreement a starting point, simple and direct, a stunning view of freedom craved by everything young and healthy in the world. �SLOVAKIA 115 Intoxicated spiritually, they sped up from Little Willows and ran across the Meadows to the bridge. The bridge, a formless stone structure thrown clumsily over the river bed of Scabby Water, connected Zelena Misa with Wolfsvale in the fields. A blackened statue of St. John Nepomucene haa stood on the bridge for long centuries, guarding the entrance to W olfsvale and looking with bulging, hateful eyes toward Zelena Misa. Both sat down on a low brick balustrade near the statue . St. John's eyes, from the Wolfsvale side, shone with goodness and won their approval. Urban and Christine looked down on troughlike W olfsvale , full of trees and grapevines, stakes and bushwood. The property which they acquired that day at the notary and which belonged to them was located beyond Goatshead, in Wolf Comers , now the wildest and deepest part of Wolfsvale. And perhaps because of the location and nature of their property, they felt twice as strongly that they aleady belonged there, among the grapevines and trees. When they walked down from the bridge toward Zelena Misa, a feeling of contempt toward the village took possession of them. The village seemed ugly, bare, and worn out. Sitting on a flat hill, the village was kneaded formlessly of brick clay and covered with fat straw. Even the church stuck upward like a fence post. Urban and Christine had acted wisely in drawing a good human being, their grandmother, into their secret plans . A less pious and more honest woman than her daughter Veronina, the devoted and servile wife of Michael Habdzha and the fierce mother of Urban, their grandmother Louise Kristova (nee Hrzhichova), proved to be very helpful to them. She advised then not to start before noon. Free as she was in all her actions , she did not need to account for her comings and goings . She ran to hire a wagoner with a long wagon and a cart, so they could take all their belongings . She also knew that her son-in-law, the farmer, would return only at sunset , for he had gone to Holy Hill from which one does not return quickly. Her daughter - as soon as she was rid of the morning cooking - grasped the opportunity provided by her husband 's absence , to " hit" the bottle, lie in the upper room , and tell the world to go to hell. Urban's brothers, Nicholas and Philip , and his sister Josephine , oppressed like Urban and Christine, were ready to assist in all the operations when they found the young couple was about to sneak out from the lower room . Joyfully anticipating their parents' anger, they danced in the yard. �116 SLOVAKIA In the Habdzha household, there had always been shouting and fighting ever since the house was built, with its four windows facing the square of Zelena Misa. The reins of the household had been held since time immemorial by the man, sharp as a razor, while the ladle had always been held in the hand of a woman as angry as a snake. If the Archangel Michael had established the man as the head of the household to beat all the others, the woman was certainly awarded by the Devil to the man to support him with anger and sly financial machinations. Only Urban, the " scoundrel," took it into his head to violate this age-old tradition. He had suddenly ceased to obey. He was, to be sure, more stubborn and sharper than his honorable ancestors. But at the same time , he had in his chest a greater heart and more mad handsomeness in his face. In the retinue of the Habdzhas , he might have been mistaken for a noble . Because of his rebellious character, he had not brought a respectible bride into the house , but a maidservant, almost with a child in her hands. He tore the Habdzhas' homespun customs to shreds. He turned the household upsidedown. And as if this were not enough , this ungrateful fellow took the side of a woman who sang non-peasant ballads about orphans and injustices above her son' s cradle. Because of these insults , the old Habdzhas bore an everlasting grudge against the beggarly lower room, and, except to give orders for work , they did not address Urban and Christine with a decent word. But Christine , like Urban before her, won the grandmother and her brothers- and sister-in-law to her side. No one could have endured the tears she shed in the corners. Even a beggar standing in the door took it upon himself to chide Veronica for mistreating her daughter-inlaw. Still nothing moved the old ones. It did not help that grandmother poured kitchen slop over Veronica, that Nicholas and Philip broke the chaff cutter in the barn , that Josephine stuck out her tongue at her father ; nor did the store room door chopped to pieces and other asininities committed by Urban affect his parents. It did not help either that the young people worked like dragons. They thought, the donkeys , that they might ~ ppease the old ones, and that peace would reign in the house . The oldsters were pleased, of course, with the output of the young. Because of that , they fed them, for the kitchen was open to all. But punishment - that was another matter! The old did not punish the young as workers , no - God forbid! - they could not find better hands. Yet the young deserved to suffer, to suffer greatly, for they were unworthy, for they had sinned against their ancestors , moldering, God knows how long, in the cemetery of �SLOVAKIA 117 Zelena Misa. In the opinion of the old ones, the young must suffer even more for Marc, who was born a month after the wedding. The child , having trespassed so vilely against tradition, was simply not considered a member of the family. He was a worm-eaten fruit. He was something that screeched aimlessly and would not be missed had he broken his neck. In such a case, there would at least be an empty comer for a more Christian apple. Yet the child, even in the midst of anger and hate , grew like a mushroom and was so dear that to harm him would have wrecked the entire house. And so the old had to shun the bastard. And for exactly the same reason, it was clear that Urban and Christine had no other choice than to disappear from the sight of the old ones . And so, as grandmother advised, that day when Michael Habdzha left for Holy Hill and his wife Veronica was digesting her extra quart of red wine and snorting in the upper room, the young Habdzhas loaded their few belongings safely onto the wagon and cart. Grandmother gave them their due portion of victuals and kitchen utensils from the common kitchen . Josephine brought grandmother's spotted cow from the stable. Nicholas and Philip tied together several bundles of clover and threw a sheaf of straw down from the hay loft. Christine took Marc in her knapsack. Veronica did not awake. Everything in the house was carried out without bangs or pangs. Yet, grandmother - God knows what kind of sorrow took hold of her eighty-year-old heart - was unable to part with Christine. The wagoner with his wagon and Urban with the cart and cow moved slowly down the street. Urban' s brothers and sister accompanied the fleeing couple. Everything was bundled together and dragged down the street. Only Christine and her grandmother-in-law , standing in the wide-open gate , wiped their eyes with the comers of their aprons. Even the lazy residents of Zelena Misa, crawling out of their clay holes to see what was going on, considered this long parting to be a stupid thing. It was fatal, indeed, to spend so much time taking leave. When the young woman finally set her foot outside the gate , old Habdzha , rather untimely, was about to enter at that very moment. Both the departing woman and the entering man stiffened in their positions. He changed from blue to black with anger ; she became pale with shame and dread. " Are you leaving? " He stood half-bent, supported by a walking stick. Yet his head was raised toward her. He confronted her menacingly. He looked hateful. Her heart pounded as she considered by-passing him. But she was unable to move from the spot. She only turned round and round . She felt as if she were nailed to the ground. Unable to hide her face , she �118 SLOVAKIA tried at least to avoid the recriminating look of her father-in-law. Luckily, sorrow overcame her, and the tears beclouded her eyes. This confused Habdzha. He bent to one side, by-passing her. He walked slowly, staring directly in her eyes. Then he spat and mumbled, "You pig!" What? Grandmother saw little Marc turn in the knapsack and look at her, spreading his little hands toward her. She blessed him, making the sign of the cross with her bony hand in the air. At the same time, the ugly word fell like cow's dung from the mouth of her son-in-law and hit her ears . With a hand weighted with anger, she slapped him across the mouth. There! Michael Habdzha stiffened. Blood sped into his face. He opened his mouth, gasping for air. He choked. Through a red fog, he saw and heard the onlookers of Zelena Misa laugh as they retreated into their doorways . He took his head in his hands. His heart, the wild Habdzha heart with thin walls, started its awful gallop. He mumbled something, something incomprehensible and disastrous, something lost in the sad moment when he slid down to the earth. (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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 113 "Baked Blockheads" . (a fragment) \ FRANTISEK HECKO (1905-1960) In the morning, as soon as Michael Habdzha, a pudgy and stem peasant of Zelena Misa, stepped out of his house, his son Urban took his wife Christine (nee Svata) by the hand; and like children walking to school, they went hand-in-hand to the notary, signed a contract and a note , and bought a house with two vineyards in Wolfsvale . The entire transaction was very brief: Christine removed a linen pouch from the bosom of her dress, unwrapped the protective cover of the pouch, and took out twenty hundred-crown banknotes , part of which she earned through her own sweat and tears and part of which they had received after long supplication from the elders of Podhaj. Having placed the money on the desk in front of the notary, Christine and her husband signed the contract, and Theophil Hrzhic and Dominik Palkovic, the guarantors , vouched the draft with an additional fifteen-hundred crowns . The notary winked deliberately at the young woman and said, " So-o-o! Live in the house happily and use your property in good health! You-u-u made a go-o-od bargain. " The young couple left the notary office with pale faces, empty pockets, and shoulders slumping somewhat. It was hard to say what burdened their hearts the most; whether it was the property acquired in Wolfsvale , or the draft note for fifteen-hundred crowns, or the speed with which the transaction was performed. The notary put five of Christine's hundred-crown banknotes in his pocket, while the remaining fifteen bills he placed in his desk drawer for the former owner of the Wolfsvale property, Joseph Deograts, who, to the surprise of all, had emigrated with his family to America. The notary patted his pocket as if dusting his suit after contact with a hairy animal and mumbled, " Donkeys .. . both of you !" The young Habdzhas did not return home through the village. They walked through the barnyards, and even there they turned on purpose across Cabbage Fields and Hemp Fields towards Scabby Water. In Little Willows near the river, Christine's teeth began to rattle. She wept, while Urban, the vein on his forehead swollen, was angry because she regretted spending the money. They would have 114 SLOVAKIA walked this way and cried and been angry with each other, had the woman not grabbed the man in her arms . Tears in her eyes, she said with bluish lips , " Urban!" Her voice was like the cry of a drowning person. "Dear Christine!" She had never heard her name pronounced so tenderly . ' 'I'm scared, so scared that I'm shivering!'' Indeed, cold fever shuddered through her body. ' 'Don't be afraid and don't shiver! Do you realize, godly woman, the meaning of having one's own house?" The entire world turned around her. She knew, yes, and how well she knew it! But now she was glad because her Urban knew it, too. " I'm sorry if you think that I regret spending the money." And added still with tears in her eyes: ' 'But I'm afraid of the hell that will follow when those in the upper room learn what we did. I would rather take little Marc and fly directly over to Wolfsvale. Virgin Mary, help me!" It was not the money that worried her. She was concerned about the storm which would suddenly explode in the Habdzha's proud home • when papa and mama learned that the "baked blockheads" had once again challenged their absolute rule and played a stupid trick on them. Urban now knew for sure that his Christine was more dec~nt than he had ever thought her to be. He was very happy because of that, and his heart beat like a hammer. Laughing loudly, he lifted his wife up and tried to rock his longlegged girl in his arms while walking forward . But ~ime and time again she slipped in his hands. She did not know whether to slide down to the ground or to wind her arms around her husband's neck. She let him carry her for some distance, while a sweet indecision intoxicated her. But the moment was so great that it could not culminate in an ordinary embrace. He looked into her eyes and saw that her tears had seemingly dried: Christine 's shy girlishness retreated before a relentlessly onrushing womanly ripeness. \ Urban understood. And before she could,have opened her mouth, he let her touch the ground and outran her, calling to her, " Let' s go, Christine, let' s leave today! " " Yes , yes, yes! " The marks of feminine consent - her smile, the burning coals in her eyes , and fully expanded bosom - betrayed her thoughts clearly. Both found in their agreement a starting point, simple and direct, a stunning view of freedom craved by everything young and healthy in the world. SLOVAKIA 115 Intoxicated spiritually, they sped up from Little Willows and ran across the Meadows to the bridge. The bridge, a formless stone structure thrown clumsily over the river bed of Scabby Water, connected Zelena Misa with Wolfsvale in the fields. A blackened statue of St. John Nepomucene haa stood on the bridge for long centuries, guarding the entrance to W olfsvale and looking with bulging, hateful eyes toward Zelena Misa. Both sat down on a low brick balustrade near the statue . St. John's eyes, from the Wolfsvale side, shone with goodness and won their approval. Urban and Christine looked down on troughlike W olfsvale , full of trees and grapevines, stakes and bushwood. The property which they acquired that day at the notary and which belonged to them was located beyond Goatshead, in Wolf Comers , now the wildest and deepest part of Wolfsvale. And perhaps because of the location and nature of their property, they felt twice as strongly that they aleady belonged there, among the grapevines and trees. When they walked down from the bridge toward Zelena Misa, a feeling of contempt toward the village took possession of them. The village seemed ugly, bare, and worn out. Sitting on a flat hill, the village was kneaded formlessly of brick clay and covered with fat straw. Even the church stuck upward like a fence post. Urban and Christine had acted wisely in drawing a good human being, their grandmother, into their secret plans . A less pious and more honest woman than her daughter Veronina, the devoted and servile wife of Michael Habdzha and the fierce mother of Urban, their grandmother Louise Kristova (nee Hrzhichova), proved to be very helpful to them. She advised then not to start before noon. Free as she was in all her actions , she did not need to account for her comings and goings . She ran to hire a wagoner with a long wagon and a cart, so they could take all their belongings . She also knew that her son-in-law, the farmer, would return only at sunset , for he had gone to Holy Hill from which one does not return quickly. Her daughter - as soon as she was rid of the morning cooking - grasped the opportunity provided by her husband 's absence , to " hit" the bottle, lie in the upper room , and tell the world to go to hell. Urban's brothers, Nicholas and Philip , and his sister Josephine , oppressed like Urban and Christine, were ready to assist in all the operations when they found the young couple was about to sneak out from the lower room . Joyfully anticipating their parents' anger, they danced in the yard. 116 SLOVAKIA In the Habdzha household, there had always been shouting and fighting ever since the house was built, with its four windows facing the square of Zelena Misa. The reins of the household had been held since time immemorial by the man, sharp as a razor, while the ladle had always been held in the hand of a woman as angry as a snake. If the Archangel Michael had established the man as the head of the household to beat all the others, the woman was certainly awarded by the Devil to the man to support him with anger and sly financial machinations. Only Urban, the " scoundrel," took it into his head to violate this age-old tradition. He had suddenly ceased to obey. He was, to be sure, more stubborn and sharper than his honorable ancestors. But at the same time , he had in his chest a greater heart and more mad handsomeness in his face. In the retinue of the Habdzhas , he might have been mistaken for a noble . Because of his rebellious character, he had not brought a respectible bride into the house , but a maidservant, almost with a child in her hands. He tore the Habdzhas' homespun customs to shreds. He turned the household upsidedown. And as if this were not enough , this ungrateful fellow took the side of a woman who sang non-peasant ballads about orphans and injustices above her son' s cradle. Because of these insults , the old Habdzhas bore an everlasting grudge against the beggarly lower room, and, except to give orders for work , they did not address Urban and Christine with a decent word. But Christine , like Urban before her, won the grandmother and her brothers- and sister-in-law to her side. No one could have endured the tears she shed in the corners. Even a beggar standing in the door took it upon himself to chide Veronica for mistreating her daughter-inlaw. Still nothing moved the old ones. It did not help that grandmother poured kitchen slop over Veronica, that Nicholas and Philip broke the chaff cutter in the barn , that Josephine stuck out her tongue at her father ; nor did the store room door chopped to pieces and other asininities committed by Urban affect his parents. It did not help either that the young people worked like dragons. They thought, the donkeys , that they might ~ ppease the old ones, and that peace would reign in the house . The oldsters were pleased, of course, with the output of the young. Because of that , they fed them, for the kitchen was open to all. But punishment - that was another matter! The old did not punish the young as workers , no - God forbid! - they could not find better hands. Yet the young deserved to suffer, to suffer greatly, for they were unworthy, for they had sinned against their ancestors , moldering, God knows how long, in the cemetery of SLOVAKIA 117 Zelena Misa. In the opinion of the old ones, the young must suffer even more for Marc, who was born a month after the wedding. The child , having trespassed so vilely against tradition, was simply not considered a member of the family. He was a worm-eaten fruit. He was something that screeched aimlessly and would not be missed had he broken his neck. In such a case, there would at least be an empty comer for a more Christian apple. Yet the child, even in the midst of anger and hate , grew like a mushroom and was so dear that to harm him would have wrecked the entire house. And so the old had to shun the bastard. And for exactly the same reason, it was clear that Urban and Christine had no other choice than to disappear from the sight of the old ones . And so, as grandmother advised, that day when Michael Habdzha left for Holy Hill and his wife Veronica was digesting her extra quart of red wine and snorting in the upper room, the young Habdzhas loaded their few belongings safely onto the wagon and cart. Grandmother gave them their due portion of victuals and kitchen utensils from the common kitchen . Josephine brought grandmother's spotted cow from the stable. Nicholas and Philip tied together several bundles of clover and threw a sheaf of straw down from the hay loft. Christine took Marc in her knapsack. Veronica did not awake. Everything in the house was carried out without bangs or pangs. Yet, grandmother - God knows what kind of sorrow took hold of her eighty-year-old heart - was unable to part with Christine. The wagoner with his wagon and Urban with the cart and cow moved slowly down the street. Urban' s brothers and sister accompanied the fleeing couple. Everything was bundled together and dragged down the street. Only Christine and her grandmother-in-law , standing in the wide-open gate , wiped their eyes with the comers of their aprons. Even the lazy residents of Zelena Misa, crawling out of their clay holes to see what was going on, considered this long parting to be a stupid thing. It was fatal, indeed, to spend so much time taking leave. When the young woman finally set her foot outside the gate , old Habdzha , rather untimely, was about to enter at that very moment. Both the departing woman and the entering man stiffened in their positions. He changed from blue to black with anger ; she became pale with shame and dread. " Are you leaving? " He stood half-bent, supported by a walking stick. Yet his head was raised toward her. He confronted her menacingly. He looked hateful. Her heart pounded as she considered by-passing him. But she was unable to move from the spot. She only turned round and round . She felt as if she were nailed to the ground. Unable to hide her face , she 118 SLOVAKIA tried at least to avoid the recriminating look of her father-in-law. Luckily, sorrow overcame her, and the tears beclouded her eyes. This confused Habdzha. He bent to one side, by-passing her. He walked slowly, staring directly in her eyes. Then he spat and mumbled, "You pig!" What? Grandmother saw little Marc turn in the knapsack and look at her, spreading his little hands toward her. She blessed him, making the sign of the cross with her bony hand in the air. At the same time, the ugly word fell like cow's dung from the mouth of her son-in-law and hit her ears . With a hand weighted with anger, she slapped him across the mouth. There! Michael Habdzha stiffened. Blood sped into his face. He opened his mouth, gasping for air. He choked. Through a red fog, he saw and heard the onlookers of Zelena Misa laugh as they retreated into their doorways . He took his head in his hands. His heart, the wild Habdzha heart with thin walls, started its awful gallop. He mumbled something, something incomprehensible and disastrous, something lost in the sad moment when he slid down to the earth. (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 "Baked Blockheads" (a fragment) Description An account of the resource František Hečko Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 113-118 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hečko, František, 1905-1960 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2ecc22003e340494d16672f75b3e886e.pdf f0656e0dfac0a8c287850f471ea88f7c PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 119 The· Sorrows of Marienka ' V. S. KOBAN It was lonely in the house after the wedding. Marienka never thought she would miss Jacka the way she did. She missed Jacka's soft, smiling way - walking around the rooms, not saying much. She'd thought having Jacka around was almost like having nobody at all. But now she found she even missed the work that Jacka had done. It was hard to pack all the lunches in the morning. She had to get up earlier than ever. She missed Michal, too. She'd catch herself starting to say something as she came down the stairs, suddenly to realize that Michal wasn't sitting in front of the stove with his wooden leg propped on a bench. Then her unfinished sentence would hang on the air like an echo . The baby Jurko fretted and whined. He was used to being petted and played with. A year passed, and it was December. Two years since Michal's accident. Jozef had been just a baby then, and now he was nearly three years old, walking around the house and getting in the way. Time went on and on . Marienka was twenty-eight, but a thousand years different from that day in Kamienka when she married Ivan. They were all different. She remembered how the sun had shone on Michal's fair hair as she laid him between the rows of wheat in Jarabina . Michal's hair had turned dark through the years, and now it was almost black, like Ivan's. He would be thirteen in the spring. He was a tall, serious boy , and although he looked like his father, he didn 't have Ivan's reckless good humor. He tried hard to please, and a rebuke from Marienka would bring tears to his eyes. Mikulas and Janik both went to school now . It was Janik ' s first year. Marienka thought with tenderness of the baby chubbiness his face still had as she buttoned his coat in the mornings. A coat that had been Michal's, and had been three times patched and made over to fit the younger boys . She had trouble buttoning the jacket, because she V. S. Kohan was born near Johnstown, Pennsylvania , and based his novel, recently published by Jednota Press, on the life of his mother, who came to America in 1890, married twice, bore 11 sons and 2 daughters, and experienced the violent deaths of both her husbands and six sons. The present selection represents the novel 's concluding pages. �120 SLOVAKIA never was good at making button holes. No matter how she tried to fix them, the holes were too large for the buttons. She worried about Janik walking to school in the cold with his coat open. Ivan was the same. Only last night he 'd told that joke again about the priest - that was the joke she'd warned him never to tell - he told it right at the table in front of the children and the boarders and everybody. Then he'd tipped back his head and laughed till even she had to laugh with him. Then one of the boarders brought out a bottle. It was American whiskey, and she never liked the taste of it. But Ivan liked it well enough, and he told again how he'd been an officer in the army and for the first time in years, showed the scar where he had been bitten by a wolf. Of course, he was grouchy when he had to wake up that morning. Marienka didn't mind much any more. Marienka paused in her work, thinking about Ivan. He hadn't changed, except that he was a steady worker and came home evenings. She didn't usually think much about herself, but now she wondered if she had changed too. Her hands were hard from heavy work. She was sharp with the children and sharp with Ivan. Her clothes were indifferent. Had she gotten ugly? She dropped the broom in the middle of the floor and went to the small , wavy mirror tacked on the wall near the sink. This was where the boarders combed their hair in the morning. She blinked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same - but such a frown on her face. She realized the frown was a habit. She didn't often look at herself in the mirror . She tried a smile , then looked around guiltily, feeling silly. There was no one to watch her except the two babies, and Jozef was playing with the broom she 'd dropped on the floor, trying to pull out a screw. She turned and looked again. There was no gray in her hair. Her eyes were still clear in her fair face. The heat from the stove had flushed her cheeks , and there were no creases in her neck. Deliberately she went upstairs and took a comb from the bedroom, and a blue satin ribbon that was left over from a baby dress she'd made for Jurko. Then she went back to the mirror ~She let down her long hair and combed it slowly, noticing that it hungbelow her apron strings in long, auburn ripples. She braided it carefully 'and tiecl the ribbon in her hair. �SLOVAKIA 121 She wasn 't quite clear in her mind why she 'd done this, but it made her feel different. She heard the boys ' shoes clattering on the steps as they came home f~om school, and she turned around with a little laugh, feeling suddenly light and young. The boys burst into the room like a sudden explosion, tracking mud as they came. Mikulas slung his books at the table. They hit with a bump, and one of them slid off to the floor . Mikulas didn 't pick it up. Instead he grabbed Janik by the collar. " You stepped on my foot!" he yelled. Janik poked his elbow in Mikulas ' s ribs and wrenched himself loose. Michal marched up to Marienka, his face very stem. "Mother, you got to whip Mikulas. " "Tattle-tale!" yelled Mikulas. He began jumping up and down in the middle of the room so that Marienka couldn't hear what Michal was saying. She grabbed Mikulas by the shoulders. " What did you do?" she said. Mikulas looked sullen. He stood still without answering. " I'll tell you what he did, " said Michal. "He talked in class, and the teacher sent him to the cloakroom - ' ' Mikulas began wiggling in Marienka's grip . He looked up at his mother out of the comers of his eyes, a cock-eyed grin coming over his face . " The teacher said he had to stay in the cloakroom an hour, and you know what he did?" Michal stared at Marienka, outraged. "Do you know what he did?'' Mikulas began jumping again. " I'll tell you what I did," he burst out . ' 'I ate all the kids' lunch_e s while I was in there, that ' s what I did." He was out of Marienka's hands now, jumping around the room . " All of them? " cried Marienka. " He ate all of them," said Michal. " It took me a whole hour," said Mikulas. " He ate mine ," said Janik . " And I'm hungry." " But Mikulas, you 'll be sick! " ' 'That's what the teacher said, but I just ate the parts I wanted and threw the rest out the window. '' He stopped suddenly in the middle of the floor . " Don 't whip me, Mother," he said. " The teacher whipped me already, so don 't whip me again. " Michal tugged at Marienka's sleeve . " Mother, the teacher whipped him because he said he wasn't sorry . And look at him grinning over there . He 's still not sorry. " �122 SLOVAKIA Marienka looked at Mikulas. Mikulas struggled with himself, and with considerable effort, erased the smile from his face. "I am too sorry," he said. Marienka's right hand itched to get the switch . Janik looked from one side to the other with round eyes . "You whip a lot harder than the teacher,'' he said . " All right!" snapped Marienka. " He's had one whipping, and that 's enough. Now get busy, all of you! Michal, build up the fire . Then you can clean the coal scuttle and fill it again. You Janik and Mikulas , get a bucket and go down by the tracks and fill it with coal. Get going, now!'' Marienka watched them go. Then she smoothed the ribbon in her hair. The baby Jurko was fussing . She carried him over to the rocking chair and held him close. Still , he complained, thumping his head against her breast. He kicked his feet against her legs . It hurt, and she realized how big he was getting . " Shhh," she whispered, rocking back and forth. " Shhhhh." He still struggled in her arms. "You 're a spoiled baby," she said in a crooning voice . " Hush, now, papa's coming soon." She began to chant it, like a little song in time to the motion of the rocker. " Papa 's coming soon - papa's coming soon . " The chair squeaked as she rocked back and forth. It was the only sound in the room, except for some spools that Jozef was rolling on the floor. The windows were filling with the early winter twilight, and she knew she ought to put Jurko down , even if he cried. Jurko 's body relaxed, his head falling heavily against her shoulder as he slept . Still she sat and rocked, growing more and more drowsy. She was startled suddenly by the sound of feet on the steps. The door opened before she could get up , and ,Ivan come in. He looked around the room, and then saw her sitting in €he dark " Marienka, are you sick? " " Of course not. Here it is dark already, and the children not home. '' She got up and went to the table to light the lamp . When she looked up , he was still standing there, looking at her. " Supper will be ready in a minute. Go wash your hands , don 't just stand there ." She hesitated. ' ' I was rocking Jurko .'' Ivan still stood there, frowning . " What you got the baby 's ribbon in your hair for? " he said in a puzzled voice . �SLOVAKIA 123 "Oh, shut up!" She banged the dishes onto the table. Then hurrying to lift a pot of pirohy from the stove , she scalded her arm. She began to swear under her breath. Ivan smothered a grin and went out in the back to wash his hands. The other boarders began to come in now , stamping their feet and blowing on their hands . "Dinner's going to be late ," said Marienka, yanking the bread from the oven. The pan rasped against the iron stove. One of the boarders threw his arms over his face , as if to ward off a blow . " Don't get mad," he said. " Sure is cold, '. ' said ai:i,other, edging close to the stove. " Looks like snow .'' Marienka glanced out ihe window with an uneasy feeling . What could be keeping the boys · so long? Ivan came up to her side , rubbing his face with a towel. His eyes laughed at her over the towel. " I gave my girl a ribbon ," he sang in a sweet falsetto. " And she gave me a rose - " " Get out of my way! " said Marienka, flushing. "You keep throwing those dishes at the table, you 're going to break one ,'' said I van, rub bing his neck with the towel. ''When I need your advice on how to set the table, you can light a candle at my head. " Ivan chuckled. "Now , that would look real pretty. " Marienka glared at him struggling for an answer. Just then the door swung open , blowing the lamp flame and bringing in a gust of cold air. " Look what I found, Mama," cried Mikulas in a shrill voice. He labored with a large, broken cart wheel, and Michal carried two more. ''I found some wheels, Mama, and nobody wants them . '' " Shut that door!" said Marienka. " Where ' s the coal I sent you for?' ' '' You know what I'm going to do, Mama? I'm going to make one of these automobiles, that ' s what. " " You 're crazy ," said Michal. "You can 't make a horseless carriage. ' ' " I said shut that door!" Mikulas turned on Michal , outraged. ''I can too make one if I want to.'' One of the boarders shut the door. "Where's my coal?" said Marienka. "And where ' s Janik? " Michal shook his head at Mikulas . " You're just a little boy, and boys can't make horseless carriages. I'm going to make a cart that we can pull. " �124 SLOVAKIA ''They're my wheels,' ' said Mikulas . ' 'I found them, and I can make anything I want to." Michal threw the two wheels on the floor in disgust. " You're crazy!'' Just then Marienka heard a small, slight bumping on the door. She ran to open it. On the steps stood Janik, his eyes and nose watering with the cold. He struggled to lift the heavy coal scuttle over the top step. Seeing Marienka, he looked up with round eyes . ' 'They said I had to carry it, ' ' he said, sniffing. Marienka took the coal scuttle out of his hands and pushed him into the house, slamming the door after him. " For shame! " she cried, turning to the boys. "Making your little brother carry that heavy bucket all by himself. Just look at his hands they 're all blue and raw. " She flung the coal scuttle down by the stove with a crash. Everybody in the room got quiet. Michal's face took on a stricken look. " I never thought I'd raise boys to be so lazy and cruel and thoughtless and - ' ' "But Mama," said Mikulas. "We couldn't carry the coal because we had to carry the wheels." " Damn the wheels!" said Marienka. "I don 't want them in the house. Bringing in trash - ' ' "Now, wait a minute, Marienka," said Ivan. " They're just kids. " He drew Mikulas to his side . "Son, you can't make a horseless carriage with three wheels . You got to have four , at least. " " I know it," said Mikulas scornfully. " You think I'm dumb? " Ivan grinned and shrugged, avoiding Marienka's eyes . " Well, let's eat," said Marienka. The men came to the table in silence , trying not to scrape the benches as they sat down, and picked up their silver self-consciously. Marienka never sat down to eat until the men were through. She was busy serving from the stove , and she also·needed to help Jurko eat. Her anger and the heat of the stove had brought wisps of hair from her braids that curled in damp ringlets against her face. Her face was flushed. As she turned from the stove , she caught Ivan 's eyes on her face. Just looking at her, not eating. As soon as their eyes met, he looked down at his plate . Marienka paused on her way to the table . Ivan didn't often look at her that way any more . Then she pushed the ringlets away from her cheeks with the back of her hand. �SLOVAKIA 125 " Say , Marienka, " said one of the boarders, "we got to get up earlier tomorrow . It's two miles farther to the new mine.'' "What new mine? " " The one they!re starting over on East Hill. The old one's played out.' ' \ " Don 't wake me up any' earlier," said Ivan. "I'm still working in the old mine. '' Marienka stared at him. " Why? " " We're taking out the pillars tomorrow, " he said, breaking off a hunk of bread. His big knuckles were grimed with the dust from coal that never quite came off, no matter how he washed. Marienka didn't notice it ordinarily, but against the white bread she could see the gray dust in the creases of his skin. Marienka snorted. ''I guess they pick out the men with the biggest families , and get them to take out the pillars. '' Ivan tipped back his head and laughed. Then he winked at the men around the table . "Trust a woman to worry , that's what's she's for." " Well, if I don 't , who will? " Ivan shook his head, still laughing. "Marienka, I've told you before, there ' s no danger. We take all the coal out of the rooms we can get, but when we hear those props 'ping,' man, we run! " One of the boarders grunted non-committally. " Gimme some of that bread, " said another. ' 'Boys, into bed! '' said Marienka. Even with her back turned, even as she shooed her children up the stairs, she was conscious of Ivan's eyes . She guessed it was the ribbon . But they were noticing eyes, different from the usual - different from the occasional hunger at night, or the fumbling from habit in bed . She was just starting down the stairs for the last time when he caught her arm . He had been waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She tried to pull loose. ''I have to get the clock.'' " Forget the clock ," he said. " Now , isn't that just like a man, " she started to say , but his mouth stopped her. For all that her voice was hard, when his lips moved to her collar bone and to her breast, her body was soft and shimery as smoke. It didn 't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle . The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down . In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads �126 SLOVAKIA on the shoulders of their wool jackets,. little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth . By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds . The curious light made everything look hollow , the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street , swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead , and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she'd bound in her braids yesterday. It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else changed they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark , curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet, stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church, and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things . Marienka made a sudden decision. She began putting Jozef's winter clothes on him. If she wrapped Jurko in her heaviest shawl, it would be all right. She picked the baby up and tucked Jozef's hand firmly in her own. Outside it was a damp , windless chill. The cold mud wet their shoes and made Marienka 's toes ache. On the distant hill, the lifeless trees made a tangle of gray branches that looked like smoke. Still, it was good to be out. Other women were going to the church, too . They called out greetings , smiling broadly to show their good will, but not stopping to talk. It was too cold. It was cold in the church . Marienka shivered as she entered , looking around the great dark room which was bare except for the altar, and for a few benches against the walls . Several women were already kneeling, their shawl-wrapped heads tuckec:l down-- and their hands folded tight under their chins. The candles they had lighted cast a feeble glow over their heads, and threw their shadows against the dusk of the corners. Marienka took Jurko to one of the benches and gave him a toy horse Ivan had carved, and a piece of 'kolac.' " Stay here and be quiet," she whispered. Then she bought a candle, and leading Jozef with one hand, went to the altar. �SLOVAKIA 127 She heard feet scurrying across the floor. '' Mama, Mama, what doing'?" . . " Be still, JurRo!" sai~ Marienka in a fierce whisper. With Jurko tugging at her skirts, she , had a hard time lighting the candle and putting it in place. Then she turned to him . He had finished the 'kolac,' and his face was smeared with crumbs. He stood watching the candles with solemn pleasure. Marienka pushed him down gently. "Now, be quiet," she said as she knelt beside him . He nodded. Then, turning to stare at some people coming in , he dropped his horse. It fell to the floor with a clatter. Marienka could see everybody staring at her. Some of the women smiled a little, and others looked reprovingly. She began to wish she hadn 't come . It was hard to think of the prayer she wanted to say. Jurko started babbling out loud, and drooled on her shoulder. Except that the wood of the church was new, she might have been · back in Kamienka. There was the same darkness , the same hush. Without realizing it, she began to pray. Not a prayer with words. It was just a feeling . She prayed with love , as a woman who had borne sons, to the Virgin Mary. The loved filled her. She gazed up at the image of the virgin, and tears spilled over from her eyes and wet her cheeks. She heard feet pounding on the wooden steps of the church. A gust of cold air burst in from the door. " Mama! Mama!" a voice cried. She started suddenly. It was Michal's voice. The boy reached her before she could tum around. He flung his arms around her, his face buried in her shawl as she knelt there , sobs tearing his body . The other women jumped to their feet and gathered around Marienka. "Michal!" Marienka tried to get up, but she couldn't with Jurko clinging to her. She tried to pull up Michal's face so that she could look at him, but he pushed it deeper into her clothes. "Michal, what is it? Michal, answer me! " One of the other woman knelt beside Michal, her face white. ''Boy, speak up! Is it the mines - '' She mentioned the one thing the women dreaded. They gathered even closer. Marienka wrenched herself loose from Michal, and turned around. His face was smeared and swollen. "Michal, stop crying! Is it your papa - '' �128 SLOVAKIA " The mine caved in!" Michal's voice was almost a scream. "It caved in on Papa!" Several of the women began running for the door. They had husbands or sons who worked with Ivan. Others began pounding him with questions, their hands clutched tight, their faces drawing closer with every word. ''Did they say who else was in the mine? '' "Did you see my husband?" ''Boy, who else - ' ' Marienka stood up, trembling. ''Now, all of you - hush! ' ' she said. The women hushed, looking at her in surprise. " Now, Michal, " she said as gently as she could. "You have to be brave. I need you to help me . Stop crying now. You've got to help me , so stop crying. ' ' Michal looked up at her, his eyes imploring, as if she could tell him that it was all right, that the whole thing would go away. "Michal, I want you to take your brothers home and look after them for me. " She took J urko by the hand and placed it in Michal's . "Go on, now. Take them home." Tears came to Michal's eyes again. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to the mine," said Marienka. Marienka walked past Michal, past his eyes that clung to her, even though he didn't try to follow. She reached the steps and started down the street. She didn 't run . Once she looked back. Michal was walking away from the church, holding Jozef by the hand. One of the women from the church was walking with them, carrying Jurko, her arm about Michal's shoulders. Marienka turned back to the steep hill that led to the mines . It was a hard climb. Her breath came short. Stones slipped from beneath her feet . She turned her ankle and nearly fell, but she didn't feel the pain. When she was almost to the mine, she could see the men gathered about the opening. Outside the mine were piles of slag, stacks of wooden mine supports, and a small section of mining cars stopped on the rails that led inside. The mules stood listlessly, their heads hanging down. ., "Where 's Ivan? " she called out as soon'as she reached the tracks . " Where ' s my husband? " Some of the men turned around , recognizing her. They nodded toward the mine. " He's in there." " Is he dead? " �SLOVAKIA 129 ' 'Mrs. Kinda, they' re trying to get to him now.'' ''But is he dead?'' ' "Now, try to be calm, Mrs . Kinda. They're doing all they can." She shoved past the men and walked toward the mine opening. She was shaking all over. "Mrs. Kinda, where're you going?" She didn't answer. She felt a miner's hand on her arm, pulling her back from the mine. "You can't go in there. You know that, Mrs . Kinda. Come back from there .'' She shook her head, trying to walk past. The miner's voice grew exasperated. She couldn't see his face clearly because of tears that blinded her. " You can't help him, Mrs. Kinda," he said. "They're trying to dig him out. You'd just be in the way." "Besides," said another man, "you don't know the mine. You'd kill yourself.'' They were all talking at once. She didn't hear what they said any more. She let herself be led to one of the stacks of wooden supports. "Sit down here," someone said. "Sit down. It won't be long, now. All you can do is wait.'' She sank down, her legs suddenly helpless and weak. The crowd outside the mines was growing larger every minute. Several mine officials arrived, and also a large number of idlers from the town, dogs, curious children, and women anxious about their husbands . Some of the women tried to comfort her, but she shook her head. She couldn't speak, for tears that clogged her throat. She began to understand from their talk that Ivan wasn't the only man caught in the cave-in. There was also another man, the husband of a young girl named Katarina who was pregnant with her first baby. She was hardly more than a bride . Marienka caught a glimpse of her toiling up the hill. She was a slight girl, her waist only a little thickened. Then the crowd closed her from view , but Marienka could hear her crying. Waiting was terrible . She put her hands over her eyes and tried not to think. It was well past noon. The sun began to slope toward afternoon , making a pale spot in the thin, dull clouds that covered the sky. A hush fell over the crowd. Marienka heard the grinding of a coal car from inside the mine and the plodding of a mule 's hooves. Mine officials walked out first, their faces grim. A couple of miners were with them , coal blackening their faces , smeared outward from their deepened eye-sockets . Another miner led the mule . The girl �130 SLOVAKIA Katarina screamed and rushed forward, but was held back by some of the women. Then the coal car groaned out of the mine. There was no holding Katarina now. She tore away from the women and ran to the car. Marienka jumped to her feet. A sudden pain in her right ankle jolted her and sent her sprawling over the tracks . Hands helped her to her feet . She could see her ankle, swollen and ugly from the twist she'd had coming up the mountain . She tried to walk, but her foot wouldn't hold her weight. She almost fell again. Two miners held her, grabbing her by the elbows . One of the women came up to Marienka. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she put her arms around Marienka 's shoulders. " Never mind, Marienka," she said. "Don 't look at him, my dear.'' "She 's right," said the men, trying to urge her away . "Don't look. It won 't do any good." That' s how Marienka knew he was dead . She pushed on anyway, hobbling along, with the men supporting her. When she saw him, he looked pitiful and limp. Except for the blood that spilled in a sticky mess over his chest and ran in two dried , blackened rivulets from his nostrils , he looked exactly as he did when he was drunk . Except that he lay in the black, casket-shaped coal car, blood and coal smeared on his hands , which lay by his sides , loose, cupped upward . The other man lay beside him , but he was not dead . There was a pushed-in place just below his hairline . His eyes were open, but they showed no recognition of his weeping wife who leaned above him. Even as they lifted him out of the car to take him to the hospital, he vomited a great gush of blood . Marienka, who had seen everything till this moment in a sort of confusion , saw with great clarity now . It was the same vividness of a nightmare. The cords of Katerina 's neck tightened as she screamed and screamed . Her young face looked strangely contorted under her smooth black braids that were still in perfect order. Marienka allowed herself to be lifted in\o the wagon that was to carry Ivan home. Marienka sat by the window, looking out at the gray twilight that the clouds made of the winter sun. It was about ten in the morning . �SLOVAKIA . 131 . Downstairs she could hear~ shuffling of feet and scraping of furniture. They were carrying Ivan t() · the church. It would probably snow, she thought. It was better when it snowed, when you couldn't see the raw, newturned earth the next day. New graves were like wounds in the skin that had not healed. It had snowed on Janik's grave. Janik and Matka were gone. And old otec dead in his shriveled, strange world. And now Ivan was leaving in his one good pair of socks and the not-too-new coat he'd worn to church on Sundays. Her glance fell on the dresser top, and she started suddenly. Rolled in a neat ball beside her tray of pins was Ivan's wool scarf. She started to get up, and then forced herself back into the chair. He wouldn't need the scarf. She began to cry, the tears falling on her hard, brown fingers cupped upward in her lap. It hadn't been an easy life, hers and Ivan's. They'd been thrown together, like it OF-»ot ; before they even met. But now, remembering those far away, hot days in the wheat fields and the lonely nights when she waited for him to come home from the tavern, it seemed slight, almost sweet, like a lover's quarrel that was soon over. She heard someone calling her from downstairs. "Marienka! It's time to go. Come on, the children are ready." She wiped her face with the back of her hand, and pulled herself to her feet. Her ankle had healed enough so that she could walk on it, hobbling a little . She leaned on Michal on the way to church. The children were silent in a forced solemnity. They were cold, too. She could hear Janik's teeth chattering. " Corne here, Janik, " she said. "Let me button your coat. " Jozef's nose was running, and she gave him her handkerchief. "Mikulas, if you walk in that puddle , I'll spank you," she said. One of her neighbors was keeping Jurko while she went to the funeral. People had been kind, helping her through the days of the wake , and feeding the boarders and the children. "Look, Marna! Red birds!" Janik shrilled, pointing. " Shhh," said Marienka. "Be quiet, Janik . " "See what you did, " said Mikulas disgustedly , " you scared them away!' ' "We've got to go in, now," said Marienka. "Now , be quiet , all of you .' ' The church was full. Marienka knelt on the hard floor in front of I �132 SLOVAKIA the altar, glad to be on her knees instead of her feet. She felt weak and sick . Katarina clutched the rail with agonized fingers . She sniffed softly as she entered, and gradually grew more racked as the funeral progressed. Her cries grew more penetrating till Marienka's stomach muscles tightened to a wad of nausea. There was a quality in age, she realized. You could stand things better. Katarina was only seventeen. When the terrible service was over at last, the families of the two men filed by the caskets to take a last look at the bodies. Marienka touched the wood of Ivan's casket for a moment, but she didn't really look at him. She closed her eyes and tried to blot the moment out. But she couldn't. The image swam, not oflvan's face, but of little Michal's . A face so white and drawn with huge , dark eyes staring behind tears. She fumbled for him with her hand, and hugged his shoulders. Then Katarina 's cries jogged her out of her own thoughts. She looked over at the girl with horrified pity. Katarina was leaning into the casket, her arms around her husband, kissing him on the lips again and again. The priest stared at her in dismay. It was hard to tell whether she was trying to drag her husband out of the casket or to climb in with him. People pulled her away. She collapsed on the floor. But Marienka followed after the casket with her sons, limping still from her twisted ankle, and holding on to Michal. She was glad she wasn't seventeen, like Katarina. She wouldn't like to have to live through all those years again. She remembered the funeral they'd had for the baby Janik. His grave was the first to be dug in this churchyard. No, she wouldn't like to go through that again. It had grown colder. The shovel rang, and the frozen earth fell on Ivan ' s casket like stones. She began to tremble violently. She wept for his sweet foolishness, for the guilty look he had when he'd done something wrong, and for the warmth of him. Like Katarina, she would like to drag him out of the casket. Of the two, she had always been the strong one . It wouldn't be easy to raise five sons without his help . But already her mind turned to plans of how she would manage by keeping boarders. And the older boys would help . So she did what she had to do. She waited while the men shoveled in the dirt, and the first flakes of snow crisped the mound that covered what was left of Ivan. Then she turned home. � SLOVAKIA 119 The· Sorrows of Marienka ' V. S. KOBAN It was lonely in the house after the wedding. Marienka never thought she would miss Jacka the way she did. She missed Jacka's soft, smiling way - walking around the rooms, not saying much. She'd thought having Jacka around was almost like having nobody at all. But now she found she even missed the work that Jacka had done. It was hard to pack all the lunches in the morning. She had to get up earlier than ever. She missed Michal, too. She'd catch herself starting to say something as she came down the stairs, suddenly to realize that Michal wasn't sitting in front of the stove with his wooden leg propped on a bench. Then her unfinished sentence would hang on the air like an echo . The baby Jurko fretted and whined. He was used to being petted and played with. A year passed, and it was December. Two years since Michal's accident. Jozef had been just a baby then, and now he was nearly three years old, walking around the house and getting in the way. Time went on and on . Marienka was twenty-eight, but a thousand years different from that day in Kamienka when she married Ivan. They were all different. She remembered how the sun had shone on Michal's fair hair as she laid him between the rows of wheat in Jarabina . Michal's hair had turned dark through the years, and now it was almost black, like Ivan's. He would be thirteen in the spring. He was a tall, serious boy , and although he looked like his father, he didn 't have Ivan's reckless good humor. He tried hard to please, and a rebuke from Marienka would bring tears to his eyes. Mikulas and Janik both went to school now . It was Janik ' s first year. Marienka thought with tenderness of the baby chubbiness his face still had as she buttoned his coat in the mornings. A coat that had been Michal's, and had been three times patched and made over to fit the younger boys . She had trouble buttoning the jacket, because she V. S. Kohan was born near Johnstown, Pennsylvania , and based his novel, recently published by Jednota Press, on the life of his mother, who came to America in 1890, married twice, bore 11 sons and 2 daughters, and experienced the violent deaths of both her husbands and six sons. The present selection represents the novel 's concluding pages. �120 SLOVAKIA never was good at making button holes. No matter how she tried to fix them, the holes were too large for the buttons. She worried about Janik walking to school in the cold with his coat open. Ivan was the same. Only last night he 'd told that joke again about the priest - that was the joke she'd warned him never to tell - he told it right at the table in front of the children and the boarders and everybody. Then he'd tipped back his head and laughed till even she had to laugh with him. Then one of the boarders brought out a bottle. It was American whiskey, and she never liked the taste of it. But Ivan liked it well enough, and he told again how he'd been an officer in the army and for the first time in years, showed the scar where he had been bitten by a wolf. Of course, he was grouchy when he had to wake up that morning. Marienka didn't mind much any more. Marienka paused in her work, thinking about Ivan. He hadn't changed, except that he was a steady worker and came home evenings. She didn't usually think much about herself, but now she wondered if she had changed too. Her hands were hard from heavy work. She was sharp with the children and sharp with Ivan. Her clothes were indifferent. Had she gotten ugly? She dropped the broom in the middle of the floor and went to the small , wavy mirror tacked on the wall near the sink. This was where the boarders combed their hair in the morning. She blinked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same - but such a frown on her face. She realized the frown was a habit. She didn't often look at herself in the mirror . She tried a smile , then looked around guiltily, feeling silly. There was no one to watch her except the two babies, and Jozef was playing with the broom she 'd dropped on the floor, trying to pull out a screw. She turned and looked again. There was no gray in her hair. Her eyes were still clear in her fair face. The heat from the stove had flushed her cheeks , and there were no creases in her neck. Deliberately she went upstairs and took a comb from the bedroom, and a blue satin ribbon that was left over from a baby dress she'd made for Jurko. Then she went back to the mirror ~She let down her long hair and combed it slowly, noticing that it hungbelow her apron strings in long, auburn ripples. She braided it carefully 'and tiecl the ribbon in her hair. �SLOVAKIA 121 She wasn 't quite clear in her mind why she 'd done this, but it made her feel different. She heard the boys ' shoes clattering on the steps as they came home f~om school, and she turned around with a little laugh, feeling suddenly light and young. The boys burst into the room like a sudden explosion, tracking mud as they came. Mikulas slung his books at the table. They hit with a bump, and one of them slid off to the floor . Mikulas didn 't pick it up. Instead he grabbed Janik by the collar. " You stepped on my foot!" he yelled. Janik poked his elbow in Mikulas ' s ribs and wrenched himself loose. Michal marched up to Marienka, his face very stem. "Mother, you got to whip Mikulas. " "Tattle-tale!" yelled Mikulas. He began jumping up and down in the middle of the room so that Marienka couldn't hear what Michal was saying. She grabbed Mikulas by the shoulders. " What did you do?" she said. Mikulas looked sullen. He stood still without answering. " I'll tell you what he did, " said Michal. "He talked in class, and the teacher sent him to the cloakroom - ' ' Mikulas began wiggling in Marienka's grip . He looked up at his mother out of the comers of his eyes, a cock-eyed grin coming over his face . " The teacher said he had to stay in the cloakroom an hour, and you know what he did?" Michal stared at Marienka, outraged. "Do you know what he did?'' Mikulas began jumping again. " I'll tell you what I did," he burst out . ' 'I ate all the kids' lunch_e s while I was in there, that ' s what I did." He was out of Marienka's hands now, jumping around the room . " All of them? " cried Marienka. " He ate all of them," said Michal. " It took me a whole hour," said Mikulas. " He ate mine ," said Janik . " And I'm hungry." " But Mikulas, you 'll be sick! " ' 'That's what the teacher said, but I just ate the parts I wanted and threw the rest out the window. '' He stopped suddenly in the middle of the floor . " Don 't whip me, Mother," he said. " The teacher whipped me already, so don 't whip me again. " Michal tugged at Marienka's sleeve . " Mother, the teacher whipped him because he said he wasn't sorry . And look at him grinning over there . He 's still not sorry. " �122 SLOVAKIA Marienka looked at Mikulas. Mikulas struggled with himself, and with considerable effort, erased the smile from his face. "I am too sorry," he said. Marienka's right hand itched to get the switch . Janik looked from one side to the other with round eyes . "You whip a lot harder than the teacher,'' he said . " All right!" snapped Marienka. " He's had one whipping, and that 's enough. Now get busy, all of you! Michal, build up the fire . Then you can clean the coal scuttle and fill it again. You Janik and Mikulas , get a bucket and go down by the tracks and fill it with coal. Get going, now!'' Marienka watched them go. Then she smoothed the ribbon in her hair. The baby Jurko was fussing . She carried him over to the rocking chair and held him close. Still , he complained, thumping his head against her breast. He kicked his feet against her legs . It hurt, and she realized how big he was getting . " Shhh," she whispered, rocking back and forth. " Shhhhh." He still struggled in her arms. "You 're a spoiled baby," she said in a crooning voice . " Hush, now, papa's coming soon." She began to chant it, like a little song in time to the motion of the rocker. " Papa 's coming soon - papa's coming soon . " The chair squeaked as she rocked back and forth. It was the only sound in the room, except for some spools that Jozef was rolling on the floor. The windows were filling with the early winter twilight, and she knew she ought to put Jurko down , even if he cried. Jurko 's body relaxed, his head falling heavily against her shoulder as he slept . Still she sat and rocked, growing more and more drowsy. She was startled suddenly by the sound of feet on the steps. The door opened before she could get up , and ,Ivan come in. He looked around the room, and then saw her sitting in €he dark " Marienka, are you sick? " " Of course not. Here it is dark already, and the children not home. '' She got up and went to the table to light the lamp . When she looked up , he was still standing there, looking at her. " Supper will be ready in a minute. Go wash your hands , don 't just stand there ." She hesitated. ' ' I was rocking Jurko .'' Ivan still stood there, frowning . " What you got the baby 's ribbon in your hair for? " he said in a puzzled voice . �SLOVAKIA 123 "Oh, shut up!" She banged the dishes onto the table. Then hurrying to lift a pot of pirohy from the stove , she scalded her arm. She began to swear under her breath. Ivan smothered a grin and went out in the back to wash his hands. The other boarders began to come in now , stamping their feet and blowing on their hands . "Dinner's going to be late ," said Marienka, yanking the bread from the oven. The pan rasped against the iron stove. One of the boarders threw his arms over his face , as if to ward off a blow . " Don't get mad," he said. " Sure is cold, '. ' said ai:i,other, edging close to the stove. " Looks like snow .'' Marienka glanced out ihe window with an uneasy feeling . What could be keeping the boys · so long? Ivan came up to her side , rubbing his face with a towel. His eyes laughed at her over the towel. " I gave my girl a ribbon ," he sang in a sweet falsetto. " And she gave me a rose - " " Get out of my way! " said Marienka, flushing. "You keep throwing those dishes at the table, you 're going to break one ,'' said I van, rub bing his neck with the towel. ''When I need your advice on how to set the table, you can light a candle at my head. " Ivan chuckled. "Now , that would look real pretty. " Marienka glared at him struggling for an answer. Just then the door swung open , blowing the lamp flame and bringing in a gust of cold air. " Look what I found, Mama," cried Mikulas in a shrill voice. He labored with a large, broken cart wheel, and Michal carried two more. ''I found some wheels, Mama, and nobody wants them . '' " Shut that door!" said Marienka. " Where ' s the coal I sent you for?' ' '' You know what I'm going to do, Mama? I'm going to make one of these automobiles, that ' s what. " " You 're crazy ," said Michal. "You can 't make a horseless carriage. ' ' " I said shut that door!" Mikulas turned on Michal , outraged. ''I can too make one if I want to.'' One of the boarders shut the door. "Where's my coal?" said Marienka. "And where ' s Janik? " Michal shook his head at Mikulas . " You're just a little boy, and boys can't make horseless carriages. I'm going to make a cart that we can pull. " �124 SLOVAKIA ''They're my wheels,' ' said Mikulas . ' 'I found them, and I can make anything I want to." Michal threw the two wheels on the floor in disgust. " You're crazy!'' Just then Marienka heard a small, slight bumping on the door. She ran to open it. On the steps stood Janik, his eyes and nose watering with the cold. He struggled to lift the heavy coal scuttle over the top step. Seeing Marienka, he looked up with round eyes . ' 'They said I had to carry it, ' ' he said, sniffing. Marienka took the coal scuttle out of his hands and pushed him into the house, slamming the door after him. " For shame! " she cried, turning to the boys. "Making your little brother carry that heavy bucket all by himself. Just look at his hands they 're all blue and raw. " She flung the coal scuttle down by the stove with a crash. Everybody in the room got quiet. Michal's face took on a stricken look. " I never thought I'd raise boys to be so lazy and cruel and thoughtless and - ' ' "But Mama," said Mikulas. "We couldn't carry the coal because we had to carry the wheels." " Damn the wheels!" said Marienka. "I don 't want them in the house. Bringing in trash - ' ' "Now, wait a minute, Marienka," said Ivan. " They're just kids. " He drew Mikulas to his side . "Son, you can't make a horseless carriage with three wheels . You got to have four , at least. " " I know it," said Mikulas scornfully. " You think I'm dumb? " Ivan grinned and shrugged, avoiding Marienka's eyes . " Well, let's eat," said Marienka. The men came to the table in silence , trying not to scrape the benches as they sat down, and picked up their silver self-consciously. Marienka never sat down to eat until the men were through. She was busy serving from the stove , and she also·needed to help Jurko eat. Her anger and the heat of the stove had brought wisps of hair from her braids that curled in damp ringlets against her face. Her face was flushed. As she turned from the stove , she caught Ivan 's eyes on her face. Just looking at her, not eating. As soon as their eyes met, he looked down at his plate . Marienka paused on her way to the table . Ivan didn't often look at her that way any more . Then she pushed the ringlets away from her cheeks with the back of her hand. �SLOVAKIA 125 " Say , Marienka, " said one of the boarders, "we got to get up earlier tomorrow . It's two miles farther to the new mine.'' "What new mine? " " The one they!re starting over on East Hill. The old one's played out.' ' \ " Don 't wake me up any' earlier," said Ivan. "I'm still working in the old mine. '' Marienka stared at him. " Why? " " We're taking out the pillars tomorrow, " he said, breaking off a hunk of bread. His big knuckles were grimed with the dust from coal that never quite came off, no matter how he washed. Marienka didn't notice it ordinarily, but against the white bread she could see the gray dust in the creases of his skin. Marienka snorted. ''I guess they pick out the men with the biggest families , and get them to take out the pillars. '' Ivan tipped back his head and laughed. Then he winked at the men around the table . "Trust a woman to worry , that's what's she's for." " Well, if I don 't , who will? " Ivan shook his head, still laughing. "Marienka, I've told you before, there ' s no danger. We take all the coal out of the rooms we can get, but when we hear those props 'ping,' man, we run! " One of the boarders grunted non-committally. " Gimme some of that bread, " said another. ' 'Boys, into bed! '' said Marienka. Even with her back turned, even as she shooed her children up the stairs, she was conscious of Ivan's eyes . She guessed it was the ribbon . But they were noticing eyes, different from the usual - different from the occasional hunger at night, or the fumbling from habit in bed . She was just starting down the stairs for the last time when he caught her arm . He had been waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She tried to pull loose. ''I have to get the clock.'' " Forget the clock ," he said. " Now , isn't that just like a man, " she started to say , but his mouth stopped her. For all that her voice was hard, when his lips moved to her collar bone and to her breast, her body was soft and shimery as smoke. It didn 't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle . The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down . In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads �126 SLOVAKIA on the shoulders of their wool jackets,. little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth . By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds . The curious light made everything look hollow , the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street , swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead , and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she'd bound in her braids yesterday. It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else changed they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark , curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet, stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church, and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things . Marienka made a sudden decision. She began putting Jozef's winter clothes on him. If she wrapped Jurko in her heaviest shawl, it would be all right. She picked the baby up and tucked Jozef's hand firmly in her own. Outside it was a damp , windless chill. The cold mud wet their shoes and made Marienka 's toes ache. On the distant hill, the lifeless trees made a tangle of gray branches that looked like smoke. Still, it was good to be out. Other women were going to the church, too . They called out greetings , smiling broadly to show their good will, but not stopping to talk. It was too cold. It was cold in the church . Marienka shivered as she entered , looking around the great dark room which was bare except for the altar, and for a few benches against the walls . Several women were already kneeling, their shawl-wrapped heads tuckec:l down-- and their hands folded tight under their chins. The candles they had lighted cast a feeble glow over their heads, and threw their shadows against the dusk of the corners. Marienka took Jurko to one of the benches and gave him a toy horse Ivan had carved, and a piece of 'kolac.' " Stay here and be quiet," she whispered. Then she bought a candle, and leading Jozef with one hand, went to the altar. �SLOVAKIA 127 She heard feet scurrying across the floor. '' Mama, Mama, what doing'?" . . " Be still, JurRo!" sai~ Marienka in a fierce whisper. With Jurko tugging at her skirts, she , had a hard time lighting the candle and putting it in place. Then she turned to him . He had finished the 'kolac,' and his face was smeared with crumbs. He stood watching the candles with solemn pleasure. Marienka pushed him down gently. "Now, be quiet," she said as she knelt beside him . He nodded. Then, turning to stare at some people coming in , he dropped his horse. It fell to the floor with a clatter. Marienka could see everybody staring at her. Some of the women smiled a little, and others looked reprovingly. She began to wish she hadn 't come . It was hard to think of the prayer she wanted to say. Jurko started babbling out loud, and drooled on her shoulder. Except that the wood of the church was new, she might have been · back in Kamienka. There was the same darkness , the same hush. Without realizing it, she began to pray. Not a prayer with words. It was just a feeling . She prayed with love , as a woman who had borne sons, to the Virgin Mary. The loved filled her. She gazed up at the image of the virgin, and tears spilled over from her eyes and wet her cheeks. She heard feet pounding on the wooden steps of the church. A gust of cold air burst in from the door. " Mama! Mama!" a voice cried. She started suddenly. It was Michal's voice. The boy reached her before she could tum around. He flung his arms around her, his face buried in her shawl as she knelt there , sobs tearing his body . The other women jumped to their feet and gathered around Marienka. "Michal!" Marienka tried to get up, but she couldn't with Jurko clinging to her. She tried to pull up Michal's face so that she could look at him, but he pushed it deeper into her clothes. "Michal, what is it? Michal, answer me! " One of the other woman knelt beside Michal, her face white. ''Boy, speak up! Is it the mines - '' She mentioned the one thing the women dreaded. They gathered even closer. Marienka wrenched herself loose from Michal, and turned around. His face was smeared and swollen. "Michal, stop crying! Is it your papa - '' �128 SLOVAKIA " The mine caved in!" Michal's voice was almost a scream. "It caved in on Papa!" Several of the women began running for the door. They had husbands or sons who worked with Ivan. Others began pounding him with questions, their hands clutched tight, their faces drawing closer with every word. ''Did they say who else was in the mine? '' "Did you see my husband?" ''Boy, who else - ' ' Marienka stood up, trembling. ''Now, all of you - hush! ' ' she said. The women hushed, looking at her in surprise. " Now, Michal, " she said as gently as she could. "You have to be brave. I need you to help me . Stop crying now. You've got to help me , so stop crying. ' ' Michal looked up at her, his eyes imploring, as if she could tell him that it was all right, that the whole thing would go away. "Michal, I want you to take your brothers home and look after them for me. " She took J urko by the hand and placed it in Michal's . "Go on, now. Take them home." Tears came to Michal's eyes again. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to the mine," said Marienka. Marienka walked past Michal, past his eyes that clung to her, even though he didn't try to follow. She reached the steps and started down the street. She didn 't run . Once she looked back. Michal was walking away from the church, holding Jozef by the hand. One of the women from the church was walking with them, carrying Jurko, her arm about Michal's shoulders. Marienka turned back to the steep hill that led to the mines . It was a hard climb. Her breath came short. Stones slipped from beneath her feet . She turned her ankle and nearly fell, but she didn't feel the pain. When she was almost to the mine, she could see the men gathered about the opening. Outside the mine were piles of slag, stacks of wooden mine supports, and a small section of mining cars stopped on the rails that led inside. The mules stood listlessly, their heads hanging down. ., "Where 's Ivan? " she called out as soon'as she reached the tracks . " Where ' s my husband? " Some of the men turned around , recognizing her. They nodded toward the mine. " He's in there." " Is he dead? " �SLOVAKIA 129 ' 'Mrs. Kinda, they' re trying to get to him now.'' ''But is he dead?'' ' "Now, try to be calm, Mrs . Kinda. They're doing all they can." She shoved past the men and walked toward the mine opening. She was shaking all over. "Mrs. Kinda, where're you going?" She didn't answer. She felt a miner's hand on her arm, pulling her back from the mine. "You can't go in there. You know that, Mrs . Kinda. Come back from there .'' She shook her head, trying to walk past. The miner's voice grew exasperated. She couldn't see his face clearly because of tears that blinded her. " You can't help him, Mrs. Kinda," he said. "They're trying to dig him out. You'd just be in the way." "Besides," said another man, "you don't know the mine. You'd kill yourself.'' They were all talking at once. She didn't hear what they said any more. She let herself be led to one of the stacks of wooden supports. "Sit down here," someone said. "Sit down. It won't be long, now. All you can do is wait.'' She sank down, her legs suddenly helpless and weak. The crowd outside the mines was growing larger every minute. Several mine officials arrived, and also a large number of idlers from the town, dogs, curious children, and women anxious about their husbands . Some of the women tried to comfort her, but she shook her head. She couldn't speak, for tears that clogged her throat. She began to understand from their talk that Ivan wasn't the only man caught in the cave-in. There was also another man, the husband of a young girl named Katarina who was pregnant with her first baby. She was hardly more than a bride . Marienka caught a glimpse of her toiling up the hill. She was a slight girl, her waist only a little thickened. Then the crowd closed her from view , but Marienka could hear her crying. Waiting was terrible . She put her hands over her eyes and tried not to think. It was well past noon. The sun began to slope toward afternoon , making a pale spot in the thin, dull clouds that covered the sky. A hush fell over the crowd. Marienka heard the grinding of a coal car from inside the mine and the plodding of a mule 's hooves. Mine officials walked out first, their faces grim. A couple of miners were with them , coal blackening their faces , smeared outward from their deepened eye-sockets . Another miner led the mule . The girl �130 SLOVAKIA Katarina screamed and rushed forward, but was held back by some of the women. Then the coal car groaned out of the mine. There was no holding Katarina now. She tore away from the women and ran to the car. Marienka jumped to her feet. A sudden pain in her right ankle jolted her and sent her sprawling over the tracks . Hands helped her to her feet . She could see her ankle, swollen and ugly from the twist she'd had coming up the mountain . She tried to walk, but her foot wouldn't hold her weight. She almost fell again. Two miners held her, grabbing her by the elbows . One of the women came up to Marienka. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she put her arms around Marienka 's shoulders. " Never mind, Marienka," she said. "Don 't look at him, my dear.'' "She 's right," said the men, trying to urge her away . "Don't look. It won 't do any good." That' s how Marienka knew he was dead . She pushed on anyway, hobbling along, with the men supporting her. When she saw him, he looked pitiful and limp. Except for the blood that spilled in a sticky mess over his chest and ran in two dried , blackened rivulets from his nostrils , he looked exactly as he did when he was drunk . Except that he lay in the black, casket-shaped coal car, blood and coal smeared on his hands , which lay by his sides , loose, cupped upward . The other man lay beside him , but he was not dead . There was a pushed-in place just below his hairline . His eyes were open, but they showed no recognition of his weeping wife who leaned above him. Even as they lifted him out of the car to take him to the hospital, he vomited a great gush of blood . Marienka, who had seen everything till this moment in a sort of confusion , saw with great clarity now . It was the same vividness of a nightmare. The cords of Katerina 's neck tightened as she screamed and screamed . Her young face looked strangely contorted under her smooth black braids that were still in perfect order. Marienka allowed herself to be lifted in\o the wagon that was to carry Ivan home. Marienka sat by the window, looking out at the gray twilight that the clouds made of the winter sun. It was about ten in the morning . �SLOVAKIA . 131 . Downstairs she could hear~ shuffling of feet and scraping of furniture. They were carrying Ivan t() · the church. It would probably snow, she thought. It was better when it snowed, when you couldn't see the raw, newturned earth the next day. New graves were like wounds in the skin that had not healed. It had snowed on Janik's grave. Janik and Matka were gone. And old otec dead in his shriveled, strange world. And now Ivan was leaving in his one good pair of socks and the not-too-new coat he'd worn to church on Sundays. Her glance fell on the dresser top, and she started suddenly. Rolled in a neat ball beside her tray of pins was Ivan's wool scarf. She started to get up, and then forced herself back into the chair. He wouldn't need the scarf. She began to cry, the tears falling on her hard, brown fingers cupped upward in her lap. It hadn't been an easy life, hers and Ivan's. They'd been thrown together, like it OF-»ot ; before they even met. But now, remembering those far away, hot days in the wheat fields and the lonely nights when she waited for him to come home from the tavern, it seemed slight, almost sweet, like a lover's quarrel that was soon over. She heard someone calling her from downstairs. "Marienka! It's time to go. Come on, the children are ready." She wiped her face with the back of her hand, and pulled herself to her feet. Her ankle had healed enough so that she could walk on it, hobbling a little . She leaned on Michal on the way to church. The children were silent in a forced solemnity. They were cold, too. She could hear Janik's teeth chattering. " Corne here, Janik, " she said. "Let me button your coat. " Jozef's nose was running, and she gave him her handkerchief. "Mikulas, if you walk in that puddle , I'll spank you," she said. One of her neighbors was keeping Jurko while she went to the funeral. People had been kind, helping her through the days of the wake , and feeding the boarders and the children. "Look, Marna! Red birds!" Janik shrilled, pointing. " Shhh," said Marienka. "Be quiet, Janik . " "See what you did, " said Mikulas disgustedly , " you scared them away!' ' "We've got to go in, now," said Marienka. "Now , be quiet , all of you .' ' The church was full. Marienka knelt on the hard floor in front of I �132 SLOVAKIA the altar, glad to be on her knees instead of her feet. She felt weak and sick . Katarina clutched the rail with agonized fingers . She sniffed softly as she entered, and gradually grew more racked as the funeral progressed. Her cries grew more penetrating till Marienka's stomach muscles tightened to a wad of nausea. There was a quality in age, she realized. You could stand things better. Katarina was only seventeen. When the terrible service was over at last, the families of the two men filed by the caskets to take a last look at the bodies. Marienka touched the wood of Ivan's casket for a moment, but she didn't really look at him. She closed her eyes and tried to blot the moment out. But she couldn't. The image swam, not oflvan's face, but of little Michal's . A face so white and drawn with huge , dark eyes staring behind tears. She fumbled for him with her hand, and hugged his shoulders. Then Katarina 's cries jogged her out of her own thoughts. She looked over at the girl with horrified pity. Katarina was leaning into the casket, her arms around her husband, kissing him on the lips again and again. The priest stared at her in dismay. It was hard to tell whether she was trying to drag her husband out of the casket or to climb in with him. People pulled her away. She collapsed on the floor. But Marienka followed after the casket with her sons, limping still from her twisted ankle, and holding on to Michal. She was glad she wasn't seventeen, like Katarina. She wouldn't like to have to live through all those years again. She remembered the funeral they'd had for the baby Janik. His grave was the first to be dug in this churchyard. No, she wouldn't like to go through that again. It had grown colder. The shovel rang, and the frozen earth fell on Ivan ' s casket like stones. She began to tremble violently. She wept for his sweet foolishness, for the guilty look he had when he'd done something wrong, and for the warmth of him. Like Katarina, she would like to drag him out of the casket. Of the two, she had always been the strong one . It wouldn't be easy to raise five sons without his help . But already her mind turned to plans of how she would manage by keeping boarders. And the older boys would help . So she did what she had to do. She waited while the men shoveled in the dirt, and the first flakes of snow crisped the mound that covered what was left of Ivan. Then she turned home. � 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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 119 The· Sorrows of Marienka ' V. S. KOBAN It was lonely in the house after the wedding. Marienka never thought she would miss Jacka the way she did. She missed Jacka's soft, smiling way - walking around the rooms, not saying much. She'd thought having Jacka around was almost like having nobody at all. But now she found she even missed the work that Jacka had done. It was hard to pack all the lunches in the morning. She had to get up earlier than ever. She missed Michal, too. She'd catch herself starting to say something as she came down the stairs, suddenly to realize that Michal wasn't sitting in front of the stove with his wooden leg propped on a bench. Then her unfinished sentence would hang on the air like an echo . The baby Jurko fretted and whined. He was used to being petted and played with. A year passed, and it was December. Two years since Michal's accident. Jozef had been just a baby then, and now he was nearly three years old, walking around the house and getting in the way. Time went on and on . Marienka was twenty-eight, but a thousand years different from that day in Kamienka when she married Ivan. They were all different. She remembered how the sun had shone on Michal's fair hair as she laid him between the rows of wheat in Jarabina . Michal's hair had turned dark through the years, and now it was almost black, like Ivan's. He would be thirteen in the spring. He was a tall, serious boy , and although he looked like his father, he didn 't have Ivan's reckless good humor. He tried hard to please, and a rebuke from Marienka would bring tears to his eyes. Mikulas and Janik both went to school now . It was Janik ' s first year. Marienka thought with tenderness of the baby chubbiness his face still had as she buttoned his coat in the mornings. A coat that had been Michal's, and had been three times patched and made over to fit the younger boys . She had trouble buttoning the jacket, because she V. S. Kohan was born near Johnstown, Pennsylvania , and based his novel, recently published by Jednota Press, on the life of his mother, who came to America in 1890, married twice, bore 11 sons and 2 daughters, and experienced the violent deaths of both her husbands and six sons. The present selection represents the novel 's concluding pages. 120 SLOVAKIA never was good at making button holes. No matter how she tried to fix them, the holes were too large for the buttons. She worried about Janik walking to school in the cold with his coat open. Ivan was the same. Only last night he 'd told that joke again about the priest - that was the joke she'd warned him never to tell - he told it right at the table in front of the children and the boarders and everybody. Then he'd tipped back his head and laughed till even she had to laugh with him. Then one of the boarders brought out a bottle. It was American whiskey, and she never liked the taste of it. But Ivan liked it well enough, and he told again how he'd been an officer in the army and for the first time in years, showed the scar where he had been bitten by a wolf. Of course, he was grouchy when he had to wake up that morning. Marienka didn't mind much any more. Marienka paused in her work, thinking about Ivan. He hadn't changed, except that he was a steady worker and came home evenings. She didn't usually think much about herself, but now she wondered if she had changed too. Her hands were hard from heavy work. She was sharp with the children and sharp with Ivan. Her clothes were indifferent. Had she gotten ugly? She dropped the broom in the middle of the floor and went to the small , wavy mirror tacked on the wall near the sink. This was where the boarders combed their hair in the morning. She blinked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same - but such a frown on her face. She realized the frown was a habit. She didn't often look at herself in the mirror . She tried a smile , then looked around guiltily, feeling silly. There was no one to watch her except the two babies, and Jozef was playing with the broom she 'd dropped on the floor, trying to pull out a screw. She turned and looked again. There was no gray in her hair. Her eyes were still clear in her fair face. The heat from the stove had flushed her cheeks , and there were no creases in her neck. Deliberately she went upstairs and took a comb from the bedroom, and a blue satin ribbon that was left over from a baby dress she'd made for Jurko. Then she went back to the mirror ~She let down her long hair and combed it slowly, noticing that it hungbelow her apron strings in long, auburn ripples. She braided it carefully 'and tiecl the ribbon in her hair. SLOVAKIA 121 She wasn 't quite clear in her mind why she 'd done this, but it made her feel different. She heard the boys ' shoes clattering on the steps as they came home f~om school, and she turned around with a little laugh, feeling suddenly light and young. The boys burst into the room like a sudden explosion, tracking mud as they came. Mikulas slung his books at the table. They hit with a bump, and one of them slid off to the floor . Mikulas didn 't pick it up. Instead he grabbed Janik by the collar. " You stepped on my foot!" he yelled. Janik poked his elbow in Mikulas ' s ribs and wrenched himself loose. Michal marched up to Marienka, his face very stem. "Mother, you got to whip Mikulas. " "Tattle-tale!" yelled Mikulas. He began jumping up and down in the middle of the room so that Marienka couldn't hear what Michal was saying. She grabbed Mikulas by the shoulders. " What did you do?" she said. Mikulas looked sullen. He stood still without answering. " I'll tell you what he did, " said Michal. "He talked in class, and the teacher sent him to the cloakroom - ' ' Mikulas began wiggling in Marienka's grip . He looked up at his mother out of the comers of his eyes, a cock-eyed grin coming over his face . " The teacher said he had to stay in the cloakroom an hour, and you know what he did?" Michal stared at Marienka, outraged. "Do you know what he did?'' Mikulas began jumping again. " I'll tell you what I did," he burst out . ' 'I ate all the kids' lunch_e s while I was in there, that ' s what I did." He was out of Marienka's hands now, jumping around the room . " All of them? " cried Marienka. " He ate all of them," said Michal. " It took me a whole hour," said Mikulas. " He ate mine ," said Janik . " And I'm hungry." " But Mikulas, you 'll be sick! " ' 'That's what the teacher said, but I just ate the parts I wanted and threw the rest out the window. '' He stopped suddenly in the middle of the floor . " Don 't whip me, Mother," he said. " The teacher whipped me already, so don 't whip me again. " Michal tugged at Marienka's sleeve . " Mother, the teacher whipped him because he said he wasn't sorry . And look at him grinning over there . He 's still not sorry. " 122 SLOVAKIA Marienka looked at Mikulas. Mikulas struggled with himself, and with considerable effort, erased the smile from his face. "I am too sorry," he said. Marienka's right hand itched to get the switch . Janik looked from one side to the other with round eyes . "You whip a lot harder than the teacher,'' he said . " All right!" snapped Marienka. " He's had one whipping, and that 's enough. Now get busy, all of you! Michal, build up the fire . Then you can clean the coal scuttle and fill it again. You Janik and Mikulas , get a bucket and go down by the tracks and fill it with coal. Get going, now!'' Marienka watched them go. Then she smoothed the ribbon in her hair. The baby Jurko was fussing . She carried him over to the rocking chair and held him close. Still , he complained, thumping his head against her breast. He kicked his feet against her legs . It hurt, and she realized how big he was getting . " Shhh," she whispered, rocking back and forth. " Shhhhh." He still struggled in her arms. "You 're a spoiled baby," she said in a crooning voice . " Hush, now, papa's coming soon." She began to chant it, like a little song in time to the motion of the rocker. " Papa 's coming soon - papa's coming soon . " The chair squeaked as she rocked back and forth. It was the only sound in the room, except for some spools that Jozef was rolling on the floor. The windows were filling with the early winter twilight, and she knew she ought to put Jurko down , even if he cried. Jurko 's body relaxed, his head falling heavily against her shoulder as he slept . Still she sat and rocked, growing more and more drowsy. She was startled suddenly by the sound of feet on the steps. The door opened before she could get up , and ,Ivan come in. He looked around the room, and then saw her sitting in €he dark " Marienka, are you sick? " " Of course not. Here it is dark already, and the children not home. '' She got up and went to the table to light the lamp . When she looked up , he was still standing there, looking at her. " Supper will be ready in a minute. Go wash your hands , don 't just stand there ." She hesitated. ' ' I was rocking Jurko .'' Ivan still stood there, frowning . " What you got the baby 's ribbon in your hair for? " he said in a puzzled voice . SLOVAKIA 123 "Oh, shut up!" She banged the dishes onto the table. Then hurrying to lift a pot of pirohy from the stove , she scalded her arm. She began to swear under her breath. Ivan smothered a grin and went out in the back to wash his hands. The other boarders began to come in now , stamping their feet and blowing on their hands . "Dinner's going to be late ," said Marienka, yanking the bread from the oven. The pan rasped against the iron stove. One of the boarders threw his arms over his face , as if to ward off a blow . " Don't get mad," he said. " Sure is cold, '. ' said ai:i,other, edging close to the stove. " Looks like snow .'' Marienka glanced out ihe window with an uneasy feeling . What could be keeping the boys · so long? Ivan came up to her side , rubbing his face with a towel. His eyes laughed at her over the towel. " I gave my girl a ribbon ," he sang in a sweet falsetto. " And she gave me a rose - " " Get out of my way! " said Marienka, flushing. "You keep throwing those dishes at the table, you 're going to break one ,'' said I van, rub bing his neck with the towel. ''When I need your advice on how to set the table, you can light a candle at my head. " Ivan chuckled. "Now , that would look real pretty. " Marienka glared at him struggling for an answer. Just then the door swung open , blowing the lamp flame and bringing in a gust of cold air. " Look what I found, Mama," cried Mikulas in a shrill voice. He labored with a large, broken cart wheel, and Michal carried two more. ''I found some wheels, Mama, and nobody wants them . '' " Shut that door!" said Marienka. " Where ' s the coal I sent you for?' ' '' You know what I'm going to do, Mama? I'm going to make one of these automobiles, that ' s what. " " You 're crazy ," said Michal. "You can 't make a horseless carriage. ' ' " I said shut that door!" Mikulas turned on Michal , outraged. ''I can too make one if I want to.'' One of the boarders shut the door. "Where's my coal?" said Marienka. "And where ' s Janik? " Michal shook his head at Mikulas . " You're just a little boy, and boys can't make horseless carriages. I'm going to make a cart that we can pull. " 124 SLOVAKIA ''They're my wheels,' ' said Mikulas . ' 'I found them, and I can make anything I want to." Michal threw the two wheels on the floor in disgust. " You're crazy!'' Just then Marienka heard a small, slight bumping on the door. She ran to open it. On the steps stood Janik, his eyes and nose watering with the cold. He struggled to lift the heavy coal scuttle over the top step. Seeing Marienka, he looked up with round eyes . ' 'They said I had to carry it, ' ' he said, sniffing. Marienka took the coal scuttle out of his hands and pushed him into the house, slamming the door after him. " For shame! " she cried, turning to the boys. "Making your little brother carry that heavy bucket all by himself. Just look at his hands they 're all blue and raw. " She flung the coal scuttle down by the stove with a crash. Everybody in the room got quiet. Michal's face took on a stricken look. " I never thought I'd raise boys to be so lazy and cruel and thoughtless and - ' ' "But Mama," said Mikulas. "We couldn't carry the coal because we had to carry the wheels." " Damn the wheels!" said Marienka. "I don 't want them in the house. Bringing in trash - ' ' "Now, wait a minute, Marienka," said Ivan. " They're just kids. " He drew Mikulas to his side . "Son, you can't make a horseless carriage with three wheels . You got to have four , at least. " " I know it," said Mikulas scornfully. " You think I'm dumb? " Ivan grinned and shrugged, avoiding Marienka's eyes . " Well, let's eat," said Marienka. The men came to the table in silence , trying not to scrape the benches as they sat down, and picked up their silver self-consciously. Marienka never sat down to eat until the men were through. She was busy serving from the stove , and she also·needed to help Jurko eat. Her anger and the heat of the stove had brought wisps of hair from her braids that curled in damp ringlets against her face. Her face was flushed. As she turned from the stove , she caught Ivan 's eyes on her face. Just looking at her, not eating. As soon as their eyes met, he looked down at his plate . Marienka paused on her way to the table . Ivan didn't often look at her that way any more . Then she pushed the ringlets away from her cheeks with the back of her hand. SLOVAKIA 125 " Say , Marienka, " said one of the boarders, "we got to get up earlier tomorrow . It's two miles farther to the new mine.'' "What new mine? " " The one they!re starting over on East Hill. The old one's played out.' ' \ " Don 't wake me up any' earlier," said Ivan. "I'm still working in the old mine. '' Marienka stared at him. " Why? " " We're taking out the pillars tomorrow, " he said, breaking off a hunk of bread. His big knuckles were grimed with the dust from coal that never quite came off, no matter how he washed. Marienka didn't notice it ordinarily, but against the white bread she could see the gray dust in the creases of his skin. Marienka snorted. ''I guess they pick out the men with the biggest families , and get them to take out the pillars. '' Ivan tipped back his head and laughed. Then he winked at the men around the table . "Trust a woman to worry , that's what's she's for." " Well, if I don 't , who will? " Ivan shook his head, still laughing. "Marienka, I've told you before, there ' s no danger. We take all the coal out of the rooms we can get, but when we hear those props 'ping,' man, we run! " One of the boarders grunted non-committally. " Gimme some of that bread, " said another. ' 'Boys, into bed! '' said Marienka. Even with her back turned, even as she shooed her children up the stairs, she was conscious of Ivan's eyes . She guessed it was the ribbon . But they were noticing eyes, different from the usual - different from the occasional hunger at night, or the fumbling from habit in bed . She was just starting down the stairs for the last time when he caught her arm . He had been waiting for her at the top of the stairs. She tried to pull loose. ''I have to get the clock.'' " Forget the clock ," he said. " Now , isn't that just like a man, " she started to say , but his mouth stopped her. For all that her voice was hard, when his lips moved to her collar bone and to her breast, her body was soft and shimery as smoke. It didn 't snow that night. Instead, it turned warmer. The clouds that had threatened snow produced a thin drizzle . The men hunched their shoulders as they left and bent their heads down . In the dull light Marienka watched them walk down the street, the rain making beads 126 SLOVAKIA on the shoulders of their wool jackets,. little drops without brilliance that began forming dark streaks down the cloth . By the time the boys left for school the rain had dwindled to a fine mist that melted downward from the close-hanging, yellowish clouds . The curious light made everything look hollow , the same way it did sometimes at dusk when the sun shone from behind the mountains. Marienka watched the boys saunter down the street , swinging their lunches. She wondered if she ought to chance it, going to church with the babies. It was the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple . She had planned to go to church and light a candle. She put her hand to her hair, pushing it back from her forehead , and her fingers brushed against the ribbon she'd bound in her braids yesterday. It brought to mind Ivan 's eyes as he had watched her last night. No matter what else changed they were the same as they had been twelve years ago in Kamienka - dark , curious, and full of lustre. All at once the memory of that day was close around her. She could almost smell the hot wax from the candles and the sweet, stifling odor of incense. She remembered the hot darkness of the church, and the smell of the priest's robes - a little musty, smelling of old things . Marienka made a sudden decision. She began putting Jozef's winter clothes on him. If she wrapped Jurko in her heaviest shawl, it would be all right. She picked the baby up and tucked Jozef's hand firmly in her own. Outside it was a damp , windless chill. The cold mud wet their shoes and made Marienka 's toes ache. On the distant hill, the lifeless trees made a tangle of gray branches that looked like smoke. Still, it was good to be out. Other women were going to the church, too . They called out greetings , smiling broadly to show their good will, but not stopping to talk. It was too cold. It was cold in the church . Marienka shivered as she entered , looking around the great dark room which was bare except for the altar, and for a few benches against the walls . Several women were already kneeling, their shawl-wrapped heads tuckec:l down-- and their hands folded tight under their chins. The candles they had lighted cast a feeble glow over their heads, and threw their shadows against the dusk of the corners. Marienka took Jurko to one of the benches and gave him a toy horse Ivan had carved, and a piece of 'kolac.' " Stay here and be quiet," she whispered. Then she bought a candle, and leading Jozef with one hand, went to the altar. SLOVAKIA 127 She heard feet scurrying across the floor. '' Mama, Mama, what doing'?" . . " Be still, JurRo!" sai~ Marienka in a fierce whisper. With Jurko tugging at her skirts, she , had a hard time lighting the candle and putting it in place. Then she turned to him . He had finished the 'kolac,' and his face was smeared with crumbs. He stood watching the candles with solemn pleasure. Marienka pushed him down gently. "Now, be quiet," she said as she knelt beside him . He nodded. Then, turning to stare at some people coming in , he dropped his horse. It fell to the floor with a clatter. Marienka could see everybody staring at her. Some of the women smiled a little, and others looked reprovingly. She began to wish she hadn 't come . It was hard to think of the prayer she wanted to say. Jurko started babbling out loud, and drooled on her shoulder. Except that the wood of the church was new, she might have been · back in Kamienka. There was the same darkness , the same hush. Without realizing it, she began to pray. Not a prayer with words. It was just a feeling . She prayed with love , as a woman who had borne sons, to the Virgin Mary. The loved filled her. She gazed up at the image of the virgin, and tears spilled over from her eyes and wet her cheeks. She heard feet pounding on the wooden steps of the church. A gust of cold air burst in from the door. " Mama! Mama!" a voice cried. She started suddenly. It was Michal's voice. The boy reached her before she could tum around. He flung his arms around her, his face buried in her shawl as she knelt there , sobs tearing his body . The other women jumped to their feet and gathered around Marienka. "Michal!" Marienka tried to get up, but she couldn't with Jurko clinging to her. She tried to pull up Michal's face so that she could look at him, but he pushed it deeper into her clothes. "Michal, what is it? Michal, answer me! " One of the other woman knelt beside Michal, her face white. ''Boy, speak up! Is it the mines - '' She mentioned the one thing the women dreaded. They gathered even closer. Marienka wrenched herself loose from Michal, and turned around. His face was smeared and swollen. "Michal, stop crying! Is it your papa - '' 128 SLOVAKIA " The mine caved in!" Michal's voice was almost a scream. "It caved in on Papa!" Several of the women began running for the door. They had husbands or sons who worked with Ivan. Others began pounding him with questions, their hands clutched tight, their faces drawing closer with every word. ''Did they say who else was in the mine? '' "Did you see my husband?" ''Boy, who else - ' ' Marienka stood up, trembling. ''Now, all of you - hush! ' ' she said. The women hushed, looking at her in surprise. " Now, Michal, " she said as gently as she could. "You have to be brave. I need you to help me . Stop crying now. You've got to help me , so stop crying. ' ' Michal looked up at her, his eyes imploring, as if she could tell him that it was all right, that the whole thing would go away. "Michal, I want you to take your brothers home and look after them for me. " She took J urko by the hand and placed it in Michal's . "Go on, now. Take them home." Tears came to Michal's eyes again. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to the mine," said Marienka. Marienka walked past Michal, past his eyes that clung to her, even though he didn't try to follow. She reached the steps and started down the street. She didn 't run . Once she looked back. Michal was walking away from the church, holding Jozef by the hand. One of the women from the church was walking with them, carrying Jurko, her arm about Michal's shoulders. Marienka turned back to the steep hill that led to the mines . It was a hard climb. Her breath came short. Stones slipped from beneath her feet . She turned her ankle and nearly fell, but she didn't feel the pain. When she was almost to the mine, she could see the men gathered about the opening. Outside the mine were piles of slag, stacks of wooden mine supports, and a small section of mining cars stopped on the rails that led inside. The mules stood listlessly, their heads hanging down. ., "Where 's Ivan? " she called out as soon'as she reached the tracks . " Where ' s my husband? " Some of the men turned around , recognizing her. They nodded toward the mine. " He's in there." " Is he dead? " SLOVAKIA 129 ' 'Mrs. Kinda, they' re trying to get to him now.'' ''But is he dead?'' ' "Now, try to be calm, Mrs . Kinda. They're doing all they can." She shoved past the men and walked toward the mine opening. She was shaking all over. "Mrs. Kinda, where're you going?" She didn't answer. She felt a miner's hand on her arm, pulling her back from the mine. "You can't go in there. You know that, Mrs . Kinda. Come back from there .'' She shook her head, trying to walk past. The miner's voice grew exasperated. She couldn't see his face clearly because of tears that blinded her. " You can't help him, Mrs. Kinda," he said. "They're trying to dig him out. You'd just be in the way." "Besides," said another man, "you don't know the mine. You'd kill yourself.'' They were all talking at once. She didn't hear what they said any more. She let herself be led to one of the stacks of wooden supports. "Sit down here," someone said. "Sit down. It won't be long, now. All you can do is wait.'' She sank down, her legs suddenly helpless and weak. The crowd outside the mines was growing larger every minute. Several mine officials arrived, and also a large number of idlers from the town, dogs, curious children, and women anxious about their husbands . Some of the women tried to comfort her, but she shook her head. She couldn't speak, for tears that clogged her throat. She began to understand from their talk that Ivan wasn't the only man caught in the cave-in. There was also another man, the husband of a young girl named Katarina who was pregnant with her first baby. She was hardly more than a bride . Marienka caught a glimpse of her toiling up the hill. She was a slight girl, her waist only a little thickened. Then the crowd closed her from view , but Marienka could hear her crying. Waiting was terrible . She put her hands over her eyes and tried not to think. It was well past noon. The sun began to slope toward afternoon , making a pale spot in the thin, dull clouds that covered the sky. A hush fell over the crowd. Marienka heard the grinding of a coal car from inside the mine and the plodding of a mule 's hooves. Mine officials walked out first, their faces grim. A couple of miners were with them , coal blackening their faces , smeared outward from their deepened eye-sockets . Another miner led the mule . The girl 130 SLOVAKIA Katarina screamed and rushed forward, but was held back by some of the women. Then the coal car groaned out of the mine. There was no holding Katarina now. She tore away from the women and ran to the car. Marienka jumped to her feet. A sudden pain in her right ankle jolted her and sent her sprawling over the tracks . Hands helped her to her feet . She could see her ankle, swollen and ugly from the twist she'd had coming up the mountain . She tried to walk, but her foot wouldn't hold her weight. She almost fell again. Two miners held her, grabbing her by the elbows . One of the women came up to Marienka. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she put her arms around Marienka 's shoulders. " Never mind, Marienka," she said. "Don 't look at him, my dear.'' "She 's right," said the men, trying to urge her away . "Don't look. It won 't do any good." That' s how Marienka knew he was dead . She pushed on anyway, hobbling along, with the men supporting her. When she saw him, he looked pitiful and limp. Except for the blood that spilled in a sticky mess over his chest and ran in two dried , blackened rivulets from his nostrils , he looked exactly as he did when he was drunk . Except that he lay in the black, casket-shaped coal car, blood and coal smeared on his hands , which lay by his sides , loose, cupped upward . The other man lay beside him , but he was not dead . There was a pushed-in place just below his hairline . His eyes were open, but they showed no recognition of his weeping wife who leaned above him. Even as they lifted him out of the car to take him to the hospital, he vomited a great gush of blood . Marienka, who had seen everything till this moment in a sort of confusion , saw with great clarity now . It was the same vividness of a nightmare. The cords of Katerina 's neck tightened as she screamed and screamed . Her young face looked strangely contorted under her smooth black braids that were still in perfect order. Marienka allowed herself to be lifted in\o the wagon that was to carry Ivan home. Marienka sat by the window, looking out at the gray twilight that the clouds made of the winter sun. It was about ten in the morning . SLOVAKIA . 131 . Downstairs she could hear~ shuffling of feet and scraping of furniture. They were carrying Ivan t() · the church. It would probably snow, she thought. It was better when it snowed, when you couldn't see the raw, newturned earth the next day. New graves were like wounds in the skin that had not healed. It had snowed on Janik's grave. Janik and Matka were gone. And old otec dead in his shriveled, strange world. And now Ivan was leaving in his one good pair of socks and the not-too-new coat he'd worn to church on Sundays. Her glance fell on the dresser top, and she started suddenly. Rolled in a neat ball beside her tray of pins was Ivan's wool scarf. She started to get up, and then forced herself back into the chair. He wouldn't need the scarf. She began to cry, the tears falling on her hard, brown fingers cupped upward in her lap. It hadn't been an easy life, hers and Ivan's. They'd been thrown together, like it OF-»ot ; before they even met. But now, remembering those far away, hot days in the wheat fields and the lonely nights when she waited for him to come home from the tavern, it seemed slight, almost sweet, like a lover's quarrel that was soon over. She heard someone calling her from downstairs. "Marienka! It's time to go. Come on, the children are ready." She wiped her face with the back of her hand, and pulled herself to her feet. Her ankle had healed enough so that she could walk on it, hobbling a little . She leaned on Michal on the way to church. The children were silent in a forced solemnity. They were cold, too. She could hear Janik's teeth chattering. " Corne here, Janik, " she said. "Let me button your coat. " Jozef's nose was running, and she gave him her handkerchief. "Mikulas, if you walk in that puddle , I'll spank you," she said. One of her neighbors was keeping Jurko while she went to the funeral. People had been kind, helping her through the days of the wake , and feeding the boarders and the children. "Look, Marna! Red birds!" Janik shrilled, pointing. " Shhh," said Marienka. "Be quiet, Janik . " "See what you did, " said Mikulas disgustedly , " you scared them away!' ' "We've got to go in, now," said Marienka. "Now , be quiet , all of you .' ' The church was full. Marienka knelt on the hard floor in front of I 132 SLOVAKIA the altar, glad to be on her knees instead of her feet. She felt weak and sick . Katarina clutched the rail with agonized fingers . She sniffed softly as she entered, and gradually grew more racked as the funeral progressed. Her cries grew more penetrating till Marienka's stomach muscles tightened to a wad of nausea. There was a quality in age, she realized. You could stand things better. Katarina was only seventeen. When the terrible service was over at last, the families of the two men filed by the caskets to take a last look at the bodies. Marienka touched the wood of Ivan's casket for a moment, but she didn't really look at him. She closed her eyes and tried to blot the moment out. But she couldn't. The image swam, not oflvan's face, but of little Michal's . A face so white and drawn with huge , dark eyes staring behind tears. She fumbled for him with her hand, and hugged his shoulders. Then Katarina 's cries jogged her out of her own thoughts. She looked over at the girl with horrified pity. Katarina was leaning into the casket, her arms around her husband, kissing him on the lips again and again. The priest stared at her in dismay. It was hard to tell whether she was trying to drag her husband out of the casket or to climb in with him. People pulled her away. She collapsed on the floor. But Marienka followed after the casket with her sons, limping still from her twisted ankle, and holding on to Michal. She was glad she wasn't seventeen, like Katarina. She wouldn't like to have to live through all those years again. She remembered the funeral they'd had for the baby Janik. His grave was the first to be dug in this churchyard. No, she wouldn't like to go through that again. It had grown colder. The shovel rang, and the frozen earth fell on Ivan ' s casket like stones. She began to tremble violently. She wept for his sweet foolishness, for the guilty look he had when he'd done something wrong, and for the warmth of him. Like Katarina, she would like to drag him out of the casket. Of the two, she had always been the strong one . It wouldn't be easy to raise five sons without his help . But already her mind turned to plans of how she would manage by keeping boarders. And the older boys would help . So she did what she had to do. She waited while the men shoveled in the dirt, and the first flakes of snow crisped the mound that covered what was left of Ivan. Then she turned home.  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 Sorrows of Marienka Description An account of the resource V. S. Koban Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 119-132 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Koban, Vasil S. (Vasil Stefan), 1918-2007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8cd7764b11c24fe842f572e803779957.pdf b04c3ecb3b5d6c21bccaf9b002f2b9c8 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 133 Success Story ALVENA SECKAR ''Take Lybushka back with you to America,'' urged my uncle. "She' 11 become rich like your mother." "Like my mother!" I repeated to myself. Yes, from the way they looked at it, my mother had done quite well. She had come to America, had married, bore two children, educated them and now owned two houses. They did not know what kind of houses, but that did not alter the basic fact. True, my mother had committed a few sins on the way, like getting divorced and remarrying. She had fallen into a few pitfalls, now and then, but they were past now. Such things are forgiven. The end justifies the means. Lybushka would be a success, too, and her children would be like me. I stared at my uncle. This man was my mother's brother. The resemblance to my mother was startling. He had the same slight build, the same line worn broad face with high cheekbones, and the identical worried looking deep sunken blue gray eyes. He was a little boy when my mother last saw him forty years ago. This was back in the early 1900s when my mother was sixteen, the same age as Lybushka now was. She took off for the mythical land of America to pick the gold off its streets. Her two older sisters who had preceded her were either too ashamed to write back to dispel the fable or else felt that misery should have company and did nothing to prevent my mother from joining them. I looked around. My mother had left this self-same high peaked log house nestled in these unchanging mountains in northern Slovakia. My mind went back to those rare instances when my mother permitted herself to be sentimental, usually after some adverse fortune, and recalled this home with tears in her eyes. My uncle had never left it. He was the only son of a family of four surviving girls. The other children, all seven of them, had died in infancy. His father, my grandfather, had died of pneumonia when my uncle was a little boy and his was the responsibility of continuing the Alvena Seckar is a highly prized writer of children' s stories . This story appears here for the first time. �134 SLOVAKIA family. At first , it had not been too difficult with the additional inheritance of the three sisters who had gone away. True , there had been some squabbles over land ownership with the remaining sister, but they were nothing serious . But now, his family of seven daughters and only one son (Alas!) made it too crowded . " Lybushka was smart in school," continued my uncle. "She learned the Catechism from cover to cover before anyone else! ' ' So had my mother, I mused , in Hungarian, in a school of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. She had learned it by heart, but she had never learned to read or to write. Fortified with such knowledge, my mother had sailed for America . When she talks of that trip, she relates how the first class passengers amused themselves by throwing oranges down to steerage, where she was , to watch the wretched mob scramble , and perhaps fight , for the precious fruit. My remembrance of the trip is identified with that cluster of deep gouged out scars of her upper arm. They are the result of the vaccination against small pox some well meaning but callous civil servant inflicted upon her when she reached these shores. At the dock, her sisters greeted her by stripping her of her hand woven dresses and linens, which they later secretly sold, already wise to their market value. After "Americanizing" her with a cheap cotton dress , they dropped her off as a domestic in a home where there was no verbal communication possible with her new mistress . ''Take the cover off the baby's face!' ' her mistress yelled from the fifth floor down to my mother airing the baby in her carriage down on the sidewalk. My mother wrapped her closer. '' She ' 11 smother! '' the woman screamed . My mother bundled the baby tighter. " You 're fired! " screeched the exasperated woman as she puffed from the exertion of running down the four flights of the sidewalk. The last order with explicit motions was plainly understood . " I didn 't mind," said my mother to me many years later. " She never gave me enough to eat. ' ' Somehow, someway, she found another job, and later, many other jobs for the seven years she remained single. Small pay, starvation and extraordinary hard work characterized this period , first in New York , then in Pittsburgh, where she went with a rlewly found girlfriend on the information that many rich men from the coal mines· and the steel mills were there. This was the boom period when World War I had already started in Europe. �SLOVAKIA 135 Such trials only intensi.fied my mother's efforts to get the gold for which her trip had been made. By this time, if nothing better came her way, she had decided to go back home and directed all her energies toward that goal. She kept her savings for the trip in a roll in her stocking under her long skirt which was then the fashion. A bank as a place to deposit money was not thought of. Just as she almost had enough, she discovered one day that it was gone! With it, her final chance to go back home . World War I was spreading and the miners, now working every day, came into Pittsburgh on their occasional day off. They put on a big front with their lavish spending and my mother must have been swept off her feet by the show of one of them, who became my father . It would be proper to give my mother the benefit of the doubt and say that she fell in love with my father and was not overcome by his display of money. Her married life, as much as I know of it those first few years, will not permit me to state this unequivocally. I know it was a stormy time. Her frugal habits were in continual conflict with my father ' s easy going nature. It deprived him of much pleasure. The excuse of the long hours he worked was of no avail with my mother. By the time the work at the mines slowed down after the war, my mother had saved enough money from his salary, from her taking in other people's wash, and from the two boarders who occupied one of the two bedrooms in the house (My brother and I slept with our parents.), to put a down payment on a farm in distant Connecticut. When she found that my father took to carousing instead of farm work, she gave up the whole idea and moved back to the mines . The next time she accumulated enough money, she was talked into investing it into the founding of a coal mine which turned out to be a grand swindle. The water in the mine could not be pumped out. By this time my father must have been rather weary of such unending and unremunerative effort and took to drinking with even greater gusto. One of the boarders who put up a good show of having money and property found my mother willing to transfer her affections. This happened when I was eight and my brother six. Again, for years, I gave my mother the benefit of the doubt for leaving this man by telling myself and the world that she did so when she found out he was a coal company spy . Actually, he did not have the money or the houses with which he seduced her. In all fairness , though the evidence so far warrants it, I cannot accuse my mother of using wealth as the prime criteria of her attitude toward men. She met the man who was to become my stepfather, legally, when he was working in the hard coal mines . She remained �136 SLOVAKIA loyal to him during a long coal strike, even loaned him some of her hard earned money she made in the shirt factory in which she worked. However, the same painstaking accumulation of money ensued with my stepfather. First, however, his one foible for gambling had to be crushed. This my mother did by unerringly locating where the game was in progress and promptly making a scene on the premises. It was not long before my stepfather was unable to find a place to do his gambling and he resigned himself to go along with my mother. After awhile it was no longer difficult. Their first monetary venture proved no more successful than any of the others my mother had engaged in. Real estate swindlers from a distant industrial city induced them to purchase some house lots on the installment plan. " We have a job for you in a factory there, " they promised. That sounded good to my stepfather who was blacklisted from working in the hard coal mine where he had been on strike. When we all got to the city, the factory job lasted one month before the establishment collapsed in the first throes of the post-war depression. It took longer for my parents to find out the lots were equally spurious . After the last payment was made , several years later, my parents discovered that they and hundreds of others from the coal regions had been defrauded. Since none of the people involved knew each other or what to do , nothing was done and the real estate thieves went on with their merciless racket. Times were hard in the city and my stepfather was part of the large army of unemployed during the depression. My mother came to the rescue and got a job in a tobacco factory. The smell of the tobacco was overpowering and I remember that for weeks she came home vomiting, unable to eat until the tobacco odor was out of her system . " You' 11 get used to it , " said the forelady . My mother did. Another job was hard to get. Not to be outdone, my stepfather set up a small shoe repair shop where he did all the work by hand. His meager earnings together with my mother's were enough to continue payments on the nonexistent lots and even to put some aside. This was done by the utmost economy. Only the smallest electric bulbs were used in our house and the electricity w¥ on only when absolutely necessary. Reading was not a necessity at any time guring my entire childhood and it was left to me to read in my adult life many of the books I should have read as a child. We had no central heating and coal was used very sparingly in our one and only kitchen stove . Even the ashes were carefully picked over for reuse of the partially burned coal. �SLOVAKIA 137 It was bad enough for me at school to be so different from the other children - most of them ~ith American-born parents, for we lived on the fringe of a well-to-do ' area. Added to this self-consciousness in attitude was the discomfiture I felt in my old fashioned home made clothes. The one art which my mother never mastered was sewing. To this day, I feel pained when I look at photographs of myself in some of those homely and shapeless concoctions from reused cloth. In recent years I found out it was due to her poor eyesight, but she would not spare the money for glasses! Only the possession of my own money offered a solution to me. Though I was only twelve, the neighborhood we lived in did provide some opportunities if I could but take them. A Greek restaurant was next door. The bachelor owner often tried to invite me into his back room kitchen. ''I'll give you a nickel,' ' he urged. I shook my head. " I'll give you a quarter!" He was insistent. My mother's call or a customer invariably saved me. Behind us lived a tinsmith. He was from Vienna where his wife and three children lived. He, too, was accumulating money feverishly and unstintingly. He did his own cooking, cleaning and sewing. America was a corrupt land of materialism to him but he was here to make himself a fortune with which he would live the rest of his life in luxury in his beloved Vienna. He tried to be friends with me. "On pay day, I'll give you a dime, " he coaxed. "No," I answered. "I'll take you to the movies," he continued. My mother would find out so I ran away . On the corner was a barber shop. The man who owned it often stood outside as I passed on my way home from school. He smiled, and as he did so showed his ugly shiny front gold tooth. He jingled the coins in his pocket. " Come on in," he invited. Someone would see me. I walked on. Not all our neighbors were set to ensnare me. Near-by was an Italian grocery. From the street it smelled of stale, pungent cheeses and decaying vegetable matter. Mr. and Mrs. Natalo and all seven of their children always filled the store with noise and laughter. I am sure they were their best customers , but they were generous with me, too, asking nothing of me in return. They had no money to give me, but they did give me the taste for the bitter crinkled ripe olives in large open barrels in front of the counter and for the numerous hard Italian �138 SLOVAKIA cheeses which hung in disarray all around the shop . I did not feel out of place in their home. When some money was again gotten together, we moved to another neighborhood, hardly an improvement over the other, but I was more at home in the new school where a polyglot of nationalities mingled. My mother opened up a small lunch room on the basis of her brief experience in the Greek restaurant next door when she lost her job at the tobacco factory . Her first customers were the men who worked with my stepfather on a WP A badly needed sewer project in front of the house. My mother is a good cook and financially things went well, but I was in my early teens and was desperately conscious of my status and appearance. I needed and wanted money more than ever . If I did not succumb to the spurious invitations of the men in the neighborhood, of whom there were many, it was only because stealing money from my unmathematical mother was easier . This I did with a clear conscience for the money was used for what I considered absolute necessities. I was able to take piano lessons because I told my mother they were half the price of what they actually were. I also paid for my dental care and thus saved my teeth. My brother, unfortunately, had to lose several of his molars because my mother with her false teeth never understood the necessity for dental care. I also used the money to purchase better quality clothing than the money my mother gave me permitted. In spite of this minor leak in my mother's resources, enough money was soon saved to purchase a small house on another street. It was not much of a house. It had no bathroom or central heating but the cellar was almost street level and my stepfather converted it into a small lunch room - which also served as our entrance to the upstairs part of the house . Life went on as before with perhaps less privacy. My mother was in the store from dawn to late at night seven days a week. She even indulged in a little back room bootlegging during prohibition. (For which she had to pay off the local police every month.) This time the money was put into a local bank. She also grudgingly spared some to pay for violin lessons for my brother. ·\ This time the money grew a little faster. •Unforlunately, the bank crash of the thirties took most of it. Undaunted , life went on in the same way. Nothing drastic occurred to alter the further course of monetary gain, except perhaps a rather heavy drain when the problem of schooling came up . �SLOVAKIA 139 My desire for an education was not taken too seriously because of the conflict between my mother and myself over my going out with boys. Her solution of my awareness of the opposite sex was one of violent objection. •\ '' All men only want to use you ,'' she counselled. ' 'They ' 11 only get you into trouble!" she insisted . I believed her for a long time. It was then that I learned that the two children that one of her older sisters had (one died in early adulthood of tuberculosis) were each born illigitimately during her relations with two different men , neither of whom married her. Her other sister, in my mother's opinion , did not fare any better. She had five very small children in as many years , and if her husband had not been killed in a mining accident, she would have had many more . Her conclusion was that a man did not care . A woman had to be independent, smart and take care of herself. Nevertheless, I managed to get through college with help from her and many others. Mostly I worked. My brother , on the other hand , received other advice. " Don 't let any woman make a fool of you, " admonished my mother. " I won 't ," answered my brother. He was immersed in secretly reading a pornographic novel. He was already following her advice in an affair he was having with one of his schoolmates. His schooling was more pleasant than mine for he did not have to work his way , nor did he have to depend on anyone else's charity. When he finally got married, he apologetically explained to my mother , '' I'm sorry for her!' ' Today , he is surprised to see the antagonisms between her and his wife . With both her children out of the way , my mother and my stepfather have no drain on their income except themselves. They live as sparingly as they ever did even in the days when there was very little money. Though their home now has central heating, they keep it so low that a sweater or a jacket is their permanent home attire during the cold weather. They permit themselves no luxuries . The money accumulates. I flatly refused to assist my uncle in bringing Lybushka to America . � SLOVAKIA 133 Success Story ALVENA SECKAR ''Take Lybushka back with you to America,'' urged my uncle. "She' 11 become rich like your mother." "Like my mother!" I repeated to myself. Yes, from the way they looked at it, my mother had done quite well. She had come to America, had married, bore two children, educated them and now owned two houses. They did not know what kind of houses, but that did not alter the basic fact. True, my mother had committed a few sins on the way, like getting divorced and remarrying. She had fallen into a few pitfalls, now and then, but they were past now. Such things are forgiven. The end justifies the means. Lybushka would be a success, too, and her children would be like me. I stared at my uncle. This man was my mother's brother. The resemblance to my mother was startling. He had the same slight build, the same line worn broad face with high cheekbones, and the identical worried looking deep sunken blue gray eyes. He was a little boy when my mother last saw him forty years ago. This was back in the early 1900s when my mother was sixteen, the same age as Lybushka now was. She took off for the mythical land of America to pick the gold off its streets. Her two older sisters who had preceded her were either too ashamed to write back to dispel the fable or else felt that misery should have company and did nothing to prevent my mother from joining them. I looked around. My mother had left this self-same high peaked log house nestled in these unchanging mountains in northern Slovakia. My mind went back to those rare instances when my mother permitted herself to be sentimental, usually after some adverse fortune, and recalled this home with tears in her eyes. My uncle had never left it. He was the only son of a family of four surviving girls. The other children, all seven of them, had died in infancy. His father, my grandfather, had died of pneumonia when my uncle was a little boy and his was the responsibility of continuing the Alvena Seckar is a highly prized writer of children' s stories . This story appears here for the first time. �134 SLOVAKIA family. At first , it had not been too difficult with the additional inheritance of the three sisters who had gone away. True , there had been some squabbles over land ownership with the remaining sister, but they were nothing serious . But now, his family of seven daughters and only one son (Alas!) made it too crowded . " Lybushka was smart in school," continued my uncle. "She learned the Catechism from cover to cover before anyone else! ' ' So had my mother, I mused , in Hungarian, in a school of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. She had learned it by heart, but she had never learned to read or to write. Fortified with such knowledge, my mother had sailed for America . When she talks of that trip, she relates how the first class passengers amused themselves by throwing oranges down to steerage, where she was , to watch the wretched mob scramble , and perhaps fight , for the precious fruit. My remembrance of the trip is identified with that cluster of deep gouged out scars of her upper arm. They are the result of the vaccination against small pox some well meaning but callous civil servant inflicted upon her when she reached these shores. At the dock, her sisters greeted her by stripping her of her hand woven dresses and linens, which they later secretly sold, already wise to their market value. After "Americanizing" her with a cheap cotton dress , they dropped her off as a domestic in a home where there was no verbal communication possible with her new mistress . ''Take the cover off the baby's face!' ' her mistress yelled from the fifth floor down to my mother airing the baby in her carriage down on the sidewalk. My mother wrapped her closer. '' She ' 11 smother! '' the woman screamed . My mother bundled the baby tighter. " You 're fired! " screeched the exasperated woman as she puffed from the exertion of running down the four flights of the sidewalk. The last order with explicit motions was plainly understood . " I didn 't mind," said my mother to me many years later. " She never gave me enough to eat. ' ' Somehow, someway, she found another job, and later, many other jobs for the seven years she remained single. Small pay, starvation and extraordinary hard work characterized this period , first in New York , then in Pittsburgh, where she went with a rlewly found girlfriend on the information that many rich men from the coal mines· and the steel mills were there. This was the boom period when World War I had already started in Europe. �SLOVAKIA 135 Such trials only intensi.fied my mother's efforts to get the gold for which her trip had been made. By this time, if nothing better came her way, she had decided to go back home and directed all her energies toward that goal. She kept her savings for the trip in a roll in her stocking under her long skirt which was then the fashion. A bank as a place to deposit money was not thought of. Just as she almost had enough, she discovered one day that it was gone! With it, her final chance to go back home . World War I was spreading and the miners, now working every day, came into Pittsburgh on their occasional day off. They put on a big front with their lavish spending and my mother must have been swept off her feet by the show of one of them, who became my father . It would be proper to give my mother the benefit of the doubt and say that she fell in love with my father and was not overcome by his display of money. Her married life, as much as I know of it those first few years, will not permit me to state this unequivocally. I know it was a stormy time. Her frugal habits were in continual conflict with my father ' s easy going nature. It deprived him of much pleasure. The excuse of the long hours he worked was of no avail with my mother. By the time the work at the mines slowed down after the war, my mother had saved enough money from his salary, from her taking in other people's wash, and from the two boarders who occupied one of the two bedrooms in the house (My brother and I slept with our parents.), to put a down payment on a farm in distant Connecticut. When she found that my father took to carousing instead of farm work, she gave up the whole idea and moved back to the mines . The next time she accumulated enough money, she was talked into investing it into the founding of a coal mine which turned out to be a grand swindle. The water in the mine could not be pumped out. By this time my father must have been rather weary of such unending and unremunerative effort and took to drinking with even greater gusto. One of the boarders who put up a good show of having money and property found my mother willing to transfer her affections. This happened when I was eight and my brother six. Again, for years, I gave my mother the benefit of the doubt for leaving this man by telling myself and the world that she did so when she found out he was a coal company spy . Actually, he did not have the money or the houses with which he seduced her. In all fairness , though the evidence so far warrants it, I cannot accuse my mother of using wealth as the prime criteria of her attitude toward men. She met the man who was to become my stepfather, legally, when he was working in the hard coal mines . She remained �136 SLOVAKIA loyal to him during a long coal strike, even loaned him some of her hard earned money she made in the shirt factory in which she worked. However, the same painstaking accumulation of money ensued with my stepfather. First, however, his one foible for gambling had to be crushed. This my mother did by unerringly locating where the game was in progress and promptly making a scene on the premises. It was not long before my stepfather was unable to find a place to do his gambling and he resigned himself to go along with my mother. After awhile it was no longer difficult. Their first monetary venture proved no more successful than any of the others my mother had engaged in. Real estate swindlers from a distant industrial city induced them to purchase some house lots on the installment plan. " We have a job for you in a factory there, " they promised. That sounded good to my stepfather who was blacklisted from working in the hard coal mine where he had been on strike. When we all got to the city, the factory job lasted one month before the establishment collapsed in the first throes of the post-war depression. It took longer for my parents to find out the lots were equally spurious . After the last payment was made , several years later, my parents discovered that they and hundreds of others from the coal regions had been defrauded. Since none of the people involved knew each other or what to do , nothing was done and the real estate thieves went on with their merciless racket. Times were hard in the city and my stepfather was part of the large army of unemployed during the depression. My mother came to the rescue and got a job in a tobacco factory. The smell of the tobacco was overpowering and I remember that for weeks she came home vomiting, unable to eat until the tobacco odor was out of her system . " You' 11 get used to it , " said the forelady . My mother did. Another job was hard to get. Not to be outdone, my stepfather set up a small shoe repair shop where he did all the work by hand. His meager earnings together with my mother's were enough to continue payments on the nonexistent lots and even to put some aside. This was done by the utmost economy. Only the smallest electric bulbs were used in our house and the electricity w¥ on only when absolutely necessary. Reading was not a necessity at any time guring my entire childhood and it was left to me to read in my adult life many of the books I should have read as a child. We had no central heating and coal was used very sparingly in our one and only kitchen stove . Even the ashes were carefully picked over for reuse of the partially burned coal. �SLOVAKIA 137 It was bad enough for me at school to be so different from the other children - most of them ~ith American-born parents, for we lived on the fringe of a well-to-do ' area. Added to this self-consciousness in attitude was the discomfiture I felt in my old fashioned home made clothes. The one art which my mother never mastered was sewing. To this day, I feel pained when I look at photographs of myself in some of those homely and shapeless concoctions from reused cloth. In recent years I found out it was due to her poor eyesight, but she would not spare the money for glasses! Only the possession of my own money offered a solution to me. Though I was only twelve, the neighborhood we lived in did provide some opportunities if I could but take them. A Greek restaurant was next door. The bachelor owner often tried to invite me into his back room kitchen. ''I'll give you a nickel,' ' he urged. I shook my head. " I'll give you a quarter!" He was insistent. My mother's call or a customer invariably saved me. Behind us lived a tinsmith. He was from Vienna where his wife and three children lived. He, too, was accumulating money feverishly and unstintingly. He did his own cooking, cleaning and sewing. America was a corrupt land of materialism to him but he was here to make himself a fortune with which he would live the rest of his life in luxury in his beloved Vienna. He tried to be friends with me. "On pay day, I'll give you a dime, " he coaxed. "No," I answered. "I'll take you to the movies," he continued. My mother would find out so I ran away . On the corner was a barber shop. The man who owned it often stood outside as I passed on my way home from school. He smiled, and as he did so showed his ugly shiny front gold tooth. He jingled the coins in his pocket. " Come on in," he invited. Someone would see me. I walked on. Not all our neighbors were set to ensnare me. Near-by was an Italian grocery. From the street it smelled of stale, pungent cheeses and decaying vegetable matter. Mr. and Mrs. Natalo and all seven of their children always filled the store with noise and laughter. I am sure they were their best customers , but they were generous with me, too, asking nothing of me in return. They had no money to give me, but they did give me the taste for the bitter crinkled ripe olives in large open barrels in front of the counter and for the numerous hard Italian �138 SLOVAKIA cheeses which hung in disarray all around the shop . I did not feel out of place in their home. When some money was again gotten together, we moved to another neighborhood, hardly an improvement over the other, but I was more at home in the new school where a polyglot of nationalities mingled. My mother opened up a small lunch room on the basis of her brief experience in the Greek restaurant next door when she lost her job at the tobacco factory . Her first customers were the men who worked with my stepfather on a WP A badly needed sewer project in front of the house. My mother is a good cook and financially things went well, but I was in my early teens and was desperately conscious of my status and appearance. I needed and wanted money more than ever . If I did not succumb to the spurious invitations of the men in the neighborhood, of whom there were many, it was only because stealing money from my unmathematical mother was easier . This I did with a clear conscience for the money was used for what I considered absolute necessities. I was able to take piano lessons because I told my mother they were half the price of what they actually were. I also paid for my dental care and thus saved my teeth. My brother, unfortunately, had to lose several of his molars because my mother with her false teeth never understood the necessity for dental care. I also used the money to purchase better quality clothing than the money my mother gave me permitted. In spite of this minor leak in my mother's resources, enough money was soon saved to purchase a small house on another street. It was not much of a house. It had no bathroom or central heating but the cellar was almost street level and my stepfather converted it into a small lunch room - which also served as our entrance to the upstairs part of the house . Life went on as before with perhaps less privacy. My mother was in the store from dawn to late at night seven days a week. She even indulged in a little back room bootlegging during prohibition. (For which she had to pay off the local police every month.) This time the money was put into a local bank. She also grudgingly spared some to pay for violin lessons for my brother. ·\ This time the money grew a little faster. •Unforlunately, the bank crash of the thirties took most of it. Undaunted , life went on in the same way. Nothing drastic occurred to alter the further course of monetary gain, except perhaps a rather heavy drain when the problem of schooling came up . �SLOVAKIA 139 My desire for an education was not taken too seriously because of the conflict between my mother and myself over my going out with boys. Her solution of my awareness of the opposite sex was one of violent objection. •\ '' All men only want to use you ,'' she counselled. ' 'They ' 11 only get you into trouble!" she insisted . I believed her for a long time. It was then that I learned that the two children that one of her older sisters had (one died in early adulthood of tuberculosis) were each born illigitimately during her relations with two different men , neither of whom married her. Her other sister, in my mother's opinion , did not fare any better. She had five very small children in as many years , and if her husband had not been killed in a mining accident, she would have had many more . Her conclusion was that a man did not care . A woman had to be independent, smart and take care of herself. Nevertheless, I managed to get through college with help from her and many others. Mostly I worked. My brother , on the other hand , received other advice. " Don 't let any woman make a fool of you, " admonished my mother. " I won 't ," answered my brother. He was immersed in secretly reading a pornographic novel. He was already following her advice in an affair he was having with one of his schoolmates. His schooling was more pleasant than mine for he did not have to work his way , nor did he have to depend on anyone else's charity. When he finally got married, he apologetically explained to my mother , '' I'm sorry for her!' ' Today , he is surprised to see the antagonisms between her and his wife . With both her children out of the way , my mother and my stepfather have no drain on their income except themselves. They live as sparingly as they ever did even in the days when there was very little money. Though their home now has central heating, they keep it so low that a sweater or a jacket is their permanent home attire during the cold weather. They permit themselves no luxuries . The money accumulates. I flatly refused to assist my uncle in bringing Lybushka to America . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 133 Success Story ALVENA SECKAR ''Take Lybushka back with you to America,'' urged my uncle. "She' 11 become rich like your mother." "Like my mother!" I repeated to myself. Yes, from the way they looked at it, my mother had done quite well. She had come to America, had married, bore two children, educated them and now owned two houses. They did not know what kind of houses, but that did not alter the basic fact. True, my mother had committed a few sins on the way, like getting divorced and remarrying. She had fallen into a few pitfalls, now and then, but they were past now. Such things are forgiven. The end justifies the means. Lybushka would be a success, too, and her children would be like me. I stared at my uncle. This man was my mother's brother. The resemblance to my mother was startling. He had the same slight build, the same line worn broad face with high cheekbones, and the identical worried looking deep sunken blue gray eyes. He was a little boy when my mother last saw him forty years ago. This was back in the early 1900s when my mother was sixteen, the same age as Lybushka now was. She took off for the mythical land of America to pick the gold off its streets. Her two older sisters who had preceded her were either too ashamed to write back to dispel the fable or else felt that misery should have company and did nothing to prevent my mother from joining them. I looked around. My mother had left this self-same high peaked log house nestled in these unchanging mountains in northern Slovakia. My mind went back to those rare instances when my mother permitted herself to be sentimental, usually after some adverse fortune, and recalled this home with tears in her eyes. My uncle had never left it. He was the only son of a family of four surviving girls. The other children, all seven of them, had died in infancy. His father, my grandfather, had died of pneumonia when my uncle was a little boy and his was the responsibility of continuing the Alvena Seckar is a highly prized writer of children' s stories . This story appears here for the first time. 134 SLOVAKIA family. At first , it had not been too difficult with the additional inheritance of the three sisters who had gone away. True , there had been some squabbles over land ownership with the remaining sister, but they were nothing serious . But now, his family of seven daughters and only one son (Alas!) made it too crowded . " Lybushka was smart in school," continued my uncle. "She learned the Catechism from cover to cover before anyone else! ' ' So had my mother, I mused , in Hungarian, in a school of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. She had learned it by heart, but she had never learned to read or to write. Fortified with such knowledge, my mother had sailed for America . When she talks of that trip, she relates how the first class passengers amused themselves by throwing oranges down to steerage, where she was , to watch the wretched mob scramble , and perhaps fight , for the precious fruit. My remembrance of the trip is identified with that cluster of deep gouged out scars of her upper arm. They are the result of the vaccination against small pox some well meaning but callous civil servant inflicted upon her when she reached these shores. At the dock, her sisters greeted her by stripping her of her hand woven dresses and linens, which they later secretly sold, already wise to their market value. After "Americanizing" her with a cheap cotton dress , they dropped her off as a domestic in a home where there was no verbal communication possible with her new mistress . ''Take the cover off the baby's face!' ' her mistress yelled from the fifth floor down to my mother airing the baby in her carriage down on the sidewalk. My mother wrapped her closer. '' She ' 11 smother! '' the woman screamed . My mother bundled the baby tighter. " You 're fired! " screeched the exasperated woman as she puffed from the exertion of running down the four flights of the sidewalk. The last order with explicit motions was plainly understood . " I didn 't mind," said my mother to me many years later. " She never gave me enough to eat. ' ' Somehow, someway, she found another job, and later, many other jobs for the seven years she remained single. Small pay, starvation and extraordinary hard work characterized this period , first in New York , then in Pittsburgh, where she went with a rlewly found girlfriend on the information that many rich men from the coal mines· and the steel mills were there. This was the boom period when World War I had already started in Europe. SLOVAKIA 135 Such trials only intensi.fied my mother's efforts to get the gold for which her trip had been made. By this time, if nothing better came her way, she had decided to go back home and directed all her energies toward that goal. She kept her savings for the trip in a roll in her stocking under her long skirt which was then the fashion. A bank as a place to deposit money was not thought of. Just as she almost had enough, she discovered one day that it was gone! With it, her final chance to go back home . World War I was spreading and the miners, now working every day, came into Pittsburgh on their occasional day off. They put on a big front with their lavish spending and my mother must have been swept off her feet by the show of one of them, who became my father . It would be proper to give my mother the benefit of the doubt and say that she fell in love with my father and was not overcome by his display of money. Her married life, as much as I know of it those first few years, will not permit me to state this unequivocally. I know it was a stormy time. Her frugal habits were in continual conflict with my father ' s easy going nature. It deprived him of much pleasure. The excuse of the long hours he worked was of no avail with my mother. By the time the work at the mines slowed down after the war, my mother had saved enough money from his salary, from her taking in other people's wash, and from the two boarders who occupied one of the two bedrooms in the house (My brother and I slept with our parents.), to put a down payment on a farm in distant Connecticut. When she found that my father took to carousing instead of farm work, she gave up the whole idea and moved back to the mines . The next time she accumulated enough money, she was talked into investing it into the founding of a coal mine which turned out to be a grand swindle. The water in the mine could not be pumped out. By this time my father must have been rather weary of such unending and unremunerative effort and took to drinking with even greater gusto. One of the boarders who put up a good show of having money and property found my mother willing to transfer her affections. This happened when I was eight and my brother six. Again, for years, I gave my mother the benefit of the doubt for leaving this man by telling myself and the world that she did so when she found out he was a coal company spy . Actually, he did not have the money or the houses with which he seduced her. In all fairness , though the evidence so far warrants it, I cannot accuse my mother of using wealth as the prime criteria of her attitude toward men. She met the man who was to become my stepfather, legally, when he was working in the hard coal mines . She remained 136 SLOVAKIA loyal to him during a long coal strike, even loaned him some of her hard earned money she made in the shirt factory in which she worked. However, the same painstaking accumulation of money ensued with my stepfather. First, however, his one foible for gambling had to be crushed. This my mother did by unerringly locating where the game was in progress and promptly making a scene on the premises. It was not long before my stepfather was unable to find a place to do his gambling and he resigned himself to go along with my mother. After awhile it was no longer difficult. Their first monetary venture proved no more successful than any of the others my mother had engaged in. Real estate swindlers from a distant industrial city induced them to purchase some house lots on the installment plan. " We have a job for you in a factory there, " they promised. That sounded good to my stepfather who was blacklisted from working in the hard coal mine where he had been on strike. When we all got to the city, the factory job lasted one month before the establishment collapsed in the first throes of the post-war depression. It took longer for my parents to find out the lots were equally spurious . After the last payment was made , several years later, my parents discovered that they and hundreds of others from the coal regions had been defrauded. Since none of the people involved knew each other or what to do , nothing was done and the real estate thieves went on with their merciless racket. Times were hard in the city and my stepfather was part of the large army of unemployed during the depression. My mother came to the rescue and got a job in a tobacco factory. The smell of the tobacco was overpowering and I remember that for weeks she came home vomiting, unable to eat until the tobacco odor was out of her system . " You' 11 get used to it , " said the forelady . My mother did. Another job was hard to get. Not to be outdone, my stepfather set up a small shoe repair shop where he did all the work by hand. His meager earnings together with my mother's were enough to continue payments on the nonexistent lots and even to put some aside. This was done by the utmost economy. Only the smallest electric bulbs were used in our house and the electricity w¥ on only when absolutely necessary. Reading was not a necessity at any time guring my entire childhood and it was left to me to read in my adult life many of the books I should have read as a child. We had no central heating and coal was used very sparingly in our one and only kitchen stove . Even the ashes were carefully picked over for reuse of the partially burned coal. SLOVAKIA 137 It was bad enough for me at school to be so different from the other children - most of them ~ith American-born parents, for we lived on the fringe of a well-to-do ' area. Added to this self-consciousness in attitude was the discomfiture I felt in my old fashioned home made clothes. The one art which my mother never mastered was sewing. To this day, I feel pained when I look at photographs of myself in some of those homely and shapeless concoctions from reused cloth. In recent years I found out it was due to her poor eyesight, but she would not spare the money for glasses! Only the possession of my own money offered a solution to me. Though I was only twelve, the neighborhood we lived in did provide some opportunities if I could but take them. A Greek restaurant was next door. The bachelor owner often tried to invite me into his back room kitchen. ''I'll give you a nickel,' ' he urged. I shook my head. " I'll give you a quarter!" He was insistent. My mother's call or a customer invariably saved me. Behind us lived a tinsmith. He was from Vienna where his wife and three children lived. He, too, was accumulating money feverishly and unstintingly. He did his own cooking, cleaning and sewing. America was a corrupt land of materialism to him but he was here to make himself a fortune with which he would live the rest of his life in luxury in his beloved Vienna. He tried to be friends with me. "On pay day, I'll give you a dime, " he coaxed. "No," I answered. "I'll take you to the movies," he continued. My mother would find out so I ran away . On the corner was a barber shop. The man who owned it often stood outside as I passed on my way home from school. He smiled, and as he did so showed his ugly shiny front gold tooth. He jingled the coins in his pocket. " Come on in," he invited. Someone would see me. I walked on. Not all our neighbors were set to ensnare me. Near-by was an Italian grocery. From the street it smelled of stale, pungent cheeses and decaying vegetable matter. Mr. and Mrs. Natalo and all seven of their children always filled the store with noise and laughter. I am sure they were their best customers , but they were generous with me, too, asking nothing of me in return. They had no money to give me, but they did give me the taste for the bitter crinkled ripe olives in large open barrels in front of the counter and for the numerous hard Italian 138 SLOVAKIA cheeses which hung in disarray all around the shop . I did not feel out of place in their home. When some money was again gotten together, we moved to another neighborhood, hardly an improvement over the other, but I was more at home in the new school where a polyglot of nationalities mingled. My mother opened up a small lunch room on the basis of her brief experience in the Greek restaurant next door when she lost her job at the tobacco factory . Her first customers were the men who worked with my stepfather on a WP A badly needed sewer project in front of the house. My mother is a good cook and financially things went well, but I was in my early teens and was desperately conscious of my status and appearance. I needed and wanted money more than ever . If I did not succumb to the spurious invitations of the men in the neighborhood, of whom there were many, it was only because stealing money from my unmathematical mother was easier . This I did with a clear conscience for the money was used for what I considered absolute necessities. I was able to take piano lessons because I told my mother they were half the price of what they actually were. I also paid for my dental care and thus saved my teeth. My brother, unfortunately, had to lose several of his molars because my mother with her false teeth never understood the necessity for dental care. I also used the money to purchase better quality clothing than the money my mother gave me permitted. In spite of this minor leak in my mother's resources, enough money was soon saved to purchase a small house on another street. It was not much of a house. It had no bathroom or central heating but the cellar was almost street level and my stepfather converted it into a small lunch room - which also served as our entrance to the upstairs part of the house . Life went on as before with perhaps less privacy. My mother was in the store from dawn to late at night seven days a week. She even indulged in a little back room bootlegging during prohibition. (For which she had to pay off the local police every month.) This time the money was put into a local bank. She also grudgingly spared some to pay for violin lessons for my brother. ·\ This time the money grew a little faster. •Unforlunately, the bank crash of the thirties took most of it. Undaunted , life went on in the same way. Nothing drastic occurred to alter the further course of monetary gain, except perhaps a rather heavy drain when the problem of schooling came up . SLOVAKIA 139 My desire for an education was not taken too seriously because of the conflict between my mother and myself over my going out with boys. Her solution of my awareness of the opposite sex was one of violent objection. •\ '' All men only want to use you ,'' she counselled. ' 'They ' 11 only get you into trouble!" she insisted . I believed her for a long time. It was then that I learned that the two children that one of her older sisters had (one died in early adulthood of tuberculosis) were each born illigitimately during her relations with two different men , neither of whom married her. Her other sister, in my mother's opinion , did not fare any better. She had five very small children in as many years , and if her husband had not been killed in a mining accident, she would have had many more . Her conclusion was that a man did not care . A woman had to be independent, smart and take care of herself. Nevertheless, I managed to get through college with help from her and many others. Mostly I worked. My brother , on the other hand , received other advice. " Don 't let any woman make a fool of you, " admonished my mother. " I won 't ," answered my brother. He was immersed in secretly reading a pornographic novel. He was already following her advice in an affair he was having with one of his schoolmates. His schooling was more pleasant than mine for he did not have to work his way , nor did he have to depend on anyone else's charity. When he finally got married, he apologetically explained to my mother , '' I'm sorry for her!' ' Today , he is surprised to see the antagonisms between her and his wife . With both her children out of the way , my mother and my stepfather have no drain on their income except themselves. They live as sparingly as they ever did even in the days when there was very little money. Though their home now has central heating, they keep it so low that a sweater or a jacket is their permanent home attire during the cold weather. They permit themselves no luxuries . The money accumulates. I flatly refused to assist my uncle in bringing Lybushka to America .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Success Story Description An account of the resource Alvena Seckar Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 133-139 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seckar, Alvena, 1916-2012 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/66f12b876d0eb9f889e2e97a879c1f96.pdf e6d873eebdce88e265fc0dbd28f25e23 PDF Text Text 140 SLOVAKIA The New Spring (a fragment) r:uoo ONDREJOV (1901-1962) Jergus's comrades, Joe Kosalkula and Steve Fasanga Cengac, invited him to play with them in the huge sooty building at the end of the yard.* In the semidarkness of the large hall multicolored flames burned - blue and green, violet and white. On the hearth there was a sledge hammer. Half the size of a man, it lay on a huge anvil. The hammer's handle was made of a regular girder which extended to a colossal cogwheel. The boys told Jergus: ''They put a large chunk of copper into the fire and heat it until it is white-hot and bursting with sparks. Then the men grasp the copper with long pliers and bring it to the anvil. Then they let water flow on the large wheel. The wheel turns and the cogs grasp the girder handle, pushing down its end. The sledge rises. And when the wheel continues turning, the handle slips down from the cog and the sledge strikes the anvil. As the wheel turns, the sledge repeatedly hits the anvil, while the men turn and set the copper for the hammer's blows. They make a thick and heavy caldron with the copper. After it cools, the men put the caldron into a machine which tosses the caldron about until the caldron breaks into many thin kettles. That's what they do here . . . '' To the right of the hearth, there were many vats filled with a lightblue liquid. Jergus 's comrades said that the liquid was a solution of saltpeter. The solution was supposed to contain a large percentage of copper. The workers put copper plates in it and the copper from the saltpeter solution settled onto the plates. The boys decided to play a game of hide-and-seek among the vats . The large hall - with its numerous half-dark spaces, narrow corridors , and dark corners - was excellent for such an enterprise. The boys could not use the adjacent rooms for their play. The workers were sleeping there during their noon-break - and they were not to be disturbed. So one boy finding the other one would just cry, " Pamparitsa-poor, no one more!" and touch him w}th his hand. The one who . - • The first sentence has been expanded to provide background material. �SLOVAKIA 141 was found was then supposed to seek the others. The game was really excellent . The boys could play until one o'clock when the men were to wake up and begin their afternoon shift. The boys played an(\ cried and hid. Conducted with a silence like that which pervades an underground realm, their game was mysterious and exciting. The boy who was " it" sneaked about on his tiptoes only his face shining fearfully in the unusual light - looking, peeking, finding, and crying, " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " His voice echoed throughout the large , dark hall, flying into the comers, leaping from floor to ceiling, and dying slowly as if choked by the darkness. One of the hidden boys tried to run away, but the seeker caught him and grabbed him by his shoulder. The boy was forced to surrender and become " it ." Jergus hid behind the vats , crawling from one little comer to another. Joe Kosalkula was " it. " No one knew where Steve Fasanga was. Suddenly Jergus chanced to come face to face with Joe Kosalkula. " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " Joe called out, running after Jergus . And there! - Jergus suddenly heard unusual stamping, blows , and cries amid the vats . Steve Fasanga cried and moaned painfully. The pounding of feet drew toward Jergus. The factory owner rolled out from behind a vat. With a rubber hose in his hand and a fiendish smirk on his face , he swung his hand and struck Joe Kosalkula. Joe fell to the floor , emitting a bleat like a lamb whose leg has been broken by an angry shepherd. Jergus started running away. But where to? There was only one exit from the narrow corridor and that was now guarded by the owner with the rubber hose in his hand! Jergus leaped into a comer and turned around. The owner rushed toward him, striking him violently on the left arm. The slash of the hose reached from Jergus's arm around the entire width of his back. " Here 's your 'pa.mparitsa-poor!' " the owner said , sneering and baring his rotten teeth. " I'll teach you good manners! " he added as he wheeled around and left. Jergus 's face contracted in pain. He took hold of his arm . Its aching almost made him faint. Hearing the cries of Steve Fasanga and Joe Kosalkula, he called, " Let' s go ! Let's not let him whip us any more !'' But neither Steve nor Joe ca.me. They just wept where they were hiding, softer and softer, and finally stopped crying. Squeezing his left arm and clenching his teeth from pain, Jergus staggered through the corridor between the vats , through the huge , sooty building, and out into the open air. He crossed the yard and slid around the cottage gate and past the watchman, " Uncle " ~osalkula, �142 SLOVAKIA who sat smoking his pipe. Turning the corner into the little street, Jergus - still recalling vividly the owner with the devil's tail in his hand - reached a hillock covered with Scotch pines and dwarf shrubbery. At the foot of the hillock, the birds announced the arrival of the new spring. Crested larks whistled and sang, hopping on their thin little legs. Linnets, siskins, and goldfinches warbled as if competing with each other. All the birds cocked their heads, looking upward to the endless sky which no one could approach or touch, not even from the peaks of the distant tall mountains. "The new spring has arrived! A new spring, a happy spring, with flowers and creeks, with breezes combing grass and climbing trees, is here! '' The birds sang gaily. ''Spring, new spring, and full of joy .. . '' Jergus sighed deeply and walked up the hillock's slope. He followed the rocky path, upward, upward. He went up to the Cold Pit and around it to the sheep farm. And walking slowly he drew further away from the city , clenching his teeth and squeezing his dislocated arm more tightly . All the marks of a happy childhood faded from his face. His childhood was dying, suddenly and forever. Instead of a boy, an embittered young man bearing the mark of a whip came to the shepherd's hut . The head shepherd was cleaning the hut. The shepherds and the herd boys were assembling the sheepfold enclosures and making lastminute repairs . His teeth still clenched, squeezing his arm, Jergus stopped at the hut 's doorstep . '' What is it, my son?'' the chief shepherd asked. Jergus told him everything. " Well , why did you go down there among the rich? " the shepherd asked crossly, examining Jergus's arm . The arm cracked and hurt, but J ergus let no word slip through his clenched teeth. "I told you, stay away from the rich! You don 't belong with them . You'd better remain with us as a herd boy , '' the shepherd added, setting the dislocated joint into its place. Jergus sat on the bench. He bowed his head for a while, then lay down on the bench and fell asleep. The shepherd covered him with a warm sheepskin coat. '\ (1937) � 140 SLOVAKIA The New Spring (a fragment) r:uoo ONDREJOV (1901-1962) Jergus's comrades, Joe Kosalkula and Steve Fasanga Cengac, invited him to play with them in the huge sooty building at the end of the yard.* In the semidarkness of the large hall multicolored flames burned - blue and green, violet and white. On the hearth there was a sledge hammer. Half the size of a man, it lay on a huge anvil. The hammer's handle was made of a regular girder which extended to a colossal cogwheel. The boys told Jergus: ''They put a large chunk of copper into the fire and heat it until it is white-hot and bursting with sparks. Then the men grasp the copper with long pliers and bring it to the anvil. Then they let water flow on the large wheel. The wheel turns and the cogs grasp the girder handle, pushing down its end. The sledge rises. And when the wheel continues turning, the handle slips down from the cog and the sledge strikes the anvil. As the wheel turns, the sledge repeatedly hits the anvil, while the men turn and set the copper for the hammer's blows. They make a thick and heavy caldron with the copper. After it cools, the men put the caldron into a machine which tosses the caldron about until the caldron breaks into many thin kettles. That's what they do here . . . '' To the right of the hearth, there were many vats filled with a lightblue liquid. Jergus 's comrades said that the liquid was a solution of saltpeter. The solution was supposed to contain a large percentage of copper. The workers put copper plates in it and the copper from the saltpeter solution settled onto the plates. The boys decided to play a game of hide-and-seek among the vats . The large hall - with its numerous half-dark spaces, narrow corridors , and dark corners - was excellent for such an enterprise. The boys could not use the adjacent rooms for their play. The workers were sleeping there during their noon-break - and they were not to be disturbed. So one boy finding the other one would just cry, " Pamparitsa-poor, no one more!" and touch him w}th his hand. The one who . - • The first sentence has been expanded to provide background material. �SLOVAKIA 141 was found was then supposed to seek the others. The game was really excellent . The boys could play until one o'clock when the men were to wake up and begin their afternoon shift. The boys played an(\ cried and hid. Conducted with a silence like that which pervades an underground realm, their game was mysterious and exciting. The boy who was " it" sneaked about on his tiptoes only his face shining fearfully in the unusual light - looking, peeking, finding, and crying, " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " His voice echoed throughout the large , dark hall, flying into the comers, leaping from floor to ceiling, and dying slowly as if choked by the darkness. One of the hidden boys tried to run away, but the seeker caught him and grabbed him by his shoulder. The boy was forced to surrender and become " it ." Jergus hid behind the vats , crawling from one little comer to another. Joe Kosalkula was " it. " No one knew where Steve Fasanga was. Suddenly Jergus chanced to come face to face with Joe Kosalkula. " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " Joe called out, running after Jergus . And there! - Jergus suddenly heard unusual stamping, blows , and cries amid the vats . Steve Fasanga cried and moaned painfully. The pounding of feet drew toward Jergus. The factory owner rolled out from behind a vat. With a rubber hose in his hand and a fiendish smirk on his face , he swung his hand and struck Joe Kosalkula. Joe fell to the floor , emitting a bleat like a lamb whose leg has been broken by an angry shepherd. Jergus started running away. But where to? There was only one exit from the narrow corridor and that was now guarded by the owner with the rubber hose in his hand! Jergus leaped into a comer and turned around. The owner rushed toward him, striking him violently on the left arm. The slash of the hose reached from Jergus's arm around the entire width of his back. " Here 's your 'pa.mparitsa-poor!' " the owner said , sneering and baring his rotten teeth. " I'll teach you good manners! " he added as he wheeled around and left. Jergus 's face contracted in pain. He took hold of his arm . Its aching almost made him faint. Hearing the cries of Steve Fasanga and Joe Kosalkula, he called, " Let' s go ! Let's not let him whip us any more !'' But neither Steve nor Joe ca.me. They just wept where they were hiding, softer and softer, and finally stopped crying. Squeezing his left arm and clenching his teeth from pain, Jergus staggered through the corridor between the vats , through the huge , sooty building, and out into the open air. He crossed the yard and slid around the cottage gate and past the watchman, " Uncle " ~osalkula, �142 SLOVAKIA who sat smoking his pipe. Turning the corner into the little street, Jergus - still recalling vividly the owner with the devil's tail in his hand - reached a hillock covered with Scotch pines and dwarf shrubbery. At the foot of the hillock, the birds announced the arrival of the new spring. Crested larks whistled and sang, hopping on their thin little legs. Linnets, siskins, and goldfinches warbled as if competing with each other. All the birds cocked their heads, looking upward to the endless sky which no one could approach or touch, not even from the peaks of the distant tall mountains. "The new spring has arrived! A new spring, a happy spring, with flowers and creeks, with breezes combing grass and climbing trees, is here! '' The birds sang gaily. ''Spring, new spring, and full of joy .. . '' Jergus sighed deeply and walked up the hillock's slope. He followed the rocky path, upward, upward. He went up to the Cold Pit and around it to the sheep farm. And walking slowly he drew further away from the city , clenching his teeth and squeezing his dislocated arm more tightly . All the marks of a happy childhood faded from his face. His childhood was dying, suddenly and forever. Instead of a boy, an embittered young man bearing the mark of a whip came to the shepherd's hut . The head shepherd was cleaning the hut. The shepherds and the herd boys were assembling the sheepfold enclosures and making lastminute repairs . His teeth still clenched, squeezing his arm, Jergus stopped at the hut 's doorstep . '' What is it, my son?'' the chief shepherd asked. Jergus told him everything. " Well , why did you go down there among the rich? " the shepherd asked crossly, examining Jergus's arm . The arm cracked and hurt, but J ergus let no word slip through his clenched teeth. "I told you, stay away from the rich! You don 't belong with them . You'd better remain with us as a herd boy , '' the shepherd added, setting the dislocated joint into its place. Jergus sat on the bench. He bowed his head for a while, then lay down on the bench and fell asleep. The shepherd covered him with a warm sheepskin coat. '\ (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 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 140 SLOVAKIA The New Spring (a fragment) r:uoo ONDREJOV (1901-1962) Jergus's comrades, Joe Kosalkula and Steve Fasanga Cengac, invited him to play with them in the huge sooty building at the end of the yard.* In the semidarkness of the large hall multicolored flames burned - blue and green, violet and white. On the hearth there was a sledge hammer. Half the size of a man, it lay on a huge anvil. The hammer's handle was made of a regular girder which extended to a colossal cogwheel. The boys told Jergus: ''They put a large chunk of copper into the fire and heat it until it is white-hot and bursting with sparks. Then the men grasp the copper with long pliers and bring it to the anvil. Then they let water flow on the large wheel. The wheel turns and the cogs grasp the girder handle, pushing down its end. The sledge rises. And when the wheel continues turning, the handle slips down from the cog and the sledge strikes the anvil. As the wheel turns, the sledge repeatedly hits the anvil, while the men turn and set the copper for the hammer's blows. They make a thick and heavy caldron with the copper. After it cools, the men put the caldron into a machine which tosses the caldron about until the caldron breaks into many thin kettles. That's what they do here . . . '' To the right of the hearth, there were many vats filled with a lightblue liquid. Jergus 's comrades said that the liquid was a solution of saltpeter. The solution was supposed to contain a large percentage of copper. The workers put copper plates in it and the copper from the saltpeter solution settled onto the plates. The boys decided to play a game of hide-and-seek among the vats . The large hall - with its numerous half-dark spaces, narrow corridors , and dark corners - was excellent for such an enterprise. The boys could not use the adjacent rooms for their play. The workers were sleeping there during their noon-break - and they were not to be disturbed. So one boy finding the other one would just cry, " Pamparitsa-poor, no one more!" and touch him w}th his hand. The one who . - • The first sentence has been expanded to provide background material. SLOVAKIA 141 was found was then supposed to seek the others. The game was really excellent . The boys could play until one o'clock when the men were to wake up and begin their afternoon shift. The boys played an(\ cried and hid. Conducted with a silence like that which pervades an underground realm, their game was mysterious and exciting. The boy who was " it" sneaked about on his tiptoes only his face shining fearfully in the unusual light - looking, peeking, finding, and crying, " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " His voice echoed throughout the large , dark hall, flying into the comers, leaping from floor to ceiling, and dying slowly as if choked by the darkness. One of the hidden boys tried to run away, but the seeker caught him and grabbed him by his shoulder. The boy was forced to surrender and become " it ." Jergus hid behind the vats , crawling from one little comer to another. Joe Kosalkula was " it. " No one knew where Steve Fasanga was. Suddenly Jergus chanced to come face to face with Joe Kosalkula. " Pa.mparitsa-poor! " Joe called out, running after Jergus . And there! - Jergus suddenly heard unusual stamping, blows , and cries amid the vats . Steve Fasanga cried and moaned painfully. The pounding of feet drew toward Jergus. The factory owner rolled out from behind a vat. With a rubber hose in his hand and a fiendish smirk on his face , he swung his hand and struck Joe Kosalkula. Joe fell to the floor , emitting a bleat like a lamb whose leg has been broken by an angry shepherd. Jergus started running away. But where to? There was only one exit from the narrow corridor and that was now guarded by the owner with the rubber hose in his hand! Jergus leaped into a comer and turned around. The owner rushed toward him, striking him violently on the left arm. The slash of the hose reached from Jergus's arm around the entire width of his back. " Here 's your 'pa.mparitsa-poor!' " the owner said , sneering and baring his rotten teeth. " I'll teach you good manners! " he added as he wheeled around and left. Jergus 's face contracted in pain. He took hold of his arm . Its aching almost made him faint. Hearing the cries of Steve Fasanga and Joe Kosalkula, he called, " Let' s go ! Let's not let him whip us any more !'' But neither Steve nor Joe ca.me. They just wept where they were hiding, softer and softer, and finally stopped crying. Squeezing his left arm and clenching his teeth from pain, Jergus staggered through the corridor between the vats , through the huge , sooty building, and out into the open air. He crossed the yard and slid around the cottage gate and past the watchman, " Uncle " ~osalkula, 142 SLOVAKIA who sat smoking his pipe. Turning the corner into the little street, Jergus - still recalling vividly the owner with the devil's tail in his hand - reached a hillock covered with Scotch pines and dwarf shrubbery. At the foot of the hillock, the birds announced the arrival of the new spring. Crested larks whistled and sang, hopping on their thin little legs. Linnets, siskins, and goldfinches warbled as if competing with each other. All the birds cocked their heads, looking upward to the endless sky which no one could approach or touch, not even from the peaks of the distant tall mountains. "The new spring has arrived! A new spring, a happy spring, with flowers and creeks, with breezes combing grass and climbing trees, is here! '' The birds sang gaily. ''Spring, new spring, and full of joy .. . '' Jergus sighed deeply and walked up the hillock's slope. He followed the rocky path, upward, upward. He went up to the Cold Pit and around it to the sheep farm. And walking slowly he drew further away from the city , clenching his teeth and squeezing his dislocated arm more tightly . All the marks of a happy childhood faded from his face. His childhood was dying, suddenly and forever. Instead of a boy, an embittered young man bearing the mark of a whip came to the shepherd's hut . The head shepherd was cleaning the hut. The shepherds and the herd boys were assembling the sheepfold enclosures and making lastminute repairs . His teeth still clenched, squeezing his arm, Jergus stopped at the hut 's doorstep . '' What is it, my son?'' the chief shepherd asked. Jergus told him everything. " Well , why did you go down there among the rich? " the shepherd asked crossly, examining Jergus's arm . The arm cracked and hurt, but J ergus let no word slip through his clenched teeth. "I told you, stay away from the rich! You don 't belong with them . You'd better remain with us as a herd boy , '' the shepherd added, setting the dislocated joint into its place. Jergus sat on the bench. He bowed his head for a while, then lay down on the bench and fell asleep. The shepherd covered him with a warm sheepskin coat. '\ (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 New Spring (a fragment) Description An account of the resource Ľudo Ondrejov Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79 pp. 140-142 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ondrejov, Ľudo, 1901-1962 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/3b8af822c65ba828deef44e1353fb2b1.pdf 11dee0bf0858df101dd6d3ed494a52b9 PDF Text Text \ ' BOOK REVIEWS ��SLOVAKIA 145 \ The 'Guns of Lattimer Review by PAUL WILKES Michael Novak, THE GUNS OF LATTIMER: The true story of a massacre and trial, August 1897-March 1898 (Basic Books, New York, 1978), XX-276p., $10.95. It's so difficult for those of us Slovaks, born in this country and who never have had to escape from or face open oppression, to get an accurate picture of what members of our families had to face when they came to America in the mass migration near the tum of the century. Yes, we've heard or read that living conditions were intolerable in Europe and working conditions here deplorable. But, we have little notion of the abuse our grandparents faced from allegedly '' good Americans." We may have an inkling today that we are often considered peripheral to the political and economic centers of power, but do we really know anything about the scorn that our forebears faced? That they survived economically is a triumph; that they did not succumb to the psychological abuse is a miracle . In Michael Novak's The Guns of Lattimer we see that Slavic people, Slovaks among them, were looked upon as amoral, shiftless drunks, a lower class of people, part of a "dung heap of humanity." And so, when a group of Pennsylvania anthracite coal miners presented some simple .demands (for example, that they not be required to do business with a company store that charged exorbitant prices nor be physically abused by their bosses) the police and mine owners banded together to crush these " Hunkies" who dared petition for the redress of grievances. After all, who did they think they were? The Slavs were supposed to go into the mines, be paid only for the coal they brought out and should ask for no more. The miners, plagued by low wages, limited work, an alien tax and virtually no benefits, marched through coal towns and patches around Hazleton , gathering strength until they numbered two thousand . Armed with only spirit - now free after nine centuries of repression in Europe - and an American flag they thought would be a symbol of their patriotism and their protection, they were stopped by a heavily armed force near the tiny hamlet of Lattimer Mines on September 10, 1897 . The flag they so proudly carried infuriated the sheriff's deputies, who tore it up before their eyes. �146 SLOVAKIA The rest is history. Although unarmed, the miners were later accused of fomenting the fight and of firing the first shot. The deputies began firing into the crowd and three inch bullets, which were capable of piercing metal, and powerful buckshot tore into human flesh. Nineteen men died, the majority of them Slovak. Thirty-nine were seriously injured and some never worked again . Most were shot in the back. Michael Novak has given us an historically thorough and vivid picture of the march and the massacre and a look into the lives of Slovaks at that time. His is a balanced approach . He does not idealize the miners; he's quite willing to point out their shortcomings, to talk about their meekness as well as their latent hostility. The overwhelming sentiment that comes through in reading the book is one of sadness and the realization that peaceful demonstrators have faced the ire of threatened power structures from Lattimer to Kent State to Jackson State and were mercilessly butchered for their beliefs. In each case, they did not seek violence, but violence and death were meted out to them. Lattimer is a classic case of the haves and have nots; the handful of powerful families , with their intermarriages and interlocking directorships and ownerships , effectively telling the rest of the community how they will live . And when the have nots want more they are not looked upon as reasonable men and women but automatically and categorically as potential destroyers of the fabric of society . Instead of listening to just demands for food and safer conditions (on the average, two miners died in accidents every three days) the ruling powers struck out, with force far beyond what was required. Novak 's portions about immigrant family life (particularly of conditions in the mines and a beautiful section about the romance of Ben Sakmar and Maureen, an Irish girl) made me hunger for more . Also. a tightly reasoned introduction to the book is of inestimable value in understanding the Slovak mentality of the time . The literature about the Slovak immigrants is so scanty and often romanticized so I hope The Guns of Lattimer is just the first of many books about the immig rant experience so that we can better understand ourselves today by knowing what we were like yesterday. �SLOVAKIA 147 The Czec_hs in. America/Slovaks in America \ Review by JUNE GRANATIR ALEXANDER University of Minnesota THE CZECHS IN AMERICA 1633-1977 - A CHRONOLOGY AND FACT BOOK. Compiled by Vera Laska. (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1978), 152 pages, $6.50. SLOVAKS IN AMERICA - A BICENTENNIAL STUDY. Compiled by Joseph C. Krajsa et al. (Middletown, Pennsylvania: Jednota Slovak American Publishing House, 1978), xi-494 pages, $26.50 . During the last decade the surging interest in America's ethnic groups has spurred many Americans , especially those tracing their origins to Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe to seek more information about the history of their ancestors in America. Responding to this intensified interest , members of various ethnic groups have undertaken to compile bibliographies , "fact" books, and histories of their respective groups. The Czechs in America 1633-1977 by Vera Laska and Slovaks in America, published unde r the auspices of the Slovak League of America, attempt to detail information about Czech and Slovak immigrants and their descendants in the United States . Vera Laska 's Czechs in America is divided into three parts . The first section, entitled "Chronology," gives a year-by-year listing of events in Czech American history from the seventeenth century to the present . The second part, labeled ''Documents,'' contains selections describing Czech life in America and the third section is an Appendix of tables which provides statistics on population , geographical distribution, religion , and education of Czech Americans . A short bibliography is also included. The scholar looking to Laska 's chronology for facts will be quickly and sadly disappointed . This section is a listing of often unrelated items ranging from one sentence entries noting isolated events such as marriage , purchase of land , or some other activity by a person presumably of Czech origin, to longer slightly more detailed entries. In several cases Professor Laska makes claims that persons included in the chronology are Czech on the highly questionable basis of name alone. Professor Laska 's occasional use of phrases " it is said, " "the story is told, " and "some say," makes some of her entries more �148 SLOVAKIA hearsay than historical fact. The work is further marred by various types of factual errors. In some instances Laska fails to present her material accurately. For example she cites Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana as the source for the fact that Jan Amos Komensky was offered the presidency of Harvard College in 1642 (p. 2) when her source actually says this occurred in 1654. Samuel Eliot Morison (The Founding of Harvard College, 1936) explains the discrepancy in dates but clearly Mather was not the source for the 1642 date. Contrary to Laska' s claim, the Lincoln Rifle Company (p. 18) was actually "The Lincoln Riflemen of Slavonic Origin, '' and included Magyars, Slovaks , and Czechs; whether it " was framed by 50 Czech volunteers " is highly questionable. These represent only a few examples of errors in the chronology. Much of the material presented by Laska, especially for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be found in Thomas Capek's The Cechs in America (1920) in a more expanded form. Indeed, several of Professor Laska' s entries are strikingly and disturbingly similar to material contained in Capek. (E.g., compare Laska pp. 7-8 to Capek pp. 159-160 and Laska p . 8 to Capek pp. 25-26.) However, Capek although extolling the role of Czechs in American history, often exercised more caution and revealed more objectivity in presenting his material than Laska does. If Professor Laska's goal was to present a factual, chronological picture of Czech history in America, she fell short of her goal. The documents section of Czechs in America is more useful. Some may quibble with the inclusion of published articles from Charities , an early twentieth century magazine, and selections from histories published in 1928 , 1929, 1939 and 1962 as "documents. " Still, Laska chose excerpts from these works that attempt to relate the history and experiences of the common immigrants - sometimes in their own words - instead of focusing on " leaders" as so many works on immigrants are prone to do. Professor Laska offers translations of early newspaper articles and works published in Czech and thereby provides the general public unable to read Czech with an opportunity to read material otherwise unavailable. However, scholars of Czech American history will probably find this section of little benefit. The Appendix consists of tables copied mainly from Capek's Cech's in America and three annual reports on immigration. Again, the general public may find these interesting but scholars will want ,to examine the original sources. ' For a chronology and fact book, the index leaves much to be desired. It includes entries only for the ''Chronology'' section and often lists only the last name of a person if that is all that is included in the �SLOVAKIA 149 main entry. In some cases, Laska may have been unable to locate names of lesser known i:Q1migrants such as a physician in Chicago but a quick check of the Dict(onary of American Biography would have revealed the first name of Ziegler, the sponsor of a Polar expedition, as William. Since the index includes only names and excludes organizations and geographical locations one is forced to plod through the entire book for desired information. In sum, because of the factual errors, questionable claims, and lack of careful verification of material Czechs in America is not a reliable source and contributes little information to the history of Czechs in America. Slovaks in America represents an attempt to chronicle the history of Slovak immigrants and their organizations in the United States. Compiled as a Bicentennial study by an eight-member editorial board, Slovaks in America is divided into six parts arranged on a topical instead of chronological basis. The first part, under the general rubric "Historical and Cultural Studies," consists of seven essays by six different authors. The selections, culled primarily from secondary sources, are in the main readable and will be informative to the general public, even though they often lack real objectivity. The essays "The Slovak Presence in America to 1890," by Sister M. Martina Tybor and "Slovak American Fraternal, Civic and Cultural Organizations" by Stephanie 0. Husek represent the best attempts to offer interpretative analysis. The other essays in this first part concern: religion, the Slovak League, journalism, Slovakia, and the Slovak heritage in America. The authors of these essays tend to narrate rather than analyze their topics in any depth. The other major sections of Slovaks in America are divided into the following categories: fraternals, religious organizations, local organizations and lodges, local parishes, and ''representative cultural organizations." These sections give general histories of various organizations from their inception to the present and include a final part of various Bicentennial activities conducted by Slovaks. But, the editors should have more clearly and carefully alerted readers that these sections are not inclusive. The "Forward" to Slovaks in America describes this work "as a truly encyclopedic presentation of the origin, growth and development of Slovak American colonies with their local and regional organizations.'' However, in a brief explanation of methods used to compile the volume, which is located near the end of the book, the editor explains that the volume is not inclusive. If the editors did not receive material from an organization or group by a printing deadline, that group or organization, it appears, was simply ignored. Consequently, because of this editorial policy, some major Slovak organiza- �150 SLOVAKIA tions are not included in Slovaks in America. Given the title of this work and the description given in the " Forward, " as a service to their potential readers, the editors should not have buried this crucial explanation about the contents and limitations of the volume near the end of the book under the inadvertently misleading title of "In Appreciation. ' ' Due to the editorial policy adopted for compiling Slovaks in America, the various sections within this volume offer a select sampling of Slovak institutions. The section on churches does not include all the Slovak parishes in the United States. Many Catholic churches are missing but more noticeable is the lack of Protestant ones. Only two Lutheran parishes found their way into the collection and no Calvin (Presbyterian) churches are mentioned. The tendency to accentuate Roman Catholic institutions over Protestant is evident in all the other sections as well. The history of the First Catholic Slovak Union merits 68 pages with a year by year chronicle of events. The history of the National Slovak Society is included in a two page biography of Peter V. Rovnianek which does, however, offer a refreshingly objective analysis of the causes for the failure of his Pittsburgh bank. The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union receives twenty-four pages as opposed to its nonsecular counterpart , Zivena's one . There is no history of the Slovak Evangelical Union, the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union or even the Greek Catholic Union. The only references to non-Catholic Slovak religious groups are a 3 ¼ page history of the Slovak Zion Synod and approximately two pages on Lutherans by Daniel F. Tanzone in his essay on religious developments among Slovaks which also includes one short paragraph on Calvins. In a lengthy book with the pretentious title of Slovaks in America, more attention should have been devoted to Slovak Protestants who, like Roman Catholics, recognized their nationality by forming and joining "Slovak" organizations. Overall, Slovaks in America displays a weakness that is unfortunately evident in many ethnic histories: in its desire to praise the accomplishments of prominent Slovak Americans, Slovak churches and organizations, the work lacks balanced objectivity. In addition , the book contains generalizations about Slovak immigrants that need further study and it makes subjective observations about such ambiguous topics as ' 'the Slovak character. ' ' The segm~nted format of presenting numerous histories, while gratifying to the \respective organizations , does not present a unified history of Slovaks in· America. Still, the book is useful to the general public and, to a lesser extent, to scholars of Slovak American history. It can serve as a reference to anyone desiring general knowledge about prominent Slovaks and Slovak organizations �SLOVAKIA 151 in America , especially Catholic organizations. The collection of material is well or-ganizetl but the index covers only the ' ' Historical and Cultural " section and indpdes mostly people's names, which makes it difficult to locate other information . The work would have profited by a more careful editing of the selections to delete redundancies. Many of the short organizational and church histories begin with quite similar comments about Slovak immigration to the United States in general which makes for tedious reading. Finally, it should be stressed that despite its length and title, Slovaks in America is not a history of the common Slovak immigrants : it focuses on prominent Slovaks and Slovak organizations. Slovaks in America is an informative collection of short institutional histories and biographies . But, the history of Slovak institutions and prominent people is not the history of Slovak immigrants and their experiences in the United States. �152 SLOVAKIA The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) Review by PETER BROCK University of Toronto Jarold K. Zeman, THE HUSSITE MOVEMENT AND THEREFORMATION IN BOHEMIA, MORAVIA AND SLOVAKIA (1350-1650). A Bibliographical Study Guide (with Particular Reference to Resources in North America). Published under the auspices of the Center for Reformation Research by Michigan Slavic Publications (Ann Arbor, 1977), 390 pages. This ''bibliographical study guide'' was prepared by Professor J. K . Zeman of Acadia University Divinity School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It lists around 3,850 entries - mainly printed materials but including some unpublished items too - in as many as fourteen different languages, with titles in Czech naturally being the most numerous. As the editor explains, his book, while ''prepared, first of all, to serve the needs of students in North America ... should be helpful to scholars and students in other countries" (p. xxix) . It, therefore, makes no claim to the fullness which would be required in a work prepared by '' a professional bibliographer.'' It is in fact deliberately selective, its compiler's aim being to present as full a list as possible of items of importance available in the libraries of the North American continent and thus to provide interested persons with sufficient data to carry on their studies. For easy reference, works in English are marked with an asterisk. On the whole Professor Zeman refrains from commenting on the quality of the books and articles he lists . In a few cases, however, he issues the timely warning: "unreliable. " There are abundant cross references to assist the reader in finding his way around the guide's rather complex organization. The work opens with an eleven-page essay Here Professor Zeman first attempts a typology of the Hussite movement and the later Protestant Reformation into which Hussitism eventually merged. He �SLOVAKIA 153 then reviews briefly the main trends in the historiography of Hussitism, and concludes with a look at current resources for Hussite studies on this continent. Further space is devoted to outlining editorial policies and listing abbre:viations.used in the main part of the work. The indexes included at the end. increa~e the guide' s usefulness to the reader. The listings themselvi:ls are divided into four parts . The first part covers the history of the movement from the forerunners of Hus in the fourteenth century to the supression of Protestantism in the Czech lands by the end of the Thirty Years War. Part I, section 12, we may note, is devoted to the Reformation in Slovakia but these pages (122126) by no means exhaust the items of interest to students of Slovak intellectual history, in which the Hussite tradition for long played a conspicuous role. The remaining three parts cover, respectively, biographical studies, special topics relating to Hussitism (including Hussite contacts with Slovakia and Hungary), and study aids. Whereas the table of contents at the beginning sets out the titles of the sections into which Part I is divided, it does not do this for the parts that follow . This is especially a pity in the case of Part ill (' 'Topical Studies ' ') for, although the topics are dealt with in alphabetical order, it is not always easy to follow the editor in his choice of titles for the various section headings. Many of the topics are indeed only loosely connected with Hussitism, e .g., alchemy and magic, astronomy, history of law, medicine, witchcraft, etc. There is also a brief section on ''Catholic Reform and Counter-Reformation. '' In respect to "Biographical Studies" Professor Zeman has wisely refrained from attempting an extensive bibliographical listing for Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague: their lives and writings, he observes, "constitute a research field in its own right" (p . 53). In other instances where adequate specialized bibliographies exist (e.g., for Peter Chelcicky) he refers the reader to such works and limits his own listings to the most important books and articles. In conclusion, Professor Zeman's book, despite a few shortcomings inevitable in a pioneer work of this kind, will long remain an indispensable research tool for all who wish to study Hussitism in its many and varied aspects. ��SLOVAKIA 155 Our Contributors JUNE GRANATIR ALEXANDER EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK, President, Slovak League of America THOMAS BELL (1903-1961) PETER BROCK , University of Toronto DAVID P. DANIEL, The Pennsylvania State University , Erie FRANTISEK HECKO (1905-1960) LUBY HOLY YESHAYAHU JELINEK, Denison University OWEN V. JOHNSON STANLEY B. KIMBALL V. S. KOBAN I..:UDO ONDREJOV (1901-1962) GEORGE P . RESICK AL VEN A SEC KAR M . MARK STOLARIK , Director, The Balch Institute, Philadelphia PAUL WILKES ��Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY, Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. �OFFICERS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Honorary President: Stephen J. Tkach, K.H.S. JOHN A . HOLY Secretary EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President Vice Presidents: Michael J . Krajsa Frances L. Mizenko Daniel F. Tanzone Regional Vice-Presidents: Rudolf Gregus, New York, New Jersey, New England States John Huk, Pennsylvania Joseph Ondis, Ohio David Zelenak, Michigan Ivan Kralik, Illinois, Indiana Bernadine Wandke, Wisconsin, Weftern States Executive Committee: Edward J . Behuncik, John A. Holy, Milan V. Blazek, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr. George N. Kantor, Michael J . Zahorsky, Louise M . Yash George J . Kostelnik, Cecilia Sarocky, Stephen J . Kavulic Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza, President Auditors: Anna Blahusiak Dr. Stanislav Duris Joseph Valencik SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 105,800 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Beachwood, Ohio - Membership 104,500 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J . - Membership 50,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . - Membership 16,500 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . - Membership 10,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN ' S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA John C. Sciranka , President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) SLOVAK v AMER I KE (circulation 3,000) JEDNOTA (circu lation 40,000) ZENSKA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation 7,000) PRIATEL DIETOK (circulation 9,000) SLOVAKIA $5.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $6.00 elsewhere Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania U.S.A . � \ ' BOOK REVIEWS ��SLOVAKIA 145 \ The 'Guns of Lattimer Review by PAUL WILKES Michael Novak, THE GUNS OF LATTIMER: The true story of a massacre and trial, August 1897-March 1898 (Basic Books, New York, 1978), XX-276p., $10.95. It's so difficult for those of us Slovaks, born in this country and who never have had to escape from or face open oppression, to get an accurate picture of what members of our families had to face when they came to America in the mass migration near the tum of the century. Yes, we've heard or read that living conditions were intolerable in Europe and working conditions here deplorable. But, we have little notion of the abuse our grandparents faced from allegedly '' good Americans." We may have an inkling today that we are often considered peripheral to the political and economic centers of power, but do we really know anything about the scorn that our forebears faced? That they survived economically is a triumph; that they did not succumb to the psychological abuse is a miracle . In Michael Novak's The Guns of Lattimer we see that Slavic people, Slovaks among them, were looked upon as amoral, shiftless drunks, a lower class of people, part of a "dung heap of humanity." And so, when a group of Pennsylvania anthracite coal miners presented some simple .demands (for example, that they not be required to do business with a company store that charged exorbitant prices nor be physically abused by their bosses) the police and mine owners banded together to crush these " Hunkies" who dared petition for the redress of grievances. After all, who did they think they were? The Slavs were supposed to go into the mines, be paid only for the coal they brought out and should ask for no more. The miners, plagued by low wages, limited work, an alien tax and virtually no benefits, marched through coal towns and patches around Hazleton , gathering strength until they numbered two thousand . Armed with only spirit - now free after nine centuries of repression in Europe - and an American flag they thought would be a symbol of their patriotism and their protection, they were stopped by a heavily armed force near the tiny hamlet of Lattimer Mines on September 10, 1897 . The flag they so proudly carried infuriated the sheriff's deputies, who tore it up before their eyes. �146 SLOVAKIA The rest is history. Although unarmed, the miners were later accused of fomenting the fight and of firing the first shot. The deputies began firing into the crowd and three inch bullets, which were capable of piercing metal, and powerful buckshot tore into human flesh. Nineteen men died, the majority of them Slovak. Thirty-nine were seriously injured and some never worked again . Most were shot in the back. Michael Novak has given us an historically thorough and vivid picture of the march and the massacre and a look into the lives of Slovaks at that time. His is a balanced approach . He does not idealize the miners; he's quite willing to point out their shortcomings, to talk about their meekness as well as their latent hostility. The overwhelming sentiment that comes through in reading the book is one of sadness and the realization that peaceful demonstrators have faced the ire of threatened power structures from Lattimer to Kent State to Jackson State and were mercilessly butchered for their beliefs. In each case, they did not seek violence, but violence and death were meted out to them. Lattimer is a classic case of the haves and have nots; the handful of powerful families , with their intermarriages and interlocking directorships and ownerships , effectively telling the rest of the community how they will live . And when the have nots want more they are not looked upon as reasonable men and women but automatically and categorically as potential destroyers of the fabric of society . Instead of listening to just demands for food and safer conditions (on the average, two miners died in accidents every three days) the ruling powers struck out, with force far beyond what was required. Novak 's portions about immigrant family life (particularly of conditions in the mines and a beautiful section about the romance of Ben Sakmar and Maureen, an Irish girl) made me hunger for more . Also. a tightly reasoned introduction to the book is of inestimable value in understanding the Slovak mentality of the time . The literature about the Slovak immigrants is so scanty and often romanticized so I hope The Guns of Lattimer is just the first of many books about the immig rant experience so that we can better understand ourselves today by knowing what we were like yesterday. �SLOVAKIA 147 The Czec_hs in. America/Slovaks in America \ Review by JUNE GRANATIR ALEXANDER University of Minnesota THE CZECHS IN AMERICA 1633-1977 - A CHRONOLOGY AND FACT BOOK. Compiled by Vera Laska. (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1978), 152 pages, $6.50. SLOVAKS IN AMERICA - A BICENTENNIAL STUDY. Compiled by Joseph C. Krajsa et al. (Middletown, Pennsylvania: Jednota Slovak American Publishing House, 1978), xi-494 pages, $26.50 . During the last decade the surging interest in America's ethnic groups has spurred many Americans , especially those tracing their origins to Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe to seek more information about the history of their ancestors in America. Responding to this intensified interest , members of various ethnic groups have undertaken to compile bibliographies , "fact" books, and histories of their respective groups. The Czechs in America 1633-1977 by Vera Laska and Slovaks in America, published unde r the auspices of the Slovak League of America, attempt to detail information about Czech and Slovak immigrants and their descendants in the United States . Vera Laska 's Czechs in America is divided into three parts . The first section, entitled "Chronology," gives a year-by-year listing of events in Czech American history from the seventeenth century to the present . The second part, labeled ''Documents,'' contains selections describing Czech life in America and the third section is an Appendix of tables which provides statistics on population , geographical distribution, religion , and education of Czech Americans . A short bibliography is also included. The scholar looking to Laska 's chronology for facts will be quickly and sadly disappointed . This section is a listing of often unrelated items ranging from one sentence entries noting isolated events such as marriage , purchase of land , or some other activity by a person presumably of Czech origin, to longer slightly more detailed entries. In several cases Professor Laska makes claims that persons included in the chronology are Czech on the highly questionable basis of name alone. Professor Laska 's occasional use of phrases " it is said, " "the story is told, " and "some say," makes some of her entries more �148 SLOVAKIA hearsay than historical fact. The work is further marred by various types of factual errors. In some instances Laska fails to present her material accurately. For example she cites Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana as the source for the fact that Jan Amos Komensky was offered the presidency of Harvard College in 1642 (p. 2) when her source actually says this occurred in 1654. Samuel Eliot Morison (The Founding of Harvard College, 1936) explains the discrepancy in dates but clearly Mather was not the source for the 1642 date. Contrary to Laska' s claim, the Lincoln Rifle Company (p. 18) was actually "The Lincoln Riflemen of Slavonic Origin, '' and included Magyars, Slovaks , and Czechs; whether it " was framed by 50 Czech volunteers " is highly questionable. These represent only a few examples of errors in the chronology. Much of the material presented by Laska, especially for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be found in Thomas Capek's The Cechs in America (1920) in a more expanded form. Indeed, several of Professor Laska' s entries are strikingly and disturbingly similar to material contained in Capek. (E.g., compare Laska pp. 7-8 to Capek pp. 159-160 and Laska p . 8 to Capek pp. 25-26.) However, Capek although extolling the role of Czechs in American history, often exercised more caution and revealed more objectivity in presenting his material than Laska does. If Professor Laska's goal was to present a factual, chronological picture of Czech history in America, she fell short of her goal. The documents section of Czechs in America is more useful. Some may quibble with the inclusion of published articles from Charities , an early twentieth century magazine, and selections from histories published in 1928 , 1929, 1939 and 1962 as "documents. " Still, Laska chose excerpts from these works that attempt to relate the history and experiences of the common immigrants - sometimes in their own words - instead of focusing on " leaders" as so many works on immigrants are prone to do. Professor Laska offers translations of early newspaper articles and works published in Czech and thereby provides the general public unable to read Czech with an opportunity to read material otherwise unavailable. However, scholars of Czech American history will probably find this section of little benefit. The Appendix consists of tables copied mainly from Capek's Cech's in America and three annual reports on immigration. Again, the general public may find these interesting but scholars will want ,to examine the original sources. ' For a chronology and fact book, the index leaves much to be desired. It includes entries only for the ''Chronology'' section and often lists only the last name of a person if that is all that is included in the �SLOVAKIA 149 main entry. In some cases, Laska may have been unable to locate names of lesser known i:Q1migrants such as a physician in Chicago but a quick check of the Dict(onary of American Biography would have revealed the first name of Ziegler, the sponsor of a Polar expedition, as William. Since the index includes only names and excludes organizations and geographical locations one is forced to plod through the entire book for desired information. In sum, because of the factual errors, questionable claims, and lack of careful verification of material Czechs in America is not a reliable source and contributes little information to the history of Czechs in America. Slovaks in America represents an attempt to chronicle the history of Slovak immigrants and their organizations in the United States. Compiled as a Bicentennial study by an eight-member editorial board, Slovaks in America is divided into six parts arranged on a topical instead of chronological basis. The first part, under the general rubric "Historical and Cultural Studies," consists of seven essays by six different authors. The selections, culled primarily from secondary sources, are in the main readable and will be informative to the general public, even though they often lack real objectivity. The essays "The Slovak Presence in America to 1890," by Sister M. Martina Tybor and "Slovak American Fraternal, Civic and Cultural Organizations" by Stephanie 0. Husek represent the best attempts to offer interpretative analysis. The other essays in this first part concern: religion, the Slovak League, journalism, Slovakia, and the Slovak heritage in America. The authors of these essays tend to narrate rather than analyze their topics in any depth. The other major sections of Slovaks in America are divided into the following categories: fraternals, religious organizations, local organizations and lodges, local parishes, and ''representative cultural organizations." These sections give general histories of various organizations from their inception to the present and include a final part of various Bicentennial activities conducted by Slovaks. But, the editors should have more clearly and carefully alerted readers that these sections are not inclusive. The "Forward" to Slovaks in America describes this work "as a truly encyclopedic presentation of the origin, growth and development of Slovak American colonies with their local and regional organizations.'' However, in a brief explanation of methods used to compile the volume, which is located near the end of the book, the editor explains that the volume is not inclusive. If the editors did not receive material from an organization or group by a printing deadline, that group or organization, it appears, was simply ignored. Consequently, because of this editorial policy, some major Slovak organiza- �150 SLOVAKIA tions are not included in Slovaks in America. Given the title of this work and the description given in the " Forward, " as a service to their potential readers, the editors should not have buried this crucial explanation about the contents and limitations of the volume near the end of the book under the inadvertently misleading title of "In Appreciation. ' ' Due to the editorial policy adopted for compiling Slovaks in America, the various sections within this volume offer a select sampling of Slovak institutions. The section on churches does not include all the Slovak parishes in the United States. Many Catholic churches are missing but more noticeable is the lack of Protestant ones. Only two Lutheran parishes found their way into the collection and no Calvin (Presbyterian) churches are mentioned. The tendency to accentuate Roman Catholic institutions over Protestant is evident in all the other sections as well. The history of the First Catholic Slovak Union merits 68 pages with a year by year chronicle of events. The history of the National Slovak Society is included in a two page biography of Peter V. Rovnianek which does, however, offer a refreshingly objective analysis of the causes for the failure of his Pittsburgh bank. The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union receives twenty-four pages as opposed to its nonsecular counterpart , Zivena's one . There is no history of the Slovak Evangelical Union, the Slovak Calvin Presbyterian Union or even the Greek Catholic Union. The only references to non-Catholic Slovak religious groups are a 3 ¼ page history of the Slovak Zion Synod and approximately two pages on Lutherans by Daniel F. Tanzone in his essay on religious developments among Slovaks which also includes one short paragraph on Calvins. In a lengthy book with the pretentious title of Slovaks in America, more attention should have been devoted to Slovak Protestants who, like Roman Catholics, recognized their nationality by forming and joining "Slovak" organizations. Overall, Slovaks in America displays a weakness that is unfortunately evident in many ethnic histories: in its desire to praise the accomplishments of prominent Slovak Americans, Slovak churches and organizations, the work lacks balanced objectivity. In addition , the book contains generalizations about Slovak immigrants that need further study and it makes subjective observations about such ambiguous topics as ' 'the Slovak character. ' ' The segm~nted format of presenting numerous histories, while gratifying to the \respective organizations , does not present a unified history of Slovaks in· America. Still, the book is useful to the general public and, to a lesser extent, to scholars of Slovak American history. It can serve as a reference to anyone desiring general knowledge about prominent Slovaks and Slovak organizations �SLOVAKIA 151 in America , especially Catholic organizations. The collection of material is well or-ganizetl but the index covers only the ' ' Historical and Cultural " section and indpdes mostly people's names, which makes it difficult to locate other information . The work would have profited by a more careful editing of the selections to delete redundancies. Many of the short organizational and church histories begin with quite similar comments about Slovak immigration to the United States in general which makes for tedious reading. Finally, it should be stressed that despite its length and title, Slovaks in America is not a history of the common Slovak immigrants : it focuses on prominent Slovaks and Slovak organizations. Slovaks in America is an informative collection of short institutional histories and biographies . But, the history of Slovak institutions and prominent people is not the history of Slovak immigrants and their experiences in the United States. �152 SLOVAKIA The Hussite Movement and the Reformation in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (1350-1650) Review by PETER BROCK University of Toronto Jarold K. Zeman, THE HUSSITE MOVEMENT AND THEREFORMATION IN BOHEMIA, MORAVIA AND SLOVAKIA (1350-1650). A Bibliographical Study Guide (with Particular Reference to Resources in North America). Published under the auspices of the Center for Reformation Research by Michigan Slavic Publications (Ann Arbor, 1977), 390 pages. This ''bibliographical study guide'' was prepared by Professor J. K . Zeman of Acadia University Divinity School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It lists around 3,850 entries - mainly printed materials but including some unpublished items too - in as many as fourteen different languages, with titles in Czech naturally being the most numerous. As the editor explains, his book, while ''prepared, first of all, to serve the needs of students in North America ... should be helpful to scholars and students in other countries" (p. xxix) . It, therefore, makes no claim to the fullness which would be required in a work prepared by '' a professional bibliographer.'' It is in fact deliberately selective, its compiler's aim being to present as full a list as possible of items of importance available in the libraries of the North American continent and thus to provide interested persons with sufficient data to carry on their studies. For easy reference, works in English are marked with an asterisk. On the whole Professor Zeman refrains from commenting on the quality of the books and articles he lists . In a few cases, however, he issues the timely warning: "unreliable. " There are abundant cross references to assist the reader in finding his way around the guide's rather complex organization. The work opens with an eleven-page essay Here Professor Zeman first attempts a typology of the Hussite movement and the later Protestant Reformation into which Hussitism eventually merged. He �SLOVAKIA 153 then reviews briefly the main trends in the historiography of Hussitism, and concludes with a look at current resources for Hussite studies on this continent. Further space is devoted to outlining editorial policies and listing abbre:viations.used in the main part of the work. The indexes included at the end. increa~e the guide' s usefulness to the reader. The listings themselvi:ls are divided into four parts . The first part covers the history of the movement from the forerunners of Hus in the fourteenth century to the supression of Protestantism in the Czech lands by the end of the Thirty Years War. Part I, section 12, we may note, is devoted to the Reformation in Slovakia but these pages (122126) by no means exhaust the items of interest to students of Slovak intellectual history, in which the Hussite tradition for long played a conspicuous role. The remaining three parts cover, respectively, biographical studies, special topics relating to Hussitism (including Hussite contacts with Slovakia and Hungary), and study aids. Whereas the table of contents at the beginning sets out the titles of the sections into which Part I is divided, it does not do this for the parts that follow . This is especially a pity in the case of Part ill (' 'Topical Studies ' ') for, although the topics are dealt with in alphabetical order, it is not always easy to follow the editor in his choice of titles for the various section headings. Many of the topics are indeed only loosely connected with Hussitism, e .g., alchemy and magic, astronomy, history of law, medicine, witchcraft, etc. There is also a brief section on ''Catholic Reform and Counter-Reformation. '' In respect to "Biographical Studies" Professor Zeman has wisely refrained from attempting an extensive bibliographical listing for Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague: their lives and writings, he observes, "constitute a research field in its own right" (p . 53). In other instances where adequate specialized bibliographies exist (e.g., for Peter Chelcicky) he refers the reader to such works and limits his own listings to the most important books and articles. In conclusion, Professor Zeman's book, despite a few shortcomings inevitable in a pioneer work of this kind, will long remain an indispensable research tool for all who wish to study Hussitism in its many and varied aspects. ��SLOVAKIA 155 Our Contributors JUNE GRANATIR ALEXANDER EDWARD J . BEHUNCIK, President, Slovak League of America THOMAS BELL (1903-1961) PETER BROCK , University of Toronto DAVID P. DANIEL, The Pennsylvania State University , Erie FRANTISEK HECKO (1905-1960) LUBY HOLY YESHAYAHU JELINEK, Denison University OWEN V. JOHNSON STANLEY B. KIMBALL V. S. KOBAN I..:UDO ONDREJOV (1901-1962) GEORGE P . RESICK AL VEN A SEC KAR M . MARK STOLARIK , Director, The Balch Institute, Philadelphia PAUL WILKES ��Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY, Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. �OFFICERS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Honorary President: Stephen J. Tkach, K.H.S. JOHN A . HOLY Secretary EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President Vice Presidents: Michael J . Krajsa Frances L. Mizenko Daniel F. Tanzone Regional Vice-Presidents: Rudolf Gregus, New York, New Jersey, New England States John Huk, Pennsylvania Joseph Ondis, Ohio David Zelenak, Michigan Ivan Kralik, Illinois, Indiana Bernadine Wandke, Wisconsin, Weftern States Executive Committee: Edward J . Behuncik, John A. Holy, Milan V. Blazek, Andrew F. Hudak, Jr. George N. Kantor, Michael J . Zahorsky, Louise M . Yash George J . Kostelnik, Cecilia Sarocky, Stephen J . Kavulic Slovak League of America Ladies' Auxiliary Anna M. Vizza, President Auditors: Anna Blahusiak Dr. Stanislav Duris Joseph Valencik SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 105,800 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Beachwood, Ohio - Membership 104,500 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J . - Membership 50,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . - Membership 16,500 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa . - Membership 10,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN ' S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA John C. Sciranka , President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) SLOVAK v AMER I KE (circulation 3,000) JEDNOTA (circu lation 40,000) ZENSKA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation 7,000) PRIATEL DIETOK (circulation 9,000) SLOVAKIA $5.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $6.00 elsewhere Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania U.S.A . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1978-79, Vol. 28 Description An account of the resource Vol. 28 (No. 51-52), 1978-79. 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 1978-79 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 Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 28 (No. 51-52) Description An account of the resource includes Book Reviews; Our Contributors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-79 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/925e1172817fcf3aae8ab06168d7f2c3.pdf aa810d47743180d2874305b37a9043da PDF Text Text ��SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVII 19n MICHAEL NOVAK Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Daniel F. Tanzone Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 N0.50 �Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY P.O . Box 150 Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. �SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents From the Editor - Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Remarks by Edward J . Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 THE MASSACRE AT LATIIMER MINES September 10, 1897 - Three Accounts The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources George A . Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Lattimer Massacre - Konstantin Culen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Lattimer Massacre and Trial Harry B . Schooley, m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Immigration, Education, and the Social Mobility of Slovaks , 1870-1930 - M. Mark Stolarik ..... . . . . .. . . . .. . . 80 Preludes to "Charter ' 77 " - TheodoricJ. Zubek, O.F.M. .. ... .. . 91 A Call for Courage - Hana Ponickti Introduction by J.M. Kirschbaum .. . . .. ... . .. .. .. .. . . .... . 107 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile Stanley Z. Pech .................. . .. . ...... .. ...... . ... . 113 A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society Alexander J . Rudinsky .............. . ............. . ..... 136 Book Review - J. M. Kirschbaum .. . ..... .. .. . . . .. . . ......... 144 Our Contributors . . . ..... . . . . ... ......... .. . . ... ...... . .... . 147 ��SLOVAKIA 5 From the Editor One of the most significant events in Slovak American history was the massacre at Lattimer Mines, outside Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which occurred on September 10, 1897. The strike of that summer, led by Slavic laborers, including many Slovaks, was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers. No historian has ever recorded the full account of the events of September 10th, although Victor Greene's important and pioneering work, The Slavic Community on Strike (Notre Dame University Press) did lay bare the larger context and Edward Pinkowski' s pamphlet (Philadelphia: The Sunshine Press) kept the story alive. The most thorough work on the massacre has been prepared by Professor George A. Turner of Bloomsburg State College in a series of articles and Slovakia is honored to carry in full one of his comprehensive studies on the subject. His is an authoritative voice in the field. Years ago, Konstantin Culen devoted chapters 5 through 9 of his History of the Slovaks in America (Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike), vol. 1, (Nakladatefstvo Slovenskej Ligy v Bratislave, 1942), to this tragic event. In the strong, fluent, and authentic translation by the indefatigable and perceptive Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M., of the Jankola Library in Danville, Pennsylvania, we are privileged to make these pages available in English for the first time. Culen's work is significant because it records not only the facts but also the interpretation given to the massacre in the Slovak-American communities of that time. A third paper on Lattimer is also included. Professor Schooley wrote this essay twelve years ago, as an undergraduate, and was at first reluctant to allow its publication. On some matters of fact and detail, there are errors in the text; Professor Turner's thorough knowledge and research is here the more basic document. But our younger readers can take heart from Schooley's work; his documentation and vivid interpretation helped to create interest in this event within the local historical societies and libraries of the region, when older scholars had forgotten it. There are many other treasures in this volume, demonstrating some of the range of interests of our writers and readers. The report on "Charter 77" is especially important. We are also pleased to have Dr. Kirschbaum's review of Professor Skilling's important book. Meanwhile, manuscripts for next year's edition are already arriving. Manuscripts may be sent to the editor at any time, but preferably before June 1, 1978. My warmest thanks and appreciation go to Messrs. Edward Behuncik and John Holy, Officers of the Slovak League of America, for �6 SLOVAKIA their support; to Joseph C. Krajsa, Editor of Jednota , and his coworkers at the Jednota Printery; and to my colleagues, Daniel F. Tanzone and Sister M. Martina Tybor, for their generous assistance. MICHAEL NOV AK, Editor Department of Religion Syracuse University Syracuse , New York 13210 �SLOVAKIA 7 Remarks by Edward J. Behuncik Made at the 70th Anniversary Slovak League of America Banquet Hotel Cleveland Sheraton Cleveland, Ohio Sunday, May 15, 1977 As today's successor to our esteemed founder , Father Stefan Furdek, I am delighted to have this opportunity to greet all of you. Before making my brief remarks, I take this occasion publicly to extend my official as well as personal thanks to all you fine Ohio Slovaks who worked so diligently in preparing this anniversary celebration. Thank you one and all. Now, with apologies to the immortal Abraham Lincoln , I proceed with my remarks. Three score and ten years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new federation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that Slovaks are coequal with all men. Now we are engaged in a great moral war, testing whether that federation, or any federation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met at the founding site of our federation. We have come to rededicate ourselves and to pay tribute to those who gave of their lives and honor that this federation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot rededicate - we cannot glorify we cannot hallow this site. The brave Slovaks - living and dead - who struggled here for Slovak ethnicity, have consecrated our cause far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long rememb er what we say here, but it can never forget what Father Stefan Furdek and his associates did here . It is for us , the living , rather to be rededicated here to the unfinished work which they who struggled and sacrificed have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here rededicated to the great task remaining before us - that from our honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they lived and died - For God and Nation - Za Boha a Na.rod; that we here highly resolve that these our founders and predecessors shall not have sacrificed in vain - that this federation - The Slovak League of America - under God , shall in this age of American ethnicity have rebirth of freedom and of increased leadership and productivity so that government of the Slovak people, by the Slovak people, for the Slovak people be established in a free �8 SLOVAKIA Slovakia, and that in this manner we help to make certain that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. Thank you. � ��SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVII 19n MICHAEL NOVAK Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Daniel F. Tanzone Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 N0.50 �Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY P.O . Box 150 Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. �SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents From the Editor - Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Remarks by Edward J . Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 THE MASSACRE AT LATIIMER MINES September 10, 1897 - Three Accounts The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources George A . Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Lattimer Massacre - Konstantin Culen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Lattimer Massacre and Trial Harry B . Schooley, m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Immigration, Education, and the Social Mobility of Slovaks , 1870-1930 - M. Mark Stolarik ..... . . . . .. . . . .. . . 80 Preludes to "Charter ' 77 " - TheodoricJ. Zubek, O.F.M. .. ... .. . 91 A Call for Courage - Hana Ponickti Introduction by J.M. Kirschbaum .. . . .. ... . .. .. .. .. . . .... . 107 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile Stanley Z. Pech .................. . .. . ...... .. ...... . ... . 113 A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society Alexander J . Rudinsky .............. . ............. . ..... 136 Book Review - J. M. Kirschbaum .. . ..... .. .. . . . .. . . ......... 144 Our Contributors . . . ..... . . . . ... ......... .. . . ... ...... . .... . 147 ��SLOVAKIA 5 From the Editor One of the most significant events in Slovak American history was the massacre at Lattimer Mines, outside Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which occurred on September 10, 1897. The strike of that summer, led by Slavic laborers, including many Slovaks, was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers. No historian has ever recorded the full account of the events of September 10th, although Victor Greene's important and pioneering work, The Slavic Community on Strike (Notre Dame University Press) did lay bare the larger context and Edward Pinkowski' s pamphlet (Philadelphia: The Sunshine Press) kept the story alive. The most thorough work on the massacre has been prepared by Professor George A. Turner of Bloomsburg State College in a series of articles and Slovakia is honored to carry in full one of his comprehensive studies on the subject. His is an authoritative voice in the field. Years ago, Konstantin Culen devoted chapters 5 through 9 of his History of the Slovaks in America (Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike), vol. 1, (Nakladatefstvo Slovenskej Ligy v Bratislave, 1942), to this tragic event. In the strong, fluent, and authentic translation by the indefatigable and perceptive Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M., of the Jankola Library in Danville, Pennsylvania, we are privileged to make these pages available in English for the first time. Culen's work is significant because it records not only the facts but also the interpretation given to the massacre in the Slovak-American communities of that time. A third paper on Lattimer is also included. Professor Schooley wrote this essay twelve years ago, as an undergraduate, and was at first reluctant to allow its publication. On some matters of fact and detail, there are errors in the text; Professor Turner's thorough knowledge and research is here the more basic document. But our younger readers can take heart from Schooley's work; his documentation and vivid interpretation helped to create interest in this event within the local historical societies and libraries of the region, when older scholars had forgotten it. There are many other treasures in this volume, demonstrating some of the range of interests of our writers and readers. The report on "Charter 77" is especially important. We are also pleased to have Dr. Kirschbaum's review of Professor Skilling's important book. Meanwhile, manuscripts for next year's edition are already arriving. Manuscripts may be sent to the editor at any time, but preferably before June 1, 1978. My warmest thanks and appreciation go to Messrs. Edward Behuncik and John Holy, Officers of the Slovak League of America, for �6 SLOVAKIA their support; to Joseph C. Krajsa, Editor of Jednota , and his coworkers at the Jednota Printery; and to my colleagues, Daniel F. Tanzone and Sister M. Martina Tybor, for their generous assistance. MICHAEL NOV AK, Editor Department of Religion Syracuse University Syracuse , New York 13210 �SLOVAKIA 7 Remarks by Edward J. Behuncik Made at the 70th Anniversary Slovak League of America Banquet Hotel Cleveland Sheraton Cleveland, Ohio Sunday, May 15, 1977 As today's successor to our esteemed founder , Father Stefan Furdek, I am delighted to have this opportunity to greet all of you. Before making my brief remarks, I take this occasion publicly to extend my official as well as personal thanks to all you fine Ohio Slovaks who worked so diligently in preparing this anniversary celebration. Thank you one and all. Now, with apologies to the immortal Abraham Lincoln , I proceed with my remarks. Three score and ten years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new federation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that Slovaks are coequal with all men. Now we are engaged in a great moral war, testing whether that federation, or any federation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met at the founding site of our federation. We have come to rededicate ourselves and to pay tribute to those who gave of their lives and honor that this federation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot rededicate - we cannot glorify we cannot hallow this site. The brave Slovaks - living and dead - who struggled here for Slovak ethnicity, have consecrated our cause far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long rememb er what we say here, but it can never forget what Father Stefan Furdek and his associates did here . It is for us , the living , rather to be rededicated here to the unfinished work which they who struggled and sacrificed have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here rededicated to the great task remaining before us - that from our honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they lived and died - For God and Nation - Za Boha a Na.rod; that we here highly resolve that these our founders and predecessors shall not have sacrificed in vain - that this federation - The Slovak League of America - under God , shall in this age of American ethnicity have rebirth of freedom and of increased leadership and productivity so that government of the Slovak people, by the Slovak people, for the Slovak people be established in a free �8 SLOVAKIA Slovakia, and that in this manner we help to make certain that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. Thank you. � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVII 19n MICHAEL NOVAK Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Rev. Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Daniel F. Tanzone Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 N0.50 Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY P.O . Box 150 Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 U.S.A. SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents From the Editor - Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Remarks by Edward J . Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 THE MASSACRE AT LATIIMER MINES September 10, 1897 - Three Accounts The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources George A . Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Lattimer Massacre - Konstantin Culen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Lattimer Massacre and Trial Harry B . Schooley, m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Immigration, Education, and the Social Mobility of Slovaks , 1870-1930 - M. Mark Stolarik ..... . . . . .. . . . .. . . 80 Preludes to "Charter ' 77 " - TheodoricJ. Zubek, O.F.M. .. ... .. . 91 A Call for Courage - Hana Ponickti Introduction by J.M. Kirschbaum .. . . .. ... . .. .. .. .. . . .... . 107 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile Stanley Z. Pech .................. . .. . ...... .. ...... . ... . 113 A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society Alexander J . Rudinsky .............. . ............. . ..... 136 Book Review - J. M. Kirschbaum .. . ..... .. .. . . . .. . . ......... 144 Our Contributors . . . ..... . . . . ... ......... .. . . ... ...... . .... . 147 SLOVAKIA 5 From the Editor One of the most significant events in Slovak American history was the massacre at Lattimer Mines, outside Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which occurred on September 10, 1897. The strike of that summer, led by Slavic laborers, including many Slovaks, was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers. No historian has ever recorded the full account of the events of September 10th, although Victor Greene's important and pioneering work, The Slavic Community on Strike (Notre Dame University Press) did lay bare the larger context and Edward Pinkowski' s pamphlet (Philadelphia: The Sunshine Press) kept the story alive. The most thorough work on the massacre has been prepared by Professor George A. Turner of Bloomsburg State College in a series of articles and Slovakia is honored to carry in full one of his comprehensive studies on the subject. His is an authoritative voice in the field. Years ago, Konstantin Culen devoted chapters 5 through 9 of his History of the Slovaks in America (Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike), vol. 1, (Nakladatefstvo Slovenskej Ligy v Bratislave, 1942), to this tragic event. In the strong, fluent, and authentic translation by the indefatigable and perceptive Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M., of the Jankola Library in Danville, Pennsylvania, we are privileged to make these pages available in English for the first time. Culen's work is significant because it records not only the facts but also the interpretation given to the massacre in the Slovak-American communities of that time. A third paper on Lattimer is also included. Professor Schooley wrote this essay twelve years ago, as an undergraduate, and was at first reluctant to allow its publication. On some matters of fact and detail, there are errors in the text; Professor Turner's thorough knowledge and research is here the more basic document. But our younger readers can take heart from Schooley's work; his documentation and vivid interpretation helped to create interest in this event within the local historical societies and libraries of the region, when older scholars had forgotten it. There are many other treasures in this volume, demonstrating some of the range of interests of our writers and readers. The report on "Charter 77" is especially important. We are also pleased to have Dr. Kirschbaum's review of Professor Skilling's important book. Meanwhile, manuscripts for next year's edition are already arriving. Manuscripts may be sent to the editor at any time, but preferably before June 1, 1978. My warmest thanks and appreciation go to Messrs. Edward Behuncik and John Holy, Officers of the Slovak League of America, for 6 SLOVAKIA their support; to Joseph C. Krajsa, Editor of Jednota , and his coworkers at the Jednota Printery; and to my colleagues, Daniel F. Tanzone and Sister M. Martina Tybor, for their generous assistance. MICHAEL NOV AK, Editor Department of Religion Syracuse University Syracuse , New York 13210 SLOVAKIA 7 Remarks by Edward J. Behuncik Made at the 70th Anniversary Slovak League of America Banquet Hotel Cleveland Sheraton Cleveland, Ohio Sunday, May 15, 1977 As today's successor to our esteemed founder , Father Stefan Furdek, I am delighted to have this opportunity to greet all of you. Before making my brief remarks, I take this occasion publicly to extend my official as well as personal thanks to all you fine Ohio Slovaks who worked so diligently in preparing this anniversary celebration. Thank you one and all. Now, with apologies to the immortal Abraham Lincoln , I proceed with my remarks. Three score and ten years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new federation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that Slovaks are coequal with all men. Now we are engaged in a great moral war, testing whether that federation, or any federation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met at the founding site of our federation. We have come to rededicate ourselves and to pay tribute to those who gave of their lives and honor that this federation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot rededicate - we cannot glorify we cannot hallow this site. The brave Slovaks - living and dead - who struggled here for Slovak ethnicity, have consecrated our cause far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long rememb er what we say here, but it can never forget what Father Stefan Furdek and his associates did here . It is for us , the living , rather to be rededicated here to the unfinished work which they who struggled and sacrificed have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here rededicated to the great task remaining before us - that from our honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they lived and died - For God and Nation - Za Boha a Na.rod; that we here highly resolve that these our founders and predecessors shall not have sacrificed in vain - that this federation - The Slovak League of America - under God , shall in this age of American ethnicity have rebirth of freedom and of increased leadership and productivity so that government of the Slovak people, by the Slovak people, for the Slovak people be established in a free 8 SLOVAKIA Slovakia, and that in this manner we help to make certain that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. Thank you.  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. 27 (No. 50) Description An account of the resource includes From the Editor (Michael Novak); Remarks by Edward J. Behuncik Made at the 70th Anniversary Slovak League of America Banquet Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Novak, Michael, 1933-2017 Behuncik, Edward J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 LCNAF+dates name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4bc69c29bb870a250fa1b6758b8d6a87.pdf 91d342c6840a65d6345652c59f188e97 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 9 The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources GEORGE A. TURNER ''The affair at Hazleton yesterday is one of those terrible catastrophies the news of which simply stuns the community and paralyzes for a moment the power of thought." (1) The above editorial comment was a reaction to one of the worst acts of violence in the history of the American labor movement. The tragedy occurred at Laimer, a small coal mining patch, one and a half miles northeast of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh region of the anthracite coal fields on September 10, 1897. A group of nearly four hundred striking, unarmed, immigrant mine workers adhering to the control of their leaders, approached Lattimer to encourage the employees of Calvin Pardee & Company to join them in a work stoppage. They encountered Sheriff James Martin of Luzerne County and his posse of eighty-six deputies who viewed them as enemies of public order and the wellspring of lawlessness. When the marching laborers arrived at Lattimer in midafternoon, the Sheriff approached them, ordered them to halt, disperse, and return to their homes. Within a few minutes an altercation erupted between the Sheriff and some of the strikers at which point the deputies aimed their rifles and fired directly into the group of strikers. Instantly, their gunshots produced a carnage of blood and death among the immigrants - a massacre that left nineteen dead and thirty-eight wounded.(2) Peace officers were unscathed in their deadly assault on the defenseless workers who had been peacefully assembled on a public highway. This incident, lasting only a few minutes, became one of the most devastating acts of public authorities attacking, wounding and killing American laborers. The next day newspaper headlines depicted the killings as an atrocity. Regional papers denounced the shooting: "Yesterday's Butchery, A Mob of Heartless Deputies Fire Into a Throng of Miners and Accomplish Deadly Work" ;(3) "D of Blood at Lattimer" ;(4) "Strikers Shot in Cold Blood" ;(5) and "Looks Like Butchery" .(6) The account quickly spread beyond the anthracite region. Major metropolitan newspapers depicted the shooting in equally stark terms: ''The Killing of Miners at Lattimer Was Butchery'';(7) ''Mowed Down By Deputies" ;(8) "Laid Low By Bullets, the Men Fell Like Sheep Before the Murderous Winchesters of the Officials" ;(9) "Homestead Battle Thrown In The Shade" ;(10) and "Dead in Heaps, Deputies Fire on Miners at Lattimer, Penn ., Men Were Huddled Closely and Slaughter Was Terrific''. (11) The killing of the strikers by the Sheriff's deputies was a major national news story for several days prompting a �10 SLOVAKIA very basic question: Why did this senseless, violent act of shooting unarmed immigrant workers occur? To answer this inquiry requires an understanding of nativism found in the hard coal fields of Pennsylvania and an identification of those factors affecting the lives and working conditions of the immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. Slavic and Italian immigrants began arriving in the eight Pennsylvania counties comprising the anthracite region in the late 1870' s and early 1880 's with nearly all taking employment in mining and by the late 1890's outnumbered German and English-speaking workers .(12) The magnitude of this immigration flow from Poland, Austria-Hungary , Russia, and Italy was evident; in 1880 they totaled only 1,925 , in 1890 they were 32,007, and ten years later their numbe had more than doubled to 89,328. At the same time the foreign born from England , Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Germany decreased by 2.2 percent from 102,421 in 1880 to 100,269 in 1900; in particular, the demographic composition of this group in Luzerne County revealed a decline from ninety-four percent in 1880, to sixty-eight percent in 1890, and a further drop to forty-nine percent in 1900. These southern and eastern Europeans grew to an ever increasing percent of the foreignborn population in the anthracite coal fields: 1. 7 percent in 1880, 25 .2 percent in 1890 , and 46.1 percent in 1900.(13) Such a substantial and rapid growth of alien people created apprehension and anxieties leading to resentment and nativistic sentiments among the AngloSaxon population , their antipathy stemming from cultural differences and fear of economic competition for jobs. There was little to encourage the necessary processes for immigrants to be readily assimilated into the society. New arrivals had a distinctive culture, language , religion, and life style that were strikingly different , giving rise to suspicion and contempt from the native population and other established ethnic groups. Eastern and southern Europeans established numerous ethnic societies which perpetuated their pride , customs, and traditions . Since their religion was Catholic , they organized separate parishes along nationality lines thus sustaining ethnic identification. Marriage records reveal a consistent pattern of immigrants marrying only members of their own nationality. Divisions caused by factionalism in this polyglot society were difficult to bridge. Newspapers did not assume any responsibility for promoting harmony and assimilation among the diverse nationalities, and public schools did not lead in the task of Americanizing children of foreign cultures until the early 1900's . School attendance by immigrant children was minimal and those who did attend encountered language barriers. (14) Anglo-Saxons were finding it difficult to accept a pluralistic society in which they were becoming a numerical minority. This development fostered nativist sentiment , causing AngloSaxons to have ce rtain perceptions of the immigrants that inhibited �SLOVAKIA 11 assimilation of the aliens contributing to their separation and isolation in the society. Attitudes of non-acceptance found expression in opprobrious terms for the new arrivals: " Pollocks, " "Huns," and " Dagoes," all denoting inferiority and disdain. Polish, Italian, and Slavic celebrations for marriages and their baptismal customs were denigrated and viewed as outlandish. A common belief among the native population was that a '' ... Slav does not know how to enjoy himself save by getting drunk, he does not know how to show kindness to friends save by making them drink." (15) Stories circulated that these new aliens participated in wife-selling, practiced polyandry, and were responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, (16) contributing to the viewpoint that they were '' ... much more dangerous to the body politic than the excluded Chinese; . . . do not hesitate to use dynamite if they desire to blow up the home of one whom they particularly hate."(17) Rejection of the new immigrants grew in part from a feeling on the part of Anglo-Saxons that they belonged to a superior and more progressive race of people. The way that immigrants lived reinforced feelings of superiority in nativist thinking. Due to economic factors, lack of acceptance, and the desire of ethnic groups to have their own neighborhoods, ghettoes emerged in different communities. Since houses in ghettoes were crowded and substandard, outsiders viewed living conditions as unpleasant , unattractive, offensive, and the area as a tough and brawlly place to live. "The Slavs are physically strong and can flourish in an environment that would be fatal to more sensitive organisms." (18) Supporting this dislike of southern and eastern Europeans, the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1895 passed a resolution calling upon Congress to enact legislation to restrict immigration. The resolution clearly reflected a protectionist attitude as seen in its opening statement: '' That we recognize in the constant influx of an ignorant and vicious class of immigrants a great and growing evil highly injurious to American workingmen and dangerous to American institutions." (19) Again, two years later legislators passed another similar resolution.(20) Native Americans and older immigrants from northern Europe came to the conclusion they were being invaded and overcome by hordes of undesirable people who would undermine their communities. Of equal importance and of more immediate concern was competition by Slavic and Italian immigrants for jobs and wages in the labor market. Nativist sentiment held that railroads and coal operators enticed immigrants to settle in the region in order to increase the supply of labor which, in turn, had the effect of keeping wage rates down. (21) This charge against railroad and coal operators, however, was not completely true. It was well known that contract miners, who were primarily Anglo-Saxons, had the best and highest paying positions outside the mine supervisory jobs. They were also employers and were '' ... themselves largely responsible for the employment of �12 SLOVAKIA the non-English speaking foreigners. Instead of employing English laborers at the regular wage week the miners would employ a big Slav or Hun cheaply, increasing his own pay check quite an amount. His boasting of the 'snap' caused others to do the same."(22) Job competition increased as immigrants took any kind of work they could find in and around the mines. No matter what employment they found their wages were four or five times higher than what they previously earned in the native land.(23) Anxious to find work, newcomers took the unskilled positions of slate pickers, door-boys and helpers, drivers , runners, and laborers, willing to endure dangerous work and inconveniences which older workers refused to accept. With the passage of time and experience they began to compete for the higher paying, skilled positions held by English-speaking and German coal workers. Established workers contended that since new immigrants were willing to accept lower wages and even wage cuts to get and hold jobs, they were undermining the standard of living and forcing many older laborers to forego mining in the mines and to leave the area to find new employment. Anglo-Saxon workers became bitter and antagonistic which impaired the development of any class solidarity among the anthracite workers.(24) This led to discriminatory and exclusionary practices toward eastern and southern Europeans. The history of the anthracite labor movement revealed that the Knights of Labor, dominated by Irish, and the Amalgamated Association of Miners and Mine Laborers, controlled by Americans, English, Welsh, and Germans, were ineffective in enrolling these workers into their ranks in the 1880's and 1890's. Leaders of organized labor vacillated, were ambivalent, and showed a lack of real interest in encouraging new immigrants to join the union movement. On certain occasions labor organizations even attacked Slavic groups for undermining the labor movement. Failure of the unions to bridge ethnic differences was a major factor in thwarting endeavors to establish successful collective bargaining with the region's coal operators and to gain better conditions of employment.(25) Whenever new immigrants supported organized labor, they generally joined locals organized along ethnic lines; this at first weakened the interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests and ideas between the AngloSaxons and the new immigrants.(26) When the United Mine Workers of America first appeared in the area in the early 1890's, it made little headway in recruiting the Slavic and Italian immigrants who were fast becoming the major segment of the anthracite labor force.(27) Finally, when U.M.W.A. became firmly established after 1900 and merged the 'old' and 'new' immigrants together, each local retained ethnic �SLOVAKIA 13 distinction , making the union an alliance of distrustful nationality groups .(28) Established miners, who supported organized labor and held the higher paying and more desirable jobs, sought to protect their positions and perpetuate their advantage. They were fearful that the new immigrants who entered the coal fields as unskilled laborers would in time acquire needed skills to pass into the ranks of skilled miners which had the highest pay scale ; older workers also believed that when new immigrants became employed in mines the accident rate increased due to their lack of mining experience and inability to communicate in English .(29) State mine inspector, James Roderick, of Luzerne and Carbon Counties supported this viewpoint and asserted in 1883 that the rate of accidents increased as the influx of new laborers grew, whereas the older miners were more careful in their work. (30) Therefore, AngloSaxon miners supported the enactment of the miners' examination law passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1889. The official title of the legislation, " An act for the examination of miners in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania and to prevent the employment of incompetent persons as miners in anthracite coal mines,'' aptly described its intent. The law created examination boards in various districts in the anthracite region consisting of skilled miners having at least five years of experience and appointed by the presiding judge in a county . It stipulated that no coal company could legally employ a person as a miner who did not have a certificate of competency issued by a miners' examination board ; in order for a person to receive a miner's certificate he had to provide evidence of having at least two years experience as a mine laborer in Pennsylvania.(31) In the legislative debate on this proposal, coal operators were accused of allowing incompetent people to work in mines , thus contributing to large numbers of fatalities and injuries. Many hoped that the new law would reduce the dangers of working in anthracite mines . Aside from viewing this act as a safety measure, there was a clear inference that the law would also help to check the influx and competition of labor from the new immigrants. Representative Caffery commenting on the proposed law declared that it could prevent '' ... incompetent men to come here from Europe, three or four of whom will be rushed into one chamber, thus dividing up the work.'' (32) Caffery's remark clearly made reference to the recent European influx into the anthracite region that had aroused resentments among older miners. In time it became apparent that expectations concerning the miner 's examination law would not be realized. Anglo-Saxon miners recognized that asking a few questions by miners ' examination boards could not really assure the competency of an applicant. In the examination of a non-English speaking person, the interpreter often aided and embellished the individual' s response. Furthermore, it �14 SLOVAKIA became a fact of life, due to fraud and corruption, that certificates became articles of merchandise.(33) From the time the law went into effect until 1897 there were several attempts to modify or even to repeal the statute . The law, rather than excluding unskilled laborers from becoming miners, had, in effect, due to the requirement of two years of mining experience in Pennsylvania, made ineligible the experienced miners who came from other parts of the country or Europe to secure jobs in the anthracite coal fields . These men were unwilling to work two years as a mine laborers in order to qualify for a miner's certificate. Instead, this simply assured that the new immigrants in time would move into the ranks of skilled miners - the higher-paying positions normally held by Anglo-Saxon workers. Representative Miller, whose district included Luzerne county, substantiated this point: ''Under the present act no one can receive a certificate as a miner until he has worked for two years as a miner's laborer. The result of that is just this: Only the least responsible class of workmen will come into the anthracite district at all; it excludes all of the better class of men. No one who is a practical miner from the bituminous region, or any other part of the State or the United States will come into the anthracite region and work for two years as a miner's laborer before he can obtain this certificate. '' (34) Admission that the law would stymie the settlement of new immigrants in the region was acknowledged by Representative Morahan in one of the attempts to revise the statute: ''It was brought about after the mining corporations had sent their agents over into Europe and brought over an element tended to restrict the production and elevation of wages. It was passed for the purpose of preventing the importation of pauper immigrants into the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania . . . "(35) Deficiencies in the miners' examination law prompted district one (anthracite region) of the United Mine Workers of America in its annual convention at Pottsvillle on October 16, 1896, to charge that the act was a farce. In a resolution calling for revision of the statute, the union wanted stiff penalties, imprisonment up to five years and fines of $100, for not adhering to the law; it also advocated that the state pay board members a set salary, abolishing the present procedure of having salaries based on fees collected from issuance of certificates. (36) These recommended changes reflected a view that corruption and failure to enforce the law had become commonplace among many of the miners' examination boards. John Fahy, president of district one, lobbied at the state capital in support of revisions to the law approved in 1897. One amendment increased penalties for violations, but no changes were made in the fee structure. A second amendment stipulated that each exaininee had to answer a minimum of twelve questions in English, which prohibited the use of interpreters and therefore discriminated against immigrants, who could not speak English.(37) The United Mine �SLOVAKIA 15 Worker's Journal lauded Fahy's lobbying activities and contribution in getting this legislature enacted. (38) After passage of these revisions to the law, the Miners' Examination Board in the Hazleton area placed a notice in the local newspaper to alert mine officials of its provisions. It noted that the law had been violated in the past but henceforth would be strictly enforced. The Board's warning reflected nativist sentiment: "As you, above all others, should know the necessity of having men who understand their work and the language which is the known language of this, our country, the Board would say do your duty and acquit yourselves like men and Americans.'' (39) Control of the miners' examination boards rested with English-speaking miners who were able to exercise certain prerogatives and institute various regulations to their advantage at the expense of the new immigrants.(40) Another piece of discriminating legislation with nativist prejudice, the Alien Tax Act, passed by large majorities in both houses, went into effect on July 1, 1897. The statue stipulated that any male alien age twenty-one and over employed in the state had to pay a three-cent tax on each day of employment which meant that most aliens employed as laborers in the Lehigh anthracite coal region suffered a two to three percent reduction in daily wages . Employers had to maintain employment records on aliens in their service and to collect the tax which reverted to the county treasury, half of which went to school districts and the other half to defray county operating expenses.(41) In the senate debate over the bill, the presence of new immigrants in the community gave rise to a concern that they were '' .. . a constant source of expense to us and . . . this is a very good way to get some money out of them to help pay the expenses of government.' ' (42) The act's preamble declared that aliens showed no allegiance to the state and did not financially support the maintenance of government. In addition, it described aliens as direct competitors to the state's laboring population. One passage stated they were '' ... brought into unjust competition with the tax-paying American laborers and greatly impair their welfare by depriving them of their employment and of preventing them from receiving fair compensation for their labor therefore." (43) Again, John Fahy, miners ' advocate at the state capital, wrote an article for the United Mine Workers Journal asserting: ''What a world of good this law would do the American citizens who try to earn their living in the coal mines, if the tax were one dollar per day.' ' (44) Nearly two months after the tax went into effect, the United States Circuit Court in Pittsburgh declared the law unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. Judge Acheson in the court's decision acknowledged that the law discriminated against new immigrants: "Evidently the act is intended to hinder the employment of foreign born unnaturalized male persons over 21 years of age." (45) An obvious recourse for the alien to avoid this new tax, prior to its �16 SLOVAKIA being declared unconstitutional, was to become a naturalized citizen. Senator Flinn feared this possibility and could see little benefit from such a law unless to increase local revenues. It was his opinion that the legislation '' ... would have a tendency to drive this class of people into quicker citizenship." (46) Possibly anticipating this result, the Naturalization Court in Luzerne County a few days prior to the alien tax being voided instituted new rules to revise the process of naturalizing aliens. New procedures required an applicant to make formal application and declare his or her intention to become an American citizen at least thirty days prior to appearing in court, to be represented in the court proceedings by an attorney, and to produce a certificate of entry from the commissioner of immigration at the port of arrival. County officials had to publish in advance of the naturalization hearing the names of aliens seeking citizenship . Publicizing names of aliens petitioning to become citizens had the purpose of facilitating the process of weeding out undesirable applicants. Under the new rules five people could sign a petition remonstrating against an alien becoming a citizen thereby requiring a hearing to pass on their objections. In court, the alien had to demonstrate knowledge of the national and state constitutions and duties of citizens with responses in English.(47) Under these new procedures costs and amount of time required of the foreigner to become a citizen greatly increased. Previously, it had been perfunctory procedure since the immigrant only had to pay two dollars to secure naturalization papers. Now the costs rose to at least eight dollars for court and attorney fees.(48) When the individual lived some distance from the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, he had additional expenses for transportation and meals as well as losing a day of wages. Cumulatively, the costs for most aliens was equivalent to nearly two weeks of wages . A month later when implementation of these new naturalization rules became part of the court proceedings, half of the ninety-seven applicants, predominately Slavic, Polish, and Italian, were rejected in their quest for citizenship.(49) The new naturalization procedures confirmed the fact that the ease with which foreigners had in the past gained American citizenship would no longer be the rule. The new immigrants, who had become the dominant group among the mine workers, found themselves unaccepted due to nativistic attitudes, discriminatory laws, organized labor's lack of interest and view of them as an economic threat, and increased difficulty in acquiring citizenship. An added burden which all mine laborers faced was working conditions in the anthracite coal fields . The Pennsylvania Legislature in 1897 established a joint investigating committee of three representatives and two senators to examine and make a report concerning working conditions among those employed in the mining of anthracite coal. The committee held twenty-six meetings in the principal cities in the anthracite region and took testimony from 311 witnesses �SLOVAKIA 17 representing businessmen , directors of relief organizations, and different classes of people connected with mining. The committee released its findings to the public on June 14, 1897, containing valuable information affecting those employed in mining.(50) The committee cited a major problem in the anthracite coal economy as excessive production in relationship to market demands that made coal prices weak and unstable. This had a direct bearing on mine employees since coal operators would cut production , institute lay-offs , and reduce wages in order to prevent or minimize their losses, thus exacerbating the labor market which already suffered from an over supply of workers . Surplus labor was evident when comparing the number employed in the anthracite mines in 1892 with 1896 and the coal produced in those same two years. Between 1892 to 1896 there occurred a fifteen percent increase in the number employed , 130,197 to 149,670, while coal production only increased five percent, 45,738,374 to 48,074 ,350 tons.(51) Estimated production capacity of the region 's collieries in 1896 was ninety million tons; actual output only came to fifty-four percent of capability while the number of mine employees for that same year increased by 6,065 .(52) Because of surplus laborers and a weak coal market there was lack of employment in the mines in 1896 as the average number of days of employment in the Hazleton region was only 178 days or fifty-seven percent of full employment for a year, based on a six-day week for fifty-two weeks. (53) This same condition was still prevalent in the first seven months in 1897 in which the mines operated on an average of one or two days a week.(54) One mine owner succinctly described the situation: " We can't give them work enough even at ninety cents a day because of the ups and downs of the business. When things begin to improve, we must have enough on hand to satisfy the demand, and that means, when business slacks up, that many have to be idle ." (55) This practice of the coal operators cutting back production to maintain the price of coal in a depressed market had caused frequent interruptions in the mid 1890's that put the standard of living of the average mine laborer on a very low basis . The legislative report pointed out that starvation conditions existed among the miners with Hazleton and vicinity one of the five areas identified as having great destitution and want. The committee reported: ' 'The testimony shows conclusively that deplorable condition of affairs for a period covering about two years, and particularly since the first of January of the present year, since which time the men in and about the collieries have been employed not more than two or three three-fourths days per week , earning on an average $4 per week , upon which , in many instances, they were compelled to support large families , in some cases as high as eleven members, paying house rent and coal and the necessities of life, which to this committee seems an impossibility . In . .. mining centres there is at all times more or less destitution and want , in many instances occasioned by profligacy. �18 SLOVAKIA Matters throughout the anthracite region have been gradually growing worse, and never in the history of this section of our State has the condition of the men employed in and about the mines been so deplorable or of such long duration.'' (56) The wages of miners and laborers in the Lehigh anthracite region had a direct relationship to the selling price of coal. Since the collapse of the union after the strike in 1888, there was no union contract to govern working conditions and wages. Wages were pegged to the market price of coal at the tidewater in Elizabethport, New Jersey. This system known as the ' 'sliding scale'' came into effect in 1869 with the formula for determining wages established in 1875. Under this arrangement, if coal sold for $5 .00 a ton at Elizabethport, miners, who held the highest paying jobs, received eighty-seven cents for each car of coal produced which meant that on the average, skilled miners earned twenty-one cents an hour, or $12.60 a week for sixty hours of work. The highest paid class of laborers, if a ton of coal sold for the same price, earned $10.80 a week or fourteen percent less than the miners. Whenever the price of coal increased ten cents a ton, wages advanced one percent for each ten cent rise and conversely, whenever the price of coal declined ten cents a ton, wages decreased one percent for each ten cent reduction . (57) Mine employees saw several drawbacks to this method of determining wages. Lehigh coal operators, as opposed to the Wyoming and Schuylkill coal operators, were mainly independents; hence, they were more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the freight rates in transporting their coal to the markets, which, in turn, had a direct bearing on establishing the price of coal. High transportation costs reduced the coal operator's ability to improve wages and, most importantly, forced an increase in coal prices that made coal produced in the Lehigh region less competitive in the market than that produced in the other two fields largely under the control of the railroads. Consequently, starting in 1892 the Lehigh coal operators, who produced only around sixteen percent of anthracite coal, agreed to sell part of their production to the railway coal companies at forty percent below the tidewater price in order to avoid excessive freight rates. A major portion of the coal production was sold in the interior at prices higher than at the tidewater. Finally, the 1875 price-wage formula did not reflect changes that had occurred in the coal market. Anthracite coal had been losing the industrial fuel market to the less expensive bituminous coal. This loss forced a readjustment in the coal trade as more and more anthracite had to be processed into smaller sizes to be sold for home heating purposes. Smaller sizes gradually became the major portion of the coal trade and this sold at lower prices, resulting in a reduction of the average price per ton of coal thus keeping wages down.(58) Besides irregular work and low wages the anthracite laborer had to contend with day-to-day conditions which were equally distressing. The �SLOVAKIA 19 company store had long been an issue in the mining communities and had an odious reputation. The fact that employees were under some form of compulsion to make their purchases at a company store at inflated prices was so repugnant that it caused considerable discord, dissension, and prolonged agitation. A congressional committee in 1889 investigating working conditions in the anthracite region reported some of the abuses connected with stores operated by coal companies which still persisted in the late 1890's. Prices were as much as thirty percent higher for the same items sold in independent stores. There was both direct and subtle pressure on employees to purchase groceries , clothing, and other items from the company store; workers feared losing their jobs or being moved to a lower paying position or to one that was more difficult because of dangerous or strenuous working conditions. "Some of the officials of the company, such as foremen, would state to their workmen, 'If you patronize me we will patronize you.' Well , that meant if there was a good job they would receive it if they traded in the company' s store ."(59) Reacting to these abuses, Pennsylvania in 1891 enacted a law prohibiting corporations engaged in mining and manufacturing from operating general supply stores . In an attempt to prevent evasion, the law explicitly made it illegal for a corporation to contract with an independent store to require its employees to purchase merchandise; also it prohibited any corporate officer or stockholder to operate a company store on the premises of the corporation. (60) Unfortunately, the legislation did not eliminate the many evils associated with the company stores. In the first place , unincorporated coal operators did not come under the law's jurisdiction. Secondly, there was a loophole in the law's language forbidding a corporation from requiring its employees to patronize a particular store by stating that employees " shall not be obliged" to deal with a designated store. In other words an employee of a corporation could not be compelled to shop at a particular store but he could voluntarily choose to buy his merchandise at that store. Realistically, as life existed in the mining communities with the ever-presence and dominance of the coal companies, many factors came into play that inevitably induced an employee to make a so-called voluntary decision to patronize a particular store. Thirdly, when individual coal operators sold their interests to a large corporation, they often retained the right to continue the operation of their store. In this arrangement, many times the corporation provided a service by deducting an employee's bill at the store from his monthly wages with a collection fee which varied from three to five percent of the bill. This system had a descriptive nickname of the "pluck-me-store." (61) It was in the Lehigh region, where a very large percent of the coal operators were independent and unincorporated, that the existence of company stores was one of the highest in the anthracite region ; two-thirds of the mine laborers worked at collieries �20 SLOVAKIA that operated company stores.(62) In some instances a coal company which operated a store would undersell its competitor by lowering prices for coal and then make up losses by compelling the employees to trade at the company store at exorbitant prices .(63) The store of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company reportedly had everything from a red herring to a furnace . A Polish employee of the company flatly stated: '' ... we are compelled to purchase whether we want to or not. " (64) Three English-speaking miners of the A. S. Van Wickle Company commented that they would not object to the company's store if it were not for the high prices. To illustrate their point, they cited three items priced in an independent store and the company store: dozen eggs for thirteen cents as opposed to twenty-three cents, pound of butter for eighteen cents as opposed to twenty-six cents, and tobacco for twenty-six cents as opposed to thirtyfour cents. (In computing these goods the average price increase over the independent store was forty-six percent.) They further asserted: ''These are but a few samples of the prices charged here, but we have no redress. If we do not deal in the store we are notified about it with a broad intimation that others would be glad to have our places and deal in the store ." (65) The two investigative reports documented abuses concerning the company store in the anthracite region in 1897 and drew attention to three pertinent facts: the company store did not operate to the benefit of the workmen; employees were subjected to intimidation when they failed to patronize company stores; profits were substantial. (66) The company store problem was a major concern of John Fahy who noted that the number was greater than when the legislation was passed in 1891 and coal operators continued to violate the law. Union members of the United Mine Workers of America agreed and passed a resolution condemning this kind of store : '' ... the company store is a great and burdensome evil; that the system is harsh and tyrannical, and its purposes to rob labor of the full use of that pittance, always too meager, which the mine worker now received for his toil . . . "(67) Another grievance of the workers closely related to the company store was the practice of having a company butcher make door to door sales to employees living in company houses. They objected to the butcher's high prices and his habit of leaving more meat than requested forcing the purchaser to pay for meat not wanted . (68) What they wanted was the. abolition of this solicitation. Dominance of the coal companies over their employees was felt in another way through the company doctor. Coal operators had a physician to administer to the health needs of workers. On the surface this service appeared to be a desirable fringe benefit. Not so in the eyes of the employees who had several objections. They felt that they should have the right to select their own doctor since many believed that the quality of medical help was below average. The fact that the doctor's �SLOVAKIA 21 allegiance rested with the company placed uncertainty on the doctorpatient relationship.(69) Aside from these reservations was the cost. Deduction from workers' paychecks funded the program; A. S. Van Wickle Company levied two cents a day on each employee while other companies charged each married man with a family seventy-five cents a month and single men fifty cents a month.(70) To many this outlay of money equaled a half-day of wages and was an unnecessary cost. At this time it was common practice for people to rely upon home remedies for curing illnesses rather than always going to a doctor. A custom among miners was to establish their own mutual medical aid organizations known as '' keg funds.'' Miners donated refunds received from turning in their empty powder kegs.(71) Another major factor explaining why workers opposed the company doctor scheme stemmed from a plethora of fraternal groups that provided insurance against sickness and death. In the Hazleton area there were around fifty such organizations with many established along ethnic lines. Working class membership in these societies was large. Dues entitled them to sick benefits that varied from four to six dollars a week for a period of three to six months. Average death benefits ranged from $50 to $125 with wives often receiving half the rate. (72) With these other arrangements, the company doctor plan offered few, if any , advantages to mine workers. Feelings of exploitation among the miners were particularly strong over the price of blasting powder and mining supplies and the coercion to purchase these items from the coal companies. Each of the collieries kept mining supplies for sale. Testimony before the United States Industrial Commission revealed: ''The coal operators will say that they do not compel miners to buy their supplies with that company. While this may be true in regard to oil in some places, yet they are compelled to buy their powder from these companies where they work, for they will tell you if you do not buy your powder there you can work where you buy it."(73) Along with this compulsion there was the high price for the powder. A keg of powder weighing twenty-five pounds sold for $2. 75 in the Lehigh region whereas in the Schuylkill region the same amount had sold for $1.50 since 1888.(74) A major demand of the strikers was to secure a price decrease for powder generally in the amount of seventy-five cents a keg. However, miners at Calvin Pardee & Company sought a more extensive price reduction for powder so that it would sell for $1.50 a keg.(75) Powder purchased from independent stores sold from $1.25 to $1.50 a keg and the wholesale cost of powder per keg delivered from the manufacturer ranged from 90 cents to $1.00.(76) It was obvious to the miners that the coal operators made substantial profits on the sale of powder with a mark-up of around two hundred percent. When comparing powder prices in the Schuylkill region with the Hazleton area in 1896, men believed they were overcharged by some $125,353.75 or a per capita of $217.50 which was �22 SLOVAKIA almost equivalent to one-third of their annual income.(77) This issue was particularly irritating to the miners and they felt that they were victims of extortion. Another vexing issue was the lack of compliance by coal companies to provisions of the state semi-monthly wage payment law passed in 1891 . The act stipulated that employers pay their employees in lawful money every two weeks.(78) With the exception of the Coxe mines, violation of the statute was widespread in the Hazleton area . (79) The state legislative investigating committee reported the act was '' ... virtually a dead letter in many instances. Operators disregard it and deem it an unjustifiable interference with their rights .'' (80) District One of the United Mine Workers of America in its 1896 annual convention adopted a resolution endorsing the semi-monthly wage payment law and invited members of the business community to cooperate with them in supporting this legislation. (81) Frequency of payment to workers was important to coal operators since it had a direct relationship to the maintenance of company stores. If workmen received their wages every two weeks or even weekly, they would be inclined to shop at independent stores which had lower prices. With monthly payments, employees found it convenient and, sometimes necessary , to depend on credit extended at the company stores.(82) These cumulative burdens of adverse working conditions, irregular and limited work, low wages, pressure to patronize the company's store and butcher, expense for a company doctor, high costs for blasting powder and mining supplies, and non-compliance with the semi-monthly pay law were hardships ever present to mine laborers and became issues in the strike. Of equal importance, immigrant workers found themselves having to cope with additional adversities such as nativistic attitudes that rejected their culture and impeded assimilation, economic discrimination in employment, passage of the alien tax law, and difficult and costly naturalization procedures. A wellspring of resentment and antagonism festered among the ranks of southern and eastern Europeans over conditions affecting their lives which stirred feelings of discontent and frustrations creating a serious strike situation. The spark which produced the Lattimer massacre first appeared to be nothing more than an isolated and minor labor dispute between District Superintendent Gomer Jones and some mule drivers at the Honey Brook colliery of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company; however, it became the catalyst leading to a series of crippling strikes in the Lehigh region. Gomer Jones , who had a reputation as a tyrannical mine boss, had recently been appointed superintendent of the Audenried district and assumed his new position with an eagerness to establish order and efficiency out of what he and the company considered to be a chaotic situation.(83) Jones stated in an interview that he perceived his superintendency: '' I came here a year ago. I came to restore discipline �SLOVAKIA 23 in the mines and to operate them in such a manner that the company could continue in business. The discipline was certainly lax. The men did about as they pleased. The two superintendents who were here then associated with the men, mixed with them, drank with them and were regarded as 'hail fellows well met' everywhere among the miners. Now I cannot do that. I'm not a drinking man, and I've never made it a practice to hobnob with the men. However, when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed and do not permit miners to do exactly as they please. " (84) He began to institute economics in the company's operations in order to achieve the lowest possible cost in mining. To carry out this resolve , he dismissed two easy-going foremen , about eighty other workers, and reduced daily wages for all classes of mine workers from three percent for carpenters to as much as twenty-five percent for stripping miners.(85) Another of Jones ' cost-saving proposals required all of the company mules to be stabled at Audenried. This measure required the mule drivers employed at Honey Brook to spend an extra hour in the morning and evening to pick up their mules and return them to the stables. For these two extra hours of work , Jones refused to grant any compensation to the mule drivers . Dissatisfaction over this arrangement provoked a strike among mule drivers , who were Slavic and Polish , on August 13 . The next day some workers took up positions along the road near the stable to insure that none of the mule teams was removed for work. Upon learning of this development , Jones went to the scene with club in hand with the intention of dispersing the disgruntled workers. Within minutes a boisterous dispute erupted and Jones, using his club, struck one worker. Some of Jones' assistants came to his rescue before the melee got completely out of control. (86) A consequence of the mule driver strike and the residue of dissatisfaction and discontent among the rest of the workers produced a general strike against the company on August 16. An assessment of the situation made by a local newspaper declared that coal companies " .. . import this cheap labor, drag them down with all sorts of hardships, and indignities and finally the bosses attempt to make records for money saving and thus increase their own salaries at the expense of the poor unfortunates who are under them. There is no need for white slavery, nor pauper wages ... pay them a living salary and treat them as human beings , and trouble of this kind will be unheard of.'' (87) That evening miners held a large meeting at McAdoo at which they formulated their grievances and demands to present to Elmer H. Lawall, General Superintendent of Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. They wanted restoration of the wage scale in effect prior to reductions imposed by Jones , an increase of ten percent in wages for all employees who worked underground, purchase of coal by workers for use in their homes reduced from $2.50 to $1.50 a ton, the right of each worker to select his own doctor, removal of Gomer Jones from his �24 SLOVAKIA position as district superintendent, and assurance that each person on strike would be reinstated.(88). Miners elected a strike committee representing different nationalities to present the issue to company officials. After meeting with Mr. Lawall on August 17, the committee decided to go to New York the next day to confer with Mr. Lawall and C. H. Warren, assistant to company President Maxwell. After returning from New York, the committee on August 19 met with the miners to report on negotiations, informing them that Mr. Warren had pledged that the company would pay the same rate of wages prevailing in the area and did not object to miners selecting their own doctor and making their own payments. There was no response to reducing the price of coal used by miners in their homes. With regard to the miners' objections concerning the conduct of Gomer Jones, the company refused to dismiss him but did promise to investigate his actions; this prompted an editorial comment in a Hazleton newspaper: ''The men are determined in their demands for justice, and if the Lehigh and WilkesBarre officials are wise they will speedily dismiss Superintendent Gomer Jones, for so long as he is retained in his present position, the trouble will not be adjusted. This man, with perhaps one exception, has imposed more hardships on the mines than any other living person who ever set foot on this soil. " (89) Upon hearing the company offer, which the miners described as one containing only promises rather than solutions to their grievances and demands, they voted to remain on strike . (90) Refusal to end the strike caused Mr. Lawall to hold another meeting with the strike committee. Three additional issues were introduced in the negotiations: employees need not live in company houses , men in the same grade of work receive the same pay, and employees be paid for all services rendered to the company - a direct reference to the mule drivers' complaint of having to spend two extra hours without pay to pick up and return their mules to the stables. After conferring with Lawall the strike committee called another meeting with workers on August 20. At this time the company informed the men that it had accepted the employees' position on the three additional points and that Lawall had personally promised to investigate fairly every grievance . Strikers believed that the injudicious activities of Jones would certainly be exposed and he would be dismissed. They learned that the mules were returned to Honey Brook, removing the issue of extra work without pay that had sparked the strike . In addition, two men dismissed by Jones were reinstated to their former positions. With such favorable news and expectation of Jones' replacement, the miners voted to end the week old strike and return to work on August 23.(91) The euphoria that prevailed among miners stemmed from their belief of success in exerting their interests against the coal company. This sense of accomplishment was further underscored by the fact they �SLOVAKIA 25 had been able to organize seven locals of the United Mine Workers of America comprising nearly a thousand men or about half of the company' s employees in the Audenried district. Establishing the union rested on the activities of John Fahy, United Mine Workers organizer, who took advantage of miners' discontent over their working conditions and lack of unionization. With the backing of a union and the promise of Lawall to investigate their differences with Jones , miners felt confident that they had won.(92) It appeared that labor unrest at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company was only an aberration and the outlook for labor peace quite good. Such optimism was short lived. The strike was a harbinger of labor agitation that soon engulfed the Lehigh mining region surrounding Hazleton. Within a week, on August 27, another strike initiated by immigrant workers broke out at the Coleraine and Milnesville collieries of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company. Some 1,500 strikers demanded reinstatement of the wage scale prior to the reduction made in February of 1897, which meant an average increase in wages from ten to fifteen percent in the daily rates. They wanted the new daily rates to be the following: stripping laborers, $1.20; first class laborers , $1.64; second class laborers, $1.50; outside laborers , from $1.00 to $1.20 ; breaker hands, men at $1.00 and boys at 90 cents; mule drivers, one mule at $1.50 ; two mules at $1.64; and three mules at $1.75; first class miners , $2.10; and second class miners, $1.93 . A few days later, August 31, some 2,000 employees of Lehigh and WilkesBarre Coal Company swelled the ranks of dissatisfied workers by walking off their jobs a second time after the elapse of two weeks when company officials had promised a settlement of their grievances in their first strike at the beginning of the month.(93) Chairman of the strikers ' negotiating committee charged that ' ' ... Messrs. Lawall and Warren, did not keep faith, and their refusal to make any concessions after their encouraging promises originally had served to work the men up to a high pitch. " (94) Work stoppages also began to spread to other coal operators: Lehigh Valley Coal Company, C. M. Dodson & Company, G. B. Markel & Company, Calvin Pardee & Company, A. Pardee & Company , New Ebervale Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, Arnold & Morgan Company , and Silver Brook Coal Company.(95) This general strike action at the end of August and the first of September erupted with the pressing demand for an increase in wages. Immigrant workers were the principal source of agitation over this issue. It was they who suffered loss of wages due to enactment of the alien tax law and who felt the effects of wage discrimination when they received less for the same job than the English-speaking worker. Miners in their class earned from $1.50 to $1.65 a day while an Englishspeaking miner earned $1.97 for the same position. Similar conditions existed for those who were employed as laborers; the percent of wage difference was even greater, $1.15 versus $1.50. Anglo-Saxon workers �26 SLOVAKIA did not support the strike and immigrants looked upon them as a favored class. Since Slavic and Italian workers outnumbered Englishspeaking workers by a three-to-one ratio, their dissatisfaction over wages and working conditions became the prevailing voice. (96) Demand for the same pay for the same job had the following local, editorial support: "Employees should receive the same compensation for the same kind and amount of work done whether they are Hungarians, Italians or any other nationality." (97) Strikers ' demands for improvement in their wages came in part from the fact that Lehigh coal operators paid lower wages than operators in the other two anthracite coal fields. (98) Although there existed an industry-wide formula for determining wages based on the tidewater price of coal, in actuality there was a divergence in the wage scale particularly among the unskilled in different coal companies, which contributed to labor unrest among workers when they learned their wages were lower than their counterparts in other mines. In protest, foreign workers began marching from one colliery to another, closing down operations and compelling other workers to join their ranks. With each passing day the situation became somewhat more tense. Area newspapers assessed conditions as serious with the distinct possibility of becoming quite dangerous since, ''Never in the history of the region was such a determined body of men seen together'' ;(99) it was feared that unless a settlement was reached, '' ... the whole Lehigh region will be plunged into one of the most threatening conditions ever experienced in the history of Pennsylvania coal mining." (100) Immigrant workers were the masters of the situation, dominating the strike activities; English-speaking workers, fewer in number receiving better wages, did not voluntarily support them and preferred to remain at work. Instead of a feeling of camaraderie and solidarity between these two groups there was distrust and suspicion.(101) An important break occurred in the strike action when A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company made a wage settlement with their employees at Milnesville and Coleraine collieries on September 3 and 4, respectively. The company's General Superintendent, James Roderick, fulfilled a promise to investigate wages paid at other area mines and, if his company's rates were lower, make appropriate advances. Advances did not completely equal the original demands of the workers: increases were around nine percent given primarily to the unskilled and semiskilled, jobs held mainly by the Slavic and Italian immigrants with no raise for skilled laborers, miners, jobs dominated by AngloSaxons.(102) With regard to the alien tax, which had recently been declared unconstitutional, the company promised to return the money at the next pay day. Concerning other issues of the company store and butcher, Roderick promised ''. . . there will positively be no compulsion for any man to deal with the company butcher and the company �SLOVAKIA 27 store, nor will any intimidation in this direction be permitted by any of the subordinates."(103) Following the lead of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company, officials at Coxe mines voluntarily increased wages ten cents a day to prevent their workers from going out on strike. (104) Settlement of the strike at A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company and increased pay by Coxe marked an important turning point in the labor unrest which had idled some twelve collieries due to the strikers' demonstrations. Success of these workers in improving their wages became a stimulus for hundreds of other workers to increase their determination to secure the same monetary gain. Higher wages granted by the two companies simply exacerbated the situation when other coal operators refused to match or make any improvement in wages. As long as this condition prevailed, chances of labor unrest becoming volatile heightened and the outcome became more uncertain . A week prior to the Lattimer killings, a Hazleton newspaper, realizing the nature of the situation, made the following appeal to coal operators: ''What the outcome of the uprising will be is simply conjecture, but one thing is certain, that the operators owe it to themselves as well as the community to bring about a speedy adjustment of the trouble. There is no good reason why the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. officials should not pay the same rate of wages as A. S. Van Wickle; they are in a position to do it and ought to. If there is to be an average rate of wages let all the operators join the combination and pay it. The obstinacy of either one company or the other, is simply injurious to the community, and for the benefit of all we suggest that the operators at least meet the men half-way, and the trouble will soon be a thing of the past. " (105) As each day passed without settlement, strikers continued marching from one coal mine to another seeking to induce other workers to join the strike; some responded willingly and others only after cajoling or intimidation. Their efforts were having success in disrupting the area's mining operations. Anxiety grew as the potential for serious trouble became likely with an apparent impasse emerging between strikers and operators who had refused to go along with the settlement made by A. S. Van Wickle and Coxe. Coal companies , holding the view that the situation had deteriorated and people had become terrorstricken by the strikers' protest, urged the sheriff to intervene in a manner that would terminate the strikers' activities. Sheriff James Martin, vacationing in Atlantic City, New Jersey , received a telegram on Saturday , September 4, from his deputy, Mr. George Wall, that Superintendent Lathrop of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company requested him to go to Hazleton to deal with the developing strike situation. Upon returning to Wilkes-Barre, the Sheriff held a Monday morning conference concerning the strike with Lathrop, Superintendent Steams of Cross Creek Coal Company, and Superintendent Lawall of Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company before �28 SLOVAKIA proceeding to Hazleton.(106) The Sheriff did not come to Hazleton at the request of any elected or appointed public official such as a magistrate, justice of peace, constable, or mayor, nor upon his arrival did he confer with any public official concerning the question of public order as related to the strikers' demonstrations. Instead, when he came to Hazleton, he met with Mr. Zerby, Assistant Superintendent of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and Mr. Platt, Superintendent of Calvin Pardee & Company store. Naturally, these two men held views concerning the strike that reflected their companies' vested interests and could possibly have misrepresented the degree of disruption. Apparently, Martin did not feel there was any advantage to investigating and reviewing developments with a variety of people having different perspectives in order to ascertain objectively sentiments and facts related to the strike. It was at this time that officials of Lehigh Valley Coal Company, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, and Calvin Pardee & Company made it abundantly clear that they would hold Sheriff Martin personally responsible for any interference with their mining operations.(107) After conferring with Messrs. Zerby and Platt, Martin decided to organize a posse comitatus. A Sheriff's decision to create a posse must be based upon circumstances as defined in law in which a state of disorder exists, consisting of a riot or the threat of a riot in which life and property are in jeopardy. Again Martin's assessment that these conditions existed rested upon information given to him by representatives of coal companies. Following their recommendation, he appointed Thomas Hall, a prominent Hazleton businessman whose occupation involved selling blasting powder to coal companies, as his chief deputy.(108) In the Hazleton Machinery Supply Company Store, a concern involved in coal mining, eighty-seven men were sworn in as Sheriff's deputies and members of the posse with nearly all of them directly or indirectly earning their living from coal companies. This close connection of the deputies with the coal companies was apparent as some twenty-three were employees of Calvin Pardee & Company, including his own son and Augustus W. Drake, Pardee's General Superintendent; fourteen worked for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and six were members of the coal and iron police. All but one deputy had surnames indicating Irish, English, or German heritage, the majority were members of prominent families and relatives of coal operators, many were young, several had attended college and were engineers or held managerial positions in coal companies. Others were businessmen and a few were laborers.(109) Superintendent Smith of G. B. Markle & Company, a coal operator, ordered rifles and shotguns and shipped them to a warehouse owned by A. Pardee & Company, another coal operator, where they were dispensed to the deputies under the direction of Mr. Platt.(110) Martin cautioned his deputies: " ... it was their duty to maintain the peace at all hazards, but under no cir- �SLOVAKIA 29 cumstances to shoot unless they were convinced either they or myself to be in danger.'' (111) Since the coal operators were responsible for requesting the Sheriff to come to Hazleton and to organize a posse, they also agreed to assume the costs for expenses incurred by the deputies. (112) Another service available to the Sheriff and his deputies was a special trolley car provided by Lehigh Traction Company upon the orders of Mr. Zerby so they could have unimpeded transportation to move about the coal fields.(113) While arrangements were under way in organizing the posse, Martin contacted Sheriffs Scott and Setzer of Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, respectively , since Lehigh coal fields encompassed parts of these counties. The main source of strike agitation came from men employed at collieries south of Hazleton in the area where Luzerne , Schuylkill , and Carbon Counties have a common boundary. After consulting with each other, the three law officers issued separate proclamations admonishing people '' . . . from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly, and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace .' ' (114) Included in the proclamation was the state riot act of 1860 describing illegal activities and penalties. Sheriff Martin 's decision to issue the proclamation made it appear that he felt conditions were turbulent, disorderly, and warranted the organization of a posse; yet on the same day he chose to spend a leisurely afternnoon attending the bicycle races at Hazleton.(115) The following morning, Tuesday, September 7, Sheriff Martin, upon learning that a group of strikers planned to shut down the Crystal Ridge Colliery , took a number of deputies to the site and prevented them from accomplishing their goal.(116) News of this intervention by the Sheriff either had not spread, or if it had, did not awe other strikers from descending on the New Ebervale Coal Company colliery and closing it down. Company superintendent, John Scott, describing the incident stated: '' ... the real leader appeared and said they intended to win the strike if they had to apply the torch to every town in the region ."(117) After closing the New Ebervale colliery, strikers marched over to the stripping area of Calvin Pardee & Company at Lattimer hoping to repeat their success earlier in the day. However, some of the Sheriff's deputies were already at Lattimer to prevent any disruption in the company 's operations . When the marchers appeared, the officers fired warning shots ito the air dispersing them and thwarting their objective.(118) The remaining days prior to the tragedy at Lattimer found Sheriff Martin and his deputies constantly transversing the coal fields from one colliery to another checking the strikers' movements . With each passing encounter the level of exasperation and tension between the law officers and immigrant workers on strike began to rise. A Hazleton newspaper again reflected a growing concern over the lack of a strike �30 SLOVAKIA settlement and a possible serious confrontation: ''The strike can be settled within twenty-four hours, and without bloodshed, if the operators will act fair and honest with their men. "(119) A day later the same editorial voice observed a growing seriousness in that the strikers '' ... are very much embittered against the deputies, and it is feared that both parties will engage in mortal combat." (120) A letter to the newspaper editor commenting on the strike stated it was '' ... causing a depression in business and fear in the hearts of the people of bloodshed . . . '' suggesting ' ' . . . the Ministerial Association take the matter in hand, call a meeting of all the clergy of the Protestant and Catholic churches, and together with the press and businessmen try and see if their influence could not be used to settle this grave matter between the operators and men."(121) John Fahy counseled the workers to obey the Sheriff's proclamations and to avoid provocations that could cause violence since the authorities had the ability to crush them. His interest was to temper the strikers' ardor and give it some meaningful direction.(122) Martin, apparently feeling some frustrations and reservations over his efforts to deal with strikers , told Frank Pardee, head of A. Pardee & Company, '' ... that while the strikers simply confined themselves to talking to the men quietly and persuading them to quit, it was none of my business and I had no right to interfere. "(123) Regardless of whatever doubts the Sheriff may have had, he knew perfectly well that he could not disregard the wishes of the coal operators. Starting on Thursday afternoon events began to cascade toward that fateful Friday. Employees of Calvin Pardee & Company at Harwood who were on strike felt that in order to win they had to shut down the company's operation at Lattimer which had failed earlier. News came to Harwood strikers that their fellow employees at Lattimer were anxious to join them if only they would march over to Lattimer; this appeal stimulated their determination.(124) The Harwood local of the United Mine Workers held a meeting on Thursday evening to make plans to march to Lattimer the next day. Joe Mahalko, president of the Harwood local of the United Mine Workers of America, cautioned his fellow workers to go without guns or any other kind of weapons, to harm no one nor to destroy any property, and to keep the peace. On the next day, Friday, September 10, around noon some two hundred and fifty strikers from the Harwood area, consisting almost exclusively of immigrant workers, started their ill-fated mission to get their counterparts to go on strike at Lattimer. As the march proceeded, some seventy-five to one hundred additional strikers joined the ranks. (125) When they reached the outskirts of West Hazleton on their route to Lattimer around two o 'clock, they were stopped by Evan Jones, Chief of Police of West Hazleton, who told them, "Go back out of this, you are in a dangerous place. If you have to go to Lattimer you must go another way."(126) At this point Sheriff Martin and his deputies �SLOVAKIA 31 arrived on the scene with the intention of stopping the marchers from proceeding to Lattimer. A confrontation occurred between the Sheriff, his deputies , and the strikers, in which one striker was arrested, another had his arm broken by a deputy, many had guns thrust in their faces , the American flag they were carrying was destroyed, and there was an exchange of blasphemous name calling.(127) Martin read his proclamation containing the riot act, ordered them to cease their march to Lattimer , and urged them to return to their homes, telling them that all of the marching from colliery to colliery to drive men from work was no way to get better wages.(128) He believed there would be serious trouble since some of the marchers had picked up stones and looked as if they intended to throw them at the law enforcement officials. However, this fear proved to be unfounded since they did not take such a provocative action. (129) Efforts to halt the march were futile considering the strikers ' determination to continue their trek to Lattimer, and Martin 's inability to communicate with them since he spoke only English and had no interpreter . After becoming exhausted from the episode , he simply gave up trying to stop them.(130) The strikers ' perception of this hostile encounter differed from the law officers ' version and hinted at forthcoming trouble . John Eagler, one of the leaders of the march and secretary of the United Mine Workers local at Harwood stated: " We were met by the deputies at West Hazleton who did not come like civilized beings , but broke through the ranks, crying, 'Stop , stop!' " (131) Joseph Mahalko declared : '' I told the Sheriff we had no stick big as my finger in the crowd. All Sheriff said was 'don't go any farther .' Sheriff said , 'You go back or I shoot you . ' " (132) Again John Eagler stated that the Sheriff only took a piece of paper from his pocket and did not read any proclamation as he claimed but had simply told them that it was against the law to march to Lattimer.(133) The strikers asserted they did not initiate any altercation with the law officers but were merely the victims of an unwarranted attempt to prohibit them from using the public highway. Something that proved to be far more serious was the ominous threats attributted to the Sheriff and his deputies against the strikers: "Go back and take care of yourself, for there will be big trouble today ." (134) " We 'll get even with the --- at Lattimer."(135) "We ' ll leave them go till we get to Lattimer ; then we ' ll shoot them. "(136) "I'd like to get a pop at the ---of b---. I'll bet I'll drop six. " (137) "I didn 't know what the h--- the Sheriff makes us walk around here so much without giving us a chance to shoot those men .'' (138) ' 'Everyone of the G-- d-- Hunks ought to be shot. " (139) Sheriff Martin , formerly a coal foreman at the Mill Creek colliery in Luzerne County, allegedly stated, " . . . a little cold lead is the only way to conquer the strikers."(140) The Sheriff's efforts and reported intimidations to terminate the strike rs ' march to Lattimer became nothing more than a futile gesture that only made them more resolute to continue their journey. Un- �32 SLOVAKIA daunted, the marchers following the advice of Chief Evan Jones took a route toward Lattimer along the outskirts of Hazleton on which they could proceed without further interference.(141) Sheriff Martin realizing his efforts had been to no avail quickly returned to Hazleton, summoned his entire force of deputies telling them to take their arms and board the trolley to Lattimer so they could prevent the marchers from stopping the Lattimer mining operations.(142) En route there was talk among the deputies '' . . . about shooting and each man seemed to be eager ... "(143) Since some of the deputies had served as coal and iron police, they " ... had had much trouble with the strikers on previous occasions and were said to be in a revengeful mood against them. "(144) Even Sheriff Martin admitted, " ... I have no doubt that some of the deputies were excited, and certainly the ride over the mountain in that crowded car was animating."(145) The Sheriff and his posse arrived at Lattimer a few minutes after three o'clock and stationed themselves along the right side of the road as it entered Lattimer from the south. He instructed his deputies " ... to keep cool and not get excited. "(146) However, before the strikers arrived, the deputies ordered a woman to go into her house on the likelihood that some shooting may occur.(147) Shortly after the deputies were in place , the strikers appeared coming up the public road in an orderly array toward the Lattimer breaker. (148) There was every reason to suspect that the deputies were fully aware that the miners were unarmed. As they approached the law officers who were standing parallel to the road, the Sheriff stepped out and walked toward the marchers with the intention of learning what they planned to do. Martin indicated that " ... if they are not going to do anything, I may let them go on, and we will go along with them.' ' (149) He ordered them to halt about forty or fifty yards from the armed deputies. The front of the column slowed as the Sheriff approached and asked them what they intended to do. The Sheriff reported they said, "We stop Lattimer Mines."(150) He then proceeded to read his proclamation in English, which many of them could not understand, while at the same time the rear of the column kept pushing forward. Within a few minutes a fracas broke out between the Sheriff and some twenty strikers at the side of the road when he attempted to seize and arrest one of the men.(151) At this point the deputies aimed and fired directly into the ranks of the strikers. The exploding crescendo of Winchesters created a bloody massacre with the sound of shrieks and moaning of the dying and wounded lying in agony. One newspaper described the scene: ''It was a human slaughter in which men were mowed down like grain stalks before a scythe, by the deadly bullets which stormed for fully two minutes. The blood of the dead and dying soaked the dusty road and flowed in streams through the ditch."(152) The murderous volley created a human carnage taking the lives of nineteen immigrants and leaving thrity-eight wounded; eleven men died at Lattimer with the �SLOVAKIA 33 remaining eight dying at the Hazleton Hospital. Dr. Keller, a physician at the hospital, stated that many of the victims were shot in the back.(153) What began a month earlier as a dispute between Gomer Jones and immigrant mule drivers grew into a serious strike finally ending as a sorrowful episode in American labor history. In the aftermath of this tragedy there were contradictory versions as to what actually happened. Sheriff Martin said the strikers were vicious, boisterous, a furious and desperate gang, fierce as wild beasts, threatening to physically harm or even kill him. He felt that they were bent on doing violence and had no intention of obeying his proclamation or the laws of Pennsylvania. Earlier at West Hazleton, Martin told the marchers that it was his duty to prevent them from interfering with the men who were working at the mines, and at Lattimer he went a step further to warn them that if they did not disperse there would be trouble.(154) When a Hungarian speaking in broken English told him, "Go to hell, you a---," (155) he sought to arrest the man who shouted the epithet. The men, excited, began assaulting him forcing him to draw his revolver in self defense and attempt to shoot an attacking man, but the gun failed to discharge. He claimed that two of his attackers had pistols and a third man with a knife sought to stab him. (156) In a letter written five weeks later explaining the event to Governor Hastings, Martin wrote the following description: "One high (sic) fellow gave me a blow on the cheek and knocked me on my knees. I would have been knocked down on my back, but the crowd was too close around me so that there was no room for me to get down, and while we were struggling I heard a shot followed closely by a second and then a number of shots together. Those who were attacking me were shot, and I was then unable to recover myself, and there is no doubt in my mind that if the deputies had not shot just when they did I would certainly have been killed. While I was struggling with part of the mob on one side of the road in the ditch where they had pushed me, the part on the other side of the road with a whoop and yell rushed on toward the deputies, who no doubt fearing that their lives were in danger and that I was to be killed, fired ... '' (157) On the day after the shooting, Martin gave several conflicting statements as to why the deputies shot the strikers. "I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers ... I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot if they must to protect their lives or to protect the property that they had been sent to guard from being demolished . . . I hated to give the command to shoot and was awfully sorry that I was compelled to do so. "(158) "I did not order the deputies to fire; someone else did that. I gave no order." (159) "The shooting commenced in a manner that baffles me completely when it comes to explaining."(160) A few days later in an interview Martin suggested that the cause of the shooting came from an impulse of his men to protect him: ''They saw me in the �34 SLOVAKIA midst of the strikers, with men aiming blows at me, and they supposed probably that my life was in danger."(161) The Sheriff's answers vacillated on how the shooting began, ranging from admitting that he gave the order to his deputies to fire their weapons to denying any knowledge of how the firing happened. Even among the deputies there was no satisfactory answer as to how the shooting commenced. The version of the confrontation by the strikers and bystanders differed from and challenged the assertions made by Sheriff Martin. According to the strikers, the Sheriff ordered them to halt and began to read his proclamation. The situation became disruptive when the Sheriff sought to arrest one of the marchers and get the others to disperse. One of the men told the Sheriff '' . . . we only want to move on peaceably ... "(162) Those in the rear of the column continued pressing forward and shouting '' go ahead,'' pushing the Sheriff and some of the men off to the side of the road. Whereupon, John Eagler reported that Martin flourished his revolver, '' ... grabbed one man by the arm, and, pointing the revolver at him, said, 'Did you tell them to go ahead?' The man said he had not spoken, and then the Sheriff grabbed another man and began to shove him about. 'You will say ''Go ahead," eh?' said the Sheriff, and at the same time he aimed the revolver squarely at the man's heart. The man naturally was frightened, and pushed the Sheriff's hand holding the revolver to one side. Whether or not the Sheriff considers that an attack or·not I don't know. I am positive that not a man hit the Sheriff."(163) An account from a bystander stated that Martin '' . . . became excited and ordered the deputies to shoot . . . " (164) A striker affirmed this point that the Sheriff gave the order to fire.(165) Another eye witness agreed that Martin's command was to fire but only a warning shot over the heads of the strikers.(166) Witnesses to the shooting pointed out there were no warning shots fired but told of excessive firing into the ranks of the strikers, deputies continuing to shoot after men ran for cover, and men shot down as far as 150 yards from where they were stopped by the Sheriff.(167) A Lattimer school teacher reported: "I saw men who had hidden behind trees and fences during the first fusillade leave their places of concealment only to be deliberately shot down."(168) The school house about three hundred yards distant from which the teacher saw the shooting was riddled with bullets. An area newspaper asserted: ''This would indicate that the strikers, fleeing by the shortest route to Hazleton across the hills, were shot at long after there was any danger to the deputies." (169) Strikers affirming this horror told of being targets as they ran for safety. A detached account by Henry Hoyt, United States Assistant Attorney General, based upon an investigation of the shooting made the following summation: ''It appeared that the strikers were unarmed; that small clubs which they had previously carried were thrown away on the march between West Hazleton and Lattimer; that they were peaceable and orderly in West �SLOVAKIA 35 Hazleton and Lattimer; were not riotous at West Hazleton or Lattimer, and at neither place made an assault upon the Sheriff or his deputies, or offered any violence or used threatening language to them."(170) Martin confirmed Hoyt's account by stating, in response to a reporter's question, that the strikers until the time of the shooting had not committed any overt act nor behaved otherwise than peaceably. (171) The Lattimer tragedy resulted from a multiplicity of interrelated sources. Existing in the anthracite region were nativistic sentiments encompassing an attitude of disdain for Slavic and Italian immigrants; Anglo-Saxons looked upon the strikers as unwelcomed strangers who were inferiors and who could not possibly conform to accepted standards in society. In an interview a federal treasury official, who was familiar with Hazleton, affirmed this idea with his romantic (and distorted) depiction of an idyllic and bucolic setting disrupted by the intrusion of alien people who fostered hatred: ''I think when all the facts come out in regard to the shooting it will be found that the officers who did the shooting have covered a revenge of years under the wings of the law. I remember when twelve or fifteen years ago, the section around Hazleton was settled by hard-working and honest Irishmen, Welshmen, Englishmen, Germans, and Americans. They worked in the mines and did well. Many of them owned their own homes - pretty little cottages on the hillside, surrounded by outhouses for cattle and chickens, etc., and happiness seemed to smile on all. There were no strikes and the morality of the neighborhood was good. Then began to come in the Hungarians and the Poles and the class of foreigners, by accepting smaller wages, ran the others out. I knew several Irishmen who vowed they would not leave, but went away to other States, in many instances having to sell their little homes to pay their debts and to get away on. This naturally caused a bitter feeling, a feeling which exists to this day, and one which caused many vows of revenge. The houses once the property of prosperous Irishmen and Americans are now in filthy condition, occupied by two and three families of Hungarians and Poles. Instead of clean beds there are bunks ranged along the walls and as many as four people slept in a small room. In that band of deputies which encountered the marching miners a few days ago are many men who remembered the change from the scenes of years ago. Their hearts have been full of revenge. When the opportunity presented itself they seized it, with the horrible result too well known. They shot to kill, because their relatives and friends had been made paupers by these people. I do not approve of the shooting, but I believe the facts will reveal what I have stated." (172) These immigrant strikers represented a class of people outside the local structure, posed an economic threat to the interests of coal operators, and replaced Anglo-Saxons as the dominant mine workers. In contrast, the Sheriff's posse consisted of a class of people that was �36 SLOVAKIA diametrically opposite in nationality, place in society , and occupation. This dissimilarity in turn tended to heighten emotional responses. The strike increased the stresses of nativism. Passions grew in both contending groups; as workers sought to shut down the mines , the Sheriff and his deputies, under the pressure of coal companies , tried to prevent them from accomplishing their objective. A feeling of anxiety and tension grew in the community as the chances of an ugly confrontation between strikers and law officers became likely. Undoubtedly , the Sheriff and his men fully sensed this but realized the ramifications if they failed to prevent the strikers from closing down the mining operations at Lattimer. If unsuccessful, the chances of protecting the remaining mines from being closed down by the strikers would be slight. Combined with this pressure were frustrations in trying to quell the strikers' activities , tension and fatigue over the incident at West Hazleton, malicious attitudes toward the immigrants who were also labor agitators, and a glandular excitement capable of generating panic from a large group about to undergo another encounter with strikers . A maturation process among Slavic and Italian immigrants in the anthracite coal fields reached fruition when the strike broke out in the Lehigh region in the late summer of 1897. Having become the dominant group among the mine workers in the late 1890's, they asserted themselves by conceiving and initiating the strike . This decision resulted from the frustrating working conditions and discriminatory practices emanating from nativistic actions which combined to impose hardships and an inferior status . The culmination of these factors was the wellspring for discontent and dissatisfaction. At this time the United Mine Workers of America lacked strength to represent and protect the anthracite mine workers ' interest effectively and , in addition , generally showed little interest in including the new immigrants in their ranks or purview. Consequently, the only recourse for the immigrant workers was to take matters into their own hands to seek redress for grievances. As the strike developed, it lacked coherent strategies since it was unorganized, leaderless , and did not have benefit of an effective union structure to provide direction, articulation, and ability to successfully negotiate with the coal operators. (173) This point of inadequate experience and unfamiliarity in labor affairs made the strikers vulnerable to violence . Therefore, on that Friday afternoon as the immigrant strikers marched into Lattimer imbued with a spirit to win their strike, they came face to face with Sheriff Martin and his deputies equally committed to stopping them. It was as if for a moment, the recent social and economic history of the area had been centripetally compressed into a time capsule only to be exploded by indigenous divergent and incompatible forces . Catapulted into a deadly collision were two different worlds in conflict. The result was-violence, perpetrated by public peace keepers who were the instruments of coal �SLOVAKIA 37 companies' strategy to break the strike . The effect was that Lattimer became the worst tragedy in American labor history in terms of the number of workers killed and wounded by public authorities, who were not provoked nor endangered and who attacked without warning unarmed strikers peacefully demonstrating on a public highway. FOOTNOTES (1) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 11, 1897. (2) Letter from Henry Hoyt, Assistant Attorney-General, to William Day, Secretary of State, April 8, 1898; in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, with the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1898 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1901), 82-87. Hoyt' s letter stemmed from an investigation made by the Department of Justice for the Department of State concerning a diplomatic protest from the Austria-Hungary government over several of its nationals killed and wounded at Lattimer. A great deal of confusion and inaccuracy existed in newspaper accounts as to the number of casualities from the shooting; reports varied from fourteen to as many as fifty people killed. Hoyt based his figures upon grand jury murder indictments against Sheriff Martin and his deputies who were brought to trial on February 1, 1898, in Luzerne County but were found not guilty by the jury. (3) Daily Standard (Hazleton), September 11, 1897. (4) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 11, 1897. (5) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (6) Daily Globe (South Bethlehem) , September 11, 1897. (7) St. Louis Post Dispatch, September 12, 1897. (8) San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 1897. (9) Detroit Free Press, September 11, 1897. (10) Pittsburgh Dispatch, September 11, 1897. (11) Boston Daily Globe, September 11, 1897. (12) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 5, 1897. (13) Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers : A Study in Immigration (Philadelphia: J . B. Lippincott Company, 1904) , 51 & 58 ; Frank Julian Warne, "Some Industrial Effects of Slav Immigration," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904), 223-224. (14) Rowland Berthoff, "The Social Order of the Anthracite Region , 1825-1902," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXXXIX (July 1965), 169-171; Charles B. Spahr, "America 's Working People," Outlook, Ll(Il (August 5, 1899) , 811. (15) Peter Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904) , 219. (16) Berthoff, 287; George 0 . Virtue, "The Anthracite Mine Laborers," Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor No. 13, (November, 1897) , 753. (17) Henry Edward Rood , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village ," Century Magazine, XXXIII, new series, (April, 1898), 811. (18) Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," 221. (19) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1895 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1895), 643. (20) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1897 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 546. �38 SLOVAKIA (21) Frank Julian Warne, " Organized Labor in the Anthracite Coal Fields," Outlook, LXXI (May 24 , 1902), 273 . '' . . . The operators used them (immigrants) originally to introduce low wages ... " Wilkes-Barre Record, August 8, 1897. The attitude that immigrants were responsible for undermining native labor interests was prevalent in newspaper editorials. Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette, September 25, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 8, 1897; Weekly Herald (Shenandoah), September 18, 1897; Sullivan Review, September 16, 1897 ; Detroit Free Press, September 12, 1897; Pittsburgh Post, September 15, 1897. (22) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. The laborer who assisted the contract miner was not employed by the coal operator but by the miner. Nearly eighty percent of the mine laborers in the Lehigh region worked under the contract system. Frank Julian Warne , " The Anthracite Coal Strike, " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XVII (January, 1901), 32-33 . (23) Rood, 815. (24) Frank Julian Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XXI (January , 1903) , 23-24; Rood, 815; Virtue, 753 . (25) Victor R. Greene, The Slavic Community on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968), 86-87 ; Berthoff, 272-273 ; Virtue , 753 . (26) Spahr, 8ll ; Warne, " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," 31-32 ; Roberts, "The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities, " 218 . (27) Harold W. Aurand , From the Molly Maguires to the United Mine Workers: The Social Ecology of an Industrial Union, 1869-1897 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press , 1971) , 136. (28) Berthoff, 273 . (29) Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker, " 21; Berthoff, 268. (30) Alexander Trachtenberg, The History of Legislation for the Protection of Coal Miners in Pennsylvania, 1824-1915 (New York: International Publishers, 1942) , 134135. (31) Ibid., 135-136; Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88 . (32) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Sessions of 1889, Vol. I, Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1889) , 1529. (33) Virtue, 768; Greene, ll 7-ll8 ; Pottsville Republican, June 15, 1897 . (34) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1889, Vol. I, 1236. (35) Ibid. (36) United Mine Workers Journal, October 22, 1896, 1. (37) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1897, 289. (38) UMW Journal, August 12, 1897, 7. (39) Daily Standard, August 28, 1897. (40) Warne , Th e Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88. (41) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Ses sion of 1897, 135-136. The bill passed the House and Senate by votes of 126 to 12 and 28 to 3 respectively . Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 1069 & 2418 . There were attempts in the House to make the tax five cents a day. Ibid., 2418 (42) Ibid., 2292 . (43) Ibid., 2217 . �SLOVAKIA 39 (44) UMW Journal, July 1, 1897, 1. (45) Fraser v. McConway & Torley Co., 82 The Federal Reporter 259 (1897) . (46) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, 2217. (47) Wilkes-Barre Record, August 26 & 28, 1897. (48) Peter Roberts, Anthracite Coal Communities: A Study of the Demography, The Social, Educational and Moral Life of the Anthracite Region (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1904), 44-45 . (49) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897. (50) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report on Conditions Existing Among the Miners and Those Employed in and About the Mines in the Anthracite Coal Regions ," Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Session Begun at Harrisburg, on the Fifth Day of January, 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1897), Il, 1824-1842. (51) R eports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), xvi-xvii . (52) Ibid., xvii; "Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (53) Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 170-172. (54) "The Association Letter," Anthracite Coal Operators Association, September, 1897, 2. (55) John Graham Brooks, " An Impression of the Anthracite Coal Troubles," Yale Review, VI (November, 1897), 307. (56) "Legislative Investigating Committee Report, " 1826. (57) Virtue, 756 . (58) Ibid., 757-58; "The Association Letter," 14-15; "The Marketing of Small Sizes of Anthracite," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (June, 1897), 490. (59) The Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Fiftieth Congress, 1888-89, Vol. IV (Washington: U.S . Government Printing Office, 1889) , lxxix . (60) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1891), 256-57 . (61) Peter Roberts , Anthracite Coal Industry (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1901), 136. (62) Ibid., 138. (63) "Company Store Legislation," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (April, 1897) , 395. (64) Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897. (65) Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897. (66) Virtue, 760 ; " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (67) UMW Journal, January 14 , 1897, 5; Ibid., October 22, 1896, l; Wilkes-Barre Record, December 25, 1896; Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897 . Fahy launched a campaign in the anthracite region to secure public contributions to support the United Mine Workers of America lobbying activities to abolish the company store. The Pennsylvania Legislature, reflecting an increased awareness of labor interests, responded and passed a bill in July, 1897 , placing a ten percent tax upon the face value of all types of certificates or the equivalent issued in lieu of legal tender for employees' wages . This measure would have severely crippled the operation of company stores; however, Governor Hastings vetoed the legislation on the ground that it violated the state constitution. George Edward Reed, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. Xll, 4th ser., (Harrisburg: Wm . Stanley Ray State Printer, 1902), 150-54. �40 SLOVAKIA (68) Daily Standard, August 31 & September 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2 & 13, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike of May-October, 1902 by the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission (Washington : U.S . Government Printing Office , 1903), 144 . The above source contained information regarding the strikers' demands made to the G. B. Markle & Company in the 1897 strike. (69) Daily Standard, September 6 & 8, 1897; Spahr, 810 . (70) Ibid.; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897 ; The Reports of Committees of the Hous e ... Fiftieth Congress, lxxxi. (71) Berthoff, 286. If all the miners in the fifth district (Lehigh region) had turned in their empty powder kegs in 1896, they would have raised $10 ,028.30 . Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173. (72) Robe rts , Anthracite Coal Communities, 259, 262-263. (73) Report of the Industrial Commission of the Relations and Conditions of Capital and Labor in the Mining Industry Including Testimony, Review of Evidence, and Topical Digest, Vol. XIl (Washington : U.S. Government Printing Office , 1901), 142 . (74) Robe rts, Anthracite Coal Industry, 133-134. (75) Daily Standard, September 6, 8 & 9, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 7, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike, 144. (76) Daily Standard, September 9, 1897; Spahr, 810; Report of the Industrial Commission, 142. (77) Computation based on 5,754 miners and laborers in the fifth anthracite district and the use of 100,283 kegs of blasting powder. Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173 & 176. (78) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891, 96-97. (79) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. (80) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1830. (81) UMW Journal, Ocotber 22, 1896, 1. (82) Report of the Industrial Commission, 143. (83) UMW Journal, November 25, 1897, 2; Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (84) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 15, 1897. (85) Ibid.; Daily Standard, August 17, 1897. In the Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre newspapers there appeared an account of an interview with an unnamed individual defending Jones ' superintendency . Acknowledging that Jones may have made some mistakes, the source indicated that the workers' discontent really stemmed from the decisions made by the preceeding superintendent or from orders issued by higher company officials . ''He is charged with being a tyrant, and in reference to this it may be said that each foreman has full charge of all employees working under him . But Jones is among the first men about the works in the morning and among the last to leave at night, and because he attends strictly to business he is called a tyrant by men who want ten hours pay for less than ten hours of work.'' Wilkes-Barre Times, August 27, 1897. (86) Ibid., August 16, 1897. Gomer Jones was arrested later on a complaint by John Bodan on the charge of aggravated assault. Ibid., August 18, 1897. (87)lbid. , August 16, 1897 . (88) Ibid. , August 17, 1897 . (89) Ibid. , August 18, 1897. (90) Ibid. , August 20, 1897 . �SLOVAKIA 41 (91) Ibid. , August 21, 1897. (92) Ibid. (93) Ibid., August 28, 30 & September 1, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28, 1897. (94) Ibid., September 3, 1897. (95) Ibid., September 3 & 4, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, September 4, 6 & 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 3, 1897 . (96) Ibid. , August 28, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897. (97) Ibid. , August 30, 1897 . (98) Ibid., August 31, 1897. (99) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 3, 1897. (100) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. (101) Ibid, ; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & 30, 1897. (102) Ibid. , September 4 & 6, 1897. (103) Daily Standard, September 6, 1897. (104) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897. (105) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. A. S. Van Wickle Company operated independently of the other coal companies, provided their employees more work, and were regarded with greater esteem and confidence in the community. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 22, 1897 . (106) Letter from James Martin to Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania, October 18, 1897 , Governor Hastings Papers, MG-145, Box 18, Division of Archives and Manuscripts of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (107) Ibid. (108) R eco rd of the Times (Wilkes-Barre), March 4, 1898. (109) New York World, February 13, 1898; Dollar Weekly News-Dealer (Wilkes-Barre), September 18, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 23 , 1898 ; Pennsylvania, Department of State, Commission Bureau, "Policemen, 1889-1912," 346; Hazle Township and Hazleton City, "Real Estate Tax Assessment Books for 1896 and 1897 ,'' Office of the Board for the Assessment and Revision of Taxes , Luzerne County Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania . (110) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898; Daily Standard, September 7, 1897. (111) Record of the Times, March 4, 1897. (112) Daily Standard, October 21, 1897. A review of the annual financial report of the Comptroller for Luzerne County revealed that there were no payments from county funds for the services of the deputies at Hazleton , supporting the conclusion that the coal operators paid the deputies' salaries. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 23, 1898. (113) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (114) Daily Standard, September 9, 1898. (115) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (116) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (118) Ibid. (119) Ibid. , September 9, 1897. (120) Ibid. , September 10, 1897 . (121) Ibid., September 9, 1897. �42 SLOVAKIA (122) Ibid., September 8, 1897; Hazleton Sentinel, September 3, 1897; Spahr, 808. (123) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (124) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (125) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (126) Record of the Times, February 11, 1898. (127) Ibid. , March 4, 1898. (128) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (129) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (130) Ibid. (131) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (132) Ibid. (133) Ibid. (134) Ibid., February 18, 1898. (135) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (136) Ibid., February 15, 1898. (137) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (138) Ibid., February 8, 1898. (139) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (140) New York World, September 12, 1898. "Whether deserved or not, Sheriff Martin, of Luzerne county, it is alleged, entertains an unquestionable hatred for the foreign element." Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (141) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (142) Ibid., September 11, 1897. (143) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 13, 1897. (144) Easton Free Press, September 13, 1897. (145) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (146) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (147) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (148) Record of the Times, February 28, 1898; Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (149) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (150) Ibid. (151) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (152) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (153) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898; Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia), September 11, 1897; Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (154) Ibid., September 11, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 11 , 1897; WilkesBarre Record, September 11, 1897 . (155) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (156) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (157) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897. (158) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (159) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897 . (160) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11 , 1897. �SLOVAKIA 43 (161) Pottsville Republican, September 14, 1897. (162) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (163) Evening Bulletin, September 13, 1897. (164) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (165) Record of the Times, February 22, 1897. (166) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (167) Record of the Times, February 11 & 15, 1898; Daily Standard, September 11, 1897; "Some of the guns were loaded with shells containing a lot of No.8 shot, which scattered with deadliest effect, and others had the plain bullets of heavy bore. The manner in which the victims were tom up looked as though they had been before gatling guns or on a field of where grape and canister were poured from cannon mouths." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (168) Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (169) Wilkes-Barre Sunday Morning Leader, September 12, 1897. (170) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (171) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (172) New York Tribune, September 15, 1897. (173) Report of the Industrial Commission, 139-140; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & September 5, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. When news of the Lattimer shooting spread through the coal fields surrounding Hazleton, the scope of the strike immediately enlarged involving some 10,000 mine employees and idling nineteen of the thirty-three area collieries. Strikers were unwilling to return to work during the following week when funerals for victims were held; they further refused to end their work stoppage until the coal operators met their grievances, mainly an increase in wages. The strike began to wane on September 20 when the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company agreed to grant a ten percent wage increase to mine laborers, pay six to eight cents more per car of coal to miners, and seek solutions to workers' complaints. Only two companies, Lehigh Valley Coal Company and C. Pardee and Company, had not reached a settlement by the end of the second week after the Lattimer shooting but by the end of September they both made an agreement similar to the other coal operators which finally brought an end to the Lehigh coal strike of 1897. Pennsylvania, Official Documents of 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1899), ill, 124 Scranton Times, September 21, 1897; Daily Standard, September 21 & 24, 1897; UMW Journal, November 18, 1897, 3. �44 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre KON STANTIN CULEN A tragic event that occurred in September 1897 struck at the heart of Slovak American life with such telling impact that it served to solidify the Slovak immigrants in the United States into one unified body more effectively than had any previous experience in their new world. This event greatly furthered that awareness of a need for unity that began to crystallize under the pressures to which they had been subjected in their homeland Slovakia. In American history as well as in the record of early SlovakAmerican history this event is known as the Lattimer slaughter or the Lattimer massacre. The setting was the mining region around Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It was an area that had long seethed with the discontent and the restiveness of the men who were employed in the mines . Mine management groups had long bled their workers white, extracting the very marrow out of their bones . The companies paid out pauper wages, cheated the workmen on their weight checks, overcharged prices for foods and daily necessities that were sold through company stores. Scores of mining catastrophes underscored the obvious inadequacy of safety measures that existed to protect the men in their dangerous work in deep underground pits. Miners in Hazleton had declared a strike but nearby mines in neighboring communities continued to operate at practically full strength. Some casual talk was heard from time to time to the effect that the Hazleton operators were planning to bring in scabs in the near future. Union leaders realized that their Hazleton strike would lose all effectiveness unless the miners of the entire locality would join forces in one concerted resistance movement, supporting the Hazleton effort and pressing common demands for improved conditions and benefits. On September 10, 1897 a sizable group of Slovak and Polish miners who were on strike set out for the small mining settlement of Lattimer. In subsequent investigations during the trial they testified that they were on their way there because the Lattimer workers had sent them word that they decided to join the strike movement. The group of striking miners had hardly left Hazleton when Sheriff Martin with a company of about a hundred men from the supporting police force (so-called deputies) anticipated their movement and went An excerpt from Konstantin Culen's two-volume History of the Slovaks in America. (Bratislava, Slovenska Liga , 1942) vol. 1, Part XI , no . 5-9, pp. 162-176. Translated by Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. �SLOVAKIA 45 on ahead of them riding the trolley lines. On reaching Lattimer, he assigned his force of deputies to various positions and then he moved several paces forward, addressing the group marching in on foot, to read a restraining order that forbade any gathering or assemblage of persons by provision ordinance dealing with uprising and rebellion. During the reading of this ordinance, a few strikers came closer to the sheriff and there was some minor verbal exchange. The miners objected that they were not disturbers of the public peace or revolutionaries of any kind; they were simply orderly and law-abiding citizens peacefully going along their way . This reaction so exasperated the sheriff that he reached out and snatched away a small American flag that one of the men was carrying, tore it up, pulled out his revolver and began to shoot. After he had drawn his trigger five times, his sixth shot struck a miner in the chest and hurled him to the ground. After the sheriff's outburst of fire, there was the sound of volleys from the deputies. The unarmed miners turned and fled in panic, trying to find safety or protection of some kind. The brutal frontal attack lasted but a few moments but the deputies continued to fire upon the fleeing miners so that practically all of them were struck and wounded in flight.(1) The deputies who were charged with excitement by this time, further assaulted the bleeding victims by beating them and kicking them cruelly as they lay helpless on the ground. A shot or a volley of shots can seem to be an effective argument at a given moment but usually its effectiveness wears off after a brief time. And shots or salvos of shots fail to carry conviction. This was brought out in the Lattimer situation. The Slovak colony found itself in a state of shock, standing inconsolate beside the corpses of the fallen men. It was all too clear to these newcomers now - if it had not been clear to them before - that every Slovak had to be very realistically a brother to a fellow-Slovak, that every Slovak would have to be the most reliable standby and defense of a fellow-Slovak. Anything less than that would serve to reduce them to the debasing circumstance of being mere henchmen and convenient tools of foreign overlords and exploiters. This extravagant bloodletting and bizarre butchering under unprovoked and non-violent circumstances evoked considerable humane reaction in the American press. The attitudes of American journalists were not all of a kind. Some reporters and editors were incensed over the needless killings and brutality. Some wrote with a sense of relief that the incident involved only "Hunkies" - the generic designation that most newspapers used for every newcomer from Austria-Hungary. News of this lamentable event spread to all the Slovak settlers scattered throughout the United States and set off a degree of outrage and consternation that no other experience had yet caused in SlovakAmerican life. Those who had been faction-torn or at odds for whatever �46 SLOVAKIA reasons , were at once moved to conciliation and unity through their common grief at the graveside of the murdered men. Slovak Ame rican journalists who had been indulging personal and non-personal bouts of polemics in their papers left all that trivia now that a common cause evolved out of this catastrophe , and a vigorous new spirit infused their energies and talents. They reacted with a sense of unity and resolute will not only to moderate the mounting resentment and growing agitation that could have been fanned to unreasonable and uncontrollable proportions but to divert effort and attention to an altruistic purpose on behalf of aiding and befriending the widowed and orphaned survivors . Slovak American journalists also undertook a determined program to secure in the free world of America that measure of civic dignity and security that would make it impossible for such brutal disregard of the human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ever to be repeated and condoned again . The press came out strongly with appeals for at least financial compensation to the bereaved widows and orphans and demanded that punitive justice be dealt the incriminated sheriff. The general feeling was that the just process of law and suitable sentencing should act as a deterrent to any possible repetition of the horrible incident. The whole body of Slovak immigrant life in America reacted with a corporate cry of pain and a strong appeal protesting the inhumanity of the Lattimer episode. New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, all made their voices heard as did lesser towns and even the lowly scattered hamlet settlements in America where Slovaks nursed the pain of this tragic hurt . Countless gatherings and demonstrations attracted thousands of Slovak laborers to review and assess the factors involved and the consequences of this catastrophe. Numberless formal discussions and rallies were climaxed with the drawing up of appropriate protest resolutions. All Slovak-American centers participated in drives to aid the victimized survivors of the callous murder, and there were also spirited fund-raising campaigns for legal expenses and court costs to bring Sheriff Martin to justice, for the prevailing view was that he should be made to pay for his crime, for his responsibility in leading and abetting reprehensible action . A committee for this express purpose was organized in Hazleton, holding itself charged to set in motion whatever action might be called for and to pursue the cause to its end. The September 16, 1897 issue (738) of the Amerikansko-Slovenske noviny appeared with a banner headline whose bold-faced lettering read: "Massacre of Slavs . In the freest country under the sun , people are shot at like dogs. Slavs are the victims of American savagery." Editor Pucher Ciernovodsky designated September 10 the bloody Friday of Slovak national life. His report seemed to be written with a pen dipped in blood. He denounced the attacking party and he did not spare the Slovaks themselves , finding them culpable of that lack of �SLOVAKIA 47 interest in public affairs that could have contributed significantly to the culmination of this public scandal. Some of Pucher Ciernovodsky' s thoughts were: ' 'The mountainsides of Hazleton are drenched with Slovak blood, and pitiable orphans and widows, fathers and mothers, brothers and friends raise eyes brimming with bitter tears to heaven pleading, 0 God , is there justice in this life? If there is justice on this earth of ours, did our blood truly deserve this spilling? Who in this world is committed to greater drudgery than we? Who in this world is engaged in a work that is more dangerous than ours? ' 'When we are driven to extremes of misery because hunger and want have sapped our strength and our bodies are bone-weary from overwork, and when our famished and shabbily clothed children ask for food that we cannot provide for them , and we go to discuss our problems and try to come together for deliberations in an effort to arrive at some reasonable solutions, how to go about unsnarling this sad fate that so embitters our lives - what kind of law is it, what kind of justice and fairness is it - or is it our miserable doom that we should be shot at like dogs? Ah, America, America ... ''It is indeed a curious America. When the Turks set upon the Armenians, every full-blooded American protested and vehemently shouted his willingness to join a fighting force to check the Turks. And yet here and now when it comes to bringing to justice those who similarly violated the rights of Slavs in America, they do all in their power to prevent the guilty from being brought to legitimate trial. Reams have been written and volumes have been mouthed condemning the cruelties of the Spanish in Cuba. There was universal recrimination against the injustices inflicted upon the oppressed Cubans, yet journalists have scant syllables of tenderness or sympathy for our people who were felled by wanton gunshot in a manner more senseless and inhuman than any attack of the Spanish upon the Cubans . The Cubans at least had defense weapons but our people were shot unarmed, shot like animals . ''This grieves us unspeakably. '' And, in the last analysis, who is most responsible for all this? "We ourselves must hold ourselves responsible. "A Slav does not support a fellow-Slav. We have no mutual bonds of unity, no fellowship at all, no commonly shared activities. We cultivate none. We fail to get along amicably. Instead, we seem to make sport of baiting one another, and we lack even that zest for life that long ago should have whipped us into a common front to denounce the maligning that the American press released against us and to protest the discrimination and injustice imposed upon foreigners by the threecent-tax. If other ethnic groups had not taken the initiative , we would have let them dance on our heads . �48 SLOVAKIA ' ' What can the American public think about such men? It would not be surprising if they rated us cowardly, worthless, less than the Indians, and so deserving a fate no better than that of the Indians. "We give too little consideration to matters like citizenship, legal rights and civil rights or public opinion. No wonder, then, that public opinion shows no concern about us, has no regard for us . ''If public opinion had any respect for us, then those deputies and the sheriff who were involved in the Lattimer affair would not have allowed themselves to perpetrate such an act of sheer barbarism. Whatever the circumstances, whether there was any excuse or not for a collective attack with Winchester rifles, at least this truth remains that if we were not a subservient people they would not have kept firing at our fleeing men from behind. "The catchword of people like our attackers, is "Shoot the Hungarian dog! ' ' Why? Because we do not make the effort to have our own recognized defense and defenders , our own qualified men who are in touch with the pulse of political life and current trends , men qualified to speak out on our behalf. We ourselves all too readily and regrettably belittle our own ; we tend to regard with disfavor and lack of recognition those of us who have gifts of leadership; we begrudge them opportunities , cut them down and deny them a chance to develop their potential. "In the end we suffer for it collectively. It is true that there are officials whose duty it is to defend our people because they were appointed and authorized to do so, and they are salaried to execute this office , but they seem to be wrapped in safe slumber. They are our Austro-Hungarian consuls. " Just what did these officials, these Austro-Hungarian consuls do for us in previous strike situations? Exactly nothing. " On the other hand , how did the Italian consuls react when their Italian countrymen were being lynched in New Orleans? The furor that was generated on that occasion almost incited a war with the United States, and an indemnity of five thousand dollars had to be paid for every victim. ' 'It is our reasoned judgment that the Hazleton bloodshed is far more criminal than was the New Orleans lynching and it is the patent duty of the Austro-Hungarian government to make honorable and serious intervention on our behalf. "Since those who were shot to death were citizens of the United States , we have no alternative but to organize our effort in order to bring the whole affair to an exhaustive investigation and to the due process of justice. The burden of responsibility in this matter rests primarily with our Slavic organizations which, in every respect, bear the characteristics of American organizational structure. And their responsibility for such action is all the more binding if any of their members happened to be among the victims, if they were members of �SLOVAKIA 49 the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), the Greek Catholic society Sojedinenie, the Pennsylvania Slovak Union, Sojus, etc. Let these organizations set in motion the wheels that will bring about necessary lawsuits; let them underwrite out of their treasuries or raise funds in some way to cover related expenses, and let their united effort and combined strength prove that they truly have the good name and the best interests of all Slavic ethnics at heart. Let me presume to say that this Bartholomew night should serve as a Sturrnistic symbol effecting concerted and wholehearted cooperation. ''If this soul-shaking experience fails to jolt us out of our morbid lethargy, we ought to raise a memorial cross as a marker for our nation and our spirit of patriotism and declare that we buried it all on that bloody Friday in Hazleton.'' (2) Because of this massacre a violent disturbance broke out among the Slovak and Polish miners. Governor Hastings declared a state of emergency in Hazleton and dispatched 2,500 troops to move in and control the problem. Security measures that the governor ordered for the Hazleton area were very extensive and elaborate, involving the outlay of $475 ,000 - a very large sum in those days. The whole countryside seethed and repercussions were witnessed far and wide. The American press took sides with Sheriff Martin, generally arguing (as if it were a valid objection) that the slain men were not even American citizens. The press of the ethnic groups and those who supported the cause of the miners countered this attitude with the historically substantiated observation that neither were Pulaski, Kosciusko and some other heroes of the American War for Independence official citizens of the United States. They came to fight for freedom in a land that was alien to them because liberty and freedom are nowhere in the world foreign commodities to any human being. Freedom is the prerogative of every person and we are all entitled to our share of this gift. In the hour of our country's struggle for freedom, every able volunteer was welcome to share in the battle and in the pain to win it. Now that the fruits of liberty should be portioned out to all and denied to none in a free land, it is glibly said that freedom is our privilege - you are existentially in the land of liberty but you are not a free man. On September 11 the miners held an open air protest rally in Hazleton. Father Stas, pastor of St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic church in Freeland, spoke on behalf of the Slovak minority. He spoke out strongly and fearlessly against a freedom that countenances the murder of defenseless people. Some of the other speakers on this occasion were Reverend R. Aust of Hazleton who represented the Poles, Reverend Gullovic, Reverend Hauser, attorney John Shea of Wilkes-Barre and J . Fahy, president of the United Mine Workers. A gathering of over 4,000 Slovak and Polish mine workers resolved to �50 SLOVAKIA defend their rights, determined to make Sheriff Martin stand trial for this wanton bloodletting. The victims of the disaster were buried on September 12 as huge throngs converged upon the area for the occasion. This Lattimer massacre affected much of America. On September 15, the Slovaks and the Poles of the New York region held a mass demonstration at which they made it clear that the issue at stake was in no way related to religious affiliation or nationality roots or fratemalism of one kind or another. Their main concern was the general welfare of the American working class and fundamental civil rights for all. They appealed for unanimity and single-mindedness of purpose among them all - the Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians and English. A resolution which they formulated on this occasion includes these sentiments: · 'Profoundly affected by the catastrophe that occurred in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in a free country, the republic of the United States of North America, where on September 10 eighteen men who were Slavs and Slovaks were shot to death and about forty others were wounded by a sheriff's posse as these men peaceably and with no ill intent went their way on a public street, aware of the provision of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees every citizen freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and belief, and the right of assemblage, all of which this country esteems and safeguards as sacred civil rights. ' ' Aware that the action of Sheriff Martin and his party was wholly unlawful and totally uncalled for - for it has been proved that the workmen who were en route to their predetermined destination had neither arms nor foul purpose, and he had not even tried to inform them of his rights and their duties - we, on this basis, as American citizens, as workingmen, as Slavs by accident of birth, do most emphatically denounce and condemn this criminal act. We express our profound sympathy to the bereaved families of the unfortunate victims even as we invoke the widely esteemed American regard for justice, urging that formal action be taken to bring to trial those who are considered blameworthy and to have them face their responsibility by due process of law and in this way to effect moral satisfaction to our nation and material compensation to the survivors of the victim families; ' 'We further resolve that to the full extent of our ability and means we will morally and materially offer our assistance to the unfortunately bereaved and we will exert all our power and prestige to have bloodthirsty criminals bear the just punishment which their conduct deserves; "We finally resolve that copies of this resolution be sent to the governor of the state of Pennsylvania and to the district attorney of Luzerne County, and that it be published in all newspapers; we also urge the editors of our Slovak publications to appeal to our people to �SLOVAKIA 51 support this action wholeheartedly with liberal contributions in an effort to redeem and justify the much maligned name and rights of the Slovaks who find it inevitable to undertake a distasteful reckoning with narrow-minded nativists." (3) A spirited call was made in the press for attendance at a protest gathering scheduled for September 20 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania "at which resolutions will be formulated denouncing the action of Sheriff Martin who is responsible for the shooting-death of so many blameless Slovaks . English, Slovak, Polish, Croatian and various other speakers will address those present." Protest and denunciation were voiced from all parts of the nation where there were fellow nationals of the slain miners . Dr. Theodorovic, who represented the office of the Austro-Hungarian consul, came to Hazleton for a personal assessment of the massacre and related factors. Slovak and Polish groups initiated drives throughout the United States in order to raise funds for promoting an equitable trial that would yield at least fair compensations where they were due, and just penalties for Sheriff Martin and his henchmen, all within the framework of jurisprudence and with a deterrent impact against similar injustice. One outcome of this effort was the organization of "the National Fair Trial and Beneficial Committee on Behalf of the Lattimer Victims. " This committee published a public statement and an appeal which was carried in all the current newspapers. It read in part: '' The underlings who are in the employ of corporations and share a thirst for liquidating their fellow-citizens are largely the lackeys and hacks of their bosses, all murderously eager to carry out every order from the top. The incident did not arise out of any disturbance of the peace by those guiltless men who were so brutally victimized; there was no intent to transgress law or ordinance; they carried no firearms , no clubs or flails. Workingmen were simply on a mission of their own, marching along the street to meet some fellow-workers from the same mining company in order to discuss a sharing of views and attitudes and to build moral support in a common cause. ''The Declaration of Independence in this land proclaims that all men are created free and equal. Somehow these hirelings felt that the life of an alien is not worth even as much as the life of a slave. Apparently they were led to believe that their killing of such people and under such circumstances would be universally approved by the press and by public opinion. '' It is well known that Americans endorse the principle of fair play. When poor workmen, unarmed victims, were so foully gunned down in cold blood, not only this land but all the civilized world was appalled by the atrocity. The Constitution of the United States provides for the right of peaceful assembly. Have these words meaning or force in the light of bullets and bayonets? We hold that every individual who participated in the shooting on that ill-fated day in Lattimer overstepped his rights �52 SLOVAKIA and violated the law. We hold that their act was nothing short of criminal, inhuman and unspeakable butchery. "We make this appeal and protest in the name of those who were wounded and as representatives of those who are the bereaved survivors in the families of the slain victims. Our committee has been organized in order to provide counsel and to call witnesses and to take care of whatever else may be necessary to bring Sheriff Martin and his deputies to face indictment and to stand trial according to the full force of our country's laws. ''We act on the principle that this struggle of ours is your struggle as well as ours and on the assumption that you are friends of the workingman who is often taken advantage of. If these people whom we desire to bring to an accounting are let go free and without making retribution for the killing of our countrymen, who knows what further fate can await us in the future? "Reverend Richard Aust, president; John Nemeth, treasurer; Loughran, secretary; Reverend John Stas, Salvator di Sandola, Nicholas Ballok, Matthews Long, John Kuntz, Charles Hauser, Edmund Lemhick, Reverend J. Formanek, Frank Kozlovski, George Kozarovich. '' Samuel Gompers, president of the Federation of Labor, visited the scene and made some observations about the cheap labor of the Poles, Slovaks and Italians whom the coal barons were importing into America in order to squeeze out the '' intelligent Irish and Welsh laborers.' ' Even before the sentencing, Gompers as president of the workers' union said, ''It is my opinion that the sheriff and his deputies will be acquitted in order to teach 'those foreigners' a lesson to behave differently in the future. ' 'Posterity will rate the Lattimer killings as nothing but massacre of a kind that has no equal in the history of civilized peoples, and the consciences of the perpetrators of this act will accuse and torment them to their last day. And even though monopolies and monopolists may succeed in achieving their victory, such slaughter must some day come to an end; truth will be victorious and all people will enjoy the fulness of their sacred rights - all people, whether they be of the common working class or the favored moneyed class of mine owners. "The laborers .of our country are moving toward better and stronger organization day by day, and the citizens at large are grasping a much better and a truer concept of the rights and obligations of individuals. When that day of ultimate realization does arrive, the account of the Lattimer murders will have been written in our history in letters of blood and this notorious crime will be looked upon as the most atrocious and vile offense of the nineteenth century.'' The trial of Sheriff Martin and his associates opened on February 1, 1898. The place of trial was the Luzerne County Court in WilkesBarre. Adherents of both the prosecution and the defense followed �SLOVAKIA 53 developments with undivided attention and intense feeling. Sheriff Martin had the support of all the major coal corporations , top officialdom and capitalism . The plaintiffs were backed by the laboring masses. In the process of jury se lection , Judge Staley Woodward saw to it that only American-born citizens were seated as jurors . There was never any doubt that the se lected jury panel was unanimous in its antipathy for foreigners . Judge Woodward ascertained from sworn testimony that the striking miners had created no public disorder or disturbance during their march , that they were completely unarmed, that Sheriff Martin had stopped them and insolently ordered them to turn back , that the miners were not incline d to obey but had objected that they had every right to use a public street. Further testimony indicated that the sheriff challenged the leader of the marching group, gave the order to fire and that he himself fired the first shot , striking the leader of the marching miners in the chest as additional volleys were turned upon the men who began to run for shelter . The City Trust Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia supplied bail for the indicted to the amount of $256 ,000 . The press seldom missed an opportunity to belittle the foreign element and to overstate their shortcomings and least desirable traits - almost as if bad traits and undesirable characteristics were exclusively theirs. The presiding judge at the trial was Judge Woodward. He was related to the owner of the mines where strikes were beginning to be staged. He was also a shareholder in these mines. There was not a single Slav among the twelve jurors, most of whom were farmers, men who could hardly have firsthand knowledge of mining conditions and the situations that had justified the strike movement. They were not at all familiar with such matters as fair working conditions, e quitable pay, safety m easures, etc. A writer in one of the current publications observed, ' 'These are the names of the men in whose hands rests the power of passing a verdict that will tell the world whether anyone in this civilized country - even if he be the highest official of a particular country - may or may not, without cause, slaughter peaceful workers . It is easy to tell from the listed names that to the very last man these jurors are all Americans. The question is: are their hearts filled with rank nativism and malicious ill-will against foreigners? If they are bigoted nativists, it is vain to expect a fair sentence.'' Early in the opening of the trial the court denied the motion of the state prosecutor that the jury go to the scene of the massacre for a kind of re-enactment of the events that occurred there . The last act of this bloody drama took place during the trial. As charge followed upon charge , the full impact of hate and prejudice �54 SLOVAKIA harbored against the Slavic immigrants came into clearer and surer light. One of the defendants boasted, "I did all right; I aimed at nine and brought down five of them ." Meanwhile the mutilated survivors of that bloody Friday - some without an arm or a leg -- were in full view of the court and the spectators gathered at the trial. Before the eyes of them all , Gregory Gasparik with bandages bound about his head in which a bullet was still lodged, in moderate tones testified against Sheriff Martin and his posse. People who lived near the scene of the crime also came in to testify, telling how they had seen the deputies beat the strikers who were already all bloodied and wounded with shots . The defendants produced about a hundred witnesses who charged that Poles and Huns had terrorized the whole area and that on this occasion they were actuallly marching with firearms. They supported Sheriff Martin as a law man who was doing his duty when he ordered his men to fire at the group . Sheriff Martin, on his part, denied all guilt in the matter and entered a plea of innocent . He claimed that after reading the injunction, he attempted to arrest the leader of the marchers but the striking men , misunderstanding his action and intent, set upon him and began to beat and kick him. At this point he called upon his men for help and when even that restraint was ineffective, he finally gave an order to fire because he feared that he might be killed. When blank shots did not quell the situation , then they began to shoot in earnest even if it meant to wound and kill. He claimed that when he first met the marchers, he asked where they were going and that they answered, ''To Lattimer in order to get the men out of work! " " I begged them and pleaded with them not to go any farther ," he stated. " I urged them to obey the law and to disperse. Someone from the back of the crowd loudly cried out the word to go on. The strikers began to jostle me about and to shout abuse at me. One drunken Hungarian even tried to throttle me so I arrested him. The crowd that surrounded me swelled bigger and bigger. I drew my revolver and aimed into the air because I did not want to hurt anyone . In that instant, Joseph Novotny punched me in the face and I fell to the ground as the mob began to howl, 'Kill the s.o.b. ! ' '' I tried to defend myself with my revolver but it wouldn't fire. The mob that was pressing upon me was armed with revolvers and knives. When I fell to my knees, the deputies began to fire and the crowd then started to fall back. But they did not disperse at once. At a distance of 500 to 600 feet, they stopped in a wooded place. I felt that they might return. My men began to shout to them to disperse . Afterwards I gave the order to look after the wounded and the killed.'' The strikers countered this desposition with the charge that the sheriff was the first to fire a shot. They maintained that no one struck �SLOVAKIA 55 him, no one kicked him nor was there any evidence on his clothing or his body that he had been subjected to rough treatment of any kind. No blanks were discharged and no man who was wounded or killed was struck by a frontal shot; all were shot from the back. The son of the mine owner, young Pardee, called out to the law men , "Boys, shoot down those Huns! " Further testimony indicated that the deputies were extremely harsh and unfeeling even toward the killed and the wounded , kicking them mercilessly. Sworn witnesses consistently testified that the miners had no arms of any kind . They carried no canes or sticks, no rocks or stones , much less firearms. Scores of witnesses corroborated this testimony . Andrew Siviar, one of the miners, testified that the workmen marched as members of the United Mine Workers of America and that they had no weapons and had planned no mischief or property destruction of any kind. John Milhala, secretary of the local union, testified that they had gone to the mayor of the city who assured them that they could go to Lattimer in orderly fashion , that the sheriff had no authority to stop or prevent them. Some striking testimony was presented by the local school teacher Charles Guscot. He was eyewitness to the entire episode. He attested to the opening of fire by Sheriff Martin and the inhumane shooting upon the men who helplessly tried to flee from the ruthless officers. Another teacher from a nearby school alleged that she personally saw one of the deputies pursuing a wounded and bloodied man and in horror witnessed how he shot him to death a few steps in front of her when the weakened man fell to the ground from exhaustion. Reverend Stafflet declared under sworn testimony that he was passing the scene in a trolley car and had seen no signs of provocation on the part of the miners . They conducted themselves becomingly and bothered nobody along the way. The daily papers reported that the courtroom was the scene of some most unusual proceedings. The firm that had provided the earlier funds for bail now again supplied further expense money in the amount of over $402 .00 . All the sworn testimony agreed on the fact that the miners had no weapons . As a matter of fact, they had reckoned with the possibility of being challenged on the way and had forbidden any man to carry arms. Not one of them carried even as much as a walking stick or ordinary cane. Among the witnesses one testified that when he decided to join the group, he went into the mountains and cut himself a staff - just in case - but the others prevailed upon him to throw it away. There was also testimony that the deputies had openly boasted in the town that they would kill "the dirty Huns" yet. One of them joked about the whole thing afterwards, commenting that if he had been �56 SLOVAKIA given a cent for every one that he shot, he would have had the price of a bee r because he himself hit five . The sheriff and all the indicted men appeared before the bench with an air of great self-confidence and assurance. Their backing firm had made an outlay of over $30,000 in legal fees, the judge undoubtedly lent them the weight of his favor and they knew beforehand that no kind of testimony could affect them adversely. Some of the leading American newspapers, including the New York World which was owned by Pulitzer , a Jew from Zemplin in Slovakia, slanted their reporting to discredit the miners. Maurice Engelman , who was also a witness, testified that back in town they laughingly told him to hide or he would be an easy target. John Petruska testified that he was present when the posse was choosing firearms and one of the deputies quipped, " We ' re on our way for a shooting in Lattimer!" Gaspar Wizneski testified that he himself saw the sheriff raise his revolver and fire into the crowd in front of him . '' Do you swear that you saw the sheriff kill one of the strikers?'' the attorney challenged him . '' I swear to it that I did! '' he answered in a clear and audible voice that carried throughout the electrified atmosphere of the courtroom. Martin McGahren and Scarlet, attorneys for the plaintiffs, did not lack incriminating evidence yet all the substance of the testimony did not seem to put the burden of guilt on the accused. The court demanded specific proof and specific charges identifying who killed whom . This could hardly be presented , given the circumstances of abrupt assault and the ensuing panic . Who could tell precisely whose bullet killed this victim or that one? And there was the persistent line of defense claiming that the sheriff acted in the discharge of his duty when he issued the order to fire on the crowd. The defense was called to investigate a hundred witnesses . It was a drawn out trial that finally ended on March 9, 1898 . The sentence that was pronounced was: "The accused are found not guilty. " The court ruled that they had the right to shoot, that they had a right to selfdefense. This verdict created a public scandal. Over 30 ,000 miners began to threaten to take to the streets again, to start another strike. But they were at a total disadvantage. Corporations had contributed several hundred thousands of dollars for this legal battle. How could that be matched by the trifling $5,930 that the impoverished and distracted miners were able to raise from their own resources? For long months, the prime topic of public interest and comment among the Slovaks was the Lattimer massacre. Dozens and dozens of articles, printed and spoken reactions of varying degrees of intensity, were devoted to this incredibly outrageous event and its disgraceful outcome . J. A. Feriencik vehemently and fearlessly criticized a court of �SLOVAKIA 57 justice that would condone such wanton killing and allow such an act to go unpunished, unatoned, because the lords and the mighty ones assented to it. In stark disbelief he wrote: ''They will kill, they will shoot, and grant you no mourning or tears of relief. And somehow they will make it all come out within the limits of the law. '' On the one hand we keep calling out 'Friends and countrymen of ours, come out here and settle here in America, in this famed free country. Apply for American citizenship, learn English, do your utmost to become worthy citizens of the United States, etc.' On the other hand, we urge our people back home to come over with their entire families, to establish themselves as family units and to adopt the American way of life and so gain the ' respect' of their American neighbors. '' And our people here credulously throng to the courts for naturalization forms, they register their desire to become American citizens, set themselves to studying English, the language of this country, adopt American usage and custom, and with all the ardor of their nature they cultivate a deep love for this new country of theirs. In many instances their devotion and loyalty outstrip the sentiments of some native American citizens. And the returns for this good will and generous effort? - Heartless murder! "Even as our people spare no pain in their sincere enthusiasm to evidence their devotion , patriotism and good will, their love for the land of their adoption, their respect for its laws, they are contemptuously referred to as scoundrel Huns and Hunkies. And what hate goes with the slogans: They pushed us out of our jobs; take it out on them! Give it to them! Let them know that we don't like them one bit! '' Some of it is even more foul than this but I must restrain myself or some of that biased American justice might just get me across the knuckles too. "So it is then. These are the facts: You, my people , bend your neck willingly . You do all that you can to prove your genuine devotion to this new land. And what do you get for it all? - Censure, unmitigated scorn, cold brutality. '' Blameless blood is needlessly shed within the scope of the law. It is all but a miracle that the presiding judge did not pin a medal of heroism on the lapel of the sheriff and proclaim him a deliverer of some kind. ''It is time for us to look about and assess what's around us and not just sound off about the freedom, the democracy and the brotherhood of these people. "At every step you come upon hate, you face contempt. Even a street urchin will let you know that you are repulsive to him. ' ' My people, does misery force you to flee from one country as you seek to save your life and avoid starvation, and do you eagerly turn to �58 SLOVAKIA this free America to settle here and earn your bread through hard work and long hours? You escape from misery at home and the threat of death by famine only to hurl yourself into the arms of death here. There you tried to save your life; here they snatch it from you. "Foul murder! '' Are we to be the door mat of murderers forever? Some drive us out of our birthplace and in exile others set upon us with the intent to kill. "Introduce a system of slavery. Buy white slaves, shackle them, treat them at will and you will have a fair picture of American freedom and democracy in action . A realistic picture. Is the world to consider these democratic and freedom-loving people? A murderer has never yet been taken for a champion of freedom , a humanitarian or a freedom-lover. The lurid blotch left by Slovak blood spilled in Pennsylvania will long witness your kind of benevolence, your warped philanthropia? '' Are we to tell the undisguised truth to all our people? Well, if you want them to shoot you here, then tell it. It appears that before long they will pass laws making it legal to shoot Slovaks in certain particular months and not to consider them game in others - just as they do for various animals. It seems to be moving in that direction. This very trial gives proof of such widely touted justice and equity. The capitalist triumphs in spite of his crime and his guilt. The wretched workman loses even though it is he who has been wronged. " My people, if you only had millions of dollars in your hands, they would surely have proved to you how they can adjust and modify twisted paragraphs. But without the almighty dollar ... if you are the unfortunate wretch, then suffer and be still. That is the kind of principle that guided the judge presiding at the trial of the Lattimer murderers .'' (4) The American-Slovak News further editorialized on the subject of the trial and its verdict: '' For those who participated in the Lattimer massacre - or putting it more aptly - for those who defended the bloody trade of the butchers thirsting for human blood at the scene of the Lattimer carnage, it would be rather unfair to designate the event as a drama. For them this classic drama reached its denouement with all the impact of a genuine comedy. Twelve confirmed foes of all that does not breathe the fanatic ideas of the Apaches declared that the butcher Sheriff Martin and his vultures only did their duty; they acted as honorable men when they killed off those hated Huns. ''They crucified truth! They grossly trampled upon the rights of the disadvantaged workman in this free country. Why? For no reason other than this fact that the slaughtered victims first saw the light of day in Hungary, in Russia, in Germany or in Italy.'' (5) �SLOVAKIA 59 Naturally such a foul crime of multiple homicide and utter ruthlessness could not have touched Slovak life without affecting it deeply. The Slovaks sensed that if they would truly avoid being so tom by factions and lack of unity, if they could somehow unite their thousands of workers with common purpose and a sense of solidarity, such a misfortune could never again be repeated. Gradually there evolved within them the consciousness that we are all at fault, all of us, for not claiming those rights to which we are entitled. And so we suffer punishment. Out of this painful and humiliating or humbling realization , even before the verdict was pronounced, there grew the first substantial endeavor of the Slovaks in this land to work in harmony and to achieve a common strength. Realization fortunately led to action. On October 17, 1897 representatives of the leading Slovak-American publications met in Cleveland in order to confer on definite practical steps toward cooperation and the pursuit of common goals. The conference of these journalists resolved to adopt measures related to basic issues in order to counteract the unwholesome attitudes and underserved attacks of certain American press agencies that treated the Slovak immigrant element as less than human . This Congress of Slavic Pressmen , which was organized by Fr. (Francis) Pucher , also sent expressions of condolence to the survivors of the Lattimer victims. This innocent Slovak blood that was shed then did not go wholly wasted. It tended to conciliate the Slovaks and to bring them together. And though this was an extravagantly harsh and costly lesson, it taught them that in their distant strange land they must renounce all petty conflicts and contentions, for in this new world their widely scattered strength will count only if they can bring themselves together and act as a corporate unit that has the general welfare at heart. Many families that had not bothered about joining a Slovak fraternal or beneficial organization now saw that membership in such a society could really mean much to them, especially in the event of an unfortunate or tragic occurrence. The blood that the Slovak miners shed for the general good was the first effective and lasting incentive that brought the Slovaks of America together into one unified and conscious body. One disappointment followed in the aftermath. Newspapers published the report that John Nemeth, chairman of the committee, was named consul just before the final settlement of all the misunderstandings; however, his appointment was conditioned on his withdrawal from the committee. The government of Austria-Hungary petitioned the government of the United States to allocate some compensation to the families of the Lattimer victims. The outcome is embodied in an official document of the Secretary of the Interior (78,999) which includes the following statement: �60 SLOVAKIA "The government of the United States does not recognize any obligation to provide compensation to our fellow-citizens or to the famili es of those who were killed in the clash between the mine workers and the police in the Hazleton-Lattimer area.'' From the blood of these martyrs there was a sprouting of the fragile and delicate flower of accord. Within a year the general tone of the Slovak press had changed from bitter acrimony and unprofitable controversy to understanding and kindlier feeling all around. Even in cases where everyone had believed that common ground could never be found among known antagonists, it had indeed been discovered that these individuals also had many mutually satisfying interests to share and promote and they could work together and get along satisfactorily in spite of their differences. From this point on, every other problem seemed to be of a trivial nature, insignificant trifles that caused minor rifts here and there but had no essential substance. The main drive was toward definite goals even though various and varied avenues led to the ultimate end. FOOTNOTES (1) In a newspaper report published by the Amerikansko Slovenske noviny right after the event, the following are listed as fatality victims in this unfortunate clash: 1) John Kosanec , 2) John Temoci , 3) Fr. Kedel, 4) John Ceka, 5) John Ceslak 6) George Versek, 7) Stephen Hornik , 8) George Kulik, 9) Fr. Ceka, 10) Stephen Ulrich, 11) Andrew Zesman, 12) John Ivanko. Later these names wer also added to the list: 13) John Futa , whose name is sometimes also given as Futas, 14) Stephen Jurek, 15) Michael Ceslak, 16) George Gasparek, 17) John Slebodnik , 18) John Banko, 19) Andrew Jurecek, 20) John Skrip. Since Sheriff Martin was indicted for the death of twenty-one victims , it is clear that this list is incomplete. Some of the men who had been seriously wounded in the incident later died in the hospital. An exact list with all names in their correct spelling is most likely available from the court records in Wilkes-Barre and probably from various English and Polish newspapers of that time. It was a common practice in those days to transmit news reports by telegraphic communication and so it is possible that some of the names were affected by transcription and could have been somewhat distorted. The following men were wounded in the encounter: Anthony Macuka, single , Polish; James Tomason , single, Polish; Francis Fetus, single, Slovak; John Penkames, married, Lithuanian; Joseph Macko, married, Slovak ; Andrew Josmont, married, Polish ; Martin Serfanek, single, Polish ; John Dolny , married , Slovak; John Krisak, single, Slovak ; John Presa, married, Slovak ; Andrew Majer , single, Slovak; John Padnok , married , Polish ; John Posca, married, Slovak ; George Gaspar, single, Slovak; Adolph Colak, married, Slovak ; Adam Lipianski , single, Polish; John Kulich, single, Polish , John Kontra, married , Slovak; Joseph Gasparik, married, Slovak; Thomas Paris , single, Polish ; Andrew Honas, married, Slovak; Andrew Orban, married , Polish; Gaspar Dula§, married , Slovak; Joseph Zapa, Slovak; Joseph Paulak, married , Polish; Matthew Chia, married , Polish; Clement Plotach, married, Polish; John Fora, single, Slovak; Stanislaus Kominski, married, Polish; Constantine Monsara , married , Polish , Bernard Rummal, single, Polish . In 1902 the convention of American Mine Workers adopted a resolution providing for the erection of a memorial to honor the fallen miners as pioneer heroes in the cause for �SLOVAKIA 61 social justice. Additional names of stricken men that make their appearance within the formal text of this resolution include the following: Clement Patek, John Foote, Sebastian Praztomski, Raphael Rezervicz, Albert Czaja, Stanley Rajoski, Andrew Goekers, Andrew Miczkowski, John Krop, Andrew Morrikoski, Adam Zrainski, Adalbert Zienka, Frank Chazesjewski, Steve Znoec, Andrew Jamee (Jurecek), Mike Coseak (Ceslak), George Kulek (Kulik). Some of the surnames were garbled to some extent; most likely they happened to be misread in the course of years that had passed since the massacre itself. (2) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny (American-Slovak News), September 16, 1897. (3) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny, 30. IX. 1897. (4) "Let Slovak Blood Call to God for Vengeance" American-Slovak News, 31. ill. 1898. (5) American-Slovak News. 5.Il. 1899. �62 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre and Trial HARRY B. SCHOOLEY III INTRODUCTION To have a clearer understanding of the trial at issue it is necessary to say that upon entering the court where the trial is in progress one is immediately impressed with the fact that the issue involved is as much a question of the relations of employer and employed as a question of the trial of Sheriff Martin and his deputies for murder, and, as has been invariably the case, the representatives of corporate power assume a hauteur and domineering attitude toward all. The counsel for the defense, former Attorney-General Palmer and Mr. Lenahan, as well as Sheriff Martin and the Deputies , assume an air of offended pride and indignation at being called to defend themselves against a charge of killing a score or more laborers, and think of it! Foreign laborers at that! So wrote Samuel Gompers in an article for the New York World of February 20, 1898. The shooting at Lattimer, Pennsylvania, had become labor's forgotten massacre. Twenty-four striking anthracite coal miners were killed when Luzerne County Sheriff James Martin ordered his deputies to fire into their ranks when their parade threatened the security of the community shortly after three o'clock on the hot afternoon of September 10, 1897. While at times a Sheriff has been punished for criminal neglect of his duty in not firing on a riotous mob, Sheriff Martin was proceeded against in the Lattimer trial because he and his deputies did so fire. The law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for whose supremacy they battled, was used to compass their destruction because they did so. Gompers was wrong. Lattimer was not a '' question of the relations of employer and employed." The lesson of the verdict in the Lattimer case is not that the rich are to be protected, but that the poor and defenseless shall have an absolute guarantee of all their individual rights, and that those who attempt to impair them by lawlessness must answer to the law as criminals. H.B.s.,m May, 1965 (Harry B. Schooley ill teaches at the Buffalo Seminary for girls in Buffalo, New York. A native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he wrote this paper while an undergraduate at Williams College in May, 1965.) �SLOVAKIA 63 Ariovistus Pardee, an ambitious engineering student with the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, was sent in May of 1833 to the Lehigh coal regions of Pennsylvania to survey a railroad line from the anthracite mines at Beaver Meadow to the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. Pardee 's success in the area led him to locating further lines in the region and he began his own mining operations in 1840.(1) In 1869 Pardee built the company towns of Lattimer and Harwood near Hazleton to house the miners working in his six mines. In 1892, following his father ' s death, Calvin Pardee took over the mines at Lattimer and Harwood. Feeling there would be less chance of a consolidation of the working men against his interests, Pardee mixed the foreign immigrant miners filling the houses at Lattimer largely with Italians and those at Harwood with Slovaks, Poles, and Lithuanians . Between 1875 and 1900 there were sporadic attempts on behalf of the Welsh, Irish, and German miners of the anthracite fields to organize for better working and wage conditions. A means for curbing any attempts to organize the miners was the introduction by the mine operators of large numbers of laborers from Austria-Hungary, Poland, Russia , and Italy who were content to work hard and long for low wages. This over supply of unorganized men literally depressed wages to a minimum through the ever-present competition.(2) By the late 1890's the mine patches of the Lehigh coal regions were largely populated by the new mixture of non-English speaking nationalities who with their cheaper immigrant labor replaced the old order of English , Welsh, and Irish miners. The new miners were largely Slovaks, Poles, Italians , Hungarians , and Lithuanians and were considered "foreigners" relegated by the social conditions to which they belonged - the unpainted company houses , shacks, and the dreaded company store. A racial and national prejudice predominated in the mine patches and the better educated, more intelligent of the foreigners met with each other and insisted that every good foreigner should get his "papers " as soon as possible so as to vote in the elections and prevent the '' white men ' ' from voting to pass a law that might drive them from the country. Many of the miners found themselves in great debt to the company store . In 1896 the Pennsylvania Legislature appointed a committee to investigate the company store system . An order for 50,000 copies of the committee report was canceled because, as American Federation of Labor Vice President J . P. McGuire stated in September of 1897 , ''of the disgrace which would fall upon the State were the truth made known of conditions existing in the Schuylkill region." (3) Conditions were the same in the Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys. Perhaps McGuire 's labor affiliations prejudiced him in the making of this statement, but the recent business depression had reduced the lot of the anthracite miner to a very poor one. The manager of one of the Hazleton collieries revealed that his payrolls for September 1, 1897, amounted to about $26,000, of which $18,000 was �64 SLOVAKIA deducted for living expenses (debts to the company store, rents for living in the company houses, fees deducted from pay for the company doctor, money deducted to pay the priest) leaving less than one-third the original amount to be divided among the miners. Discontent over small wages, idleness, and other alleged "wrongs" was seized upon by the new leadership composed of young, energetic and often violent labor organizers as a timely excuse for action. Their opportunity came in August of 1897. A strike broke out at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company 's Honeybrook Colliery near the new borough of McAdoo, when twenty driver boys were ordered to stable their mules after stopping work without extra pay. They refused and division superintendent Gomer Jones fired them. On Sunday, August 15, 2,500 Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company miners joined the strike. Newspapers feared that ''the Italians and Hungarians, who are very aggressive, cannot be controlled." (4) The Honeybrook strikers were led by a committee of grievances which met with general superintendent Elmer H. Lawall demanding an investigation of Gomer Jones to the effect that he reduced miners' wages and that the wages be restored to the original rates. Lawall promised an investigation of Jones if the miners returned to work; and a week after the first walk-out, work was resumed at Honeybrook.(5) On the same day (August 22) the Honeybrook miners returned to work, there arrived in the area from Philadelphia one John Fahy, selfappointed local president of the United Mine Workers of America. Meeting with Italian miners at Audenreid, Yorktown, and Beaver Brook, Fahy persuaded them to organize an Italian branch of the United Mine Workers.(6) Fahy's presence in the area on behalf of the union caused great concern among the mine operators as the miners became more aware of their plight and their demands became more intense. Fahy's word spread rapidly from operation to operation, and on August 26, Italian and Hungarian miners struck at the Van Wickle Coal Company collieries at Beaver Meadow and Coleraine. Two thousand miners moving overnight forced the workers from their shops at the Van Wickle breakers so as to stop all work. Their demands for higher wages were not considered serious as the strike was spontaneous and had no apparent intelligent leadership.(7) On August 27, the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville was idled by the strikers and a coal train was prevented from leaving the town. All Van Wickle operations were forced to shut down. The next day at a meeting of the strikers in Hazleton, a formal demand was presented to Van Wickle superintendent Roderick. Roderick claimed that the advanced scheduled wages (which would set a wage scale for the region) demanded by Fahy 's organizers would not be paid to the miners, although the average pay rates of the region would be paid. The speaker at a Coleraine meeting urged the strikers to resort to violence if the demands were not met. In answer armed members of the Coal and �SLOVAKIA 65 Iron Police were sent to guard the Van Wickle properties.(8) Saloons in Milnesville and Coleraine were closed and a state of ominous calm pervaded the Hazleton area. English-speaking miners were willing to return to work were it not for the threats made by the foreigners. The employees of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company anxiously watched the Van Wickle situation as there had been no action taken towards the promised investigation of Superintendent Jones.(9) Between August 30 and September 3 the strike spread rapidly. Roderick agreed to make wage concessions at the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville which immediately resumed work. If settlements were made at the other Van Wickle operations, then the Lehigh and WilkesBarre miners might never see Jones investigated at all. The miners at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre's Audenreid colliery struck and five hundred strong marched on the company's Yorktown colliery and washeries at Dodson, Beaver Brook, Star, Monarch, and Carson, driving off all the workmen.(10) The miners at the Van Wickle Coleraine colliery remained on strike. Assembling in McAdoo on September 2, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre strikers marched with an American flag to the Beaver Brook colliery forcing it to close. Those workers who refused to stop work were driven off. From Beaver Brook they marched to Yorktown (which had resumed work in spite of the march on that operation by the Audenreid strikers a day earlier) where colliery superintendent Hayes tried to reason with them, as the Yorktown workers had no grievance. Nevertheless, the Yorktown colliery closed. The march then turned towards Audenreid and the home of Gomer Jones. Following a thorough but futile search for Jones , the then two thousand marchers proceeded to the colliery at Silver Brook where the workers fled. At a meeting that evening in McAdoo, the members of the grievance committee advised against future marches, but Fahy's organizers insisted that the marches would continue daily until all the collieries were idle. Fahy, incidentally, was in Silver Brook that evening organizing a new chapter of the United Mine Workers. At Coleraine the Van Wickle strikers were quiet and Superintendent Roderick, in a bid to maintain good will between the company and the strikers, stated that none of the Coleraine workers participated in the march.(11) Later on the evening of September 2, the Coleraine strikers agreed to return to work if they would be protected from the mob. Roderick gladly granted protection. Mayor Altmiller of Hazleton issued orders to the police that if any attempt was made to organize a mob parade on September 3, the marchers were to be dispersed, and if the police were not strong enough the citizens should help them. The Lehigh Valley Coal Company closed its collieries at Jeansville and Hazleton No. 1 not because of grievances between the company and its employees, but because the mob of strikers had threatened the workers. The Lehigh Valley counseled all its workmen to obey the will of the mob.(12) By September 3 the strike had stopped all �66 SLOVAKIA mining operations except those of the New Ebervale Coal Company , Van Wickle 's Coleraine and Milnesville Collieries, and Pardee 's colliery at Lattimer. The weapons of the foreigners were the threat and the mob . With the march of September 2 and the probability of future marches , many mine owners feared for the safety of their property at the hands of the striking miners. The Luzerne County Sheriff's office in Wilkes-Barre, in response to the pleas of the operators for protection , sent an urgent telegram to Sheriff James R. Martin , vacationing in Atlantic City, requesting his immediate return. As soon as Sheriff Martin arrived in Wilkes-Barre on September 5, he telegraphed the sheriffs of Carbon and Schuylkill counties to meet him in Hazleton the next day. Before boarding the train to Hazleton, Martin announced that if he thought necessary , a proclamation would be issued calling on the strikers to refrain from all acts of violence and to permit all who so desired to return to their usual vocation as well as to cease marching. "The fact that men are compelled against their will to march along with an ignorant and sometimes infuriated mob causes some fear that other and more dangerous complications may arise ." (13) Following the Hazleton meeting on September 6, the three sheriffs simultaneously published a proclamation prohibiting mob parades and demonstrations , stating the following: . . . notice is given to all good citizens to refrain from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace . Notice is further given, that all such acts of disorder and lawlessness will be summarily repressed and punished in accordance with the laws of the land. - James Martin, High Sheriff of Luzerne County The proclamation was based on the Pennsylvania Riot Act of March 31, 1860 which forbade ''any persons riotously and tumultuously to assemble together to the disturbance of the public peace." (15) While the three sheriffs were meeting in Hazleton, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company granted the same advances as did the Van Wickle Coal Company at Milnesville and Coleraine.(16) That night Sheriff Martin in his Broad Street hotel room swore in 87 deputies, most of whom were members of the Coal and Iron Police from the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley Coal companies , but some of whom were business and professional men of the Hazleton area .(17) For the next three days the Hazleton area remained in an uneasy calm as the sheriff and his deputies remained on call responding to separate incidents throughout the area. �SLOVAKIA 67 While Martin and his men remained in Hazleton, John Fahy was active at the Pardee colliery at Harwood. Enlisting the aid of the popular young Hungarian slate boss, John Eagler, Fahy was successful in organizing a new branch of the United Mine Workers. Fahy claimed the new union advocated peaceful arbitration of differences between the miners and the operators. Selecting Eagler as their first local secretary and Joseph Mehalto, another well-known Slav from nearby Crystal Ridge as president, the Harwood body immediately formulated a list of grievances - demanding a ten cent wage raise, a reduction of blasting powder from $2. 75 to $1.50, and no company butcher or company doctor - which they presented to the Pardee office in Hazleton on September 9.(18) While the Harwood strikers were presenting their grievances, a mob of "young Italians and Huns" descended on the New Ebervale Coal Company's colliery at Ebervale, driving off Superintendent John Scott and his employees in a shower of rocks and sticks.(19) With this outbreak of new violence, the Pardee Company refused to consider any grievances until all sections of the Harwood colliery were working. Meeting in the Harwood schoolhouse on the evening of September 9, the striking miners decided that in order to get the bargaining position they needed, the whole company must be shut down. This meant work must be stopped at Lattimer. Upon Mehalto's suggestion, the members resolved to send a committee of ten to Lattimer on the next day to persuade the colliery to close down. (20) On the morning of the tenth it was suggested that the strikers go along with the committee, and with Mehalto and Eagler at the head of a column of 250 to 300 men and boys, the strikers set out for Lattimer. With the American flag at the head of the procession, they marched through Crystal Ridge and Cranberry where they were joined by others until the ranks numbered about four hundred. On entering West Hazleton the strikers found their route blocked by Sheriff Martin and his deputies . Standing in front of his line of deputies, Martin ordered the strikers to stop and to disperse. The march pushed on, a scuffle resulted, two strikers were arrested, and the flag was taken from them. Following this encounter, the strikers moved off into a field by the side of the road and the sheriff and his deputies withdrew maintaining a careful eye on the marchers. Soon, however, the march was under way once more, the strikers still heading for Lattimer but skirting West Hazleton to the north. Martin and his deputies hurriedly boarded an open trolley car, provided for their use by the Lehigh Transit Company, and rode back into Hazleton and out the Lattimer line to Harleigh , where the road to Lattimer and the rail line converged and ran parallel for a short distance. At Harleigh the sheriff and his deputies again met the marching strikers, the trolley car keeping pace with the men on foot, grim silence between them while the police in their trolley sat holding their rifles . (21) The car arrived in Lattimer in time for Martin to �68 SLOVAKIA watch the movement of the march, and, from a high point at the town 's approach, the column could be observed moving toward the Pardee colliery No. 1. Again the deputies, about 150 in number, having been reinforced by numbers of the coal and iron police from Lattimer, lined up in a semi-circle across the road with Sheriff Martin standing several yards in front of them. The scene at West Hazleton a few hours earlier appeared about to be re-enacted. When the strikers reached the line of deputies Martin, proclamation in hand, stepped out to meet them: ''You must stop marching and disperse. This is contrary to the law and you are creating a disturbance. You must go back. I won't let you go on to the colliery.'' (22) Eagler argued that American citizens had the right to parade as long as they were not disturbing the peace. Martin read the Riot Act. Most of the marchers, not understanding English, pushed forward to find out what Martin was saying. In the crowd the sheriff was jostled. Thinking himself in danger, he tried to get back to his line of deputies, but was knocked to his knees. The strikers made way for him, and just as he emerged from their ranks, the cry was heard, ''Fire, fire on' em!'' The deputies fired into the unarmed mob. (23) Following a meeting with his lawyer on arriving back in WilkesBarre that evening, Sheriff Martin issued a statement of the Hazleton conditions and shooting: I was not there to interfere in the strike in any shape or manner, but was there for the mere purpose to prevent all violations of the law, and to restore peace and quiet. I beseeched and entreated the leaders to talk to their comrades and ask them to disperse and return to their homes, act in a peaceable way and desist from doing any sort of violence ... (at West Hazleton) the strikers began to crowd together, and to mutter and chatter in their own languages. The leaders urged them on and at the same time began to curse and swear at me, as well as openly defy me and my deputies . (at Lattimer) I ... rushed ahead of my deputies ... dashed in among the foreigners and boldly placed the leader under arrest. (the strikers) at once attacked me most viciously , striking and kicking me, knocking me down. I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers, as it might probably frighten them ... I fully realized that the foreigners were a desperate lot ... (I assumed) they were too excited to listen to reason and that myself and deputies would be killed ... if we did not defend ourselves. I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot, if they must, to protect their lives or to �SLOVAKIA 69 protect the property, that they had been sent to guard, from being demolished. I hated to give the command to shoot and was awful sorry that I was compelled to do so, but I was there to do my duty and I did it the best I knew how and as my conscience dictated, as the strikers were violating the laws of the Commonwealth and flatly refused to obey the proclamation that I had read to them. They, instead, insisted on doing violence and disobeying the laws.(24) In "doing violence and disobeying the laws" eighteen strikers were instantly killed while approximately twenty-four others were seriously wounded. Eagler and Mehalto escaped and their comrades fled in terror. One of the strikers, Martin Rosko, a Hungarian from Mt. Pleasant and wounded in the arm, gave the following account: We were going along the road to Lattimer and the deputies were lined across the road barring our progress. We tried to go through them and did not attempt to hit or molest them when they fired upon us. We ran but they kept on shooting while we ran. It (the massacre) is all their fault.(25) That evening three thousand Hazleton-area miners gathered at Hazleton's Donegal Hall for a meeting conducted by United Mine Workers' president John Fahy in which it was resolved "that we demand the prosecution of the sheriff and deputies of the crimes committed this tenth day of September."(26) At midnight Pennsylvania Governor Daniel Hastings notified Colonel C. B. Dougherty of the 9th Regiment that as there may be further disturbances and that the security of the community may be in danger, Dougherty was to take the regiment to Hazleton to maintain peace and order. (27) On September 11, Dougherty's regiment was joined by five regiments of the Third Brigade of the Pennsylvania National Guard under the leadership of General John P. Gobin. On the morning of September 11, John Nemeth, a leader of the strikers' general committee, went before Squire Gorman of Hazleton and had warrants sworn out for Sheriff Martin and 102 of his deputies. (28) When General Gobin heard of the warrants he issued an edict declaring that so long as the troops remain in the vicinity not a single deputy would be placed under arrest. Owing to the military authority, Sheriff Martin and the deputies were not arrested until ten days after the warrants were issued. Also on that morning a representative of the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Philadelphia arrived in Hazleton to investigate the murder of Hungarian nationals. (29) �70 SLOVAKIA In the meantime the strike continued. By September 14, seven thousand men had left their jobs, crippling the seven Hazleton area companies.(30) Out of sympathy for their murdered comrades from Harwood, 2,300 men left work at the Pardee operations at Lattimer. Visiting Hazleton from Philadelphia the next day, Calvin Pardee stated the following: My men were perfectly satisfied with the wages they were receiving, and would have continued work had they not been driven away by the mob . . . I have operated my collieries over twenty years on the sliding scale, the rate of wages being based on the price of coal at tide, and I will not change that method.(31) Sheriff Scott of Schuylkill County telegraphed to Governor Hastings an appeal for troops to maintain order should the strike spread to his county(32) as sporadic outbreaks of violence continued throughout the region with no apparent prospect of settlement in sight. John Fahy, in a somewhat curious statement to the press on September 18, claimed "The strike is not being conducted by the United Mine Workers." Speaking of his efforts to organize the miners, Fahy stated, "our objects are not to raise excitement and occasion violence but are arbitration, peace and conciliation. Our organization is not to encourage strikes but to prevent them." (33) Fahy expressed the hope that the strike would be settled more quickly if more men organized. If more men were organized in the manner in which the Harwood strikers were organized, the strike would be far from being settled. On September 19 following a Hazleton meeting, the owners of the mines at Lattimer, Beaver Meadow, Honeybrook, McAdoo, and Audenreid announced that they would open their mines on September 20, and if the men were not back at work, they would be discharged altogether. By September 20 all strikers but the employees of the Coxe Brothers Coal Company had returned to work.(34) That evening Fahy held a meeting at Donegal Hall whereat the miners resolved ''to demand that the Attorney-General of Pennsylvania immediately proceed against each corporation now conducting company stores."(35) On September 23, the employees of the Silver Brook collieries were told they were no longer subject to compulsory patronization of the company store and company butcher.(36) The operators gradually made concessions to prevent another such strike, and on September 29, General Gobin and his troops left Hazleton.(37) The anthracite strike of 1897 was virtually over. With peace returning to the Hazleton region, attention was turned to the fate of Sheriff Martin and his deputies. On September 20, Luzerne County District Attorney D.A. Fell and County Detective Isaac Eckert secured bench warrants from the Luzerne County Court of Oyer �SLOVAKIA 71 and Terminer for the arrest of Martin and 68 of his deputies, charging them with' 'the willful and malicious killing of twenty-four (six had died since the shooting) strikers near the village of Lattimer on September 10 last."(38) Bail was posted at $4,000 for homicide and $1,000 for felonious wounding and, through the maneuvring of Calvin Pardee, bond was furnished by the City Trust, Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia.(39) Seeing the opportunity to take up the cause, the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor meeting in Washington resolved on September 24, That we condemn most severely the wanton killing and wounding of the poor miners at Lattimer and will give our fullest help through the trade union and the American Federation of Labor to raise money for the legal prosecution and conviction of Sheriff Martin and his murderous minions, that through the courts of the land even-handed justice may be done to atone for those revolting murders.(40) A preliminary hearing was held in the Luzerne County Court House at Wilkes-Barre from September 21 to 27 wherein the grand jury came to the decision that Martin and his men had shown probable cause of a "wanton and unjustifiable" killing of the strikers.(41) The case of Commonwealth v. Martin was scheduled to begin on February 1, 1898. On February 4, 1898, an editorial in the Wilkes-Barre Record accurately predicted that the trial was expected to develop whether the sheriff and his posse were justified, under the circumstances, in resorting to the extreme measure they did, either for their own protection or to preserve law, order, and the public peace. The case was called on the morning of February 1, before Judge Stanley Woodward, presiding judge of Luzerne County. Sheriff Martin's defense counsel consisted of his personal lawyer, George S. Ferris, and the county's leading criminal lawyer, John T. Lenahan. Other attorneys for the defendants were Henry W. Palmer, George Troutman, C. W. Kline, George R. Urquhart and F. W. Wheaton. At the table for the prosecution sat the new District Attorney, T. R. Martin, who had only taken office a month earlier. With Martin were four other lawyers, who were secured by the strikers' prosecuting committee: John Garman, John McGahren, James Scarlett, and former secretary of the miners' prosecuting committee, J. F. Loughran. In addition to the deputies the court room was crowded with interested spectators including New York, Philadelphia, and nationally syndicated newspaper reporters, newspaper artists, representatives of the Royal Austro-Hungarian government which was planning to make a claim for indemnity for the deaths of the nationals should the sheriff be convicted, and the solicitor general of the United States, Luzerne County's own Henry M. Hoyt (Williams, 1849).(42) �72 SLOVAKIA For two tedious days the court was involved in selecting a jury. When the task had been completed, the twelve men who sat in the jury box were all native American citizens and were largely representative of the middle class skilled labor group.(43) Many of the jury men admitted in their examination by the counsels for defense and prosecution that although they had already formed an opinion, their verdict would not be so influenced. None of the jurors were foreign-born and counsel Loughran complained that the majority of them were ''in sympathy with the sheriff and his deputies." (44) The case for the Commonwealth was opened by McGahren, who claimed the shooting at Lattimer was a ''horrible massacre . '' In a highly emotional speech he told the courtroom how Sheriff Martin stood by proudly while his men brutally murdered the fleeing strikers. He even went so far as to claim the sheriff had emptied his pistol into the head of one of the march leaders. The Sheriff's actions at Lattimer were "a disgrace to civilization," he explained.(46) With this heated example of rhetoric, began the case for the prosecution which consumed nearly sixteen days of examination during which 103 witnesses testified. At the end of the first week of the trial on February 5, it developed that when the case had been continued from the November to the January term of court, bail for the defendants had not been renewed. District Attorney Martin immediately asked either that bail be posted or that the defendants be committed to jail. Judge Woodward replied he would not require the defendants to enter bail until Monday, February 7. Garman of the prosecution immediately pressed the court further to demand bail at once. Lenahan of the defense resented Garman's demands and charged, "You are a puppy! You have been a puppy all your life!" Garman's reply was apparently appropriate as he turned to Judge Woodward and said, "When the thing back of me shuts up, I will proceed." Lenahan replied, "That is only a part of the buffoonery of the Commonwealth.'' Garman turned to face him and raised his fist as if to strike. "If you touch me, I'll kill you!" By this time friends intervened and restrained the two attorneys until order was restored. Garman, eyeing Lenahan defiantly, replied, ''The buffoon has just ceased speaking." (4 7) This exchange of opinions on the floor of the courtroom did not change Woodward's mind and the bail was deferred. The exchange was, however, quickly picked up by the out-of-town reporters and reported in such a way that when court convened on February 7, Judge Woodward admonished the artists and reporters of some of the newspapers that if they continued to caricature the proceedings of the court or to misrepresent what developed, he would refuse them admission to the courtroom.(48) Woodward's admonishment of the reporters for their "yellow journalism" did not end the court's cause for concern. On the evening of February 14, the President of the American Federation of Labor, �SLOVAKIA 73 Samuel Gompers, arrived in Wilkes-Barre to write a special report on the trial for the New York World. The Wilkes-Barre Record was critical of the labor leader's being in Wilkes-Barre, claiming that Gompers would only report the trial from the point of view of the strikers, not from the objective viewpoint of whether Martin was justified in shooting.(49) The Record was not the only newspaper critical of Gompers ' being in Wilkes-Barre. The New York Evening Sun stated " Gompers is so dissatisfied with the way Judge Woodward is conducting the Lattimer trial that he refused to be presented to him. We can only congratulate his Honor on a fortunate escape." (50) In an article in the World on February 20, Gompers attacked Woodward's conduct of the trial, his rulings on evidence, and went so far as to attack him personally as a friend of the mine owners, as Woodward: married into a family of land holders of the district, who receive royalties upon every ton of coal mined. When a cessation of mining occurs from any cause Judge Woodward is to that extent a loser of part of his income. He is a member of the Westmoreland Club, of which the mine-owners are largely members and of which also a number of the so-called deputies are members.(Of the strikers Gompers wrote) They had previously decided and carried out their purpose , to be unarmed and unprotected except by the justice of their cause and the American flag in which they had absolute faith. It is sad to contemplate when workingmen of either American or foreign birth have their faith and confidence in the emblem of our country destroyed and perhaps sadder still is the possibility of losing faith in the justice of our courts. In conclusion Gompers made the Lattimer trial a trial in behalf of the eventual triumph of the working man: The workers of our country are organizing better and more thoroughly each day; we shall not only create a healthier public sentiment as to man 's rights and man's duties, but we shall largely constitute that public opinion. And , when that day comes , the crime of Lattimer will be a record-letter day in the annals of our history to which all will look back upon with horror as the monumental crime of the century. (51) Should Sheriff Martin be convicted of murder, labor would win a great victory in its struggle for recognition. While labor adopted Lattimer as its forgotten massacre , the prosecution rested on February �74 SLOVAKIA 21, having produced testimony in line with McGahren's opening. Ferris opened the case for the defense claiming that if a sheriff and his posse meet a riotous mob which resists them in such a way that their duty to uphold the law requires the use of firearms, then, "they do their duty. They do not violate, but obey the law.'' (52) Anarchy ruled the Hazleton area, Ferris explained, and Martin, in the company of good, lawabiding citizens - not bar room toughs and thugs - brought security to the region. On March 1, Sheriff Martin took the stand. He testified that when he met the strikers at Lattimer, he demanded to know where they were going and they all answered, "Lattimer to get out the men!" He also told the court that he had told them they were doing wrong and that he read the proclamation to them. He said he begged them to go no farther, but they pushed on and someone tried to grab him by the neck. I arrested him, when a big crowd pushed around me. I pulled out my revolver for protection and held it in the air, as I did not want to shoot. One of the mob tried to grab it, but failed, and in the struggle I and the crowd around me were pushed to one side of the road." (53) Martin testified one of the strikers gave him a terrific blow on the side of the head and that he tried to shoot that man, but his pistol would not go off. Then the firing began. After 111 witnesses had testified for the defense the Court adjourned on March 4.(54) The closing pleas to the jury began on March 7, with Scarlett opening for the prosecution: "Every effort has been made to have it tried fairly and nothing has been excluded and every bit of evidence has been admitted according to the rules of the court." (55) The final plea was made by former state Attorney-General Henry W. Palmer, on behalf of the defense, to an overcrowded court room. Palmer's closing has been praised as a masterpiece of eloquence and damned as a bigoted oration and foul utterance against the Slav immigrants. To the jury Palmer said the following: Condemn these men and go home to your neighbors and tell them, 'We convicted Sheriff Martin and his deputies for an error in judgment when they were standing between your homes and the horrors of mob rule.' Tell your wives and children that henceforth when the rioters are about to march and the right of men to work is in peril that there will be no Sheriff and deputies to keep the peace or defend your homes, because by your verdict you will have forbidden them to act, under penalty of death or infamous punishment. (56) Following Palmer's plea District Attorney Martin closed the case for the prosecution, and late on the afternoon of March 9, Judge Woodward delivered his charge to the jury. In an admirably clear, impartial, and ably written presentation of the law of riot and murder, �SLOVAKIA 75 Woodward charged that the sheriff had the right as the chief officer of the county to summon a posse to assist him in the preservation of order and in the prevention of riot. The public peace in Hazleton was threatened. Men were being driven from their jobs by the mob. The Sheriff saw the people were terrorized by the strikers. When they were at West Hazleton and at Lattimer, the strikers failed to obey the sheriff and insisted on pushing on. It was the duty of the crowd to obey his command and that disobedience of the sheriff was evidence of a riotous purpose. If you are satisfied, gentlemen, from the evidence that the purpose of the sheriff and of the posse was to preserve order and prevent a riot, then it would follow that their intent and object was not a criminal or unlawful one, and the rule of the law which makes the act of one the act of all has no application to the facts of this case. (57) At three minutes after ten on the morning of March 9, the jury arrived at its verdict. The sealed paper was handed up to the Judge, who examined it and returned it to the clerk. The clerk read: ''Gentlemen of the jury, harken unto your verdict as the Court hath recorded it. You find in the case wherein the Commonwealth is prosecutor and Sheriff Martin et. al., defendants, you find the defendants not guilty. So say you all?" (58) The verdict of acquittal was a just one under the law, yet, at the same time, it is possible that a terrible doubt exists that the slaughter at Lattimer was necessary or justifiable. Could the tragedy have been avoided? It is not clear that the miners should have been prevented from marching on the highway; it is not clear that they should have been denied the opportunity to show themselves within sight of the miners at work; it is not clear that the deputies should have fired as soon as they did. But, the law is for all men, and against all men who are not obedient to it. There is no question of the right of men to strike. The strike is often the only weapon. When the striker learns to keep within the law, to be fair to others, and to respect property rights, he will have made the greatest advances in the direction of public sympathy. The example of the Lattimer strikers was clear. Had a determined effort been made to keep within the law, to win the friendship of the people of the Hazleton region, the clash with Sheriff Martin and his deputies would have been avoided. The law is the defense of the individual and the salvation of the nation. Violence toward it cannot win. EPILOGUE In the course of researching the Commonwealth v. Martin Trial, it has been found that the Luzerne County Court records for that case are missing from their file at the Luzerne County Court House. Perhaps an �76 SLOVAKIA attorney borrowed them to study and never returned them ; or perhaps they were removed by intent considering the hard feelings exhibited by some members of the Hazleton mining community following the jury's verdict. The sleepy little mining patch of Lattimer today is much the same as it was sixty-eight years ago. The breakers are gone , the trolley tracks are gone , and the miners, whose families now occupy the same houses that witnessed the shooting, work at the near-by collieries in Harleigh and Jeddo . The excitement that brought the name Lattimer to the mind of most Americans in 1897 has been completely forgotten - even in Luzerne County. Should Lattimer be forgotten? Some say it should . But in today 's society when groups of American are banding together and marching, sometimes in defiance of the law, in causes they believe to be paramount, the tragedy of Lattimer could happen again. FOOTNOTES (1) John W . Jordan, Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, vol. 7, (New York , 1916), 2350. (2) John Mitchell , Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903), 375. (3) Henry Edward Rood , " A Pennsylvania Colliery Village, " The Century Magazine, vol. 55, no . 6, (April, 1898), 814. (4) "2,500 Men cut at Hazleton ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. (5) " The Honey Brook Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 21, 1897 , 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 23, 1897, 8. (6) ''The Hazleton Strike,'' Wilk es-Barre Evening Leader, August 23 , 1897, 8. (7) " Two Thousand Foreigners Out, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 27, 1897, 1. (8) " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control ," Wilkes-Barre E vening Leader, August 28, 1897. 1. " Hazleton Strike Comes to a Demand ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 29, 1897, 1. (9) " The Anthracite Strike ," Wilkes -Barre E ve ning Leader, August 30, 1897, 1. (10) " Wild Excitement, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897, 1-2. (11) " Strike Situation at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (12) " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (13) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897 , 1. (14)/bid., 1. (15) " Labor Day Parade at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 7, 1897, 1. (16) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897, 1. (17) " Strikers Still Marching," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader. �SLOVAKIA 77 (18) Ibid., 2. (19)lbid., 2. (20) Ibid., 2. (21) Ibid., 2. (22) "Murdered in Cold Blood," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 11 , 1897, 1. (23) Ibid., 1. (24) Ibid., 1. (25) Ibid. , 1. (26) Ibid. , 1. (27) Ibid., 1. (28) "Sheriff Martin to be Arrested, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 12, 1897, 1. (29) Ibid., 1. (30) ''They Will Not Return to Work, '' Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 14, 1897, 1. (31) "Everything Quiet Along the Line, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (32) " Miners ' Strike is Spreading," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (33) " News from the Seat of War," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 18, 1897, 1. (34) " Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 21, 1897, 1. (35) " Many Strikers Return to Work, " Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897, 1. (36) "A Quiet Day at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. (37) " Troops Leave Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 29, 1897, 1. (38) " A Stampede to Return to Work," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 21 , 1897, 1. (39) " The Court Sits In Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. (40) " The Court Sits in Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattimer," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 24, 1897, 1. " The Sheriff Condemned," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 28, 1897, 1. (42) ''The Lattimer Cases,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897, 1. (43) "The Twelve Jurymen Selected, " Wilkes-Barre Record, February 3, 1898, 1. (44) " The Lattimer Cases," Wilkes-Barre Record, February 4, 1898, 1. (45) Henry W. Palmer, Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, Penna. , 1913) 64. (46) Ibid., 65. (47) ''Excitement In Court,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 7, 1898, 12. (48) '' Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6 . (49) '' Said the Sheriff Shot, '' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 16, 1898, 6. (50) "A Labor View of Judge Woodward ," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4. (51) "Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter," New York World, February 20, 1898, 20. (52) Palmer , 67. (53) George B. Kulp , Luzerne Legal Register Reports, vol. 9 (Wilkes-Barre, 1900), 81. (54) Palmer , 81. �78 SLOVAKIA (55) Ibid., ll0. (56) Ibid., 147. (57) From Judge Woodward ' s original hand-written charge to the jury as found in his personal scrapbook in the possession of his grand-daughter, Mrs . Bruce Payne of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (58) " The Deputies Are Not Guilty," Wilkes-Barre Times, March 9, 1898, 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Jordan, John W ., Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography vol. 7, (New York, 1916) . Kulp, George B., Luzerne Legal Register Reports vol. 9, (Wilkes-Barre, 1900) . Mitchell , John, Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903). Palmer, Henry W ., Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, 1913) . Rood, Henry Edward , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village," The Century Magazine, Vol. 55, no. 6, (1898). Newspaper Sources "A Labor View of Judge Woodward," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4 . '' Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter, " New York World, February 20 , 1898, 20. ''Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6. ''2,500 Men out at Hazleton, '' Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. " The Honey Brook Strike, " August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," August 21, 1897, 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," August 23, 1897, 8 . " Two Thousand Foreigners Out," August 27, 1897, 1. " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control," August 28, 1897, 1. " Hazleton Strike comes to a Demand ," August 29, 1897, 1. " The Anthracite Strike ," August 30, 1897, 1. " Wild Excitement" September 2, 1897, 1-2. " Strike Situation at Hazleton," September 3 , 1897, 1. " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," September 3, 1897, 1. " Sheriff Martin on the Ground, " September 6, 1897, 1. · 'Labor Day Parade at Hazleton,'' September 7, 1897, 1. "Strikers Still Marching, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 9, 1897, 2. "Murdered in Cold Blood," September 11, 1897, 1. " She riff Martin to be Arrested ," September 12, 1897, 1. " They Will Not Return to Work," September 14, 1897 , 1. · 'Eve rything Quiet along the Line ,' ' September 16, 1897, 1. " Mine rs ' Strike is Spreading, " September 17, 1897, 1. " News from the Seat of War," September 18, 1897, 1. " A Stampede to return to Work ," Septe mber 21, 1897, 1. "The Court sits in Judgment," Se ptember 22 , 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattime r," September 24 , 1897, 1. " She riff Condemned," September 28 , 1897, 1. ··A Quiet Day at Hazleton ,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. �SLOVAKIA 79 "Troops Leave Hazleton ," September 29, 1897, 1. "The Twelve Jurymen Selected," February 3, 1898, 1. "The Lattimer Cases," February 4, 1898, 1. "Excitement in Court," February 7, 1898 , 12. "Said the Sheriff Shot," February 16, 1898, 6. "Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897 , 1. "The Dep uties are Not Guilty," March 9, 1898, 1. Woodward, Stanley, the original hand-written charge to the jury as found in Judge Woodwa rd 's personal scrap book now in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Bruce Payne of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania. � SLOVAKIA 9 The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources GEORGE A. TURNER ''The affair at Hazleton yesterday is one of those terrible catastrophies the news of which simply stuns the community and paralyzes for a moment the power of thought." (1) The above editorial comment was a reaction to one of the worst acts of violence in the history of the American labor movement. The tragedy occurred at Laimer, a small coal mining patch, one and a half miles northeast of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh region of the anthracite coal fields on September 10, 1897. A group of nearly four hundred striking, unarmed, immigrant mine workers adhering to the control of their leaders, approached Lattimer to encourage the employees of Calvin Pardee & Company to join them in a work stoppage. They encountered Sheriff James Martin of Luzerne County and his posse of eighty-six deputies who viewed them as enemies of public order and the wellspring of lawlessness. When the marching laborers arrived at Lattimer in midafternoon, the Sheriff approached them, ordered them to halt, disperse, and return to their homes. Within a few minutes an altercation erupted between the Sheriff and some of the strikers at which point the deputies aimed their rifles and fired directly into the group of strikers. Instantly, their gunshots produced a carnage of blood and death among the immigrants - a massacre that left nineteen dead and thirty-eight wounded.(2) Peace officers were unscathed in their deadly assault on the defenseless workers who had been peacefully assembled on a public highway. This incident, lasting only a few minutes, became one of the most devastating acts of public authorities attacking, wounding and killing American laborers. The next day newspaper headlines depicted the killings as an atrocity. Regional papers denounced the shooting: "Yesterday's Butchery, A Mob of Heartless Deputies Fire Into a Throng of Miners and Accomplish Deadly Work" ;(3) "D of Blood at Lattimer" ;(4) "Strikers Shot in Cold Blood" ;(5) and "Looks Like Butchery" .(6) The account quickly spread beyond the anthracite region. Major metropolitan newspapers depicted the shooting in equally stark terms: ''The Killing of Miners at Lattimer Was Butchery'';(7) ''Mowed Down By Deputies" ;(8) "Laid Low By Bullets, the Men Fell Like Sheep Before the Murderous Winchesters of the Officials" ;(9) "Homestead Battle Thrown In The Shade" ;(10) and "Dead in Heaps, Deputies Fire on Miners at Lattimer, Penn ., Men Were Huddled Closely and Slaughter Was Terrific''. (11) The killing of the strikers by the Sheriff's deputies was a major national news story for several days prompting a �10 SLOVAKIA very basic question: Why did this senseless, violent act of shooting unarmed immigrant workers occur? To answer this inquiry requires an understanding of nativism found in the hard coal fields of Pennsylvania and an identification of those factors affecting the lives and working conditions of the immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. Slavic and Italian immigrants began arriving in the eight Pennsylvania counties comprising the anthracite region in the late 1870' s and early 1880 's with nearly all taking employment in mining and by the late 1890's outnumbered German and English-speaking workers .(12) The magnitude of this immigration flow from Poland, Austria-Hungary , Russia, and Italy was evident; in 1880 they totaled only 1,925 , in 1890 they were 32,007, and ten years later their numbe had more than doubled to 89,328. At the same time the foreign born from England , Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Germany decreased by 2.2 percent from 102,421 in 1880 to 100,269 in 1900; in particular, the demographic composition of this group in Luzerne County revealed a decline from ninety-four percent in 1880, to sixty-eight percent in 1890, and a further drop to forty-nine percent in 1900. These southern and eastern Europeans grew to an ever increasing percent of the foreignborn population in the anthracite coal fields: 1. 7 percent in 1880, 25 .2 percent in 1890 , and 46.1 percent in 1900.(13) Such a substantial and rapid growth of alien people created apprehension and anxieties leading to resentment and nativistic sentiments among the AngloSaxon population , their antipathy stemming from cultural differences and fear of economic competition for jobs. There was little to encourage the necessary processes for immigrants to be readily assimilated into the society. New arrivals had a distinctive culture, language , religion, and life style that were strikingly different , giving rise to suspicion and contempt from the native population and other established ethnic groups. Eastern and southern Europeans established numerous ethnic societies which perpetuated their pride , customs, and traditions . Since their religion was Catholic , they organized separate parishes along nationality lines thus sustaining ethnic identification. Marriage records reveal a consistent pattern of immigrants marrying only members of their own nationality. Divisions caused by factionalism in this polyglot society were difficult to bridge. Newspapers did not assume any responsibility for promoting harmony and assimilation among the diverse nationalities, and public schools did not lead in the task of Americanizing children of foreign cultures until the early 1900's . School attendance by immigrant children was minimal and those who did attend encountered language barriers. (14) Anglo-Saxons were finding it difficult to accept a pluralistic society in which they were becoming a numerical minority. This development fostered nativist sentiment , causing AngloSaxons to have ce rtain perceptions of the immigrants that inhibited �SLOVAKIA 11 assimilation of the aliens contributing to their separation and isolation in the society. Attitudes of non-acceptance found expression in opprobrious terms for the new arrivals: " Pollocks, " "Huns," and " Dagoes," all denoting inferiority and disdain. Polish, Italian, and Slavic celebrations for marriages and their baptismal customs were denigrated and viewed as outlandish. A common belief among the native population was that a '' ... Slav does not know how to enjoy himself save by getting drunk, he does not know how to show kindness to friends save by making them drink." (15) Stories circulated that these new aliens participated in wife-selling, practiced polyandry, and were responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, (16) contributing to the viewpoint that they were '' ... much more dangerous to the body politic than the excluded Chinese; . . . do not hesitate to use dynamite if they desire to blow up the home of one whom they particularly hate."(17) Rejection of the new immigrants grew in part from a feeling on the part of Anglo-Saxons that they belonged to a superior and more progressive race of people. The way that immigrants lived reinforced feelings of superiority in nativist thinking. Due to economic factors, lack of acceptance, and the desire of ethnic groups to have their own neighborhoods, ghettoes emerged in different communities. Since houses in ghettoes were crowded and substandard, outsiders viewed living conditions as unpleasant , unattractive, offensive, and the area as a tough and brawlly place to live. "The Slavs are physically strong and can flourish in an environment that would be fatal to more sensitive organisms." (18) Supporting this dislike of southern and eastern Europeans, the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1895 passed a resolution calling upon Congress to enact legislation to restrict immigration. The resolution clearly reflected a protectionist attitude as seen in its opening statement: '' That we recognize in the constant influx of an ignorant and vicious class of immigrants a great and growing evil highly injurious to American workingmen and dangerous to American institutions." (19) Again, two years later legislators passed another similar resolution.(20) Native Americans and older immigrants from northern Europe came to the conclusion they were being invaded and overcome by hordes of undesirable people who would undermine their communities. Of equal importance and of more immediate concern was competition by Slavic and Italian immigrants for jobs and wages in the labor market. Nativist sentiment held that railroads and coal operators enticed immigrants to settle in the region in order to increase the supply of labor which, in turn, had the effect of keeping wage rates down. (21) This charge against railroad and coal operators, however, was not completely true. It was well known that contract miners, who were primarily Anglo-Saxons, had the best and highest paying positions outside the mine supervisory jobs. They were also employers and were '' ... themselves largely responsible for the employment of �12 SLOVAKIA the non-English speaking foreigners. Instead of employing English laborers at the regular wage week the miners would employ a big Slav or Hun cheaply, increasing his own pay check quite an amount. His boasting of the 'snap' caused others to do the same."(22) Job competition increased as immigrants took any kind of work they could find in and around the mines. No matter what employment they found their wages were four or five times higher than what they previously earned in the native land.(23) Anxious to find work, newcomers took the unskilled positions of slate pickers, door-boys and helpers, drivers , runners, and laborers, willing to endure dangerous work and inconveniences which older workers refused to accept. With the passage of time and experience they began to compete for the higher paying, skilled positions held by English-speaking and German coal workers. Established workers contended that since new immigrants were willing to accept lower wages and even wage cuts to get and hold jobs, they were undermining the standard of living and forcing many older laborers to forego mining in the mines and to leave the area to find new employment. Anglo-Saxon workers became bitter and antagonistic which impaired the development of any class solidarity among the anthracite workers.(24) This led to discriminatory and exclusionary practices toward eastern and southern Europeans. The history of the anthracite labor movement revealed that the Knights of Labor, dominated by Irish, and the Amalgamated Association of Miners and Mine Laborers, controlled by Americans, English, Welsh, and Germans, were ineffective in enrolling these workers into their ranks in the 1880's and 1890's. Leaders of organized labor vacillated, were ambivalent, and showed a lack of real interest in encouraging new immigrants to join the union movement. On certain occasions labor organizations even attacked Slavic groups for undermining the labor movement. Failure of the unions to bridge ethnic differences was a major factor in thwarting endeavors to establish successful collective bargaining with the region's coal operators and to gain better conditions of employment.(25) Whenever new immigrants supported organized labor, they generally joined locals organized along ethnic lines; this at first weakened the interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests and ideas between the AngloSaxons and the new immigrants.(26) When the United Mine Workers of America first appeared in the area in the early 1890's, it made little headway in recruiting the Slavic and Italian immigrants who were fast becoming the major segment of the anthracite labor force.(27) Finally, when U.M.W.A. became firmly established after 1900 and merged the 'old' and 'new' immigrants together, each local retained ethnic �SLOVAKIA 13 distinction , making the union an alliance of distrustful nationality groups .(28) Established miners, who supported organized labor and held the higher paying and more desirable jobs, sought to protect their positions and perpetuate their advantage. They were fearful that the new immigrants who entered the coal fields as unskilled laborers would in time acquire needed skills to pass into the ranks of skilled miners which had the highest pay scale ; older workers also believed that when new immigrants became employed in mines the accident rate increased due to their lack of mining experience and inability to communicate in English .(29) State mine inspector, James Roderick, of Luzerne and Carbon Counties supported this viewpoint and asserted in 1883 that the rate of accidents increased as the influx of new laborers grew, whereas the older miners were more careful in their work. (30) Therefore, AngloSaxon miners supported the enactment of the miners' examination law passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1889. The official title of the legislation, " An act for the examination of miners in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania and to prevent the employment of incompetent persons as miners in anthracite coal mines,'' aptly described its intent. The law created examination boards in various districts in the anthracite region consisting of skilled miners having at least five years of experience and appointed by the presiding judge in a county . It stipulated that no coal company could legally employ a person as a miner who did not have a certificate of competency issued by a miners' examination board ; in order for a person to receive a miner's certificate he had to provide evidence of having at least two years experience as a mine laborer in Pennsylvania.(31) In the legislative debate on this proposal, coal operators were accused of allowing incompetent people to work in mines , thus contributing to large numbers of fatalities and injuries. Many hoped that the new law would reduce the dangers of working in anthracite mines . Aside from viewing this act as a safety measure, there was a clear inference that the law would also help to check the influx and competition of labor from the new immigrants. Representative Caffery commenting on the proposed law declared that it could prevent '' ... incompetent men to come here from Europe, three or four of whom will be rushed into one chamber, thus dividing up the work.'' (32) Caffery's remark clearly made reference to the recent European influx into the anthracite region that had aroused resentments among older miners. In time it became apparent that expectations concerning the miner 's examination law would not be realized. Anglo-Saxon miners recognized that asking a few questions by miners ' examination boards could not really assure the competency of an applicant. In the examination of a non-English speaking person, the interpreter often aided and embellished the individual' s response. Furthermore, it �14 SLOVAKIA became a fact of life, due to fraud and corruption, that certificates became articles of merchandise.(33) From the time the law went into effect until 1897 there were several attempts to modify or even to repeal the statute . The law, rather than excluding unskilled laborers from becoming miners, had, in effect, due to the requirement of two years of mining experience in Pennsylvania, made ineligible the experienced miners who came from other parts of the country or Europe to secure jobs in the anthracite coal fields . These men were unwilling to work two years as a mine laborers in order to qualify for a miner's certificate. Instead, this simply assured that the new immigrants in time would move into the ranks of skilled miners - the higher-paying positions normally held by Anglo-Saxon workers. Representative Miller, whose district included Luzerne county, substantiated this point: ''Under the present act no one can receive a certificate as a miner until he has worked for two years as a miner's laborer. The result of that is just this: Only the least responsible class of workmen will come into the anthracite district at all; it excludes all of the better class of men. No one who is a practical miner from the bituminous region, or any other part of the State or the United States will come into the anthracite region and work for two years as a miner's laborer before he can obtain this certificate. '' (34) Admission that the law would stymie the settlement of new immigrants in the region was acknowledged by Representative Morahan in one of the attempts to revise the statute: ''It was brought about after the mining corporations had sent their agents over into Europe and brought over an element tended to restrict the production and elevation of wages. It was passed for the purpose of preventing the importation of pauper immigrants into the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania . . . "(35) Deficiencies in the miners' examination law prompted district one (anthracite region) of the United Mine Workers of America in its annual convention at Pottsvillle on October 16, 1896, to charge that the act was a farce. In a resolution calling for revision of the statute, the union wanted stiff penalties, imprisonment up to five years and fines of $100, for not adhering to the law; it also advocated that the state pay board members a set salary, abolishing the present procedure of having salaries based on fees collected from issuance of certificates. (36) These recommended changes reflected a view that corruption and failure to enforce the law had become commonplace among many of the miners' examination boards. John Fahy, president of district one, lobbied at the state capital in support of revisions to the law approved in 1897. One amendment increased penalties for violations, but no changes were made in the fee structure. A second amendment stipulated that each exaininee had to answer a minimum of twelve questions in English, which prohibited the use of interpreters and therefore discriminated against immigrants, who could not speak English.(37) The United Mine �SLOVAKIA 15 Worker's Journal lauded Fahy's lobbying activities and contribution in getting this legislature enacted. (38) After passage of these revisions to the law, the Miners' Examination Board in the Hazleton area placed a notice in the local newspaper to alert mine officials of its provisions. It noted that the law had been violated in the past but henceforth would be strictly enforced. The Board's warning reflected nativist sentiment: "As you, above all others, should know the necessity of having men who understand their work and the language which is the known language of this, our country, the Board would say do your duty and acquit yourselves like men and Americans.'' (39) Control of the miners' examination boards rested with English-speaking miners who were able to exercise certain prerogatives and institute various regulations to their advantage at the expense of the new immigrants.(40) Another piece of discriminating legislation with nativist prejudice, the Alien Tax Act, passed by large majorities in both houses, went into effect on July 1, 1897. The statue stipulated that any male alien age twenty-one and over employed in the state had to pay a three-cent tax on each day of employment which meant that most aliens employed as laborers in the Lehigh anthracite coal region suffered a two to three percent reduction in daily wages . Employers had to maintain employment records on aliens in their service and to collect the tax which reverted to the county treasury, half of which went to school districts and the other half to defray county operating expenses.(41) In the senate debate over the bill, the presence of new immigrants in the community gave rise to a concern that they were '' .. . a constant source of expense to us and . . . this is a very good way to get some money out of them to help pay the expenses of government.' ' (42) The act's preamble declared that aliens showed no allegiance to the state and did not financially support the maintenance of government. In addition, it described aliens as direct competitors to the state's laboring population. One passage stated they were '' ... brought into unjust competition with the tax-paying American laborers and greatly impair their welfare by depriving them of their employment and of preventing them from receiving fair compensation for their labor therefore." (43) Again, John Fahy, miners ' advocate at the state capital, wrote an article for the United Mine Workers Journal asserting: ''What a world of good this law would do the American citizens who try to earn their living in the coal mines, if the tax were one dollar per day.' ' (44) Nearly two months after the tax went into effect, the United States Circuit Court in Pittsburgh declared the law unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. Judge Acheson in the court's decision acknowledged that the law discriminated against new immigrants: "Evidently the act is intended to hinder the employment of foreign born unnaturalized male persons over 21 years of age." (45) An obvious recourse for the alien to avoid this new tax, prior to its �16 SLOVAKIA being declared unconstitutional, was to become a naturalized citizen. Senator Flinn feared this possibility and could see little benefit from such a law unless to increase local revenues. It was his opinion that the legislation '' ... would have a tendency to drive this class of people into quicker citizenship." (46) Possibly anticipating this result, the Naturalization Court in Luzerne County a few days prior to the alien tax being voided instituted new rules to revise the process of naturalizing aliens. New procedures required an applicant to make formal application and declare his or her intention to become an American citizen at least thirty days prior to appearing in court, to be represented in the court proceedings by an attorney, and to produce a certificate of entry from the commissioner of immigration at the port of arrival. County officials had to publish in advance of the naturalization hearing the names of aliens seeking citizenship . Publicizing names of aliens petitioning to become citizens had the purpose of facilitating the process of weeding out undesirable applicants. Under the new rules five people could sign a petition remonstrating against an alien becoming a citizen thereby requiring a hearing to pass on their objections. In court, the alien had to demonstrate knowledge of the national and state constitutions and duties of citizens with responses in English.(47) Under these new procedures costs and amount of time required of the foreigner to become a citizen greatly increased. Previously, it had been perfunctory procedure since the immigrant only had to pay two dollars to secure naturalization papers. Now the costs rose to at least eight dollars for court and attorney fees.(48) When the individual lived some distance from the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, he had additional expenses for transportation and meals as well as losing a day of wages. Cumulatively, the costs for most aliens was equivalent to nearly two weeks of wages . A month later when implementation of these new naturalization rules became part of the court proceedings, half of the ninety-seven applicants, predominately Slavic, Polish, and Italian, were rejected in their quest for citizenship.(49) The new naturalization procedures confirmed the fact that the ease with which foreigners had in the past gained American citizenship would no longer be the rule. The new immigrants, who had become the dominant group among the mine workers, found themselves unaccepted due to nativistic attitudes, discriminatory laws, organized labor's lack of interest and view of them as an economic threat, and increased difficulty in acquiring citizenship. An added burden which all mine laborers faced was working conditions in the anthracite coal fields . The Pennsylvania Legislature in 1897 established a joint investigating committee of three representatives and two senators to examine and make a report concerning working conditions among those employed in the mining of anthracite coal. The committee held twenty-six meetings in the principal cities in the anthracite region and took testimony from 311 witnesses �SLOVAKIA 17 representing businessmen , directors of relief organizations, and different classes of people connected with mining. The committee released its findings to the public on June 14, 1897, containing valuable information affecting those employed in mining.(50) The committee cited a major problem in the anthracite coal economy as excessive production in relationship to market demands that made coal prices weak and unstable. This had a direct bearing on mine employees since coal operators would cut production , institute lay-offs , and reduce wages in order to prevent or minimize their losses, thus exacerbating the labor market which already suffered from an over supply of workers . Surplus labor was evident when comparing the number employed in the anthracite mines in 1892 with 1896 and the coal produced in those same two years. Between 1892 to 1896 there occurred a fifteen percent increase in the number employed , 130,197 to 149,670, while coal production only increased five percent, 45,738,374 to 48,074 ,350 tons.(51) Estimated production capacity of the region 's collieries in 1896 was ninety million tons; actual output only came to fifty-four percent of capability while the number of mine employees for that same year increased by 6,065 .(52) Because of surplus laborers and a weak coal market there was lack of employment in the mines in 1896 as the average number of days of employment in the Hazleton region was only 178 days or fifty-seven percent of full employment for a year, based on a six-day week for fifty-two weeks. (53) This same condition was still prevalent in the first seven months in 1897 in which the mines operated on an average of one or two days a week.(54) One mine owner succinctly described the situation: " We can't give them work enough even at ninety cents a day because of the ups and downs of the business. When things begin to improve, we must have enough on hand to satisfy the demand, and that means, when business slacks up, that many have to be idle ." (55) This practice of the coal operators cutting back production to maintain the price of coal in a depressed market had caused frequent interruptions in the mid 1890's that put the standard of living of the average mine laborer on a very low basis . The legislative report pointed out that starvation conditions existed among the miners with Hazleton and vicinity one of the five areas identified as having great destitution and want. The committee reported: ' 'The testimony shows conclusively that deplorable condition of affairs for a period covering about two years, and particularly since the first of January of the present year, since which time the men in and about the collieries have been employed not more than two or three three-fourths days per week , earning on an average $4 per week , upon which , in many instances, they were compelled to support large families , in some cases as high as eleven members, paying house rent and coal and the necessities of life, which to this committee seems an impossibility . In . .. mining centres there is at all times more or less destitution and want , in many instances occasioned by profligacy. �18 SLOVAKIA Matters throughout the anthracite region have been gradually growing worse, and never in the history of this section of our State has the condition of the men employed in and about the mines been so deplorable or of such long duration.'' (56) The wages of miners and laborers in the Lehigh anthracite region had a direct relationship to the selling price of coal. Since the collapse of the union after the strike in 1888, there was no union contract to govern working conditions and wages. Wages were pegged to the market price of coal at the tidewater in Elizabethport, New Jersey. This system known as the ' 'sliding scale'' came into effect in 1869 with the formula for determining wages established in 1875. Under this arrangement, if coal sold for $5 .00 a ton at Elizabethport, miners, who held the highest paying jobs, received eighty-seven cents for each car of coal produced which meant that on the average, skilled miners earned twenty-one cents an hour, or $12.60 a week for sixty hours of work. The highest paid class of laborers, if a ton of coal sold for the same price, earned $10.80 a week or fourteen percent less than the miners. Whenever the price of coal increased ten cents a ton, wages advanced one percent for each ten cent rise and conversely, whenever the price of coal declined ten cents a ton, wages decreased one percent for each ten cent reduction . (57) Mine employees saw several drawbacks to this method of determining wages. Lehigh coal operators, as opposed to the Wyoming and Schuylkill coal operators, were mainly independents; hence, they were more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the freight rates in transporting their coal to the markets, which, in turn, had a direct bearing on establishing the price of coal. High transportation costs reduced the coal operator's ability to improve wages and, most importantly, forced an increase in coal prices that made coal produced in the Lehigh region less competitive in the market than that produced in the other two fields largely under the control of the railroads. Consequently, starting in 1892 the Lehigh coal operators, who produced only around sixteen percent of anthracite coal, agreed to sell part of their production to the railway coal companies at forty percent below the tidewater price in order to avoid excessive freight rates. A major portion of the coal production was sold in the interior at prices higher than at the tidewater. Finally, the 1875 price-wage formula did not reflect changes that had occurred in the coal market. Anthracite coal had been losing the industrial fuel market to the less expensive bituminous coal. This loss forced a readjustment in the coal trade as more and more anthracite had to be processed into smaller sizes to be sold for home heating purposes. Smaller sizes gradually became the major portion of the coal trade and this sold at lower prices, resulting in a reduction of the average price per ton of coal thus keeping wages down.(58) Besides irregular work and low wages the anthracite laborer had to contend with day-to-day conditions which were equally distressing. The �SLOVAKIA 19 company store had long been an issue in the mining communities and had an odious reputation. The fact that employees were under some form of compulsion to make their purchases at a company store at inflated prices was so repugnant that it caused considerable discord, dissension, and prolonged agitation. A congressional committee in 1889 investigating working conditions in the anthracite region reported some of the abuses connected with stores operated by coal companies which still persisted in the late 1890's. Prices were as much as thirty percent higher for the same items sold in independent stores. There was both direct and subtle pressure on employees to purchase groceries , clothing, and other items from the company store; workers feared losing their jobs or being moved to a lower paying position or to one that was more difficult because of dangerous or strenuous working conditions. "Some of the officials of the company, such as foremen, would state to their workmen, 'If you patronize me we will patronize you.' Well , that meant if there was a good job they would receive it if they traded in the company' s store ."(59) Reacting to these abuses, Pennsylvania in 1891 enacted a law prohibiting corporations engaged in mining and manufacturing from operating general supply stores . In an attempt to prevent evasion, the law explicitly made it illegal for a corporation to contract with an independent store to require its employees to purchase merchandise; also it prohibited any corporate officer or stockholder to operate a company store on the premises of the corporation. (60) Unfortunately, the legislation did not eliminate the many evils associated with the company stores. In the first place , unincorporated coal operators did not come under the law's jurisdiction. Secondly, there was a loophole in the law's language forbidding a corporation from requiring its employees to patronize a particular store by stating that employees " shall not be obliged" to deal with a designated store. In other words an employee of a corporation could not be compelled to shop at a particular store but he could voluntarily choose to buy his merchandise at that store. Realistically, as life existed in the mining communities with the ever-presence and dominance of the coal companies, many factors came into play that inevitably induced an employee to make a so-called voluntary decision to patronize a particular store. Thirdly, when individual coal operators sold their interests to a large corporation, they often retained the right to continue the operation of their store. In this arrangement, many times the corporation provided a service by deducting an employee's bill at the store from his monthly wages with a collection fee which varied from three to five percent of the bill. This system had a descriptive nickname of the "pluck-me-store." (61) It was in the Lehigh region, where a very large percent of the coal operators were independent and unincorporated, that the existence of company stores was one of the highest in the anthracite region ; two-thirds of the mine laborers worked at collieries �20 SLOVAKIA that operated company stores.(62) In some instances a coal company which operated a store would undersell its competitor by lowering prices for coal and then make up losses by compelling the employees to trade at the company store at exorbitant prices .(63) The store of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company reportedly had everything from a red herring to a furnace . A Polish employee of the company flatly stated: '' ... we are compelled to purchase whether we want to or not. " (64) Three English-speaking miners of the A. S. Van Wickle Company commented that they would not object to the company's store if it were not for the high prices. To illustrate their point, they cited three items priced in an independent store and the company store: dozen eggs for thirteen cents as opposed to twenty-three cents, pound of butter for eighteen cents as opposed to twenty-six cents, and tobacco for twenty-six cents as opposed to thirtyfour cents. (In computing these goods the average price increase over the independent store was forty-six percent.) They further asserted: ''These are but a few samples of the prices charged here, but we have no redress. If we do not deal in the store we are notified about it with a broad intimation that others would be glad to have our places and deal in the store ." (65) The two investigative reports documented abuses concerning the company store in the anthracite region in 1897 and drew attention to three pertinent facts: the company store did not operate to the benefit of the workmen; employees were subjected to intimidation when they failed to patronize company stores; profits were substantial. (66) The company store problem was a major concern of John Fahy who noted that the number was greater than when the legislation was passed in 1891 and coal operators continued to violate the law. Union members of the United Mine Workers of America agreed and passed a resolution condemning this kind of store : '' ... the company store is a great and burdensome evil; that the system is harsh and tyrannical, and its purposes to rob labor of the full use of that pittance, always too meager, which the mine worker now received for his toil . . . "(67) Another grievance of the workers closely related to the company store was the practice of having a company butcher make door to door sales to employees living in company houses. They objected to the butcher's high prices and his habit of leaving more meat than requested forcing the purchaser to pay for meat not wanted . (68) What they wanted was the. abolition of this solicitation. Dominance of the coal companies over their employees was felt in another way through the company doctor. Coal operators had a physician to administer to the health needs of workers. On the surface this service appeared to be a desirable fringe benefit. Not so in the eyes of the employees who had several objections. They felt that they should have the right to select their own doctor since many believed that the quality of medical help was below average. The fact that the doctor's �SLOVAKIA 21 allegiance rested with the company placed uncertainty on the doctorpatient relationship.(69) Aside from these reservations was the cost. Deduction from workers' paychecks funded the program; A. S. Van Wickle Company levied two cents a day on each employee while other companies charged each married man with a family seventy-five cents a month and single men fifty cents a month.(70) To many this outlay of money equaled a half-day of wages and was an unnecessary cost. At this time it was common practice for people to rely upon home remedies for curing illnesses rather than always going to a doctor. A custom among miners was to establish their own mutual medical aid organizations known as '' keg funds.'' Miners donated refunds received from turning in their empty powder kegs.(71) Another major factor explaining why workers opposed the company doctor scheme stemmed from a plethora of fraternal groups that provided insurance against sickness and death. In the Hazleton area there were around fifty such organizations with many established along ethnic lines. Working class membership in these societies was large. Dues entitled them to sick benefits that varied from four to six dollars a week for a period of three to six months. Average death benefits ranged from $50 to $125 with wives often receiving half the rate. (72) With these other arrangements, the company doctor plan offered few, if any , advantages to mine workers. Feelings of exploitation among the miners were particularly strong over the price of blasting powder and mining supplies and the coercion to purchase these items from the coal companies. Each of the collieries kept mining supplies for sale. Testimony before the United States Industrial Commission revealed: ''The coal operators will say that they do not compel miners to buy their supplies with that company. While this may be true in regard to oil in some places, yet they are compelled to buy their powder from these companies where they work, for they will tell you if you do not buy your powder there you can work where you buy it."(73) Along with this compulsion there was the high price for the powder. A keg of powder weighing twenty-five pounds sold for $2. 75 in the Lehigh region whereas in the Schuylkill region the same amount had sold for $1.50 since 1888.(74) A major demand of the strikers was to secure a price decrease for powder generally in the amount of seventy-five cents a keg. However, miners at Calvin Pardee & Company sought a more extensive price reduction for powder so that it would sell for $1.50 a keg.(75) Powder purchased from independent stores sold from $1.25 to $1.50 a keg and the wholesale cost of powder per keg delivered from the manufacturer ranged from 90 cents to $1.00.(76) It was obvious to the miners that the coal operators made substantial profits on the sale of powder with a mark-up of around two hundred percent. When comparing powder prices in the Schuylkill region with the Hazleton area in 1896, men believed they were overcharged by some $125,353.75 or a per capita of $217.50 which was �22 SLOVAKIA almost equivalent to one-third of their annual income.(77) This issue was particularly irritating to the miners and they felt that they were victims of extortion. Another vexing issue was the lack of compliance by coal companies to provisions of the state semi-monthly wage payment law passed in 1891 . The act stipulated that employers pay their employees in lawful money every two weeks.(78) With the exception of the Coxe mines, violation of the statute was widespread in the Hazleton area . (79) The state legislative investigating committee reported the act was '' ... virtually a dead letter in many instances. Operators disregard it and deem it an unjustifiable interference with their rights .'' (80) District One of the United Mine Workers of America in its 1896 annual convention adopted a resolution endorsing the semi-monthly wage payment law and invited members of the business community to cooperate with them in supporting this legislation. (81) Frequency of payment to workers was important to coal operators since it had a direct relationship to the maintenance of company stores. If workmen received their wages every two weeks or even weekly, they would be inclined to shop at independent stores which had lower prices. With monthly payments, employees found it convenient and, sometimes necessary , to depend on credit extended at the company stores.(82) These cumulative burdens of adverse working conditions, irregular and limited work, low wages, pressure to patronize the company's store and butcher, expense for a company doctor, high costs for blasting powder and mining supplies, and non-compliance with the semi-monthly pay law were hardships ever present to mine laborers and became issues in the strike. Of equal importance, immigrant workers found themselves having to cope with additional adversities such as nativistic attitudes that rejected their culture and impeded assimilation, economic discrimination in employment, passage of the alien tax law, and difficult and costly naturalization procedures. A wellspring of resentment and antagonism festered among the ranks of southern and eastern Europeans over conditions affecting their lives which stirred feelings of discontent and frustrations creating a serious strike situation. The spark which produced the Lattimer massacre first appeared to be nothing more than an isolated and minor labor dispute between District Superintendent Gomer Jones and some mule drivers at the Honey Brook colliery of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company; however, it became the catalyst leading to a series of crippling strikes in the Lehigh region. Gomer Jones , who had a reputation as a tyrannical mine boss, had recently been appointed superintendent of the Audenried district and assumed his new position with an eagerness to establish order and efficiency out of what he and the company considered to be a chaotic situation.(83) Jones stated in an interview that he perceived his superintendency: '' I came here a year ago. I came to restore discipline �SLOVAKIA 23 in the mines and to operate them in such a manner that the company could continue in business. The discipline was certainly lax. The men did about as they pleased. The two superintendents who were here then associated with the men, mixed with them, drank with them and were regarded as 'hail fellows well met' everywhere among the miners. Now I cannot do that. I'm not a drinking man, and I've never made it a practice to hobnob with the men. However, when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed and do not permit miners to do exactly as they please. " (84) He began to institute economics in the company's operations in order to achieve the lowest possible cost in mining. To carry out this resolve , he dismissed two easy-going foremen , about eighty other workers, and reduced daily wages for all classes of mine workers from three percent for carpenters to as much as twenty-five percent for stripping miners.(85) Another of Jones ' cost-saving proposals required all of the company mules to be stabled at Audenried. This measure required the mule drivers employed at Honey Brook to spend an extra hour in the morning and evening to pick up their mules and return them to the stables. For these two extra hours of work , Jones refused to grant any compensation to the mule drivers . Dissatisfaction over this arrangement provoked a strike among mule drivers , who were Slavic and Polish , on August 13 . The next day some workers took up positions along the road near the stable to insure that none of the mule teams was removed for work. Upon learning of this development , Jones went to the scene with club in hand with the intention of dispersing the disgruntled workers. Within minutes a boisterous dispute erupted and Jones, using his club, struck one worker. Some of Jones' assistants came to his rescue before the melee got completely out of control. (86) A consequence of the mule driver strike and the residue of dissatisfaction and discontent among the rest of the workers produced a general strike against the company on August 16. An assessment of the situation made by a local newspaper declared that coal companies " .. . import this cheap labor, drag them down with all sorts of hardships, and indignities and finally the bosses attempt to make records for money saving and thus increase their own salaries at the expense of the poor unfortunates who are under them. There is no need for white slavery, nor pauper wages ... pay them a living salary and treat them as human beings , and trouble of this kind will be unheard of.'' (87) That evening miners held a large meeting at McAdoo at which they formulated their grievances and demands to present to Elmer H. Lawall, General Superintendent of Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. They wanted restoration of the wage scale in effect prior to reductions imposed by Jones , an increase of ten percent in wages for all employees who worked underground, purchase of coal by workers for use in their homes reduced from $2.50 to $1.50 a ton, the right of each worker to select his own doctor, removal of Gomer Jones from his �24 SLOVAKIA position as district superintendent, and assurance that each person on strike would be reinstated.(88). Miners elected a strike committee representing different nationalities to present the issue to company officials. After meeting with Mr. Lawall on August 17, the committee decided to go to New York the next day to confer with Mr. Lawall and C. H. Warren, assistant to company President Maxwell. After returning from New York, the committee on August 19 met with the miners to report on negotiations, informing them that Mr. Warren had pledged that the company would pay the same rate of wages prevailing in the area and did not object to miners selecting their own doctor and making their own payments. There was no response to reducing the price of coal used by miners in their homes. With regard to the miners' objections concerning the conduct of Gomer Jones, the company refused to dismiss him but did promise to investigate his actions; this prompted an editorial comment in a Hazleton newspaper: ''The men are determined in their demands for justice, and if the Lehigh and WilkesBarre officials are wise they will speedily dismiss Superintendent Gomer Jones, for so long as he is retained in his present position, the trouble will not be adjusted. This man, with perhaps one exception, has imposed more hardships on the mines than any other living person who ever set foot on this soil. " (89) Upon hearing the company offer, which the miners described as one containing only promises rather than solutions to their grievances and demands, they voted to remain on strike . (90) Refusal to end the strike caused Mr. Lawall to hold another meeting with the strike committee. Three additional issues were introduced in the negotiations: employees need not live in company houses , men in the same grade of work receive the same pay, and employees be paid for all services rendered to the company - a direct reference to the mule drivers' complaint of having to spend two extra hours without pay to pick up and return their mules to the stables. After conferring with Lawall the strike committee called another meeting with workers on August 20. At this time the company informed the men that it had accepted the employees' position on the three additional points and that Lawall had personally promised to investigate fairly every grievance . Strikers believed that the injudicious activities of Jones would certainly be exposed and he would be dismissed. They learned that the mules were returned to Honey Brook, removing the issue of extra work without pay that had sparked the strike . In addition, two men dismissed by Jones were reinstated to their former positions. With such favorable news and expectation of Jones' replacement, the miners voted to end the week old strike and return to work on August 23.(91) The euphoria that prevailed among miners stemmed from their belief of success in exerting their interests against the coal company. This sense of accomplishment was further underscored by the fact they �SLOVAKIA 25 had been able to organize seven locals of the United Mine Workers of America comprising nearly a thousand men or about half of the company' s employees in the Audenried district. Establishing the union rested on the activities of John Fahy, United Mine Workers organizer, who took advantage of miners' discontent over their working conditions and lack of unionization. With the backing of a union and the promise of Lawall to investigate their differences with Jones , miners felt confident that they had won.(92) It appeared that labor unrest at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company was only an aberration and the outlook for labor peace quite good. Such optimism was short lived. The strike was a harbinger of labor agitation that soon engulfed the Lehigh mining region surrounding Hazleton. Within a week, on August 27, another strike initiated by immigrant workers broke out at the Coleraine and Milnesville collieries of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company. Some 1,500 strikers demanded reinstatement of the wage scale prior to the reduction made in February of 1897, which meant an average increase in wages from ten to fifteen percent in the daily rates. They wanted the new daily rates to be the following: stripping laborers, $1.20; first class laborers , $1.64; second class laborers, $1.50; outside laborers , from $1.00 to $1.20 ; breaker hands, men at $1.00 and boys at 90 cents; mule drivers, one mule at $1.50 ; two mules at $1.64; and three mules at $1.75; first class miners , $2.10; and second class miners, $1.93 . A few days later, August 31, some 2,000 employees of Lehigh and WilkesBarre Coal Company swelled the ranks of dissatisfied workers by walking off their jobs a second time after the elapse of two weeks when company officials had promised a settlement of their grievances in their first strike at the beginning of the month.(93) Chairman of the strikers ' negotiating committee charged that ' ' ... Messrs. Lawall and Warren, did not keep faith, and their refusal to make any concessions after their encouraging promises originally had served to work the men up to a high pitch. " (94) Work stoppages also began to spread to other coal operators: Lehigh Valley Coal Company, C. M. Dodson & Company, G. B. Markel & Company, Calvin Pardee & Company, A. Pardee & Company , New Ebervale Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, Arnold & Morgan Company , and Silver Brook Coal Company.(95) This general strike action at the end of August and the first of September erupted with the pressing demand for an increase in wages. Immigrant workers were the principal source of agitation over this issue. It was they who suffered loss of wages due to enactment of the alien tax law and who felt the effects of wage discrimination when they received less for the same job than the English-speaking worker. Miners in their class earned from $1.50 to $1.65 a day while an Englishspeaking miner earned $1.97 for the same position. Similar conditions existed for those who were employed as laborers; the percent of wage difference was even greater, $1.15 versus $1.50. Anglo-Saxon workers �26 SLOVAKIA did not support the strike and immigrants looked upon them as a favored class. Since Slavic and Italian workers outnumbered Englishspeaking workers by a three-to-one ratio, their dissatisfaction over wages and working conditions became the prevailing voice. (96) Demand for the same pay for the same job had the following local, editorial support: "Employees should receive the same compensation for the same kind and amount of work done whether they are Hungarians, Italians or any other nationality." (97) Strikers ' demands for improvement in their wages came in part from the fact that Lehigh coal operators paid lower wages than operators in the other two anthracite coal fields. (98) Although there existed an industry-wide formula for determining wages based on the tidewater price of coal, in actuality there was a divergence in the wage scale particularly among the unskilled in different coal companies, which contributed to labor unrest among workers when they learned their wages were lower than their counterparts in other mines. In protest, foreign workers began marching from one colliery to another, closing down operations and compelling other workers to join their ranks. With each passing day the situation became somewhat more tense. Area newspapers assessed conditions as serious with the distinct possibility of becoming quite dangerous since, ''Never in the history of the region was such a determined body of men seen together'' ;(99) it was feared that unless a settlement was reached, '' ... the whole Lehigh region will be plunged into one of the most threatening conditions ever experienced in the history of Pennsylvania coal mining." (100) Immigrant workers were the masters of the situation, dominating the strike activities; English-speaking workers, fewer in number receiving better wages, did not voluntarily support them and preferred to remain at work. Instead of a feeling of camaraderie and solidarity between these two groups there was distrust and suspicion.(101) An important break occurred in the strike action when A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company made a wage settlement with their employees at Milnesville and Coleraine collieries on September 3 and 4, respectively. The company's General Superintendent, James Roderick, fulfilled a promise to investigate wages paid at other area mines and, if his company's rates were lower, make appropriate advances. Advances did not completely equal the original demands of the workers: increases were around nine percent given primarily to the unskilled and semiskilled, jobs held mainly by the Slavic and Italian immigrants with no raise for skilled laborers, miners, jobs dominated by AngloSaxons.(102) With regard to the alien tax, which had recently been declared unconstitutional, the company promised to return the money at the next pay day. Concerning other issues of the company store and butcher, Roderick promised ''. . . there will positively be no compulsion for any man to deal with the company butcher and the company �SLOVAKIA 27 store, nor will any intimidation in this direction be permitted by any of the subordinates."(103) Following the lead of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company, officials at Coxe mines voluntarily increased wages ten cents a day to prevent their workers from going out on strike. (104) Settlement of the strike at A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company and increased pay by Coxe marked an important turning point in the labor unrest which had idled some twelve collieries due to the strikers' demonstrations. Success of these workers in improving their wages became a stimulus for hundreds of other workers to increase their determination to secure the same monetary gain. Higher wages granted by the two companies simply exacerbated the situation when other coal operators refused to match or make any improvement in wages. As long as this condition prevailed, chances of labor unrest becoming volatile heightened and the outcome became more uncertain . A week prior to the Lattimer killings, a Hazleton newspaper, realizing the nature of the situation, made the following appeal to coal operators: ''What the outcome of the uprising will be is simply conjecture, but one thing is certain, that the operators owe it to themselves as well as the community to bring about a speedy adjustment of the trouble. There is no good reason why the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. officials should not pay the same rate of wages as A. S. Van Wickle; they are in a position to do it and ought to. If there is to be an average rate of wages let all the operators join the combination and pay it. The obstinacy of either one company or the other, is simply injurious to the community, and for the benefit of all we suggest that the operators at least meet the men half-way, and the trouble will soon be a thing of the past. " (105) As each day passed without settlement, strikers continued marching from one coal mine to another seeking to induce other workers to join the strike; some responded willingly and others only after cajoling or intimidation. Their efforts were having success in disrupting the area's mining operations. Anxiety grew as the potential for serious trouble became likely with an apparent impasse emerging between strikers and operators who had refused to go along with the settlement made by A. S. Van Wickle and Coxe. Coal companies , holding the view that the situation had deteriorated and people had become terrorstricken by the strikers' protest, urged the sheriff to intervene in a manner that would terminate the strikers' activities. Sheriff James Martin, vacationing in Atlantic City, New Jersey , received a telegram on Saturday , September 4, from his deputy, Mr. George Wall, that Superintendent Lathrop of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company requested him to go to Hazleton to deal with the developing strike situation. Upon returning to Wilkes-Barre, the Sheriff held a Monday morning conference concerning the strike with Lathrop, Superintendent Steams of Cross Creek Coal Company, and Superintendent Lawall of Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company before �28 SLOVAKIA proceeding to Hazleton.(106) The Sheriff did not come to Hazleton at the request of any elected or appointed public official such as a magistrate, justice of peace, constable, or mayor, nor upon his arrival did he confer with any public official concerning the question of public order as related to the strikers' demonstrations. Instead, when he came to Hazleton, he met with Mr. Zerby, Assistant Superintendent of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and Mr. Platt, Superintendent of Calvin Pardee & Company store. Naturally, these two men held views concerning the strike that reflected their companies' vested interests and could possibly have misrepresented the degree of disruption. Apparently, Martin did not feel there was any advantage to investigating and reviewing developments with a variety of people having different perspectives in order to ascertain objectively sentiments and facts related to the strike. It was at this time that officials of Lehigh Valley Coal Company, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, and Calvin Pardee & Company made it abundantly clear that they would hold Sheriff Martin personally responsible for any interference with their mining operations.(107) After conferring with Messrs. Zerby and Platt, Martin decided to organize a posse comitatus. A Sheriff's decision to create a posse must be based upon circumstances as defined in law in which a state of disorder exists, consisting of a riot or the threat of a riot in which life and property are in jeopardy. Again Martin's assessment that these conditions existed rested upon information given to him by representatives of coal companies. Following their recommendation, he appointed Thomas Hall, a prominent Hazleton businessman whose occupation involved selling blasting powder to coal companies, as his chief deputy.(108) In the Hazleton Machinery Supply Company Store, a concern involved in coal mining, eighty-seven men were sworn in as Sheriff's deputies and members of the posse with nearly all of them directly or indirectly earning their living from coal companies. This close connection of the deputies with the coal companies was apparent as some twenty-three were employees of Calvin Pardee & Company, including his own son and Augustus W. Drake, Pardee's General Superintendent; fourteen worked for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and six were members of the coal and iron police. All but one deputy had surnames indicating Irish, English, or German heritage, the majority were members of prominent families and relatives of coal operators, many were young, several had attended college and were engineers or held managerial positions in coal companies. Others were businessmen and a few were laborers.(109) Superintendent Smith of G. B. Markle & Company, a coal operator, ordered rifles and shotguns and shipped them to a warehouse owned by A. Pardee & Company, another coal operator, where they were dispensed to the deputies under the direction of Mr. Platt.(110) Martin cautioned his deputies: " ... it was their duty to maintain the peace at all hazards, but under no cir- �SLOVAKIA 29 cumstances to shoot unless they were convinced either they or myself to be in danger.'' (111) Since the coal operators were responsible for requesting the Sheriff to come to Hazleton and to organize a posse, they also agreed to assume the costs for expenses incurred by the deputies. (112) Another service available to the Sheriff and his deputies was a special trolley car provided by Lehigh Traction Company upon the orders of Mr. Zerby so they could have unimpeded transportation to move about the coal fields.(113) While arrangements were under way in organizing the posse, Martin contacted Sheriffs Scott and Setzer of Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, respectively , since Lehigh coal fields encompassed parts of these counties. The main source of strike agitation came from men employed at collieries south of Hazleton in the area where Luzerne , Schuylkill , and Carbon Counties have a common boundary. After consulting with each other, the three law officers issued separate proclamations admonishing people '' . . . from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly, and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace .' ' (114) Included in the proclamation was the state riot act of 1860 describing illegal activities and penalties. Sheriff Martin 's decision to issue the proclamation made it appear that he felt conditions were turbulent, disorderly, and warranted the organization of a posse; yet on the same day he chose to spend a leisurely afternnoon attending the bicycle races at Hazleton.(115) The following morning, Tuesday, September 7, Sheriff Martin, upon learning that a group of strikers planned to shut down the Crystal Ridge Colliery , took a number of deputies to the site and prevented them from accomplishing their goal.(116) News of this intervention by the Sheriff either had not spread, or if it had, did not awe other strikers from descending on the New Ebervale Coal Company colliery and closing it down. Company superintendent, John Scott, describing the incident stated: '' ... the real leader appeared and said they intended to win the strike if they had to apply the torch to every town in the region ."(117) After closing the New Ebervale colliery, strikers marched over to the stripping area of Calvin Pardee & Company at Lattimer hoping to repeat their success earlier in the day. However, some of the Sheriff's deputies were already at Lattimer to prevent any disruption in the company 's operations . When the marchers appeared, the officers fired warning shots ito the air dispersing them and thwarting their objective.(118) The remaining days prior to the tragedy at Lattimer found Sheriff Martin and his deputies constantly transversing the coal fields from one colliery to another checking the strikers' movements . With each passing encounter the level of exasperation and tension between the law officers and immigrant workers on strike began to rise. A Hazleton newspaper again reflected a growing concern over the lack of a strike �30 SLOVAKIA settlement and a possible serious confrontation: ''The strike can be settled within twenty-four hours, and without bloodshed, if the operators will act fair and honest with their men. "(119) A day later the same editorial voice observed a growing seriousness in that the strikers '' ... are very much embittered against the deputies, and it is feared that both parties will engage in mortal combat." (120) A letter to the newspaper editor commenting on the strike stated it was '' ... causing a depression in business and fear in the hearts of the people of bloodshed . . . '' suggesting ' ' . . . the Ministerial Association take the matter in hand, call a meeting of all the clergy of the Protestant and Catholic churches, and together with the press and businessmen try and see if their influence could not be used to settle this grave matter between the operators and men."(121) John Fahy counseled the workers to obey the Sheriff's proclamations and to avoid provocations that could cause violence since the authorities had the ability to crush them. His interest was to temper the strikers' ardor and give it some meaningful direction.(122) Martin, apparently feeling some frustrations and reservations over his efforts to deal with strikers , told Frank Pardee, head of A. Pardee & Company, '' ... that while the strikers simply confined themselves to talking to the men quietly and persuading them to quit, it was none of my business and I had no right to interfere. "(123) Regardless of whatever doubts the Sheriff may have had, he knew perfectly well that he could not disregard the wishes of the coal operators. Starting on Thursday afternoon events began to cascade toward that fateful Friday. Employees of Calvin Pardee & Company at Harwood who were on strike felt that in order to win they had to shut down the company's operation at Lattimer which had failed earlier. News came to Harwood strikers that their fellow employees at Lattimer were anxious to join them if only they would march over to Lattimer; this appeal stimulated their determination.(124) The Harwood local of the United Mine Workers held a meeting on Thursday evening to make plans to march to Lattimer the next day. Joe Mahalko, president of the Harwood local of the United Mine Workers of America, cautioned his fellow workers to go without guns or any other kind of weapons, to harm no one nor to destroy any property, and to keep the peace. On the next day, Friday, September 10, around noon some two hundred and fifty strikers from the Harwood area, consisting almost exclusively of immigrant workers, started their ill-fated mission to get their counterparts to go on strike at Lattimer. As the march proceeded, some seventy-five to one hundred additional strikers joined the ranks. (125) When they reached the outskirts of West Hazleton on their route to Lattimer around two o 'clock, they were stopped by Evan Jones, Chief of Police of West Hazleton, who told them, "Go back out of this, you are in a dangerous place. If you have to go to Lattimer you must go another way."(126) At this point Sheriff Martin and his deputies �SLOVAKIA 31 arrived on the scene with the intention of stopping the marchers from proceeding to Lattimer. A confrontation occurred between the Sheriff, his deputies , and the strikers, in which one striker was arrested, another had his arm broken by a deputy, many had guns thrust in their faces , the American flag they were carrying was destroyed, and there was an exchange of blasphemous name calling.(127) Martin read his proclamation containing the riot act, ordered them to cease their march to Lattimer , and urged them to return to their homes, telling them that all of the marching from colliery to colliery to drive men from work was no way to get better wages.(128) He believed there would be serious trouble since some of the marchers had picked up stones and looked as if they intended to throw them at the law enforcement officials. However, this fear proved to be unfounded since they did not take such a provocative action. (129) Efforts to halt the march were futile considering the strikers ' determination to continue their trek to Lattimer, and Martin 's inability to communicate with them since he spoke only English and had no interpreter . After becoming exhausted from the episode , he simply gave up trying to stop them.(130) The strikers ' perception of this hostile encounter differed from the law officers ' version and hinted at forthcoming trouble . John Eagler, one of the leaders of the march and secretary of the United Mine Workers local at Harwood stated: " We were met by the deputies at West Hazleton who did not come like civilized beings , but broke through the ranks, crying, 'Stop , stop!' " (131) Joseph Mahalko declared : '' I told the Sheriff we had no stick big as my finger in the crowd. All Sheriff said was 'don't go any farther .' Sheriff said , 'You go back or I shoot you . ' " (132) Again John Eagler stated that the Sheriff only took a piece of paper from his pocket and did not read any proclamation as he claimed but had simply told them that it was against the law to march to Lattimer.(133) The strikers asserted they did not initiate any altercation with the law officers but were merely the victims of an unwarranted attempt to prohibit them from using the public highway. Something that proved to be far more serious was the ominous threats attributted to the Sheriff and his deputies against the strikers: "Go back and take care of yourself, for there will be big trouble today ." (134) " We 'll get even with the --- at Lattimer."(135) "We ' ll leave them go till we get to Lattimer ; then we ' ll shoot them. "(136) "I'd like to get a pop at the ---of b---. I'll bet I'll drop six. " (137) "I didn 't know what the h--- the Sheriff makes us walk around here so much without giving us a chance to shoot those men .'' (138) ' 'Everyone of the G-- d-- Hunks ought to be shot. " (139) Sheriff Martin , formerly a coal foreman at the Mill Creek colliery in Luzerne County, allegedly stated, " . . . a little cold lead is the only way to conquer the strikers."(140) The Sheriff's efforts and reported intimidations to terminate the strike rs ' march to Lattimer became nothing more than a futile gesture that only made them more resolute to continue their journey. Un- �32 SLOVAKIA daunted, the marchers following the advice of Chief Evan Jones took a route toward Lattimer along the outskirts of Hazleton on which they could proceed without further interference.(141) Sheriff Martin realizing his efforts had been to no avail quickly returned to Hazleton, summoned his entire force of deputies telling them to take their arms and board the trolley to Lattimer so they could prevent the marchers from stopping the Lattimer mining operations.(142) En route there was talk among the deputies '' . . . about shooting and each man seemed to be eager ... "(143) Since some of the deputies had served as coal and iron police, they " ... had had much trouble with the strikers on previous occasions and were said to be in a revengeful mood against them. "(144) Even Sheriff Martin admitted, " ... I have no doubt that some of the deputies were excited, and certainly the ride over the mountain in that crowded car was animating."(145) The Sheriff and his posse arrived at Lattimer a few minutes after three o'clock and stationed themselves along the right side of the road as it entered Lattimer from the south. He instructed his deputies " ... to keep cool and not get excited. "(146) However, before the strikers arrived, the deputies ordered a woman to go into her house on the likelihood that some shooting may occur.(147) Shortly after the deputies were in place , the strikers appeared coming up the public road in an orderly array toward the Lattimer breaker. (148) There was every reason to suspect that the deputies were fully aware that the miners were unarmed. As they approached the law officers who were standing parallel to the road, the Sheriff stepped out and walked toward the marchers with the intention of learning what they planned to do. Martin indicated that " ... if they are not going to do anything, I may let them go on, and we will go along with them.' ' (149) He ordered them to halt about forty or fifty yards from the armed deputies. The front of the column slowed as the Sheriff approached and asked them what they intended to do. The Sheriff reported they said, "We stop Lattimer Mines."(150) He then proceeded to read his proclamation in English, which many of them could not understand, while at the same time the rear of the column kept pushing forward. Within a few minutes a fracas broke out between the Sheriff and some twenty strikers at the side of the road when he attempted to seize and arrest one of the men.(151) At this point the deputies aimed and fired directly into the ranks of the strikers. The exploding crescendo of Winchesters created a bloody massacre with the sound of shrieks and moaning of the dying and wounded lying in agony. One newspaper described the scene: ''It was a human slaughter in which men were mowed down like grain stalks before a scythe, by the deadly bullets which stormed for fully two minutes. The blood of the dead and dying soaked the dusty road and flowed in streams through the ditch."(152) The murderous volley created a human carnage taking the lives of nineteen immigrants and leaving thrity-eight wounded; eleven men died at Lattimer with the �SLOVAKIA 33 remaining eight dying at the Hazleton Hospital. Dr. Keller, a physician at the hospital, stated that many of the victims were shot in the back.(153) What began a month earlier as a dispute between Gomer Jones and immigrant mule drivers grew into a serious strike finally ending as a sorrowful episode in American labor history. In the aftermath of this tragedy there were contradictory versions as to what actually happened. Sheriff Martin said the strikers were vicious, boisterous, a furious and desperate gang, fierce as wild beasts, threatening to physically harm or even kill him. He felt that they were bent on doing violence and had no intention of obeying his proclamation or the laws of Pennsylvania. Earlier at West Hazleton, Martin told the marchers that it was his duty to prevent them from interfering with the men who were working at the mines, and at Lattimer he went a step further to warn them that if they did not disperse there would be trouble.(154) When a Hungarian speaking in broken English told him, "Go to hell, you a---," (155) he sought to arrest the man who shouted the epithet. The men, excited, began assaulting him forcing him to draw his revolver in self defense and attempt to shoot an attacking man, but the gun failed to discharge. He claimed that two of his attackers had pistols and a third man with a knife sought to stab him. (156) In a letter written five weeks later explaining the event to Governor Hastings, Martin wrote the following description: "One high (sic) fellow gave me a blow on the cheek and knocked me on my knees. I would have been knocked down on my back, but the crowd was too close around me so that there was no room for me to get down, and while we were struggling I heard a shot followed closely by a second and then a number of shots together. Those who were attacking me were shot, and I was then unable to recover myself, and there is no doubt in my mind that if the deputies had not shot just when they did I would certainly have been killed. While I was struggling with part of the mob on one side of the road in the ditch where they had pushed me, the part on the other side of the road with a whoop and yell rushed on toward the deputies, who no doubt fearing that their lives were in danger and that I was to be killed, fired ... '' (157) On the day after the shooting, Martin gave several conflicting statements as to why the deputies shot the strikers. "I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers ... I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot if they must to protect their lives or to protect the property that they had been sent to guard from being demolished . . . I hated to give the command to shoot and was awfully sorry that I was compelled to do so. "(158) "I did not order the deputies to fire; someone else did that. I gave no order." (159) "The shooting commenced in a manner that baffles me completely when it comes to explaining."(160) A few days later in an interview Martin suggested that the cause of the shooting came from an impulse of his men to protect him: ''They saw me in the �34 SLOVAKIA midst of the strikers, with men aiming blows at me, and they supposed probably that my life was in danger."(161) The Sheriff's answers vacillated on how the shooting began, ranging from admitting that he gave the order to his deputies to fire their weapons to denying any knowledge of how the firing happened. Even among the deputies there was no satisfactory answer as to how the shooting commenced. The version of the confrontation by the strikers and bystanders differed from and challenged the assertions made by Sheriff Martin. According to the strikers, the Sheriff ordered them to halt and began to read his proclamation. The situation became disruptive when the Sheriff sought to arrest one of the marchers and get the others to disperse. One of the men told the Sheriff '' . . . we only want to move on peaceably ... "(162) Those in the rear of the column continued pressing forward and shouting '' go ahead,'' pushing the Sheriff and some of the men off to the side of the road. Whereupon, John Eagler reported that Martin flourished his revolver, '' ... grabbed one man by the arm, and, pointing the revolver at him, said, 'Did you tell them to go ahead?' The man said he had not spoken, and then the Sheriff grabbed another man and began to shove him about. 'You will say ''Go ahead," eh?' said the Sheriff, and at the same time he aimed the revolver squarely at the man's heart. The man naturally was frightened, and pushed the Sheriff's hand holding the revolver to one side. Whether or not the Sheriff considers that an attack or·not I don't know. I am positive that not a man hit the Sheriff."(163) An account from a bystander stated that Martin '' . . . became excited and ordered the deputies to shoot . . . " (164) A striker affirmed this point that the Sheriff gave the order to fire.(165) Another eye witness agreed that Martin's command was to fire but only a warning shot over the heads of the strikers.(166) Witnesses to the shooting pointed out there were no warning shots fired but told of excessive firing into the ranks of the strikers, deputies continuing to shoot after men ran for cover, and men shot down as far as 150 yards from where they were stopped by the Sheriff.(167) A Lattimer school teacher reported: "I saw men who had hidden behind trees and fences during the first fusillade leave their places of concealment only to be deliberately shot down."(168) The school house about three hundred yards distant from which the teacher saw the shooting was riddled with bullets. An area newspaper asserted: ''This would indicate that the strikers, fleeing by the shortest route to Hazleton across the hills, were shot at long after there was any danger to the deputies." (169) Strikers affirming this horror told of being targets as they ran for safety. A detached account by Henry Hoyt, United States Assistant Attorney General, based upon an investigation of the shooting made the following summation: ''It appeared that the strikers were unarmed; that small clubs which they had previously carried were thrown away on the march between West Hazleton and Lattimer; that they were peaceable and orderly in West �SLOVAKIA 35 Hazleton and Lattimer; were not riotous at West Hazleton or Lattimer, and at neither place made an assault upon the Sheriff or his deputies, or offered any violence or used threatening language to them."(170) Martin confirmed Hoyt's account by stating, in response to a reporter's question, that the strikers until the time of the shooting had not committed any overt act nor behaved otherwise than peaceably. (171) The Lattimer tragedy resulted from a multiplicity of interrelated sources. Existing in the anthracite region were nativistic sentiments encompassing an attitude of disdain for Slavic and Italian immigrants; Anglo-Saxons looked upon the strikers as unwelcomed strangers who were inferiors and who could not possibly conform to accepted standards in society. In an interview a federal treasury official, who was familiar with Hazleton, affirmed this idea with his romantic (and distorted) depiction of an idyllic and bucolic setting disrupted by the intrusion of alien people who fostered hatred: ''I think when all the facts come out in regard to the shooting it will be found that the officers who did the shooting have covered a revenge of years under the wings of the law. I remember when twelve or fifteen years ago, the section around Hazleton was settled by hard-working and honest Irishmen, Welshmen, Englishmen, Germans, and Americans. They worked in the mines and did well. Many of them owned their own homes - pretty little cottages on the hillside, surrounded by outhouses for cattle and chickens, etc., and happiness seemed to smile on all. There were no strikes and the morality of the neighborhood was good. Then began to come in the Hungarians and the Poles and the class of foreigners, by accepting smaller wages, ran the others out. I knew several Irishmen who vowed they would not leave, but went away to other States, in many instances having to sell their little homes to pay their debts and to get away on. This naturally caused a bitter feeling, a feeling which exists to this day, and one which caused many vows of revenge. The houses once the property of prosperous Irishmen and Americans are now in filthy condition, occupied by two and three families of Hungarians and Poles. Instead of clean beds there are bunks ranged along the walls and as many as four people slept in a small room. In that band of deputies which encountered the marching miners a few days ago are many men who remembered the change from the scenes of years ago. Their hearts have been full of revenge. When the opportunity presented itself they seized it, with the horrible result too well known. They shot to kill, because their relatives and friends had been made paupers by these people. I do not approve of the shooting, but I believe the facts will reveal what I have stated." (172) These immigrant strikers represented a class of people outside the local structure, posed an economic threat to the interests of coal operators, and replaced Anglo-Saxons as the dominant mine workers. In contrast, the Sheriff's posse consisted of a class of people that was �36 SLOVAKIA diametrically opposite in nationality, place in society , and occupation. This dissimilarity in turn tended to heighten emotional responses. The strike increased the stresses of nativism. Passions grew in both contending groups; as workers sought to shut down the mines , the Sheriff and his deputies, under the pressure of coal companies , tried to prevent them from accomplishing their objective. A feeling of anxiety and tension grew in the community as the chances of an ugly confrontation between strikers and law officers became likely. Undoubtedly , the Sheriff and his men fully sensed this but realized the ramifications if they failed to prevent the strikers from closing down the mining operations at Lattimer. If unsuccessful, the chances of protecting the remaining mines from being closed down by the strikers would be slight. Combined with this pressure were frustrations in trying to quell the strikers' activities , tension and fatigue over the incident at West Hazleton, malicious attitudes toward the immigrants who were also labor agitators, and a glandular excitement capable of generating panic from a large group about to undergo another encounter with strikers . A maturation process among Slavic and Italian immigrants in the anthracite coal fields reached fruition when the strike broke out in the Lehigh region in the late summer of 1897. Having become the dominant group among the mine workers in the late 1890's, they asserted themselves by conceiving and initiating the strike . This decision resulted from the frustrating working conditions and discriminatory practices emanating from nativistic actions which combined to impose hardships and an inferior status . The culmination of these factors was the wellspring for discontent and dissatisfaction. At this time the United Mine Workers of America lacked strength to represent and protect the anthracite mine workers ' interest effectively and , in addition , generally showed little interest in including the new immigrants in their ranks or purview. Consequently, the only recourse for the immigrant workers was to take matters into their own hands to seek redress for grievances. As the strike developed, it lacked coherent strategies since it was unorganized, leaderless , and did not have benefit of an effective union structure to provide direction, articulation, and ability to successfully negotiate with the coal operators. (173) This point of inadequate experience and unfamiliarity in labor affairs made the strikers vulnerable to violence . Therefore, on that Friday afternoon as the immigrant strikers marched into Lattimer imbued with a spirit to win their strike, they came face to face with Sheriff Martin and his deputies equally committed to stopping them. It was as if for a moment, the recent social and economic history of the area had been centripetally compressed into a time capsule only to be exploded by indigenous divergent and incompatible forces . Catapulted into a deadly collision were two different worlds in conflict. The result was-violence, perpetrated by public peace keepers who were the instruments of coal �SLOVAKIA 37 companies' strategy to break the strike . The effect was that Lattimer became the worst tragedy in American labor history in terms of the number of workers killed and wounded by public authorities, who were not provoked nor endangered and who attacked without warning unarmed strikers peacefully demonstrating on a public highway. FOOTNOTES (1) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 11, 1897. (2) Letter from Henry Hoyt, Assistant Attorney-General, to William Day, Secretary of State, April 8, 1898; in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, with the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1898 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1901), 82-87. Hoyt' s letter stemmed from an investigation made by the Department of Justice for the Department of State concerning a diplomatic protest from the Austria-Hungary government over several of its nationals killed and wounded at Lattimer. A great deal of confusion and inaccuracy existed in newspaper accounts as to the number of casualities from the shooting; reports varied from fourteen to as many as fifty people killed. Hoyt based his figures upon grand jury murder indictments against Sheriff Martin and his deputies who were brought to trial on February 1, 1898, in Luzerne County but were found not guilty by the jury. (3) Daily Standard (Hazleton), September 11, 1897. (4) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 11, 1897. (5) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (6) Daily Globe (South Bethlehem) , September 11, 1897. (7) St. Louis Post Dispatch, September 12, 1897. (8) San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 1897. (9) Detroit Free Press, September 11, 1897. (10) Pittsburgh Dispatch, September 11, 1897. (11) Boston Daily Globe, September 11, 1897. (12) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 5, 1897. (13) Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers : A Study in Immigration (Philadelphia: J . B. Lippincott Company, 1904) , 51 & 58 ; Frank Julian Warne, "Some Industrial Effects of Slav Immigration," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904), 223-224. (14) Rowland Berthoff, "The Social Order of the Anthracite Region , 1825-1902," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXXXIX (July 1965), 169-171; Charles B. Spahr, "America 's Working People," Outlook, Ll(Il (August 5, 1899) , 811. (15) Peter Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904) , 219. (16) Berthoff, 287; George 0 . Virtue, "The Anthracite Mine Laborers," Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor No. 13, (November, 1897) , 753. (17) Henry Edward Rood , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village ," Century Magazine, XXXIII, new series, (April, 1898), 811. (18) Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," 221. (19) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1895 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1895), 643. (20) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1897 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 546. �38 SLOVAKIA (21) Frank Julian Warne, " Organized Labor in the Anthracite Coal Fields," Outlook, LXXI (May 24 , 1902), 273 . '' . . . The operators used them (immigrants) originally to introduce low wages ... " Wilkes-Barre Record, August 8, 1897. The attitude that immigrants were responsible for undermining native labor interests was prevalent in newspaper editorials. Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette, September 25, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 8, 1897; Weekly Herald (Shenandoah), September 18, 1897; Sullivan Review, September 16, 1897 ; Detroit Free Press, September 12, 1897; Pittsburgh Post, September 15, 1897. (22) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. The laborer who assisted the contract miner was not employed by the coal operator but by the miner. Nearly eighty percent of the mine laborers in the Lehigh region worked under the contract system. Frank Julian Warne , " The Anthracite Coal Strike, " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XVII (January, 1901), 32-33 . (23) Rood, 815. (24) Frank Julian Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XXI (January , 1903) , 23-24; Rood, 815; Virtue, 753 . (25) Victor R. Greene, The Slavic Community on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968), 86-87 ; Berthoff, 272-273 ; Virtue , 753 . (26) Spahr, 8ll ; Warne, " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," 31-32 ; Roberts, "The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities, " 218 . (27) Harold W. Aurand , From the Molly Maguires to the United Mine Workers: The Social Ecology of an Industrial Union, 1869-1897 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press , 1971) , 136. (28) Berthoff, 273 . (29) Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker, " 21; Berthoff, 268. (30) Alexander Trachtenberg, The History of Legislation for the Protection of Coal Miners in Pennsylvania, 1824-1915 (New York: International Publishers, 1942) , 134135. (31) Ibid., 135-136; Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88 . (32) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Sessions of 1889, Vol. I, Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1889) , 1529. (33) Virtue, 768; Greene, ll 7-ll8 ; Pottsville Republican, June 15, 1897 . (34) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1889, Vol. I, 1236. (35) Ibid. (36) United Mine Workers Journal, October 22, 1896, 1. (37) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1897, 289. (38) UMW Journal, August 12, 1897, 7. (39) Daily Standard, August 28, 1897. (40) Warne , Th e Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88. (41) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Ses sion of 1897, 135-136. The bill passed the House and Senate by votes of 126 to 12 and 28 to 3 respectively . Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 1069 & 2418 . There were attempts in the House to make the tax five cents a day. Ibid., 2418 (42) Ibid., 2292 . (43) Ibid., 2217 . �SLOVAKIA 39 (44) UMW Journal, July 1, 1897, 1. (45) Fraser v. McConway & Torley Co., 82 The Federal Reporter 259 (1897) . (46) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, 2217. (47) Wilkes-Barre Record, August 26 & 28, 1897. (48) Peter Roberts, Anthracite Coal Communities: A Study of the Demography, The Social, Educational and Moral Life of the Anthracite Region (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1904), 44-45 . (49) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897. (50) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report on Conditions Existing Among the Miners and Those Employed in and About the Mines in the Anthracite Coal Regions ," Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Session Begun at Harrisburg, on the Fifth Day of January, 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1897), Il, 1824-1842. (51) R eports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), xvi-xvii . (52) Ibid., xvii; "Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (53) Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 170-172. (54) "The Association Letter," Anthracite Coal Operators Association, September, 1897, 2. (55) John Graham Brooks, " An Impression of the Anthracite Coal Troubles," Yale Review, VI (November, 1897), 307. (56) "Legislative Investigating Committee Report, " 1826. (57) Virtue, 756 . (58) Ibid., 757-58; "The Association Letter," 14-15; "The Marketing of Small Sizes of Anthracite," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (June, 1897), 490. (59) The Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Fiftieth Congress, 1888-89, Vol. IV (Washington: U.S . Government Printing Office, 1889) , lxxix . (60) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1891), 256-57 . (61) Peter Roberts , Anthracite Coal Industry (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1901), 136. (62) Ibid., 138. (63) "Company Store Legislation," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (April, 1897) , 395. (64) Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897. (65) Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897. (66) Virtue, 760 ; " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (67) UMW Journal, January 14 , 1897, 5; Ibid., October 22, 1896, l; Wilkes-Barre Record, December 25, 1896; Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897 . Fahy launched a campaign in the anthracite region to secure public contributions to support the United Mine Workers of America lobbying activities to abolish the company store. The Pennsylvania Legislature, reflecting an increased awareness of labor interests, responded and passed a bill in July, 1897 , placing a ten percent tax upon the face value of all types of certificates or the equivalent issued in lieu of legal tender for employees' wages . This measure would have severely crippled the operation of company stores; however, Governor Hastings vetoed the legislation on the ground that it violated the state constitution. George Edward Reed, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. Xll, 4th ser., (Harrisburg: Wm . Stanley Ray State Printer, 1902), 150-54. �40 SLOVAKIA (68) Daily Standard, August 31 & September 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2 & 13, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike of May-October, 1902 by the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission (Washington : U.S . Government Printing Office , 1903), 144 . The above source contained information regarding the strikers' demands made to the G. B. Markle & Company in the 1897 strike. (69) Daily Standard, September 6 & 8, 1897; Spahr, 810 . (70) Ibid.; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897 ; The Reports of Committees of the Hous e ... Fiftieth Congress, lxxxi. (71) Berthoff, 286. If all the miners in the fifth district (Lehigh region) had turned in their empty powder kegs in 1896, they would have raised $10 ,028.30 . Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173. (72) Robe rts , Anthracite Coal Communities, 259, 262-263. (73) Report of the Industrial Commission of the Relations and Conditions of Capital and Labor in the Mining Industry Including Testimony, Review of Evidence, and Topical Digest, Vol. XIl (Washington : U.S. Government Printing Office , 1901), 142 . (74) Robe rts, Anthracite Coal Industry, 133-134. (75) Daily Standard, September 6, 8 & 9, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 7, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike, 144. (76) Daily Standard, September 9, 1897; Spahr, 810; Report of the Industrial Commission, 142. (77) Computation based on 5,754 miners and laborers in the fifth anthracite district and the use of 100,283 kegs of blasting powder. Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173 & 176. (78) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891, 96-97. (79) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. (80) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1830. (81) UMW Journal, Ocotber 22, 1896, 1. (82) Report of the Industrial Commission, 143. (83) UMW Journal, November 25, 1897, 2; Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (84) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 15, 1897. (85) Ibid.; Daily Standard, August 17, 1897. In the Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre newspapers there appeared an account of an interview with an unnamed individual defending Jones ' superintendency . Acknowledging that Jones may have made some mistakes, the source indicated that the workers' discontent really stemmed from the decisions made by the preceeding superintendent or from orders issued by higher company officials . ''He is charged with being a tyrant, and in reference to this it may be said that each foreman has full charge of all employees working under him . But Jones is among the first men about the works in the morning and among the last to leave at night, and because he attends strictly to business he is called a tyrant by men who want ten hours pay for less than ten hours of work.'' Wilkes-Barre Times, August 27, 1897. (86) Ibid., August 16, 1897. Gomer Jones was arrested later on a complaint by John Bodan on the charge of aggravated assault. Ibid., August 18, 1897. (87)lbid. , August 16, 1897 . (88) Ibid. , August 17, 1897 . (89) Ibid. , August 18, 1897. (90) Ibid. , August 20, 1897 . �SLOVAKIA 41 (91) Ibid. , August 21, 1897. (92) Ibid. (93) Ibid., August 28, 30 & September 1, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28, 1897. (94) Ibid., September 3, 1897. (95) Ibid., September 3 & 4, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, September 4, 6 & 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 3, 1897 . (96) Ibid. , August 28, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897. (97) Ibid. , August 30, 1897 . (98) Ibid., August 31, 1897. (99) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 3, 1897. (100) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. (101) Ibid, ; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & 30, 1897. (102) Ibid. , September 4 & 6, 1897. (103) Daily Standard, September 6, 1897. (104) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897. (105) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. A. S. Van Wickle Company operated independently of the other coal companies, provided their employees more work, and were regarded with greater esteem and confidence in the community. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 22, 1897 . (106) Letter from James Martin to Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania, October 18, 1897 , Governor Hastings Papers, MG-145, Box 18, Division of Archives and Manuscripts of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (107) Ibid. (108) R eco rd of the Times (Wilkes-Barre), March 4, 1898. (109) New York World, February 13, 1898; Dollar Weekly News-Dealer (Wilkes-Barre), September 18, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 23 , 1898 ; Pennsylvania, Department of State, Commission Bureau, "Policemen, 1889-1912," 346; Hazle Township and Hazleton City, "Real Estate Tax Assessment Books for 1896 and 1897 ,'' Office of the Board for the Assessment and Revision of Taxes , Luzerne County Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania . (110) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898; Daily Standard, September 7, 1897. (111) Record of the Times, March 4, 1897. (112) Daily Standard, October 21, 1897. A review of the annual financial report of the Comptroller for Luzerne County revealed that there were no payments from county funds for the services of the deputies at Hazleton , supporting the conclusion that the coal operators paid the deputies' salaries. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 23, 1898. (113) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (114) Daily Standard, September 9, 1898. (115) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (116) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (118) Ibid. (119) Ibid. , September 9, 1897. (120) Ibid. , September 10, 1897 . (121) Ibid., September 9, 1897. �42 SLOVAKIA (122) Ibid., September 8, 1897; Hazleton Sentinel, September 3, 1897; Spahr, 808. (123) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (124) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (125) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (126) Record of the Times, February 11, 1898. (127) Ibid. , March 4, 1898. (128) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (129) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (130) Ibid. (131) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (132) Ibid. (133) Ibid. (134) Ibid., February 18, 1898. (135) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (136) Ibid., February 15, 1898. (137) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (138) Ibid., February 8, 1898. (139) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (140) New York World, September 12, 1898. "Whether deserved or not, Sheriff Martin, of Luzerne county, it is alleged, entertains an unquestionable hatred for the foreign element." Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (141) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (142) Ibid., September 11, 1897. (143) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 13, 1897. (144) Easton Free Press, September 13, 1897. (145) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (146) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (147) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (148) Record of the Times, February 28, 1898; Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (149) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (150) Ibid. (151) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (152) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (153) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898; Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia), September 11, 1897; Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (154) Ibid., September 11, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 11 , 1897; WilkesBarre Record, September 11, 1897 . (155) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (156) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (157) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897. (158) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (159) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897 . (160) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11 , 1897. �SLOVAKIA 43 (161) Pottsville Republican, September 14, 1897. (162) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (163) Evening Bulletin, September 13, 1897. (164) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (165) Record of the Times, February 22, 1897. (166) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (167) Record of the Times, February 11 & 15, 1898; Daily Standard, September 11, 1897; "Some of the guns were loaded with shells containing a lot of No.8 shot, which scattered with deadliest effect, and others had the plain bullets of heavy bore. The manner in which the victims were tom up looked as though they had been before gatling guns or on a field of where grape and canister were poured from cannon mouths." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (168) Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (169) Wilkes-Barre Sunday Morning Leader, September 12, 1897. (170) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (171) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (172) New York Tribune, September 15, 1897. (173) Report of the Industrial Commission, 139-140; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & September 5, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. When news of the Lattimer shooting spread through the coal fields surrounding Hazleton, the scope of the strike immediately enlarged involving some 10,000 mine employees and idling nineteen of the thirty-three area collieries. Strikers were unwilling to return to work during the following week when funerals for victims were held; they further refused to end their work stoppage until the coal operators met their grievances, mainly an increase in wages. The strike began to wane on September 20 when the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company agreed to grant a ten percent wage increase to mine laborers, pay six to eight cents more per car of coal to miners, and seek solutions to workers' complaints. Only two companies, Lehigh Valley Coal Company and C. Pardee and Company, had not reached a settlement by the end of the second week after the Lattimer shooting but by the end of September they both made an agreement similar to the other coal operators which finally brought an end to the Lehigh coal strike of 1897. Pennsylvania, Official Documents of 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1899), ill, 124 Scranton Times, September 21, 1897; Daily Standard, September 21 & 24, 1897; UMW Journal, November 18, 1897, 3. �44 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre KON STANTIN CULEN A tragic event that occurred in September 1897 struck at the heart of Slovak American life with such telling impact that it served to solidify the Slovak immigrants in the United States into one unified body more effectively than had any previous experience in their new world. This event greatly furthered that awareness of a need for unity that began to crystallize under the pressures to which they had been subjected in their homeland Slovakia. In American history as well as in the record of early SlovakAmerican history this event is known as the Lattimer slaughter or the Lattimer massacre. The setting was the mining region around Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It was an area that had long seethed with the discontent and the restiveness of the men who were employed in the mines . Mine management groups had long bled their workers white, extracting the very marrow out of their bones . The companies paid out pauper wages, cheated the workmen on their weight checks, overcharged prices for foods and daily necessities that were sold through company stores. Scores of mining catastrophes underscored the obvious inadequacy of safety measures that existed to protect the men in their dangerous work in deep underground pits. Miners in Hazleton had declared a strike but nearby mines in neighboring communities continued to operate at practically full strength. Some casual talk was heard from time to time to the effect that the Hazleton operators were planning to bring in scabs in the near future. Union leaders realized that their Hazleton strike would lose all effectiveness unless the miners of the entire locality would join forces in one concerted resistance movement, supporting the Hazleton effort and pressing common demands for improved conditions and benefits. On September 10, 1897 a sizable group of Slovak and Polish miners who were on strike set out for the small mining settlement of Lattimer. In subsequent investigations during the trial they testified that they were on their way there because the Lattimer workers had sent them word that they decided to join the strike movement. The group of striking miners had hardly left Hazleton when Sheriff Martin with a company of about a hundred men from the supporting police force (so-called deputies) anticipated their movement and went An excerpt from Konstantin Culen's two-volume History of the Slovaks in America. (Bratislava, Slovenska Liga , 1942) vol. 1, Part XI , no . 5-9, pp. 162-176. Translated by Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. �SLOVAKIA 45 on ahead of them riding the trolley lines. On reaching Lattimer, he assigned his force of deputies to various positions and then he moved several paces forward, addressing the group marching in on foot, to read a restraining order that forbade any gathering or assemblage of persons by provision ordinance dealing with uprising and rebellion. During the reading of this ordinance, a few strikers came closer to the sheriff and there was some minor verbal exchange. The miners objected that they were not disturbers of the public peace or revolutionaries of any kind; they were simply orderly and law-abiding citizens peacefully going along their way . This reaction so exasperated the sheriff that he reached out and snatched away a small American flag that one of the men was carrying, tore it up, pulled out his revolver and began to shoot. After he had drawn his trigger five times, his sixth shot struck a miner in the chest and hurled him to the ground. After the sheriff's outburst of fire, there was the sound of volleys from the deputies. The unarmed miners turned and fled in panic, trying to find safety or protection of some kind. The brutal frontal attack lasted but a few moments but the deputies continued to fire upon the fleeing miners so that practically all of them were struck and wounded in flight.(1) The deputies who were charged with excitement by this time, further assaulted the bleeding victims by beating them and kicking them cruelly as they lay helpless on the ground. A shot or a volley of shots can seem to be an effective argument at a given moment but usually its effectiveness wears off after a brief time. And shots or salvos of shots fail to carry conviction. This was brought out in the Lattimer situation. The Slovak colony found itself in a state of shock, standing inconsolate beside the corpses of the fallen men. It was all too clear to these newcomers now - if it had not been clear to them before - that every Slovak had to be very realistically a brother to a fellow-Slovak, that every Slovak would have to be the most reliable standby and defense of a fellow-Slovak. Anything less than that would serve to reduce them to the debasing circumstance of being mere henchmen and convenient tools of foreign overlords and exploiters. This extravagant bloodletting and bizarre butchering under unprovoked and non-violent circumstances evoked considerable humane reaction in the American press. The attitudes of American journalists were not all of a kind. Some reporters and editors were incensed over the needless killings and brutality. Some wrote with a sense of relief that the incident involved only "Hunkies" - the generic designation that most newspapers used for every newcomer from Austria-Hungary. News of this lamentable event spread to all the Slovak settlers scattered throughout the United States and set off a degree of outrage and consternation that no other experience had yet caused in SlovakAmerican life. Those who had been faction-torn or at odds for whatever �46 SLOVAKIA reasons , were at once moved to conciliation and unity through their common grief at the graveside of the murdered men. Slovak Ame rican journalists who had been indulging personal and non-personal bouts of polemics in their papers left all that trivia now that a common cause evolved out of this catastrophe , and a vigorous new spirit infused their energies and talents. They reacted with a sense of unity and resolute will not only to moderate the mounting resentment and growing agitation that could have been fanned to unreasonable and uncontrollable proportions but to divert effort and attention to an altruistic purpose on behalf of aiding and befriending the widowed and orphaned survivors . Slovak American journalists also undertook a determined program to secure in the free world of America that measure of civic dignity and security that would make it impossible for such brutal disregard of the human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ever to be repeated and condoned again . The press came out strongly with appeals for at least financial compensation to the bereaved widows and orphans and demanded that punitive justice be dealt the incriminated sheriff. The general feeling was that the just process of law and suitable sentencing should act as a deterrent to any possible repetition of the horrible incident. The whole body of Slovak immigrant life in America reacted with a corporate cry of pain and a strong appeal protesting the inhumanity of the Lattimer episode. New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, all made their voices heard as did lesser towns and even the lowly scattered hamlet settlements in America where Slovaks nursed the pain of this tragic hurt . Countless gatherings and demonstrations attracted thousands of Slovak laborers to review and assess the factors involved and the consequences of this catastrophe. Numberless formal discussions and rallies were climaxed with the drawing up of appropriate protest resolutions. All Slovak-American centers participated in drives to aid the victimized survivors of the callous murder, and there were also spirited fund-raising campaigns for legal expenses and court costs to bring Sheriff Martin to justice, for the prevailing view was that he should be made to pay for his crime, for his responsibility in leading and abetting reprehensible action . A committee for this express purpose was organized in Hazleton, holding itself charged to set in motion whatever action might be called for and to pursue the cause to its end. The September 16, 1897 issue (738) of the Amerikansko-Slovenske noviny appeared with a banner headline whose bold-faced lettering read: "Massacre of Slavs . In the freest country under the sun , people are shot at like dogs. Slavs are the victims of American savagery." Editor Pucher Ciernovodsky designated September 10 the bloody Friday of Slovak national life. His report seemed to be written with a pen dipped in blood. He denounced the attacking party and he did not spare the Slovaks themselves , finding them culpable of that lack of �SLOVAKIA 47 interest in public affairs that could have contributed significantly to the culmination of this public scandal. Some of Pucher Ciernovodsky' s thoughts were: ' 'The mountainsides of Hazleton are drenched with Slovak blood, and pitiable orphans and widows, fathers and mothers, brothers and friends raise eyes brimming with bitter tears to heaven pleading, 0 God , is there justice in this life? If there is justice on this earth of ours, did our blood truly deserve this spilling? Who in this world is committed to greater drudgery than we? Who in this world is engaged in a work that is more dangerous than ours? ' 'When we are driven to extremes of misery because hunger and want have sapped our strength and our bodies are bone-weary from overwork, and when our famished and shabbily clothed children ask for food that we cannot provide for them , and we go to discuss our problems and try to come together for deliberations in an effort to arrive at some reasonable solutions, how to go about unsnarling this sad fate that so embitters our lives - what kind of law is it, what kind of justice and fairness is it - or is it our miserable doom that we should be shot at like dogs? Ah, America, America ... ''It is indeed a curious America. When the Turks set upon the Armenians, every full-blooded American protested and vehemently shouted his willingness to join a fighting force to check the Turks. And yet here and now when it comes to bringing to justice those who similarly violated the rights of Slavs in America, they do all in their power to prevent the guilty from being brought to legitimate trial. Reams have been written and volumes have been mouthed condemning the cruelties of the Spanish in Cuba. There was universal recrimination against the injustices inflicted upon the oppressed Cubans, yet journalists have scant syllables of tenderness or sympathy for our people who were felled by wanton gunshot in a manner more senseless and inhuman than any attack of the Spanish upon the Cubans . The Cubans at least had defense weapons but our people were shot unarmed, shot like animals . ''This grieves us unspeakably. '' And, in the last analysis, who is most responsible for all this? "We ourselves must hold ourselves responsible. "A Slav does not support a fellow-Slav. We have no mutual bonds of unity, no fellowship at all, no commonly shared activities. We cultivate none. We fail to get along amicably. Instead, we seem to make sport of baiting one another, and we lack even that zest for life that long ago should have whipped us into a common front to denounce the maligning that the American press released against us and to protest the discrimination and injustice imposed upon foreigners by the threecent-tax. If other ethnic groups had not taken the initiative , we would have let them dance on our heads . �48 SLOVAKIA ' ' What can the American public think about such men? It would not be surprising if they rated us cowardly, worthless, less than the Indians, and so deserving a fate no better than that of the Indians. "We give too little consideration to matters like citizenship, legal rights and civil rights or public opinion. No wonder, then, that public opinion shows no concern about us, has no regard for us . ''If public opinion had any respect for us, then those deputies and the sheriff who were involved in the Lattimer affair would not have allowed themselves to perpetrate such an act of sheer barbarism. Whatever the circumstances, whether there was any excuse or not for a collective attack with Winchester rifles, at least this truth remains that if we were not a subservient people they would not have kept firing at our fleeing men from behind. "The catchword of people like our attackers, is "Shoot the Hungarian dog! ' ' Why? Because we do not make the effort to have our own recognized defense and defenders , our own qualified men who are in touch with the pulse of political life and current trends , men qualified to speak out on our behalf. We ourselves all too readily and regrettably belittle our own ; we tend to regard with disfavor and lack of recognition those of us who have gifts of leadership; we begrudge them opportunities , cut them down and deny them a chance to develop their potential. "In the end we suffer for it collectively. It is true that there are officials whose duty it is to defend our people because they were appointed and authorized to do so, and they are salaried to execute this office , but they seem to be wrapped in safe slumber. They are our Austro-Hungarian consuls. " Just what did these officials, these Austro-Hungarian consuls do for us in previous strike situations? Exactly nothing. " On the other hand , how did the Italian consuls react when their Italian countrymen were being lynched in New Orleans? The furor that was generated on that occasion almost incited a war with the United States, and an indemnity of five thousand dollars had to be paid for every victim. ' 'It is our reasoned judgment that the Hazleton bloodshed is far more criminal than was the New Orleans lynching and it is the patent duty of the Austro-Hungarian government to make honorable and serious intervention on our behalf. "Since those who were shot to death were citizens of the United States , we have no alternative but to organize our effort in order to bring the whole affair to an exhaustive investigation and to the due process of justice. The burden of responsibility in this matter rests primarily with our Slavic organizations which, in every respect, bear the characteristics of American organizational structure. And their responsibility for such action is all the more binding if any of their members happened to be among the victims, if they were members of �SLOVAKIA 49 the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), the Greek Catholic society Sojedinenie, the Pennsylvania Slovak Union, Sojus, etc. Let these organizations set in motion the wheels that will bring about necessary lawsuits; let them underwrite out of their treasuries or raise funds in some way to cover related expenses, and let their united effort and combined strength prove that they truly have the good name and the best interests of all Slavic ethnics at heart. Let me presume to say that this Bartholomew night should serve as a Sturrnistic symbol effecting concerted and wholehearted cooperation. ''If this soul-shaking experience fails to jolt us out of our morbid lethargy, we ought to raise a memorial cross as a marker for our nation and our spirit of patriotism and declare that we buried it all on that bloody Friday in Hazleton.'' (2) Because of this massacre a violent disturbance broke out among the Slovak and Polish miners. Governor Hastings declared a state of emergency in Hazleton and dispatched 2,500 troops to move in and control the problem. Security measures that the governor ordered for the Hazleton area were very extensive and elaborate, involving the outlay of $475 ,000 - a very large sum in those days. The whole countryside seethed and repercussions were witnessed far and wide. The American press took sides with Sheriff Martin, generally arguing (as if it were a valid objection) that the slain men were not even American citizens. The press of the ethnic groups and those who supported the cause of the miners countered this attitude with the historically substantiated observation that neither were Pulaski, Kosciusko and some other heroes of the American War for Independence official citizens of the United States. They came to fight for freedom in a land that was alien to them because liberty and freedom are nowhere in the world foreign commodities to any human being. Freedom is the prerogative of every person and we are all entitled to our share of this gift. In the hour of our country's struggle for freedom, every able volunteer was welcome to share in the battle and in the pain to win it. Now that the fruits of liberty should be portioned out to all and denied to none in a free land, it is glibly said that freedom is our privilege - you are existentially in the land of liberty but you are not a free man. On September 11 the miners held an open air protest rally in Hazleton. Father Stas, pastor of St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic church in Freeland, spoke on behalf of the Slovak minority. He spoke out strongly and fearlessly against a freedom that countenances the murder of defenseless people. Some of the other speakers on this occasion were Reverend R. Aust of Hazleton who represented the Poles, Reverend Gullovic, Reverend Hauser, attorney John Shea of Wilkes-Barre and J . Fahy, president of the United Mine Workers. A gathering of over 4,000 Slovak and Polish mine workers resolved to �50 SLOVAKIA defend their rights, determined to make Sheriff Martin stand trial for this wanton bloodletting. The victims of the disaster were buried on September 12 as huge throngs converged upon the area for the occasion. This Lattimer massacre affected much of America. On September 15, the Slovaks and the Poles of the New York region held a mass demonstration at which they made it clear that the issue at stake was in no way related to religious affiliation or nationality roots or fratemalism of one kind or another. Their main concern was the general welfare of the American working class and fundamental civil rights for all. They appealed for unanimity and single-mindedness of purpose among them all - the Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians and English. A resolution which they formulated on this occasion includes these sentiments: · 'Profoundly affected by the catastrophe that occurred in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in a free country, the republic of the United States of North America, where on September 10 eighteen men who were Slavs and Slovaks were shot to death and about forty others were wounded by a sheriff's posse as these men peaceably and with no ill intent went their way on a public street, aware of the provision of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees every citizen freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and belief, and the right of assemblage, all of which this country esteems and safeguards as sacred civil rights. ' ' Aware that the action of Sheriff Martin and his party was wholly unlawful and totally uncalled for - for it has been proved that the workmen who were en route to their predetermined destination had neither arms nor foul purpose, and he had not even tried to inform them of his rights and their duties - we, on this basis, as American citizens, as workingmen, as Slavs by accident of birth, do most emphatically denounce and condemn this criminal act. We express our profound sympathy to the bereaved families of the unfortunate victims even as we invoke the widely esteemed American regard for justice, urging that formal action be taken to bring to trial those who are considered blameworthy and to have them face their responsibility by due process of law and in this way to effect moral satisfaction to our nation and material compensation to the survivors of the victim families; ' 'We further resolve that to the full extent of our ability and means we will morally and materially offer our assistance to the unfortunately bereaved and we will exert all our power and prestige to have bloodthirsty criminals bear the just punishment which their conduct deserves; "We finally resolve that copies of this resolution be sent to the governor of the state of Pennsylvania and to the district attorney of Luzerne County, and that it be published in all newspapers; we also urge the editors of our Slovak publications to appeal to our people to �SLOVAKIA 51 support this action wholeheartedly with liberal contributions in an effort to redeem and justify the much maligned name and rights of the Slovaks who find it inevitable to undertake a distasteful reckoning with narrow-minded nativists." (3) A spirited call was made in the press for attendance at a protest gathering scheduled for September 20 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania "at which resolutions will be formulated denouncing the action of Sheriff Martin who is responsible for the shooting-death of so many blameless Slovaks . English, Slovak, Polish, Croatian and various other speakers will address those present." Protest and denunciation were voiced from all parts of the nation where there were fellow nationals of the slain miners . Dr. Theodorovic, who represented the office of the Austro-Hungarian consul, came to Hazleton for a personal assessment of the massacre and related factors. Slovak and Polish groups initiated drives throughout the United States in order to raise funds for promoting an equitable trial that would yield at least fair compensations where they were due, and just penalties for Sheriff Martin and his henchmen, all within the framework of jurisprudence and with a deterrent impact against similar injustice. One outcome of this effort was the organization of "the National Fair Trial and Beneficial Committee on Behalf of the Lattimer Victims. " This committee published a public statement and an appeal which was carried in all the current newspapers. It read in part: '' The underlings who are in the employ of corporations and share a thirst for liquidating their fellow-citizens are largely the lackeys and hacks of their bosses, all murderously eager to carry out every order from the top. The incident did not arise out of any disturbance of the peace by those guiltless men who were so brutally victimized; there was no intent to transgress law or ordinance; they carried no firearms , no clubs or flails. Workingmen were simply on a mission of their own, marching along the street to meet some fellow-workers from the same mining company in order to discuss a sharing of views and attitudes and to build moral support in a common cause. ''The Declaration of Independence in this land proclaims that all men are created free and equal. Somehow these hirelings felt that the life of an alien is not worth even as much as the life of a slave. Apparently they were led to believe that their killing of such people and under such circumstances would be universally approved by the press and by public opinion. '' It is well known that Americans endorse the principle of fair play. When poor workmen, unarmed victims, were so foully gunned down in cold blood, not only this land but all the civilized world was appalled by the atrocity. The Constitution of the United States provides for the right of peaceful assembly. Have these words meaning or force in the light of bullets and bayonets? We hold that every individual who participated in the shooting on that ill-fated day in Lattimer overstepped his rights �52 SLOVAKIA and violated the law. We hold that their act was nothing short of criminal, inhuman and unspeakable butchery. "We make this appeal and protest in the name of those who were wounded and as representatives of those who are the bereaved survivors in the families of the slain victims. Our committee has been organized in order to provide counsel and to call witnesses and to take care of whatever else may be necessary to bring Sheriff Martin and his deputies to face indictment and to stand trial according to the full force of our country's laws. ''We act on the principle that this struggle of ours is your struggle as well as ours and on the assumption that you are friends of the workingman who is often taken advantage of. If these people whom we desire to bring to an accounting are let go free and without making retribution for the killing of our countrymen, who knows what further fate can await us in the future? "Reverend Richard Aust, president; John Nemeth, treasurer; Loughran, secretary; Reverend John Stas, Salvator di Sandola, Nicholas Ballok, Matthews Long, John Kuntz, Charles Hauser, Edmund Lemhick, Reverend J. Formanek, Frank Kozlovski, George Kozarovich. '' Samuel Gompers, president of the Federation of Labor, visited the scene and made some observations about the cheap labor of the Poles, Slovaks and Italians whom the coal barons were importing into America in order to squeeze out the '' intelligent Irish and Welsh laborers.' ' Even before the sentencing, Gompers as president of the workers' union said, ''It is my opinion that the sheriff and his deputies will be acquitted in order to teach 'those foreigners' a lesson to behave differently in the future. ' 'Posterity will rate the Lattimer killings as nothing but massacre of a kind that has no equal in the history of civilized peoples, and the consciences of the perpetrators of this act will accuse and torment them to their last day. And even though monopolies and monopolists may succeed in achieving their victory, such slaughter must some day come to an end; truth will be victorious and all people will enjoy the fulness of their sacred rights - all people, whether they be of the common working class or the favored moneyed class of mine owners. "The laborers .of our country are moving toward better and stronger organization day by day, and the citizens at large are grasping a much better and a truer concept of the rights and obligations of individuals. When that day of ultimate realization does arrive, the account of the Lattimer murders will have been written in our history in letters of blood and this notorious crime will be looked upon as the most atrocious and vile offense of the nineteenth century.'' The trial of Sheriff Martin and his associates opened on February 1, 1898. The place of trial was the Luzerne County Court in WilkesBarre. Adherents of both the prosecution and the defense followed �SLOVAKIA 53 developments with undivided attention and intense feeling. Sheriff Martin had the support of all the major coal corporations , top officialdom and capitalism . The plaintiffs were backed by the laboring masses. In the process of jury se lection , Judge Staley Woodward saw to it that only American-born citizens were seated as jurors . There was never any doubt that the se lected jury panel was unanimous in its antipathy for foreigners . Judge Woodward ascertained from sworn testimony that the striking miners had created no public disorder or disturbance during their march , that they were completely unarmed, that Sheriff Martin had stopped them and insolently ordered them to turn back , that the miners were not incline d to obey but had objected that they had every right to use a public street. Further testimony indicated that the sheriff challenged the leader of the marching group, gave the order to fire and that he himself fired the first shot , striking the leader of the marching miners in the chest as additional volleys were turned upon the men who began to run for shelter . The City Trust Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia supplied bail for the indicted to the amount of $256 ,000 . The press seldom missed an opportunity to belittle the foreign element and to overstate their shortcomings and least desirable traits - almost as if bad traits and undesirable characteristics were exclusively theirs. The presiding judge at the trial was Judge Woodward. He was related to the owner of the mines where strikes were beginning to be staged. He was also a shareholder in these mines. There was not a single Slav among the twelve jurors, most of whom were farmers, men who could hardly have firsthand knowledge of mining conditions and the situations that had justified the strike movement. They were not at all familiar with such matters as fair working conditions, e quitable pay, safety m easures, etc. A writer in one of the current publications observed, ' 'These are the names of the men in whose hands rests the power of passing a verdict that will tell the world whether anyone in this civilized country - even if he be the highest official of a particular country - may or may not, without cause, slaughter peaceful workers . It is easy to tell from the listed names that to the very last man these jurors are all Americans. The question is: are their hearts filled with rank nativism and malicious ill-will against foreigners? If they are bigoted nativists, it is vain to expect a fair sentence.'' Early in the opening of the trial the court denied the motion of the state prosecutor that the jury go to the scene of the massacre for a kind of re-enactment of the events that occurred there . The last act of this bloody drama took place during the trial. As charge followed upon charge , the full impact of hate and prejudice �54 SLOVAKIA harbored against the Slavic immigrants came into clearer and surer light. One of the defendants boasted, "I did all right; I aimed at nine and brought down five of them ." Meanwhile the mutilated survivors of that bloody Friday - some without an arm or a leg -- were in full view of the court and the spectators gathered at the trial. Before the eyes of them all , Gregory Gasparik with bandages bound about his head in which a bullet was still lodged, in moderate tones testified against Sheriff Martin and his posse. People who lived near the scene of the crime also came in to testify, telling how they had seen the deputies beat the strikers who were already all bloodied and wounded with shots . The defendants produced about a hundred witnesses who charged that Poles and Huns had terrorized the whole area and that on this occasion they were actuallly marching with firearms. They supported Sheriff Martin as a law man who was doing his duty when he ordered his men to fire at the group . Sheriff Martin, on his part, denied all guilt in the matter and entered a plea of innocent . He claimed that after reading the injunction, he attempted to arrest the leader of the marchers but the striking men , misunderstanding his action and intent, set upon him and began to beat and kick him. At this point he called upon his men for help and when even that restraint was ineffective, he finally gave an order to fire because he feared that he might be killed. When blank shots did not quell the situation , then they began to shoot in earnest even if it meant to wound and kill. He claimed that when he first met the marchers, he asked where they were going and that they answered, ''To Lattimer in order to get the men out of work! " " I begged them and pleaded with them not to go any farther ," he stated. " I urged them to obey the law and to disperse. Someone from the back of the crowd loudly cried out the word to go on. The strikers began to jostle me about and to shout abuse at me. One drunken Hungarian even tried to throttle me so I arrested him. The crowd that surrounded me swelled bigger and bigger. I drew my revolver and aimed into the air because I did not want to hurt anyone . In that instant, Joseph Novotny punched me in the face and I fell to the ground as the mob began to howl, 'Kill the s.o.b. ! ' '' I tried to defend myself with my revolver but it wouldn't fire. The mob that was pressing upon me was armed with revolvers and knives. When I fell to my knees, the deputies began to fire and the crowd then started to fall back. But they did not disperse at once. At a distance of 500 to 600 feet, they stopped in a wooded place. I felt that they might return. My men began to shout to them to disperse . Afterwards I gave the order to look after the wounded and the killed.'' The strikers countered this desposition with the charge that the sheriff was the first to fire a shot. They maintained that no one struck �SLOVAKIA 55 him, no one kicked him nor was there any evidence on his clothing or his body that he had been subjected to rough treatment of any kind. No blanks were discharged and no man who was wounded or killed was struck by a frontal shot; all were shot from the back. The son of the mine owner, young Pardee, called out to the law men , "Boys, shoot down those Huns! " Further testimony indicated that the deputies were extremely harsh and unfeeling even toward the killed and the wounded , kicking them mercilessly. Sworn witnesses consistently testified that the miners had no arms of any kind . They carried no canes or sticks, no rocks or stones , much less firearms. Scores of witnesses corroborated this testimony . Andrew Siviar, one of the miners, testified that the workmen marched as members of the United Mine Workers of America and that they had no weapons and had planned no mischief or property destruction of any kind. John Milhala, secretary of the local union, testified that they had gone to the mayor of the city who assured them that they could go to Lattimer in orderly fashion , that the sheriff had no authority to stop or prevent them. Some striking testimony was presented by the local school teacher Charles Guscot. He was eyewitness to the entire episode. He attested to the opening of fire by Sheriff Martin and the inhumane shooting upon the men who helplessly tried to flee from the ruthless officers. Another teacher from a nearby school alleged that she personally saw one of the deputies pursuing a wounded and bloodied man and in horror witnessed how he shot him to death a few steps in front of her when the weakened man fell to the ground from exhaustion. Reverend Stafflet declared under sworn testimony that he was passing the scene in a trolley car and had seen no signs of provocation on the part of the miners . They conducted themselves becomingly and bothered nobody along the way. The daily papers reported that the courtroom was the scene of some most unusual proceedings. The firm that had provided the earlier funds for bail now again supplied further expense money in the amount of over $402 .00 . All the sworn testimony agreed on the fact that the miners had no weapons . As a matter of fact, they had reckoned with the possibility of being challenged on the way and had forbidden any man to carry arms. Not one of them carried even as much as a walking stick or ordinary cane. Among the witnesses one testified that when he decided to join the group, he went into the mountains and cut himself a staff - just in case - but the others prevailed upon him to throw it away. There was also testimony that the deputies had openly boasted in the town that they would kill "the dirty Huns" yet. One of them joked about the whole thing afterwards, commenting that if he had been �56 SLOVAKIA given a cent for every one that he shot, he would have had the price of a bee r because he himself hit five . The sheriff and all the indicted men appeared before the bench with an air of great self-confidence and assurance. Their backing firm had made an outlay of over $30,000 in legal fees, the judge undoubtedly lent them the weight of his favor and they knew beforehand that no kind of testimony could affect them adversely. Some of the leading American newspapers, including the New York World which was owned by Pulitzer , a Jew from Zemplin in Slovakia, slanted their reporting to discredit the miners. Maurice Engelman , who was also a witness, testified that back in town they laughingly told him to hide or he would be an easy target. John Petruska testified that he was present when the posse was choosing firearms and one of the deputies quipped, " We ' re on our way for a shooting in Lattimer!" Gaspar Wizneski testified that he himself saw the sheriff raise his revolver and fire into the crowd in front of him . '' Do you swear that you saw the sheriff kill one of the strikers?'' the attorney challenged him . '' I swear to it that I did! '' he answered in a clear and audible voice that carried throughout the electrified atmosphere of the courtroom. Martin McGahren and Scarlet, attorneys for the plaintiffs, did not lack incriminating evidence yet all the substance of the testimony did not seem to put the burden of guilt on the accused. The court demanded specific proof and specific charges identifying who killed whom . This could hardly be presented , given the circumstances of abrupt assault and the ensuing panic . Who could tell precisely whose bullet killed this victim or that one? And there was the persistent line of defense claiming that the sheriff acted in the discharge of his duty when he issued the order to fire on the crowd. The defense was called to investigate a hundred witnesses . It was a drawn out trial that finally ended on March 9, 1898 . The sentence that was pronounced was: "The accused are found not guilty. " The court ruled that they had the right to shoot, that they had a right to selfdefense. This verdict created a public scandal. Over 30 ,000 miners began to threaten to take to the streets again, to start another strike. But they were at a total disadvantage. Corporations had contributed several hundred thousands of dollars for this legal battle. How could that be matched by the trifling $5,930 that the impoverished and distracted miners were able to raise from their own resources? For long months, the prime topic of public interest and comment among the Slovaks was the Lattimer massacre. Dozens and dozens of articles, printed and spoken reactions of varying degrees of intensity, were devoted to this incredibly outrageous event and its disgraceful outcome . J. A. Feriencik vehemently and fearlessly criticized a court of �SLOVAKIA 57 justice that would condone such wanton killing and allow such an act to go unpunished, unatoned, because the lords and the mighty ones assented to it. In stark disbelief he wrote: ''They will kill, they will shoot, and grant you no mourning or tears of relief. And somehow they will make it all come out within the limits of the law. '' On the one hand we keep calling out 'Friends and countrymen of ours, come out here and settle here in America, in this famed free country. Apply for American citizenship, learn English, do your utmost to become worthy citizens of the United States, etc.' On the other hand, we urge our people back home to come over with their entire families, to establish themselves as family units and to adopt the American way of life and so gain the ' respect' of their American neighbors. '' And our people here credulously throng to the courts for naturalization forms, they register their desire to become American citizens, set themselves to studying English, the language of this country, adopt American usage and custom, and with all the ardor of their nature they cultivate a deep love for this new country of theirs. In many instances their devotion and loyalty outstrip the sentiments of some native American citizens. And the returns for this good will and generous effort? - Heartless murder! "Even as our people spare no pain in their sincere enthusiasm to evidence their devotion , patriotism and good will, their love for the land of their adoption, their respect for its laws, they are contemptuously referred to as scoundrel Huns and Hunkies. And what hate goes with the slogans: They pushed us out of our jobs; take it out on them! Give it to them! Let them know that we don't like them one bit! '' Some of it is even more foul than this but I must restrain myself or some of that biased American justice might just get me across the knuckles too. "So it is then. These are the facts: You, my people , bend your neck willingly . You do all that you can to prove your genuine devotion to this new land. And what do you get for it all? - Censure, unmitigated scorn, cold brutality. '' Blameless blood is needlessly shed within the scope of the law. It is all but a miracle that the presiding judge did not pin a medal of heroism on the lapel of the sheriff and proclaim him a deliverer of some kind. ''It is time for us to look about and assess what's around us and not just sound off about the freedom, the democracy and the brotherhood of these people. "At every step you come upon hate, you face contempt. Even a street urchin will let you know that you are repulsive to him. ' ' My people, does misery force you to flee from one country as you seek to save your life and avoid starvation, and do you eagerly turn to �58 SLOVAKIA this free America to settle here and earn your bread through hard work and long hours? You escape from misery at home and the threat of death by famine only to hurl yourself into the arms of death here. There you tried to save your life; here they snatch it from you. "Foul murder! '' Are we to be the door mat of murderers forever? Some drive us out of our birthplace and in exile others set upon us with the intent to kill. "Introduce a system of slavery. Buy white slaves, shackle them, treat them at will and you will have a fair picture of American freedom and democracy in action . A realistic picture. Is the world to consider these democratic and freedom-loving people? A murderer has never yet been taken for a champion of freedom , a humanitarian or a freedom-lover. The lurid blotch left by Slovak blood spilled in Pennsylvania will long witness your kind of benevolence, your warped philanthropia? '' Are we to tell the undisguised truth to all our people? Well, if you want them to shoot you here, then tell it. It appears that before long they will pass laws making it legal to shoot Slovaks in certain particular months and not to consider them game in others - just as they do for various animals. It seems to be moving in that direction. This very trial gives proof of such widely touted justice and equity. The capitalist triumphs in spite of his crime and his guilt. The wretched workman loses even though it is he who has been wronged. " My people, if you only had millions of dollars in your hands, they would surely have proved to you how they can adjust and modify twisted paragraphs. But without the almighty dollar ... if you are the unfortunate wretch, then suffer and be still. That is the kind of principle that guided the judge presiding at the trial of the Lattimer murderers .'' (4) The American-Slovak News further editorialized on the subject of the trial and its verdict: '' For those who participated in the Lattimer massacre - or putting it more aptly - for those who defended the bloody trade of the butchers thirsting for human blood at the scene of the Lattimer carnage, it would be rather unfair to designate the event as a drama. For them this classic drama reached its denouement with all the impact of a genuine comedy. Twelve confirmed foes of all that does not breathe the fanatic ideas of the Apaches declared that the butcher Sheriff Martin and his vultures only did their duty; they acted as honorable men when they killed off those hated Huns. ''They crucified truth! They grossly trampled upon the rights of the disadvantaged workman in this free country. Why? For no reason other than this fact that the slaughtered victims first saw the light of day in Hungary, in Russia, in Germany or in Italy.'' (5) �SLOVAKIA 59 Naturally such a foul crime of multiple homicide and utter ruthlessness could not have touched Slovak life without affecting it deeply. The Slovaks sensed that if they would truly avoid being so tom by factions and lack of unity, if they could somehow unite their thousands of workers with common purpose and a sense of solidarity, such a misfortune could never again be repeated. Gradually there evolved within them the consciousness that we are all at fault, all of us, for not claiming those rights to which we are entitled. And so we suffer punishment. Out of this painful and humiliating or humbling realization , even before the verdict was pronounced, there grew the first substantial endeavor of the Slovaks in this land to work in harmony and to achieve a common strength. Realization fortunately led to action. On October 17, 1897 representatives of the leading Slovak-American publications met in Cleveland in order to confer on definite practical steps toward cooperation and the pursuit of common goals. The conference of these journalists resolved to adopt measures related to basic issues in order to counteract the unwholesome attitudes and underserved attacks of certain American press agencies that treated the Slovak immigrant element as less than human . This Congress of Slavic Pressmen , which was organized by Fr. (Francis) Pucher , also sent expressions of condolence to the survivors of the Lattimer victims. This innocent Slovak blood that was shed then did not go wholly wasted. It tended to conciliate the Slovaks and to bring them together. And though this was an extravagantly harsh and costly lesson, it taught them that in their distant strange land they must renounce all petty conflicts and contentions, for in this new world their widely scattered strength will count only if they can bring themselves together and act as a corporate unit that has the general welfare at heart. Many families that had not bothered about joining a Slovak fraternal or beneficial organization now saw that membership in such a society could really mean much to them, especially in the event of an unfortunate or tragic occurrence. The blood that the Slovak miners shed for the general good was the first effective and lasting incentive that brought the Slovaks of America together into one unified and conscious body. One disappointment followed in the aftermath. Newspapers published the report that John Nemeth, chairman of the committee, was named consul just before the final settlement of all the misunderstandings; however, his appointment was conditioned on his withdrawal from the committee. The government of Austria-Hungary petitioned the government of the United States to allocate some compensation to the families of the Lattimer victims. The outcome is embodied in an official document of the Secretary of the Interior (78,999) which includes the following statement: �60 SLOVAKIA "The government of the United States does not recognize any obligation to provide compensation to our fellow-citizens or to the famili es of those who were killed in the clash between the mine workers and the police in the Hazleton-Lattimer area.'' From the blood of these martyrs there was a sprouting of the fragile and delicate flower of accord. Within a year the general tone of the Slovak press had changed from bitter acrimony and unprofitable controversy to understanding and kindlier feeling all around. Even in cases where everyone had believed that common ground could never be found among known antagonists, it had indeed been discovered that these individuals also had many mutually satisfying interests to share and promote and they could work together and get along satisfactorily in spite of their differences. From this point on, every other problem seemed to be of a trivial nature, insignificant trifles that caused minor rifts here and there but had no essential substance. The main drive was toward definite goals even though various and varied avenues led to the ultimate end. FOOTNOTES (1) In a newspaper report published by the Amerikansko Slovenske noviny right after the event, the following are listed as fatality victims in this unfortunate clash: 1) John Kosanec , 2) John Temoci , 3) Fr. Kedel, 4) John Ceka, 5) John Ceslak 6) George Versek, 7) Stephen Hornik , 8) George Kulik, 9) Fr. Ceka, 10) Stephen Ulrich, 11) Andrew Zesman, 12) John Ivanko. Later these names wer also added to the list: 13) John Futa , whose name is sometimes also given as Futas, 14) Stephen Jurek, 15) Michael Ceslak, 16) George Gasparek, 17) John Slebodnik , 18) John Banko, 19) Andrew Jurecek, 20) John Skrip. Since Sheriff Martin was indicted for the death of twenty-one victims , it is clear that this list is incomplete. Some of the men who had been seriously wounded in the incident later died in the hospital. An exact list with all names in their correct spelling is most likely available from the court records in Wilkes-Barre and probably from various English and Polish newspapers of that time. It was a common practice in those days to transmit news reports by telegraphic communication and so it is possible that some of the names were affected by transcription and could have been somewhat distorted. The following men were wounded in the encounter: Anthony Macuka, single , Polish; James Tomason , single, Polish; Francis Fetus, single, Slovak; John Penkames, married, Lithuanian; Joseph Macko, married, Slovak ; Andrew Josmont, married, Polish ; Martin Serfanek, single, Polish ; John Dolny , married , Slovak; John Krisak, single, Slovak ; John Presa, married, Slovak ; Andrew Majer , single, Slovak; John Padnok , married , Polish ; John Posca, married, Slovak ; George Gaspar, single, Slovak; Adolph Colak, married, Slovak ; Adam Lipianski , single, Polish; John Kulich, single, Polish , John Kontra, married , Slovak; Joseph Gasparik, married, Slovak; Thomas Paris , single, Polish ; Andrew Honas, married, Slovak; Andrew Orban, married , Polish; Gaspar Dula§, married , Slovak; Joseph Zapa, Slovak; Joseph Paulak, married , Polish; Matthew Chia, married , Polish; Clement Plotach, married, Polish; John Fora, single, Slovak; Stanislaus Kominski, married, Polish; Constantine Monsara , married , Polish , Bernard Rummal, single, Polish . In 1902 the convention of American Mine Workers adopted a resolution providing for the erection of a memorial to honor the fallen miners as pioneer heroes in the cause for �SLOVAKIA 61 social justice. Additional names of stricken men that make their appearance within the formal text of this resolution include the following: Clement Patek, John Foote, Sebastian Praztomski, Raphael Rezervicz, Albert Czaja, Stanley Rajoski, Andrew Goekers, Andrew Miczkowski, John Krop, Andrew Morrikoski, Adam Zrainski, Adalbert Zienka, Frank Chazesjewski, Steve Znoec, Andrew Jamee (Jurecek), Mike Coseak (Ceslak), George Kulek (Kulik). Some of the surnames were garbled to some extent; most likely they happened to be misread in the course of years that had passed since the massacre itself. (2) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny (American-Slovak News), September 16, 1897. (3) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny, 30. IX. 1897. (4) "Let Slovak Blood Call to God for Vengeance" American-Slovak News, 31. ill. 1898. (5) American-Slovak News. 5.Il. 1899. �62 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre and Trial HARRY B. SCHOOLEY III INTRODUCTION To have a clearer understanding of the trial at issue it is necessary to say that upon entering the court where the trial is in progress one is immediately impressed with the fact that the issue involved is as much a question of the relations of employer and employed as a question of the trial of Sheriff Martin and his deputies for murder, and, as has been invariably the case, the representatives of corporate power assume a hauteur and domineering attitude toward all. The counsel for the defense, former Attorney-General Palmer and Mr. Lenahan, as well as Sheriff Martin and the Deputies , assume an air of offended pride and indignation at being called to defend themselves against a charge of killing a score or more laborers, and think of it! Foreign laborers at that! So wrote Samuel Gompers in an article for the New York World of February 20, 1898. The shooting at Lattimer, Pennsylvania, had become labor's forgotten massacre. Twenty-four striking anthracite coal miners were killed when Luzerne County Sheriff James Martin ordered his deputies to fire into their ranks when their parade threatened the security of the community shortly after three o'clock on the hot afternoon of September 10, 1897. While at times a Sheriff has been punished for criminal neglect of his duty in not firing on a riotous mob, Sheriff Martin was proceeded against in the Lattimer trial because he and his deputies did so fire. The law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for whose supremacy they battled, was used to compass their destruction because they did so. Gompers was wrong. Lattimer was not a '' question of the relations of employer and employed." The lesson of the verdict in the Lattimer case is not that the rich are to be protected, but that the poor and defenseless shall have an absolute guarantee of all their individual rights, and that those who attempt to impair them by lawlessness must answer to the law as criminals. H.B.s.,m May, 1965 (Harry B. Schooley ill teaches at the Buffalo Seminary for girls in Buffalo, New York. A native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he wrote this paper while an undergraduate at Williams College in May, 1965.) �SLOVAKIA 63 Ariovistus Pardee, an ambitious engineering student with the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, was sent in May of 1833 to the Lehigh coal regions of Pennsylvania to survey a railroad line from the anthracite mines at Beaver Meadow to the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. Pardee 's success in the area led him to locating further lines in the region and he began his own mining operations in 1840.(1) In 1869 Pardee built the company towns of Lattimer and Harwood near Hazleton to house the miners working in his six mines. In 1892, following his father ' s death, Calvin Pardee took over the mines at Lattimer and Harwood. Feeling there would be less chance of a consolidation of the working men against his interests, Pardee mixed the foreign immigrant miners filling the houses at Lattimer largely with Italians and those at Harwood with Slovaks, Poles, and Lithuanians . Between 1875 and 1900 there were sporadic attempts on behalf of the Welsh, Irish, and German miners of the anthracite fields to organize for better working and wage conditions. A means for curbing any attempts to organize the miners was the introduction by the mine operators of large numbers of laborers from Austria-Hungary, Poland, Russia , and Italy who were content to work hard and long for low wages. This over supply of unorganized men literally depressed wages to a minimum through the ever-present competition.(2) By the late 1890's the mine patches of the Lehigh coal regions were largely populated by the new mixture of non-English speaking nationalities who with their cheaper immigrant labor replaced the old order of English , Welsh, and Irish miners. The new miners were largely Slovaks, Poles, Italians , Hungarians , and Lithuanians and were considered "foreigners" relegated by the social conditions to which they belonged - the unpainted company houses , shacks, and the dreaded company store. A racial and national prejudice predominated in the mine patches and the better educated, more intelligent of the foreigners met with each other and insisted that every good foreigner should get his "papers " as soon as possible so as to vote in the elections and prevent the '' white men ' ' from voting to pass a law that might drive them from the country. Many of the miners found themselves in great debt to the company store . In 1896 the Pennsylvania Legislature appointed a committee to investigate the company store system . An order for 50,000 copies of the committee report was canceled because, as American Federation of Labor Vice President J . P. McGuire stated in September of 1897 , ''of the disgrace which would fall upon the State were the truth made known of conditions existing in the Schuylkill region." (3) Conditions were the same in the Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys. Perhaps McGuire 's labor affiliations prejudiced him in the making of this statement, but the recent business depression had reduced the lot of the anthracite miner to a very poor one. The manager of one of the Hazleton collieries revealed that his payrolls for September 1, 1897, amounted to about $26,000, of which $18,000 was �64 SLOVAKIA deducted for living expenses (debts to the company store, rents for living in the company houses, fees deducted from pay for the company doctor, money deducted to pay the priest) leaving less than one-third the original amount to be divided among the miners. Discontent over small wages, idleness, and other alleged "wrongs" was seized upon by the new leadership composed of young, energetic and often violent labor organizers as a timely excuse for action. Their opportunity came in August of 1897. A strike broke out at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company 's Honeybrook Colliery near the new borough of McAdoo, when twenty driver boys were ordered to stable their mules after stopping work without extra pay. They refused and division superintendent Gomer Jones fired them. On Sunday, August 15, 2,500 Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company miners joined the strike. Newspapers feared that ''the Italians and Hungarians, who are very aggressive, cannot be controlled." (4) The Honeybrook strikers were led by a committee of grievances which met with general superintendent Elmer H. Lawall demanding an investigation of Gomer Jones to the effect that he reduced miners' wages and that the wages be restored to the original rates. Lawall promised an investigation of Jones if the miners returned to work; and a week after the first walk-out, work was resumed at Honeybrook.(5) On the same day (August 22) the Honeybrook miners returned to work, there arrived in the area from Philadelphia one John Fahy, selfappointed local president of the United Mine Workers of America. Meeting with Italian miners at Audenreid, Yorktown, and Beaver Brook, Fahy persuaded them to organize an Italian branch of the United Mine Workers.(6) Fahy's presence in the area on behalf of the union caused great concern among the mine operators as the miners became more aware of their plight and their demands became more intense. Fahy's word spread rapidly from operation to operation, and on August 26, Italian and Hungarian miners struck at the Van Wickle Coal Company collieries at Beaver Meadow and Coleraine. Two thousand miners moving overnight forced the workers from their shops at the Van Wickle breakers so as to stop all work. Their demands for higher wages were not considered serious as the strike was spontaneous and had no apparent intelligent leadership.(7) On August 27, the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville was idled by the strikers and a coal train was prevented from leaving the town. All Van Wickle operations were forced to shut down. The next day at a meeting of the strikers in Hazleton, a formal demand was presented to Van Wickle superintendent Roderick. Roderick claimed that the advanced scheduled wages (which would set a wage scale for the region) demanded by Fahy 's organizers would not be paid to the miners, although the average pay rates of the region would be paid. The speaker at a Coleraine meeting urged the strikers to resort to violence if the demands were not met. In answer armed members of the Coal and �SLOVAKIA 65 Iron Police were sent to guard the Van Wickle properties.(8) Saloons in Milnesville and Coleraine were closed and a state of ominous calm pervaded the Hazleton area. English-speaking miners were willing to return to work were it not for the threats made by the foreigners. The employees of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company anxiously watched the Van Wickle situation as there had been no action taken towards the promised investigation of Superintendent Jones.(9) Between August 30 and September 3 the strike spread rapidly. Roderick agreed to make wage concessions at the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville which immediately resumed work. If settlements were made at the other Van Wickle operations, then the Lehigh and WilkesBarre miners might never see Jones investigated at all. The miners at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre's Audenreid colliery struck and five hundred strong marched on the company's Yorktown colliery and washeries at Dodson, Beaver Brook, Star, Monarch, and Carson, driving off all the workmen.(10) The miners at the Van Wickle Coleraine colliery remained on strike. Assembling in McAdoo on September 2, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre strikers marched with an American flag to the Beaver Brook colliery forcing it to close. Those workers who refused to stop work were driven off. From Beaver Brook they marched to Yorktown (which had resumed work in spite of the march on that operation by the Audenreid strikers a day earlier) where colliery superintendent Hayes tried to reason with them, as the Yorktown workers had no grievance. Nevertheless, the Yorktown colliery closed. The march then turned towards Audenreid and the home of Gomer Jones. Following a thorough but futile search for Jones , the then two thousand marchers proceeded to the colliery at Silver Brook where the workers fled. At a meeting that evening in McAdoo, the members of the grievance committee advised against future marches, but Fahy's organizers insisted that the marches would continue daily until all the collieries were idle. Fahy, incidentally, was in Silver Brook that evening organizing a new chapter of the United Mine Workers. At Coleraine the Van Wickle strikers were quiet and Superintendent Roderick, in a bid to maintain good will between the company and the strikers, stated that none of the Coleraine workers participated in the march.(11) Later on the evening of September 2, the Coleraine strikers agreed to return to work if they would be protected from the mob. Roderick gladly granted protection. Mayor Altmiller of Hazleton issued orders to the police that if any attempt was made to organize a mob parade on September 3, the marchers were to be dispersed, and if the police were not strong enough the citizens should help them. The Lehigh Valley Coal Company closed its collieries at Jeansville and Hazleton No. 1 not because of grievances between the company and its employees, but because the mob of strikers had threatened the workers. The Lehigh Valley counseled all its workmen to obey the will of the mob.(12) By September 3 the strike had stopped all �66 SLOVAKIA mining operations except those of the New Ebervale Coal Company , Van Wickle 's Coleraine and Milnesville Collieries, and Pardee 's colliery at Lattimer. The weapons of the foreigners were the threat and the mob . With the march of September 2 and the probability of future marches , many mine owners feared for the safety of their property at the hands of the striking miners. The Luzerne County Sheriff's office in Wilkes-Barre, in response to the pleas of the operators for protection , sent an urgent telegram to Sheriff James R. Martin , vacationing in Atlantic City, requesting his immediate return. As soon as Sheriff Martin arrived in Wilkes-Barre on September 5, he telegraphed the sheriffs of Carbon and Schuylkill counties to meet him in Hazleton the next day. Before boarding the train to Hazleton, Martin announced that if he thought necessary , a proclamation would be issued calling on the strikers to refrain from all acts of violence and to permit all who so desired to return to their usual vocation as well as to cease marching. "The fact that men are compelled against their will to march along with an ignorant and sometimes infuriated mob causes some fear that other and more dangerous complications may arise ." (13) Following the Hazleton meeting on September 6, the three sheriffs simultaneously published a proclamation prohibiting mob parades and demonstrations , stating the following: . . . notice is given to all good citizens to refrain from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace . Notice is further given, that all such acts of disorder and lawlessness will be summarily repressed and punished in accordance with the laws of the land. - James Martin, High Sheriff of Luzerne County The proclamation was based on the Pennsylvania Riot Act of March 31, 1860 which forbade ''any persons riotously and tumultuously to assemble together to the disturbance of the public peace." (15) While the three sheriffs were meeting in Hazleton, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company granted the same advances as did the Van Wickle Coal Company at Milnesville and Coleraine.(16) That night Sheriff Martin in his Broad Street hotel room swore in 87 deputies, most of whom were members of the Coal and Iron Police from the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley Coal companies , but some of whom were business and professional men of the Hazleton area .(17) For the next three days the Hazleton area remained in an uneasy calm as the sheriff and his deputies remained on call responding to separate incidents throughout the area. �SLOVAKIA 67 While Martin and his men remained in Hazleton, John Fahy was active at the Pardee colliery at Harwood. Enlisting the aid of the popular young Hungarian slate boss, John Eagler, Fahy was successful in organizing a new branch of the United Mine Workers. Fahy claimed the new union advocated peaceful arbitration of differences between the miners and the operators. Selecting Eagler as their first local secretary and Joseph Mehalto, another well-known Slav from nearby Crystal Ridge as president, the Harwood body immediately formulated a list of grievances - demanding a ten cent wage raise, a reduction of blasting powder from $2. 75 to $1.50, and no company butcher or company doctor - which they presented to the Pardee office in Hazleton on September 9.(18) While the Harwood strikers were presenting their grievances, a mob of "young Italians and Huns" descended on the New Ebervale Coal Company's colliery at Ebervale, driving off Superintendent John Scott and his employees in a shower of rocks and sticks.(19) With this outbreak of new violence, the Pardee Company refused to consider any grievances until all sections of the Harwood colliery were working. Meeting in the Harwood schoolhouse on the evening of September 9, the striking miners decided that in order to get the bargaining position they needed, the whole company must be shut down. This meant work must be stopped at Lattimer. Upon Mehalto's suggestion, the members resolved to send a committee of ten to Lattimer on the next day to persuade the colliery to close down. (20) On the morning of the tenth it was suggested that the strikers go along with the committee, and with Mehalto and Eagler at the head of a column of 250 to 300 men and boys, the strikers set out for Lattimer. With the American flag at the head of the procession, they marched through Crystal Ridge and Cranberry where they were joined by others until the ranks numbered about four hundred. On entering West Hazleton the strikers found their route blocked by Sheriff Martin and his deputies . Standing in front of his line of deputies, Martin ordered the strikers to stop and to disperse. The march pushed on, a scuffle resulted, two strikers were arrested, and the flag was taken from them. Following this encounter, the strikers moved off into a field by the side of the road and the sheriff and his deputies withdrew maintaining a careful eye on the marchers. Soon, however, the march was under way once more, the strikers still heading for Lattimer but skirting West Hazleton to the north. Martin and his deputies hurriedly boarded an open trolley car, provided for their use by the Lehigh Transit Company, and rode back into Hazleton and out the Lattimer line to Harleigh , where the road to Lattimer and the rail line converged and ran parallel for a short distance. At Harleigh the sheriff and his deputies again met the marching strikers, the trolley car keeping pace with the men on foot, grim silence between them while the police in their trolley sat holding their rifles . (21) The car arrived in Lattimer in time for Martin to �68 SLOVAKIA watch the movement of the march, and, from a high point at the town 's approach, the column could be observed moving toward the Pardee colliery No. 1. Again the deputies, about 150 in number, having been reinforced by numbers of the coal and iron police from Lattimer, lined up in a semi-circle across the road with Sheriff Martin standing several yards in front of them. The scene at West Hazleton a few hours earlier appeared about to be re-enacted. When the strikers reached the line of deputies Martin, proclamation in hand, stepped out to meet them: ''You must stop marching and disperse. This is contrary to the law and you are creating a disturbance. You must go back. I won't let you go on to the colliery.'' (22) Eagler argued that American citizens had the right to parade as long as they were not disturbing the peace. Martin read the Riot Act. Most of the marchers, not understanding English, pushed forward to find out what Martin was saying. In the crowd the sheriff was jostled. Thinking himself in danger, he tried to get back to his line of deputies, but was knocked to his knees. The strikers made way for him, and just as he emerged from their ranks, the cry was heard, ''Fire, fire on' em!'' The deputies fired into the unarmed mob. (23) Following a meeting with his lawyer on arriving back in WilkesBarre that evening, Sheriff Martin issued a statement of the Hazleton conditions and shooting: I was not there to interfere in the strike in any shape or manner, but was there for the mere purpose to prevent all violations of the law, and to restore peace and quiet. I beseeched and entreated the leaders to talk to their comrades and ask them to disperse and return to their homes, act in a peaceable way and desist from doing any sort of violence ... (at West Hazleton) the strikers began to crowd together, and to mutter and chatter in their own languages. The leaders urged them on and at the same time began to curse and swear at me, as well as openly defy me and my deputies . (at Lattimer) I ... rushed ahead of my deputies ... dashed in among the foreigners and boldly placed the leader under arrest. (the strikers) at once attacked me most viciously , striking and kicking me, knocking me down. I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers, as it might probably frighten them ... I fully realized that the foreigners were a desperate lot ... (I assumed) they were too excited to listen to reason and that myself and deputies would be killed ... if we did not defend ourselves. I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot, if they must, to protect their lives or to �SLOVAKIA 69 protect the property, that they had been sent to guard, from being demolished. I hated to give the command to shoot and was awful sorry that I was compelled to do so, but I was there to do my duty and I did it the best I knew how and as my conscience dictated, as the strikers were violating the laws of the Commonwealth and flatly refused to obey the proclamation that I had read to them. They, instead, insisted on doing violence and disobeying the laws.(24) In "doing violence and disobeying the laws" eighteen strikers were instantly killed while approximately twenty-four others were seriously wounded. Eagler and Mehalto escaped and their comrades fled in terror. One of the strikers, Martin Rosko, a Hungarian from Mt. Pleasant and wounded in the arm, gave the following account: We were going along the road to Lattimer and the deputies were lined across the road barring our progress. We tried to go through them and did not attempt to hit or molest them when they fired upon us. We ran but they kept on shooting while we ran. It (the massacre) is all their fault.(25) That evening three thousand Hazleton-area miners gathered at Hazleton's Donegal Hall for a meeting conducted by United Mine Workers' president John Fahy in which it was resolved "that we demand the prosecution of the sheriff and deputies of the crimes committed this tenth day of September."(26) At midnight Pennsylvania Governor Daniel Hastings notified Colonel C. B. Dougherty of the 9th Regiment that as there may be further disturbances and that the security of the community may be in danger, Dougherty was to take the regiment to Hazleton to maintain peace and order. (27) On September 11, Dougherty's regiment was joined by five regiments of the Third Brigade of the Pennsylvania National Guard under the leadership of General John P. Gobin. On the morning of September 11, John Nemeth, a leader of the strikers' general committee, went before Squire Gorman of Hazleton and had warrants sworn out for Sheriff Martin and 102 of his deputies. (28) When General Gobin heard of the warrants he issued an edict declaring that so long as the troops remain in the vicinity not a single deputy would be placed under arrest. Owing to the military authority, Sheriff Martin and the deputies were not arrested until ten days after the warrants were issued. Also on that morning a representative of the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Philadelphia arrived in Hazleton to investigate the murder of Hungarian nationals. (29) �70 SLOVAKIA In the meantime the strike continued. By September 14, seven thousand men had left their jobs, crippling the seven Hazleton area companies.(30) Out of sympathy for their murdered comrades from Harwood, 2,300 men left work at the Pardee operations at Lattimer. Visiting Hazleton from Philadelphia the next day, Calvin Pardee stated the following: My men were perfectly satisfied with the wages they were receiving, and would have continued work had they not been driven away by the mob . . . I have operated my collieries over twenty years on the sliding scale, the rate of wages being based on the price of coal at tide, and I will not change that method.(31) Sheriff Scott of Schuylkill County telegraphed to Governor Hastings an appeal for troops to maintain order should the strike spread to his county(32) as sporadic outbreaks of violence continued throughout the region with no apparent prospect of settlement in sight. John Fahy, in a somewhat curious statement to the press on September 18, claimed "The strike is not being conducted by the United Mine Workers." Speaking of his efforts to organize the miners, Fahy stated, "our objects are not to raise excitement and occasion violence but are arbitration, peace and conciliation. Our organization is not to encourage strikes but to prevent them." (33) Fahy expressed the hope that the strike would be settled more quickly if more men organized. If more men were organized in the manner in which the Harwood strikers were organized, the strike would be far from being settled. On September 19 following a Hazleton meeting, the owners of the mines at Lattimer, Beaver Meadow, Honeybrook, McAdoo, and Audenreid announced that they would open their mines on September 20, and if the men were not back at work, they would be discharged altogether. By September 20 all strikers but the employees of the Coxe Brothers Coal Company had returned to work.(34) That evening Fahy held a meeting at Donegal Hall whereat the miners resolved ''to demand that the Attorney-General of Pennsylvania immediately proceed against each corporation now conducting company stores."(35) On September 23, the employees of the Silver Brook collieries were told they were no longer subject to compulsory patronization of the company store and company butcher.(36) The operators gradually made concessions to prevent another such strike, and on September 29, General Gobin and his troops left Hazleton.(37) The anthracite strike of 1897 was virtually over. With peace returning to the Hazleton region, attention was turned to the fate of Sheriff Martin and his deputies. On September 20, Luzerne County District Attorney D.A. Fell and County Detective Isaac Eckert secured bench warrants from the Luzerne County Court of Oyer �SLOVAKIA 71 and Terminer for the arrest of Martin and 68 of his deputies, charging them with' 'the willful and malicious killing of twenty-four (six had died since the shooting) strikers near the village of Lattimer on September 10 last."(38) Bail was posted at $4,000 for homicide and $1,000 for felonious wounding and, through the maneuvring of Calvin Pardee, bond was furnished by the City Trust, Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia.(39) Seeing the opportunity to take up the cause, the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor meeting in Washington resolved on September 24, That we condemn most severely the wanton killing and wounding of the poor miners at Lattimer and will give our fullest help through the trade union and the American Federation of Labor to raise money for the legal prosecution and conviction of Sheriff Martin and his murderous minions, that through the courts of the land even-handed justice may be done to atone for those revolting murders.(40) A preliminary hearing was held in the Luzerne County Court House at Wilkes-Barre from September 21 to 27 wherein the grand jury came to the decision that Martin and his men had shown probable cause of a "wanton and unjustifiable" killing of the strikers.(41) The case of Commonwealth v. Martin was scheduled to begin on February 1, 1898. On February 4, 1898, an editorial in the Wilkes-Barre Record accurately predicted that the trial was expected to develop whether the sheriff and his posse were justified, under the circumstances, in resorting to the extreme measure they did, either for their own protection or to preserve law, order, and the public peace. The case was called on the morning of February 1, before Judge Stanley Woodward, presiding judge of Luzerne County. Sheriff Martin's defense counsel consisted of his personal lawyer, George S. Ferris, and the county's leading criminal lawyer, John T. Lenahan. Other attorneys for the defendants were Henry W. Palmer, George Troutman, C. W. Kline, George R. Urquhart and F. W. Wheaton. At the table for the prosecution sat the new District Attorney, T. R. Martin, who had only taken office a month earlier. With Martin were four other lawyers, who were secured by the strikers' prosecuting committee: John Garman, John McGahren, James Scarlett, and former secretary of the miners' prosecuting committee, J. F. Loughran. In addition to the deputies the court room was crowded with interested spectators including New York, Philadelphia, and nationally syndicated newspaper reporters, newspaper artists, representatives of the Royal Austro-Hungarian government which was planning to make a claim for indemnity for the deaths of the nationals should the sheriff be convicted, and the solicitor general of the United States, Luzerne County's own Henry M. Hoyt (Williams, 1849).(42) �72 SLOVAKIA For two tedious days the court was involved in selecting a jury. When the task had been completed, the twelve men who sat in the jury box were all native American citizens and were largely representative of the middle class skilled labor group.(43) Many of the jury men admitted in their examination by the counsels for defense and prosecution that although they had already formed an opinion, their verdict would not be so influenced. None of the jurors were foreign-born and counsel Loughran complained that the majority of them were ''in sympathy with the sheriff and his deputies." (44) The case for the Commonwealth was opened by McGahren, who claimed the shooting at Lattimer was a ''horrible massacre . '' In a highly emotional speech he told the courtroom how Sheriff Martin stood by proudly while his men brutally murdered the fleeing strikers. He even went so far as to claim the sheriff had emptied his pistol into the head of one of the march leaders. The Sheriff's actions at Lattimer were "a disgrace to civilization," he explained.(46) With this heated example of rhetoric, began the case for the prosecution which consumed nearly sixteen days of examination during which 103 witnesses testified. At the end of the first week of the trial on February 5, it developed that when the case had been continued from the November to the January term of court, bail for the defendants had not been renewed. District Attorney Martin immediately asked either that bail be posted or that the defendants be committed to jail. Judge Woodward replied he would not require the defendants to enter bail until Monday, February 7. Garman of the prosecution immediately pressed the court further to demand bail at once. Lenahan of the defense resented Garman's demands and charged, "You are a puppy! You have been a puppy all your life!" Garman's reply was apparently appropriate as he turned to Judge Woodward and said, "When the thing back of me shuts up, I will proceed." Lenahan replied, "That is only a part of the buffoonery of the Commonwealth.'' Garman turned to face him and raised his fist as if to strike. "If you touch me, I'll kill you!" By this time friends intervened and restrained the two attorneys until order was restored. Garman, eyeing Lenahan defiantly, replied, ''The buffoon has just ceased speaking." (4 7) This exchange of opinions on the floor of the courtroom did not change Woodward's mind and the bail was deferred. The exchange was, however, quickly picked up by the out-of-town reporters and reported in such a way that when court convened on February 7, Judge Woodward admonished the artists and reporters of some of the newspapers that if they continued to caricature the proceedings of the court or to misrepresent what developed, he would refuse them admission to the courtroom.(48) Woodward's admonishment of the reporters for their "yellow journalism" did not end the court's cause for concern. On the evening of February 14, the President of the American Federation of Labor, �SLOVAKIA 73 Samuel Gompers, arrived in Wilkes-Barre to write a special report on the trial for the New York World. The Wilkes-Barre Record was critical of the labor leader's being in Wilkes-Barre, claiming that Gompers would only report the trial from the point of view of the strikers, not from the objective viewpoint of whether Martin was justified in shooting.(49) The Record was not the only newspaper critical of Gompers ' being in Wilkes-Barre. The New York Evening Sun stated " Gompers is so dissatisfied with the way Judge Woodward is conducting the Lattimer trial that he refused to be presented to him. We can only congratulate his Honor on a fortunate escape." (50) In an article in the World on February 20, Gompers attacked Woodward's conduct of the trial, his rulings on evidence, and went so far as to attack him personally as a friend of the mine owners, as Woodward: married into a family of land holders of the district, who receive royalties upon every ton of coal mined. When a cessation of mining occurs from any cause Judge Woodward is to that extent a loser of part of his income. He is a member of the Westmoreland Club, of which the mine-owners are largely members and of which also a number of the so-called deputies are members.(Of the strikers Gompers wrote) They had previously decided and carried out their purpose , to be unarmed and unprotected except by the justice of their cause and the American flag in which they had absolute faith. It is sad to contemplate when workingmen of either American or foreign birth have their faith and confidence in the emblem of our country destroyed and perhaps sadder still is the possibility of losing faith in the justice of our courts. In conclusion Gompers made the Lattimer trial a trial in behalf of the eventual triumph of the working man: The workers of our country are organizing better and more thoroughly each day; we shall not only create a healthier public sentiment as to man 's rights and man's duties, but we shall largely constitute that public opinion. And , when that day comes , the crime of Lattimer will be a record-letter day in the annals of our history to which all will look back upon with horror as the monumental crime of the century. (51) Should Sheriff Martin be convicted of murder, labor would win a great victory in its struggle for recognition. While labor adopted Lattimer as its forgotten massacre , the prosecution rested on February �74 SLOVAKIA 21, having produced testimony in line with McGahren's opening. Ferris opened the case for the defense claiming that if a sheriff and his posse meet a riotous mob which resists them in such a way that their duty to uphold the law requires the use of firearms, then, "they do their duty. They do not violate, but obey the law.'' (52) Anarchy ruled the Hazleton area, Ferris explained, and Martin, in the company of good, lawabiding citizens - not bar room toughs and thugs - brought security to the region. On March 1, Sheriff Martin took the stand. He testified that when he met the strikers at Lattimer, he demanded to know where they were going and they all answered, "Lattimer to get out the men!" He also told the court that he had told them they were doing wrong and that he read the proclamation to them. He said he begged them to go no farther, but they pushed on and someone tried to grab him by the neck. I arrested him, when a big crowd pushed around me. I pulled out my revolver for protection and held it in the air, as I did not want to shoot. One of the mob tried to grab it, but failed, and in the struggle I and the crowd around me were pushed to one side of the road." (53) Martin testified one of the strikers gave him a terrific blow on the side of the head and that he tried to shoot that man, but his pistol would not go off. Then the firing began. After 111 witnesses had testified for the defense the Court adjourned on March 4.(54) The closing pleas to the jury began on March 7, with Scarlett opening for the prosecution: "Every effort has been made to have it tried fairly and nothing has been excluded and every bit of evidence has been admitted according to the rules of the court." (55) The final plea was made by former state Attorney-General Henry W. Palmer, on behalf of the defense, to an overcrowded court room. Palmer's closing has been praised as a masterpiece of eloquence and damned as a bigoted oration and foul utterance against the Slav immigrants. To the jury Palmer said the following: Condemn these men and go home to your neighbors and tell them, 'We convicted Sheriff Martin and his deputies for an error in judgment when they were standing between your homes and the horrors of mob rule.' Tell your wives and children that henceforth when the rioters are about to march and the right of men to work is in peril that there will be no Sheriff and deputies to keep the peace or defend your homes, because by your verdict you will have forbidden them to act, under penalty of death or infamous punishment. (56) Following Palmer's plea District Attorney Martin closed the case for the prosecution, and late on the afternoon of March 9, Judge Woodward delivered his charge to the jury. In an admirably clear, impartial, and ably written presentation of the law of riot and murder, �SLOVAKIA 75 Woodward charged that the sheriff had the right as the chief officer of the county to summon a posse to assist him in the preservation of order and in the prevention of riot. The public peace in Hazleton was threatened. Men were being driven from their jobs by the mob. The Sheriff saw the people were terrorized by the strikers. When they were at West Hazleton and at Lattimer, the strikers failed to obey the sheriff and insisted on pushing on. It was the duty of the crowd to obey his command and that disobedience of the sheriff was evidence of a riotous purpose. If you are satisfied, gentlemen, from the evidence that the purpose of the sheriff and of the posse was to preserve order and prevent a riot, then it would follow that their intent and object was not a criminal or unlawful one, and the rule of the law which makes the act of one the act of all has no application to the facts of this case. (57) At three minutes after ten on the morning of March 9, the jury arrived at its verdict. The sealed paper was handed up to the Judge, who examined it and returned it to the clerk. The clerk read: ''Gentlemen of the jury, harken unto your verdict as the Court hath recorded it. You find in the case wherein the Commonwealth is prosecutor and Sheriff Martin et. al., defendants, you find the defendants not guilty. So say you all?" (58) The verdict of acquittal was a just one under the law, yet, at the same time, it is possible that a terrible doubt exists that the slaughter at Lattimer was necessary or justifiable. Could the tragedy have been avoided? It is not clear that the miners should have been prevented from marching on the highway; it is not clear that they should have been denied the opportunity to show themselves within sight of the miners at work; it is not clear that the deputies should have fired as soon as they did. But, the law is for all men, and against all men who are not obedient to it. There is no question of the right of men to strike. The strike is often the only weapon. When the striker learns to keep within the law, to be fair to others, and to respect property rights, he will have made the greatest advances in the direction of public sympathy. The example of the Lattimer strikers was clear. Had a determined effort been made to keep within the law, to win the friendship of the people of the Hazleton region, the clash with Sheriff Martin and his deputies would have been avoided. The law is the defense of the individual and the salvation of the nation. Violence toward it cannot win. EPILOGUE In the course of researching the Commonwealth v. Martin Trial, it has been found that the Luzerne County Court records for that case are missing from their file at the Luzerne County Court House. Perhaps an �76 SLOVAKIA attorney borrowed them to study and never returned them ; or perhaps they were removed by intent considering the hard feelings exhibited by some members of the Hazleton mining community following the jury's verdict. The sleepy little mining patch of Lattimer today is much the same as it was sixty-eight years ago. The breakers are gone , the trolley tracks are gone , and the miners, whose families now occupy the same houses that witnessed the shooting, work at the near-by collieries in Harleigh and Jeddo . The excitement that brought the name Lattimer to the mind of most Americans in 1897 has been completely forgotten - even in Luzerne County. Should Lattimer be forgotten? Some say it should . But in today 's society when groups of American are banding together and marching, sometimes in defiance of the law, in causes they believe to be paramount, the tragedy of Lattimer could happen again. FOOTNOTES (1) John W . Jordan, Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, vol. 7, (New York , 1916), 2350. (2) John Mitchell , Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903), 375. (3) Henry Edward Rood , " A Pennsylvania Colliery Village, " The Century Magazine, vol. 55, no . 6, (April, 1898), 814. (4) "2,500 Men cut at Hazleton ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. (5) " The Honey Brook Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 21, 1897 , 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 23, 1897, 8. (6) ''The Hazleton Strike,'' Wilk es-Barre Evening Leader, August 23 , 1897, 8. (7) " Two Thousand Foreigners Out, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 27, 1897, 1. (8) " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control ," Wilkes-Barre E vening Leader, August 28, 1897. 1. " Hazleton Strike Comes to a Demand ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 29, 1897, 1. (9) " The Anthracite Strike ," Wilkes -Barre E ve ning Leader, August 30, 1897, 1. (10) " Wild Excitement, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897, 1-2. (11) " Strike Situation at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (12) " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (13) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897 , 1. (14)/bid., 1. (15) " Labor Day Parade at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 7, 1897, 1. (16) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897, 1. (17) " Strikers Still Marching," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader. �SLOVAKIA 77 (18) Ibid., 2. (19)lbid., 2. (20) Ibid., 2. (21) Ibid., 2. (22) "Murdered in Cold Blood," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 11 , 1897, 1. (23) Ibid., 1. (24) Ibid., 1. (25) Ibid. , 1. (26) Ibid. , 1. (27) Ibid., 1. (28) "Sheriff Martin to be Arrested, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 12, 1897, 1. (29) Ibid., 1. (30) ''They Will Not Return to Work, '' Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 14, 1897, 1. (31) "Everything Quiet Along the Line, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (32) " Miners ' Strike is Spreading," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (33) " News from the Seat of War," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 18, 1897, 1. (34) " Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 21, 1897, 1. (35) " Many Strikers Return to Work, " Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897, 1. (36) "A Quiet Day at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. (37) " Troops Leave Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 29, 1897, 1. (38) " A Stampede to Return to Work," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 21 , 1897, 1. (39) " The Court Sits In Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. (40) " The Court Sits in Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattimer," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 24, 1897, 1. " The Sheriff Condemned," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 28, 1897, 1. (42) ''The Lattimer Cases,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897, 1. (43) "The Twelve Jurymen Selected, " Wilkes-Barre Record, February 3, 1898, 1. (44) " The Lattimer Cases," Wilkes-Barre Record, February 4, 1898, 1. (45) Henry W. Palmer, Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, Penna. , 1913) 64. (46) Ibid., 65. (47) ''Excitement In Court,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 7, 1898, 12. (48) '' Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6 . (49) '' Said the Sheriff Shot, '' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 16, 1898, 6. (50) "A Labor View of Judge Woodward ," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4. (51) "Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter," New York World, February 20, 1898, 20. (52) Palmer , 67. (53) George B. Kulp , Luzerne Legal Register Reports, vol. 9 (Wilkes-Barre, 1900), 81. (54) Palmer , 81. �78 SLOVAKIA (55) Ibid., ll0. (56) Ibid., 147. (57) From Judge Woodward ' s original hand-written charge to the jury as found in his personal scrapbook in the possession of his grand-daughter, Mrs . Bruce Payne of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (58) " The Deputies Are Not Guilty," Wilkes-Barre Times, March 9, 1898, 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Jordan, John W ., Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography vol. 7, (New York, 1916) . Kulp, George B., Luzerne Legal Register Reports vol. 9, (Wilkes-Barre, 1900) . Mitchell , John, Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903). Palmer, Henry W ., Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, 1913) . Rood, Henry Edward , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village," The Century Magazine, Vol. 55, no. 6, (1898). Newspaper Sources "A Labor View of Judge Woodward," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4 . '' Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter, " New York World, February 20 , 1898, 20. ''Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6. ''2,500 Men out at Hazleton, '' Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. " The Honey Brook Strike, " August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," August 21, 1897, 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," August 23, 1897, 8 . " Two Thousand Foreigners Out," August 27, 1897, 1. " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control," August 28, 1897, 1. " Hazleton Strike comes to a Demand ," August 29, 1897, 1. " The Anthracite Strike ," August 30, 1897, 1. " Wild Excitement" September 2, 1897, 1-2. " Strike Situation at Hazleton," September 3 , 1897, 1. " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," September 3, 1897, 1. " Sheriff Martin on the Ground, " September 6, 1897, 1. · 'Labor Day Parade at Hazleton,'' September 7, 1897, 1. "Strikers Still Marching, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 9, 1897, 2. "Murdered in Cold Blood," September 11, 1897, 1. " She riff Martin to be Arrested ," September 12, 1897, 1. " They Will Not Return to Work," September 14, 1897 , 1. · 'Eve rything Quiet along the Line ,' ' September 16, 1897, 1. " Mine rs ' Strike is Spreading, " September 17, 1897, 1. " News from the Seat of War," September 18, 1897, 1. " A Stampede to return to Work ," Septe mber 21, 1897, 1. "The Court sits in Judgment," Se ptember 22 , 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattime r," September 24 , 1897, 1. " She riff Condemned," September 28 , 1897, 1. ··A Quiet Day at Hazleton ,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. �SLOVAKIA 79 "Troops Leave Hazleton ," September 29, 1897, 1. "The Twelve Jurymen Selected," February 3, 1898, 1. "The Lattimer Cases," February 4, 1898, 1. "Excitement in Court," February 7, 1898 , 12. "Said the Sheriff Shot," February 16, 1898, 6. "Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897 , 1. "The Dep uties are Not Guilty," March 9, 1898, 1. Woodward, Stanley, the original hand-written charge to the jury as found in Judge Woodwa rd 's personal scrap book now in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Bruce Payne of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania. � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources GEORGE A. TURNER ''The affair at Hazleton yesterday is one of those terrible catastrophies the news of which simply stuns the community and paralyzes for a moment the power of thought." (1) The above editorial comment was a reaction to one of the worst acts of violence in the history of the American labor movement. The tragedy occurred at Laimer, a small coal mining patch, one and a half miles northeast of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh region of the anthracite coal fields on September 10, 1897. A group of nearly four hundred striking, unarmed, immigrant mine workers adhering to the control of their leaders, approached Lattimer to encourage the employees of Calvin Pardee & Company to join them in a work stoppage. They encountered Sheriff James Martin of Luzerne County and his posse of eighty-six deputies who viewed them as enemies of public order and the wellspring of lawlessness. When the marching laborers arrived at Lattimer in midafternoon, the Sheriff approached them, ordered them to halt, disperse, and return to their homes. Within a few minutes an altercation erupted between the Sheriff and some of the strikers at which point the deputies aimed their rifles and fired directly into the group of strikers. Instantly, their gunshots produced a carnage of blood and death among the immigrants - a massacre that left nineteen dead and thirty-eight wounded.(2) Peace officers were unscathed in their deadly assault on the defenseless workers who had been peacefully assembled on a public highway. This incident, lasting only a few minutes, became one of the most devastating acts of public authorities attacking, wounding and killing American laborers. The next day newspaper headlines depicted the killings as an atrocity. Regional papers denounced the shooting: "Yesterday's Butchery, A Mob of Heartless Deputies Fire Into a Throng of Miners and Accomplish Deadly Work" ;(3) "D of Blood at Lattimer" ;(4) "Strikers Shot in Cold Blood" ;(5) and "Looks Like Butchery" .(6) The account quickly spread beyond the anthracite region. Major metropolitan newspapers depicted the shooting in equally stark terms: ''The Killing of Miners at Lattimer Was Butchery'';(7) ''Mowed Down By Deputies" ;(8) "Laid Low By Bullets, the Men Fell Like Sheep Before the Murderous Winchesters of the Officials" ;(9) "Homestead Battle Thrown In The Shade" ;(10) and "Dead in Heaps, Deputies Fire on Miners at Lattimer, Penn ., Men Were Huddled Closely and Slaughter Was Terrific''. (11) The killing of the strikers by the Sheriff's deputies was a major national news story for several days prompting a 10 SLOVAKIA very basic question: Why did this senseless, violent act of shooting unarmed immigrant workers occur? To answer this inquiry requires an understanding of nativism found in the hard coal fields of Pennsylvania and an identification of those factors affecting the lives and working conditions of the immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. Slavic and Italian immigrants began arriving in the eight Pennsylvania counties comprising the anthracite region in the late 1870' s and early 1880 's with nearly all taking employment in mining and by the late 1890's outnumbered German and English-speaking workers .(12) The magnitude of this immigration flow from Poland, Austria-Hungary , Russia, and Italy was evident; in 1880 they totaled only 1,925 , in 1890 they were 32,007, and ten years later their numbe had more than doubled to 89,328. At the same time the foreign born from England , Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Germany decreased by 2.2 percent from 102,421 in 1880 to 100,269 in 1900; in particular, the demographic composition of this group in Luzerne County revealed a decline from ninety-four percent in 1880, to sixty-eight percent in 1890, and a further drop to forty-nine percent in 1900. These southern and eastern Europeans grew to an ever increasing percent of the foreignborn population in the anthracite coal fields: 1. 7 percent in 1880, 25 .2 percent in 1890 , and 46.1 percent in 1900.(13) Such a substantial and rapid growth of alien people created apprehension and anxieties leading to resentment and nativistic sentiments among the AngloSaxon population , their antipathy stemming from cultural differences and fear of economic competition for jobs. There was little to encourage the necessary processes for immigrants to be readily assimilated into the society. New arrivals had a distinctive culture, language , religion, and life style that were strikingly different , giving rise to suspicion and contempt from the native population and other established ethnic groups. Eastern and southern Europeans established numerous ethnic societies which perpetuated their pride , customs, and traditions . Since their religion was Catholic , they organized separate parishes along nationality lines thus sustaining ethnic identification. Marriage records reveal a consistent pattern of immigrants marrying only members of their own nationality. Divisions caused by factionalism in this polyglot society were difficult to bridge. Newspapers did not assume any responsibility for promoting harmony and assimilation among the diverse nationalities, and public schools did not lead in the task of Americanizing children of foreign cultures until the early 1900's . School attendance by immigrant children was minimal and those who did attend encountered language barriers. (14) Anglo-Saxons were finding it difficult to accept a pluralistic society in which they were becoming a numerical minority. This development fostered nativist sentiment , causing AngloSaxons to have ce rtain perceptions of the immigrants that inhibited SLOVAKIA 11 assimilation of the aliens contributing to their separation and isolation in the society. Attitudes of non-acceptance found expression in opprobrious terms for the new arrivals: " Pollocks, " "Huns," and " Dagoes," all denoting inferiority and disdain. Polish, Italian, and Slavic celebrations for marriages and their baptismal customs were denigrated and viewed as outlandish. A common belief among the native population was that a '' ... Slav does not know how to enjoy himself save by getting drunk, he does not know how to show kindness to friends save by making them drink." (15) Stories circulated that these new aliens participated in wife-selling, practiced polyandry, and were responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, (16) contributing to the viewpoint that they were '' ... much more dangerous to the body politic than the excluded Chinese; . . . do not hesitate to use dynamite if they desire to blow up the home of one whom they particularly hate."(17) Rejection of the new immigrants grew in part from a feeling on the part of Anglo-Saxons that they belonged to a superior and more progressive race of people. The way that immigrants lived reinforced feelings of superiority in nativist thinking. Due to economic factors, lack of acceptance, and the desire of ethnic groups to have their own neighborhoods, ghettoes emerged in different communities. Since houses in ghettoes were crowded and substandard, outsiders viewed living conditions as unpleasant , unattractive, offensive, and the area as a tough and brawlly place to live. "The Slavs are physically strong and can flourish in an environment that would be fatal to more sensitive organisms." (18) Supporting this dislike of southern and eastern Europeans, the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1895 passed a resolution calling upon Congress to enact legislation to restrict immigration. The resolution clearly reflected a protectionist attitude as seen in its opening statement: '' That we recognize in the constant influx of an ignorant and vicious class of immigrants a great and growing evil highly injurious to American workingmen and dangerous to American institutions." (19) Again, two years later legislators passed another similar resolution.(20) Native Americans and older immigrants from northern Europe came to the conclusion they were being invaded and overcome by hordes of undesirable people who would undermine their communities. Of equal importance and of more immediate concern was competition by Slavic and Italian immigrants for jobs and wages in the labor market. Nativist sentiment held that railroads and coal operators enticed immigrants to settle in the region in order to increase the supply of labor which, in turn, had the effect of keeping wage rates down. (21) This charge against railroad and coal operators, however, was not completely true. It was well known that contract miners, who were primarily Anglo-Saxons, had the best and highest paying positions outside the mine supervisory jobs. They were also employers and were '' ... themselves largely responsible for the employment of 12 SLOVAKIA the non-English speaking foreigners. Instead of employing English laborers at the regular wage week the miners would employ a big Slav or Hun cheaply, increasing his own pay check quite an amount. His boasting of the 'snap' caused others to do the same."(22) Job competition increased as immigrants took any kind of work they could find in and around the mines. No matter what employment they found their wages were four or five times higher than what they previously earned in the native land.(23) Anxious to find work, newcomers took the unskilled positions of slate pickers, door-boys and helpers, drivers , runners, and laborers, willing to endure dangerous work and inconveniences which older workers refused to accept. With the passage of time and experience they began to compete for the higher paying, skilled positions held by English-speaking and German coal workers. Established workers contended that since new immigrants were willing to accept lower wages and even wage cuts to get and hold jobs, they were undermining the standard of living and forcing many older laborers to forego mining in the mines and to leave the area to find new employment. Anglo-Saxon workers became bitter and antagonistic which impaired the development of any class solidarity among the anthracite workers.(24) This led to discriminatory and exclusionary practices toward eastern and southern Europeans. The history of the anthracite labor movement revealed that the Knights of Labor, dominated by Irish, and the Amalgamated Association of Miners and Mine Laborers, controlled by Americans, English, Welsh, and Germans, were ineffective in enrolling these workers into their ranks in the 1880's and 1890's. Leaders of organized labor vacillated, were ambivalent, and showed a lack of real interest in encouraging new immigrants to join the union movement. On certain occasions labor organizations even attacked Slavic groups for undermining the labor movement. Failure of the unions to bridge ethnic differences was a major factor in thwarting endeavors to establish successful collective bargaining with the region's coal operators and to gain better conditions of employment.(25) Whenever new immigrants supported organized labor, they generally joined locals organized along ethnic lines; this at first weakened the interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests of mine workers. English-speaking officials retained control of union affairs, further contributing to a lack of fusion and interchange of interests and ideas between the AngloSaxons and the new immigrants.(26) When the United Mine Workers of America first appeared in the area in the early 1890's, it made little headway in recruiting the Slavic and Italian immigrants who were fast becoming the major segment of the anthracite labor force.(27) Finally, when U.M.W.A. became firmly established after 1900 and merged the 'old' and 'new' immigrants together, each local retained ethnic SLOVAKIA 13 distinction , making the union an alliance of distrustful nationality groups .(28) Established miners, who supported organized labor and held the higher paying and more desirable jobs, sought to protect their positions and perpetuate their advantage. They were fearful that the new immigrants who entered the coal fields as unskilled laborers would in time acquire needed skills to pass into the ranks of skilled miners which had the highest pay scale ; older workers also believed that when new immigrants became employed in mines the accident rate increased due to their lack of mining experience and inability to communicate in English .(29) State mine inspector, James Roderick, of Luzerne and Carbon Counties supported this viewpoint and asserted in 1883 that the rate of accidents increased as the influx of new laborers grew, whereas the older miners were more careful in their work. (30) Therefore, AngloSaxon miners supported the enactment of the miners' examination law passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1889. The official title of the legislation, " An act for the examination of miners in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania and to prevent the employment of incompetent persons as miners in anthracite coal mines,'' aptly described its intent. The law created examination boards in various districts in the anthracite region consisting of skilled miners having at least five years of experience and appointed by the presiding judge in a county . It stipulated that no coal company could legally employ a person as a miner who did not have a certificate of competency issued by a miners' examination board ; in order for a person to receive a miner's certificate he had to provide evidence of having at least two years experience as a mine laborer in Pennsylvania.(31) In the legislative debate on this proposal, coal operators were accused of allowing incompetent people to work in mines , thus contributing to large numbers of fatalities and injuries. Many hoped that the new law would reduce the dangers of working in anthracite mines . Aside from viewing this act as a safety measure, there was a clear inference that the law would also help to check the influx and competition of labor from the new immigrants. Representative Caffery commenting on the proposed law declared that it could prevent '' ... incompetent men to come here from Europe, three or four of whom will be rushed into one chamber, thus dividing up the work.'' (32) Caffery's remark clearly made reference to the recent European influx into the anthracite region that had aroused resentments among older miners. In time it became apparent that expectations concerning the miner 's examination law would not be realized. Anglo-Saxon miners recognized that asking a few questions by miners ' examination boards could not really assure the competency of an applicant. In the examination of a non-English speaking person, the interpreter often aided and embellished the individual' s response. Furthermore, it 14 SLOVAKIA became a fact of life, due to fraud and corruption, that certificates became articles of merchandise.(33) From the time the law went into effect until 1897 there were several attempts to modify or even to repeal the statute . The law, rather than excluding unskilled laborers from becoming miners, had, in effect, due to the requirement of two years of mining experience in Pennsylvania, made ineligible the experienced miners who came from other parts of the country or Europe to secure jobs in the anthracite coal fields . These men were unwilling to work two years as a mine laborers in order to qualify for a miner's certificate. Instead, this simply assured that the new immigrants in time would move into the ranks of skilled miners - the higher-paying positions normally held by Anglo-Saxon workers. Representative Miller, whose district included Luzerne county, substantiated this point: ''Under the present act no one can receive a certificate as a miner until he has worked for two years as a miner's laborer. The result of that is just this: Only the least responsible class of workmen will come into the anthracite district at all; it excludes all of the better class of men. No one who is a practical miner from the bituminous region, or any other part of the State or the United States will come into the anthracite region and work for two years as a miner's laborer before he can obtain this certificate. '' (34) Admission that the law would stymie the settlement of new immigrants in the region was acknowledged by Representative Morahan in one of the attempts to revise the statute: ''It was brought about after the mining corporations had sent their agents over into Europe and brought over an element tended to restrict the production and elevation of wages. It was passed for the purpose of preventing the importation of pauper immigrants into the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania . . . "(35) Deficiencies in the miners' examination law prompted district one (anthracite region) of the United Mine Workers of America in its annual convention at Pottsvillle on October 16, 1896, to charge that the act was a farce. In a resolution calling for revision of the statute, the union wanted stiff penalties, imprisonment up to five years and fines of $100, for not adhering to the law; it also advocated that the state pay board members a set salary, abolishing the present procedure of having salaries based on fees collected from issuance of certificates. (36) These recommended changes reflected a view that corruption and failure to enforce the law had become commonplace among many of the miners' examination boards. John Fahy, president of district one, lobbied at the state capital in support of revisions to the law approved in 1897. One amendment increased penalties for violations, but no changes were made in the fee structure. A second amendment stipulated that each exaininee had to answer a minimum of twelve questions in English, which prohibited the use of interpreters and therefore discriminated against immigrants, who could not speak English.(37) The United Mine SLOVAKIA 15 Worker's Journal lauded Fahy's lobbying activities and contribution in getting this legislature enacted. (38) After passage of these revisions to the law, the Miners' Examination Board in the Hazleton area placed a notice in the local newspaper to alert mine officials of its provisions. It noted that the law had been violated in the past but henceforth would be strictly enforced. The Board's warning reflected nativist sentiment: "As you, above all others, should know the necessity of having men who understand their work and the language which is the known language of this, our country, the Board would say do your duty and acquit yourselves like men and Americans.'' (39) Control of the miners' examination boards rested with English-speaking miners who were able to exercise certain prerogatives and institute various regulations to their advantage at the expense of the new immigrants.(40) Another piece of discriminating legislation with nativist prejudice, the Alien Tax Act, passed by large majorities in both houses, went into effect on July 1, 1897. The statue stipulated that any male alien age twenty-one and over employed in the state had to pay a three-cent tax on each day of employment which meant that most aliens employed as laborers in the Lehigh anthracite coal region suffered a two to three percent reduction in daily wages . Employers had to maintain employment records on aliens in their service and to collect the tax which reverted to the county treasury, half of which went to school districts and the other half to defray county operating expenses.(41) In the senate debate over the bill, the presence of new immigrants in the community gave rise to a concern that they were '' .. . a constant source of expense to us and . . . this is a very good way to get some money out of them to help pay the expenses of government.' ' (42) The act's preamble declared that aliens showed no allegiance to the state and did not financially support the maintenance of government. In addition, it described aliens as direct competitors to the state's laboring population. One passage stated they were '' ... brought into unjust competition with the tax-paying American laborers and greatly impair their welfare by depriving them of their employment and of preventing them from receiving fair compensation for their labor therefore." (43) Again, John Fahy, miners ' advocate at the state capital, wrote an article for the United Mine Workers Journal asserting: ''What a world of good this law would do the American citizens who try to earn their living in the coal mines, if the tax were one dollar per day.' ' (44) Nearly two months after the tax went into effect, the United States Circuit Court in Pittsburgh declared the law unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. Judge Acheson in the court's decision acknowledged that the law discriminated against new immigrants: "Evidently the act is intended to hinder the employment of foreign born unnaturalized male persons over 21 years of age." (45) An obvious recourse for the alien to avoid this new tax, prior to its 16 SLOVAKIA being declared unconstitutional, was to become a naturalized citizen. Senator Flinn feared this possibility and could see little benefit from such a law unless to increase local revenues. It was his opinion that the legislation '' ... would have a tendency to drive this class of people into quicker citizenship." (46) Possibly anticipating this result, the Naturalization Court in Luzerne County a few days prior to the alien tax being voided instituted new rules to revise the process of naturalizing aliens. New procedures required an applicant to make formal application and declare his or her intention to become an American citizen at least thirty days prior to appearing in court, to be represented in the court proceedings by an attorney, and to produce a certificate of entry from the commissioner of immigration at the port of arrival. County officials had to publish in advance of the naturalization hearing the names of aliens seeking citizenship . Publicizing names of aliens petitioning to become citizens had the purpose of facilitating the process of weeding out undesirable applicants. Under the new rules five people could sign a petition remonstrating against an alien becoming a citizen thereby requiring a hearing to pass on their objections. In court, the alien had to demonstrate knowledge of the national and state constitutions and duties of citizens with responses in English.(47) Under these new procedures costs and amount of time required of the foreigner to become a citizen greatly increased. Previously, it had been perfunctory procedure since the immigrant only had to pay two dollars to secure naturalization papers. Now the costs rose to at least eight dollars for court and attorney fees.(48) When the individual lived some distance from the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, he had additional expenses for transportation and meals as well as losing a day of wages. Cumulatively, the costs for most aliens was equivalent to nearly two weeks of wages . A month later when implementation of these new naturalization rules became part of the court proceedings, half of the ninety-seven applicants, predominately Slavic, Polish, and Italian, were rejected in their quest for citizenship.(49) The new naturalization procedures confirmed the fact that the ease with which foreigners had in the past gained American citizenship would no longer be the rule. The new immigrants, who had become the dominant group among the mine workers, found themselves unaccepted due to nativistic attitudes, discriminatory laws, organized labor's lack of interest and view of them as an economic threat, and increased difficulty in acquiring citizenship. An added burden which all mine laborers faced was working conditions in the anthracite coal fields . The Pennsylvania Legislature in 1897 established a joint investigating committee of three representatives and two senators to examine and make a report concerning working conditions among those employed in the mining of anthracite coal. The committee held twenty-six meetings in the principal cities in the anthracite region and took testimony from 311 witnesses SLOVAKIA 17 representing businessmen , directors of relief organizations, and different classes of people connected with mining. The committee released its findings to the public on June 14, 1897, containing valuable information affecting those employed in mining.(50) The committee cited a major problem in the anthracite coal economy as excessive production in relationship to market demands that made coal prices weak and unstable. This had a direct bearing on mine employees since coal operators would cut production , institute lay-offs , and reduce wages in order to prevent or minimize their losses, thus exacerbating the labor market which already suffered from an over supply of workers . Surplus labor was evident when comparing the number employed in the anthracite mines in 1892 with 1896 and the coal produced in those same two years. Between 1892 to 1896 there occurred a fifteen percent increase in the number employed , 130,197 to 149,670, while coal production only increased five percent, 45,738,374 to 48,074 ,350 tons.(51) Estimated production capacity of the region 's collieries in 1896 was ninety million tons; actual output only came to fifty-four percent of capability while the number of mine employees for that same year increased by 6,065 .(52) Because of surplus laborers and a weak coal market there was lack of employment in the mines in 1896 as the average number of days of employment in the Hazleton region was only 178 days or fifty-seven percent of full employment for a year, based on a six-day week for fifty-two weeks. (53) This same condition was still prevalent in the first seven months in 1897 in which the mines operated on an average of one or two days a week.(54) One mine owner succinctly described the situation: " We can't give them work enough even at ninety cents a day because of the ups and downs of the business. When things begin to improve, we must have enough on hand to satisfy the demand, and that means, when business slacks up, that many have to be idle ." (55) This practice of the coal operators cutting back production to maintain the price of coal in a depressed market had caused frequent interruptions in the mid 1890's that put the standard of living of the average mine laborer on a very low basis . The legislative report pointed out that starvation conditions existed among the miners with Hazleton and vicinity one of the five areas identified as having great destitution and want. The committee reported: ' 'The testimony shows conclusively that deplorable condition of affairs for a period covering about two years, and particularly since the first of January of the present year, since which time the men in and about the collieries have been employed not more than two or three three-fourths days per week , earning on an average $4 per week , upon which , in many instances, they were compelled to support large families , in some cases as high as eleven members, paying house rent and coal and the necessities of life, which to this committee seems an impossibility . In . .. mining centres there is at all times more or less destitution and want , in many instances occasioned by profligacy. 18 SLOVAKIA Matters throughout the anthracite region have been gradually growing worse, and never in the history of this section of our State has the condition of the men employed in and about the mines been so deplorable or of such long duration.'' (56) The wages of miners and laborers in the Lehigh anthracite region had a direct relationship to the selling price of coal. Since the collapse of the union after the strike in 1888, there was no union contract to govern working conditions and wages. Wages were pegged to the market price of coal at the tidewater in Elizabethport, New Jersey. This system known as the ' 'sliding scale'' came into effect in 1869 with the formula for determining wages established in 1875. Under this arrangement, if coal sold for $5 .00 a ton at Elizabethport, miners, who held the highest paying jobs, received eighty-seven cents for each car of coal produced which meant that on the average, skilled miners earned twenty-one cents an hour, or $12.60 a week for sixty hours of work. The highest paid class of laborers, if a ton of coal sold for the same price, earned $10.80 a week or fourteen percent less than the miners. Whenever the price of coal increased ten cents a ton, wages advanced one percent for each ten cent rise and conversely, whenever the price of coal declined ten cents a ton, wages decreased one percent for each ten cent reduction . (57) Mine employees saw several drawbacks to this method of determining wages. Lehigh coal operators, as opposed to the Wyoming and Schuylkill coal operators, were mainly independents; hence, they were more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the freight rates in transporting their coal to the markets, which, in turn, had a direct bearing on establishing the price of coal. High transportation costs reduced the coal operator's ability to improve wages and, most importantly, forced an increase in coal prices that made coal produced in the Lehigh region less competitive in the market than that produced in the other two fields largely under the control of the railroads. Consequently, starting in 1892 the Lehigh coal operators, who produced only around sixteen percent of anthracite coal, agreed to sell part of their production to the railway coal companies at forty percent below the tidewater price in order to avoid excessive freight rates. A major portion of the coal production was sold in the interior at prices higher than at the tidewater. Finally, the 1875 price-wage formula did not reflect changes that had occurred in the coal market. Anthracite coal had been losing the industrial fuel market to the less expensive bituminous coal. This loss forced a readjustment in the coal trade as more and more anthracite had to be processed into smaller sizes to be sold for home heating purposes. Smaller sizes gradually became the major portion of the coal trade and this sold at lower prices, resulting in a reduction of the average price per ton of coal thus keeping wages down.(58) Besides irregular work and low wages the anthracite laborer had to contend with day-to-day conditions which were equally distressing. The SLOVAKIA 19 company store had long been an issue in the mining communities and had an odious reputation. The fact that employees were under some form of compulsion to make their purchases at a company store at inflated prices was so repugnant that it caused considerable discord, dissension, and prolonged agitation. A congressional committee in 1889 investigating working conditions in the anthracite region reported some of the abuses connected with stores operated by coal companies which still persisted in the late 1890's. Prices were as much as thirty percent higher for the same items sold in independent stores. There was both direct and subtle pressure on employees to purchase groceries , clothing, and other items from the company store; workers feared losing their jobs or being moved to a lower paying position or to one that was more difficult because of dangerous or strenuous working conditions. "Some of the officials of the company, such as foremen, would state to their workmen, 'If you patronize me we will patronize you.' Well , that meant if there was a good job they would receive it if they traded in the company' s store ."(59) Reacting to these abuses, Pennsylvania in 1891 enacted a law prohibiting corporations engaged in mining and manufacturing from operating general supply stores . In an attempt to prevent evasion, the law explicitly made it illegal for a corporation to contract with an independent store to require its employees to purchase merchandise; also it prohibited any corporate officer or stockholder to operate a company store on the premises of the corporation. (60) Unfortunately, the legislation did not eliminate the many evils associated with the company stores. In the first place , unincorporated coal operators did not come under the law's jurisdiction. Secondly, there was a loophole in the law's language forbidding a corporation from requiring its employees to patronize a particular store by stating that employees " shall not be obliged" to deal with a designated store. In other words an employee of a corporation could not be compelled to shop at a particular store but he could voluntarily choose to buy his merchandise at that store. Realistically, as life existed in the mining communities with the ever-presence and dominance of the coal companies, many factors came into play that inevitably induced an employee to make a so-called voluntary decision to patronize a particular store. Thirdly, when individual coal operators sold their interests to a large corporation, they often retained the right to continue the operation of their store. In this arrangement, many times the corporation provided a service by deducting an employee's bill at the store from his monthly wages with a collection fee which varied from three to five percent of the bill. This system had a descriptive nickname of the "pluck-me-store." (61) It was in the Lehigh region, where a very large percent of the coal operators were independent and unincorporated, that the existence of company stores was one of the highest in the anthracite region ; two-thirds of the mine laborers worked at collieries 20 SLOVAKIA that operated company stores.(62) In some instances a coal company which operated a store would undersell its competitor by lowering prices for coal and then make up losses by compelling the employees to trade at the company store at exorbitant prices .(63) The store of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company reportedly had everything from a red herring to a furnace . A Polish employee of the company flatly stated: '' ... we are compelled to purchase whether we want to or not. " (64) Three English-speaking miners of the A. S. Van Wickle Company commented that they would not object to the company's store if it were not for the high prices. To illustrate their point, they cited three items priced in an independent store and the company store: dozen eggs for thirteen cents as opposed to twenty-three cents, pound of butter for eighteen cents as opposed to twenty-six cents, and tobacco for twenty-six cents as opposed to thirtyfour cents. (In computing these goods the average price increase over the independent store was forty-six percent.) They further asserted: ''These are but a few samples of the prices charged here, but we have no redress. If we do not deal in the store we are notified about it with a broad intimation that others would be glad to have our places and deal in the store ." (65) The two investigative reports documented abuses concerning the company store in the anthracite region in 1897 and drew attention to three pertinent facts: the company store did not operate to the benefit of the workmen; employees were subjected to intimidation when they failed to patronize company stores; profits were substantial. (66) The company store problem was a major concern of John Fahy who noted that the number was greater than when the legislation was passed in 1891 and coal operators continued to violate the law. Union members of the United Mine Workers of America agreed and passed a resolution condemning this kind of store : '' ... the company store is a great and burdensome evil; that the system is harsh and tyrannical, and its purposes to rob labor of the full use of that pittance, always too meager, which the mine worker now received for his toil . . . "(67) Another grievance of the workers closely related to the company store was the practice of having a company butcher make door to door sales to employees living in company houses. They objected to the butcher's high prices and his habit of leaving more meat than requested forcing the purchaser to pay for meat not wanted . (68) What they wanted was the. abolition of this solicitation. Dominance of the coal companies over their employees was felt in another way through the company doctor. Coal operators had a physician to administer to the health needs of workers. On the surface this service appeared to be a desirable fringe benefit. Not so in the eyes of the employees who had several objections. They felt that they should have the right to select their own doctor since many believed that the quality of medical help was below average. The fact that the doctor's SLOVAKIA 21 allegiance rested with the company placed uncertainty on the doctorpatient relationship.(69) Aside from these reservations was the cost. Deduction from workers' paychecks funded the program; A. S. Van Wickle Company levied two cents a day on each employee while other companies charged each married man with a family seventy-five cents a month and single men fifty cents a month.(70) To many this outlay of money equaled a half-day of wages and was an unnecessary cost. At this time it was common practice for people to rely upon home remedies for curing illnesses rather than always going to a doctor. A custom among miners was to establish their own mutual medical aid organizations known as '' keg funds.'' Miners donated refunds received from turning in their empty powder kegs.(71) Another major factor explaining why workers opposed the company doctor scheme stemmed from a plethora of fraternal groups that provided insurance against sickness and death. In the Hazleton area there were around fifty such organizations with many established along ethnic lines. Working class membership in these societies was large. Dues entitled them to sick benefits that varied from four to six dollars a week for a period of three to six months. Average death benefits ranged from $50 to $125 with wives often receiving half the rate. (72) With these other arrangements, the company doctor plan offered few, if any , advantages to mine workers. Feelings of exploitation among the miners were particularly strong over the price of blasting powder and mining supplies and the coercion to purchase these items from the coal companies. Each of the collieries kept mining supplies for sale. Testimony before the United States Industrial Commission revealed: ''The coal operators will say that they do not compel miners to buy their supplies with that company. While this may be true in regard to oil in some places, yet they are compelled to buy their powder from these companies where they work, for they will tell you if you do not buy your powder there you can work where you buy it."(73) Along with this compulsion there was the high price for the powder. A keg of powder weighing twenty-five pounds sold for $2. 75 in the Lehigh region whereas in the Schuylkill region the same amount had sold for $1.50 since 1888.(74) A major demand of the strikers was to secure a price decrease for powder generally in the amount of seventy-five cents a keg. However, miners at Calvin Pardee & Company sought a more extensive price reduction for powder so that it would sell for $1.50 a keg.(75) Powder purchased from independent stores sold from $1.25 to $1.50 a keg and the wholesale cost of powder per keg delivered from the manufacturer ranged from 90 cents to $1.00.(76) It was obvious to the miners that the coal operators made substantial profits on the sale of powder with a mark-up of around two hundred percent. When comparing powder prices in the Schuylkill region with the Hazleton area in 1896, men believed they were overcharged by some $125,353.75 or a per capita of $217.50 which was 22 SLOVAKIA almost equivalent to one-third of their annual income.(77) This issue was particularly irritating to the miners and they felt that they were victims of extortion. Another vexing issue was the lack of compliance by coal companies to provisions of the state semi-monthly wage payment law passed in 1891 . The act stipulated that employers pay their employees in lawful money every two weeks.(78) With the exception of the Coxe mines, violation of the statute was widespread in the Hazleton area . (79) The state legislative investigating committee reported the act was '' ... virtually a dead letter in many instances. Operators disregard it and deem it an unjustifiable interference with their rights .'' (80) District One of the United Mine Workers of America in its 1896 annual convention adopted a resolution endorsing the semi-monthly wage payment law and invited members of the business community to cooperate with them in supporting this legislation. (81) Frequency of payment to workers was important to coal operators since it had a direct relationship to the maintenance of company stores. If workmen received their wages every two weeks or even weekly, they would be inclined to shop at independent stores which had lower prices. With monthly payments, employees found it convenient and, sometimes necessary , to depend on credit extended at the company stores.(82) These cumulative burdens of adverse working conditions, irregular and limited work, low wages, pressure to patronize the company's store and butcher, expense for a company doctor, high costs for blasting powder and mining supplies, and non-compliance with the semi-monthly pay law were hardships ever present to mine laborers and became issues in the strike. Of equal importance, immigrant workers found themselves having to cope with additional adversities such as nativistic attitudes that rejected their culture and impeded assimilation, economic discrimination in employment, passage of the alien tax law, and difficult and costly naturalization procedures. A wellspring of resentment and antagonism festered among the ranks of southern and eastern Europeans over conditions affecting their lives which stirred feelings of discontent and frustrations creating a serious strike situation. The spark which produced the Lattimer massacre first appeared to be nothing more than an isolated and minor labor dispute between District Superintendent Gomer Jones and some mule drivers at the Honey Brook colliery of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company; however, it became the catalyst leading to a series of crippling strikes in the Lehigh region. Gomer Jones , who had a reputation as a tyrannical mine boss, had recently been appointed superintendent of the Audenried district and assumed his new position with an eagerness to establish order and efficiency out of what he and the company considered to be a chaotic situation.(83) Jones stated in an interview that he perceived his superintendency: '' I came here a year ago. I came to restore discipline SLOVAKIA 23 in the mines and to operate them in such a manner that the company could continue in business. The discipline was certainly lax. The men did about as they pleased. The two superintendents who were here then associated with the men, mixed with them, drank with them and were regarded as 'hail fellows well met' everywhere among the miners. Now I cannot do that. I'm not a drinking man, and I've never made it a practice to hobnob with the men. However, when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed and do not permit miners to do exactly as they please. " (84) He began to institute economics in the company's operations in order to achieve the lowest possible cost in mining. To carry out this resolve , he dismissed two easy-going foremen , about eighty other workers, and reduced daily wages for all classes of mine workers from three percent for carpenters to as much as twenty-five percent for stripping miners.(85) Another of Jones ' cost-saving proposals required all of the company mules to be stabled at Audenried. This measure required the mule drivers employed at Honey Brook to spend an extra hour in the morning and evening to pick up their mules and return them to the stables. For these two extra hours of work , Jones refused to grant any compensation to the mule drivers . Dissatisfaction over this arrangement provoked a strike among mule drivers , who were Slavic and Polish , on August 13 . The next day some workers took up positions along the road near the stable to insure that none of the mule teams was removed for work. Upon learning of this development , Jones went to the scene with club in hand with the intention of dispersing the disgruntled workers. Within minutes a boisterous dispute erupted and Jones, using his club, struck one worker. Some of Jones' assistants came to his rescue before the melee got completely out of control. (86) A consequence of the mule driver strike and the residue of dissatisfaction and discontent among the rest of the workers produced a general strike against the company on August 16. An assessment of the situation made by a local newspaper declared that coal companies " .. . import this cheap labor, drag them down with all sorts of hardships, and indignities and finally the bosses attempt to make records for money saving and thus increase their own salaries at the expense of the poor unfortunates who are under them. There is no need for white slavery, nor pauper wages ... pay them a living salary and treat them as human beings , and trouble of this kind will be unheard of.'' (87) That evening miners held a large meeting at McAdoo at which they formulated their grievances and demands to present to Elmer H. Lawall, General Superintendent of Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. They wanted restoration of the wage scale in effect prior to reductions imposed by Jones , an increase of ten percent in wages for all employees who worked underground, purchase of coal by workers for use in their homes reduced from $2.50 to $1.50 a ton, the right of each worker to select his own doctor, removal of Gomer Jones from his 24 SLOVAKIA position as district superintendent, and assurance that each person on strike would be reinstated.(88). Miners elected a strike committee representing different nationalities to present the issue to company officials. After meeting with Mr. Lawall on August 17, the committee decided to go to New York the next day to confer with Mr. Lawall and C. H. Warren, assistant to company President Maxwell. After returning from New York, the committee on August 19 met with the miners to report on negotiations, informing them that Mr. Warren had pledged that the company would pay the same rate of wages prevailing in the area and did not object to miners selecting their own doctor and making their own payments. There was no response to reducing the price of coal used by miners in their homes. With regard to the miners' objections concerning the conduct of Gomer Jones, the company refused to dismiss him but did promise to investigate his actions; this prompted an editorial comment in a Hazleton newspaper: ''The men are determined in their demands for justice, and if the Lehigh and WilkesBarre officials are wise they will speedily dismiss Superintendent Gomer Jones, for so long as he is retained in his present position, the trouble will not be adjusted. This man, with perhaps one exception, has imposed more hardships on the mines than any other living person who ever set foot on this soil. " (89) Upon hearing the company offer, which the miners described as one containing only promises rather than solutions to their grievances and demands, they voted to remain on strike . (90) Refusal to end the strike caused Mr. Lawall to hold another meeting with the strike committee. Three additional issues were introduced in the negotiations: employees need not live in company houses , men in the same grade of work receive the same pay, and employees be paid for all services rendered to the company - a direct reference to the mule drivers' complaint of having to spend two extra hours without pay to pick up and return their mules to the stables. After conferring with Lawall the strike committee called another meeting with workers on August 20. At this time the company informed the men that it had accepted the employees' position on the three additional points and that Lawall had personally promised to investigate fairly every grievance . Strikers believed that the injudicious activities of Jones would certainly be exposed and he would be dismissed. They learned that the mules were returned to Honey Brook, removing the issue of extra work without pay that had sparked the strike . In addition, two men dismissed by Jones were reinstated to their former positions. With such favorable news and expectation of Jones' replacement, the miners voted to end the week old strike and return to work on August 23.(91) The euphoria that prevailed among miners stemmed from their belief of success in exerting their interests against the coal company. This sense of accomplishment was further underscored by the fact they SLOVAKIA 25 had been able to organize seven locals of the United Mine Workers of America comprising nearly a thousand men or about half of the company' s employees in the Audenried district. Establishing the union rested on the activities of John Fahy, United Mine Workers organizer, who took advantage of miners' discontent over their working conditions and lack of unionization. With the backing of a union and the promise of Lawall to investigate their differences with Jones , miners felt confident that they had won.(92) It appeared that labor unrest at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company was only an aberration and the outlook for labor peace quite good. Such optimism was short lived. The strike was a harbinger of labor agitation that soon engulfed the Lehigh mining region surrounding Hazleton. Within a week, on August 27, another strike initiated by immigrant workers broke out at the Coleraine and Milnesville collieries of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company. Some 1,500 strikers demanded reinstatement of the wage scale prior to the reduction made in February of 1897, which meant an average increase in wages from ten to fifteen percent in the daily rates. They wanted the new daily rates to be the following: stripping laborers, $1.20; first class laborers , $1.64; second class laborers, $1.50; outside laborers , from $1.00 to $1.20 ; breaker hands, men at $1.00 and boys at 90 cents; mule drivers, one mule at $1.50 ; two mules at $1.64; and three mules at $1.75; first class miners , $2.10; and second class miners, $1.93 . A few days later, August 31, some 2,000 employees of Lehigh and WilkesBarre Coal Company swelled the ranks of dissatisfied workers by walking off their jobs a second time after the elapse of two weeks when company officials had promised a settlement of their grievances in their first strike at the beginning of the month.(93) Chairman of the strikers ' negotiating committee charged that ' ' ... Messrs. Lawall and Warren, did not keep faith, and their refusal to make any concessions after their encouraging promises originally had served to work the men up to a high pitch. " (94) Work stoppages also began to spread to other coal operators: Lehigh Valley Coal Company, C. M. Dodson & Company, G. B. Markel & Company, Calvin Pardee & Company, A. Pardee & Company , New Ebervale Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, Arnold & Morgan Company , and Silver Brook Coal Company.(95) This general strike action at the end of August and the first of September erupted with the pressing demand for an increase in wages. Immigrant workers were the principal source of agitation over this issue. It was they who suffered loss of wages due to enactment of the alien tax law and who felt the effects of wage discrimination when they received less for the same job than the English-speaking worker. Miners in their class earned from $1.50 to $1.65 a day while an Englishspeaking miner earned $1.97 for the same position. Similar conditions existed for those who were employed as laborers; the percent of wage difference was even greater, $1.15 versus $1.50. Anglo-Saxon workers 26 SLOVAKIA did not support the strike and immigrants looked upon them as a favored class. Since Slavic and Italian workers outnumbered Englishspeaking workers by a three-to-one ratio, their dissatisfaction over wages and working conditions became the prevailing voice. (96) Demand for the same pay for the same job had the following local, editorial support: "Employees should receive the same compensation for the same kind and amount of work done whether they are Hungarians, Italians or any other nationality." (97) Strikers ' demands for improvement in their wages came in part from the fact that Lehigh coal operators paid lower wages than operators in the other two anthracite coal fields. (98) Although there existed an industry-wide formula for determining wages based on the tidewater price of coal, in actuality there was a divergence in the wage scale particularly among the unskilled in different coal companies, which contributed to labor unrest among workers when they learned their wages were lower than their counterparts in other mines. In protest, foreign workers began marching from one colliery to another, closing down operations and compelling other workers to join their ranks. With each passing day the situation became somewhat more tense. Area newspapers assessed conditions as serious with the distinct possibility of becoming quite dangerous since, ''Never in the history of the region was such a determined body of men seen together'' ;(99) it was feared that unless a settlement was reached, '' ... the whole Lehigh region will be plunged into one of the most threatening conditions ever experienced in the history of Pennsylvania coal mining." (100) Immigrant workers were the masters of the situation, dominating the strike activities; English-speaking workers, fewer in number receiving better wages, did not voluntarily support them and preferred to remain at work. Instead of a feeling of camaraderie and solidarity between these two groups there was distrust and suspicion.(101) An important break occurred in the strike action when A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company made a wage settlement with their employees at Milnesville and Coleraine collieries on September 3 and 4, respectively. The company's General Superintendent, James Roderick, fulfilled a promise to investigate wages paid at other area mines and, if his company's rates were lower, make appropriate advances. Advances did not completely equal the original demands of the workers: increases were around nine percent given primarily to the unskilled and semiskilled, jobs held mainly by the Slavic and Italian immigrants with no raise for skilled laborers, miners, jobs dominated by AngloSaxons.(102) With regard to the alien tax, which had recently been declared unconstitutional, the company promised to return the money at the next pay day. Concerning other issues of the company store and butcher, Roderick promised ''. . . there will positively be no compulsion for any man to deal with the company butcher and the company SLOVAKIA 27 store, nor will any intimidation in this direction be permitted by any of the subordinates."(103) Following the lead of A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company, officials at Coxe mines voluntarily increased wages ten cents a day to prevent their workers from going out on strike. (104) Settlement of the strike at A. S. Van Wickle Coal Company and increased pay by Coxe marked an important turning point in the labor unrest which had idled some twelve collieries due to the strikers' demonstrations. Success of these workers in improving their wages became a stimulus for hundreds of other workers to increase their determination to secure the same monetary gain. Higher wages granted by the two companies simply exacerbated the situation when other coal operators refused to match or make any improvement in wages. As long as this condition prevailed, chances of labor unrest becoming volatile heightened and the outcome became more uncertain . A week prior to the Lattimer killings, a Hazleton newspaper, realizing the nature of the situation, made the following appeal to coal operators: ''What the outcome of the uprising will be is simply conjecture, but one thing is certain, that the operators owe it to themselves as well as the community to bring about a speedy adjustment of the trouble. There is no good reason why the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. officials should not pay the same rate of wages as A. S. Van Wickle; they are in a position to do it and ought to. If there is to be an average rate of wages let all the operators join the combination and pay it. The obstinacy of either one company or the other, is simply injurious to the community, and for the benefit of all we suggest that the operators at least meet the men half-way, and the trouble will soon be a thing of the past. " (105) As each day passed without settlement, strikers continued marching from one coal mine to another seeking to induce other workers to join the strike; some responded willingly and others only after cajoling or intimidation. Their efforts were having success in disrupting the area's mining operations. Anxiety grew as the potential for serious trouble became likely with an apparent impasse emerging between strikers and operators who had refused to go along with the settlement made by A. S. Van Wickle and Coxe. Coal companies , holding the view that the situation had deteriorated and people had become terrorstricken by the strikers' protest, urged the sheriff to intervene in a manner that would terminate the strikers' activities. Sheriff James Martin, vacationing in Atlantic City, New Jersey , received a telegram on Saturday , September 4, from his deputy, Mr. George Wall, that Superintendent Lathrop of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company requested him to go to Hazleton to deal with the developing strike situation. Upon returning to Wilkes-Barre, the Sheriff held a Monday morning conference concerning the strike with Lathrop, Superintendent Steams of Cross Creek Coal Company, and Superintendent Lawall of Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company before 28 SLOVAKIA proceeding to Hazleton.(106) The Sheriff did not come to Hazleton at the request of any elected or appointed public official such as a magistrate, justice of peace, constable, or mayor, nor upon his arrival did he confer with any public official concerning the question of public order as related to the strikers' demonstrations. Instead, when he came to Hazleton, he met with Mr. Zerby, Assistant Superintendent of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and Mr. Platt, Superintendent of Calvin Pardee & Company store. Naturally, these two men held views concerning the strike that reflected their companies' vested interests and could possibly have misrepresented the degree of disruption. Apparently, Martin did not feel there was any advantage to investigating and reviewing developments with a variety of people having different perspectives in order to ascertain objectively sentiments and facts related to the strike. It was at this time that officials of Lehigh Valley Coal Company, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, Cross Creek Coal Company, and Calvin Pardee & Company made it abundantly clear that they would hold Sheriff Martin personally responsible for any interference with their mining operations.(107) After conferring with Messrs. Zerby and Platt, Martin decided to organize a posse comitatus. A Sheriff's decision to create a posse must be based upon circumstances as defined in law in which a state of disorder exists, consisting of a riot or the threat of a riot in which life and property are in jeopardy. Again Martin's assessment that these conditions existed rested upon information given to him by representatives of coal companies. Following their recommendation, he appointed Thomas Hall, a prominent Hazleton businessman whose occupation involved selling blasting powder to coal companies, as his chief deputy.(108) In the Hazleton Machinery Supply Company Store, a concern involved in coal mining, eighty-seven men were sworn in as Sheriff's deputies and members of the posse with nearly all of them directly or indirectly earning their living from coal companies. This close connection of the deputies with the coal companies was apparent as some twenty-three were employees of Calvin Pardee & Company, including his own son and Augustus W. Drake, Pardee's General Superintendent; fourteen worked for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and six were members of the coal and iron police. All but one deputy had surnames indicating Irish, English, or German heritage, the majority were members of prominent families and relatives of coal operators, many were young, several had attended college and were engineers or held managerial positions in coal companies. Others were businessmen and a few were laborers.(109) Superintendent Smith of G. B. Markle & Company, a coal operator, ordered rifles and shotguns and shipped them to a warehouse owned by A. Pardee & Company, another coal operator, where they were dispensed to the deputies under the direction of Mr. Platt.(110) Martin cautioned his deputies: " ... it was their duty to maintain the peace at all hazards, but under no cir- SLOVAKIA 29 cumstances to shoot unless they were convinced either they or myself to be in danger.'' (111) Since the coal operators were responsible for requesting the Sheriff to come to Hazleton and to organize a posse, they also agreed to assume the costs for expenses incurred by the deputies. (112) Another service available to the Sheriff and his deputies was a special trolley car provided by Lehigh Traction Company upon the orders of Mr. Zerby so they could have unimpeded transportation to move about the coal fields.(113) While arrangements were under way in organizing the posse, Martin contacted Sheriffs Scott and Setzer of Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, respectively , since Lehigh coal fields encompassed parts of these counties. The main source of strike agitation came from men employed at collieries south of Hazleton in the area where Luzerne , Schuylkill , and Carbon Counties have a common boundary. After consulting with each other, the three law officers issued separate proclamations admonishing people '' . . . from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly, and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace .' ' (114) Included in the proclamation was the state riot act of 1860 describing illegal activities and penalties. Sheriff Martin 's decision to issue the proclamation made it appear that he felt conditions were turbulent, disorderly, and warranted the organization of a posse; yet on the same day he chose to spend a leisurely afternnoon attending the bicycle races at Hazleton.(115) The following morning, Tuesday, September 7, Sheriff Martin, upon learning that a group of strikers planned to shut down the Crystal Ridge Colliery , took a number of deputies to the site and prevented them from accomplishing their goal.(116) News of this intervention by the Sheriff either had not spread, or if it had, did not awe other strikers from descending on the New Ebervale Coal Company colliery and closing it down. Company superintendent, John Scott, describing the incident stated: '' ... the real leader appeared and said they intended to win the strike if they had to apply the torch to every town in the region ."(117) After closing the New Ebervale colliery, strikers marched over to the stripping area of Calvin Pardee & Company at Lattimer hoping to repeat their success earlier in the day. However, some of the Sheriff's deputies were already at Lattimer to prevent any disruption in the company 's operations . When the marchers appeared, the officers fired warning shots ito the air dispersing them and thwarting their objective.(118) The remaining days prior to the tragedy at Lattimer found Sheriff Martin and his deputies constantly transversing the coal fields from one colliery to another checking the strikers' movements . With each passing encounter the level of exasperation and tension between the law officers and immigrant workers on strike began to rise. A Hazleton newspaper again reflected a growing concern over the lack of a strike 30 SLOVAKIA settlement and a possible serious confrontation: ''The strike can be settled within twenty-four hours, and without bloodshed, if the operators will act fair and honest with their men. "(119) A day later the same editorial voice observed a growing seriousness in that the strikers '' ... are very much embittered against the deputies, and it is feared that both parties will engage in mortal combat." (120) A letter to the newspaper editor commenting on the strike stated it was '' ... causing a depression in business and fear in the hearts of the people of bloodshed . . . '' suggesting ' ' . . . the Ministerial Association take the matter in hand, call a meeting of all the clergy of the Protestant and Catholic churches, and together with the press and businessmen try and see if their influence could not be used to settle this grave matter between the operators and men."(121) John Fahy counseled the workers to obey the Sheriff's proclamations and to avoid provocations that could cause violence since the authorities had the ability to crush them. His interest was to temper the strikers' ardor and give it some meaningful direction.(122) Martin, apparently feeling some frustrations and reservations over his efforts to deal with strikers , told Frank Pardee, head of A. Pardee & Company, '' ... that while the strikers simply confined themselves to talking to the men quietly and persuading them to quit, it was none of my business and I had no right to interfere. "(123) Regardless of whatever doubts the Sheriff may have had, he knew perfectly well that he could not disregard the wishes of the coal operators. Starting on Thursday afternoon events began to cascade toward that fateful Friday. Employees of Calvin Pardee & Company at Harwood who were on strike felt that in order to win they had to shut down the company's operation at Lattimer which had failed earlier. News came to Harwood strikers that their fellow employees at Lattimer were anxious to join them if only they would march over to Lattimer; this appeal stimulated their determination.(124) The Harwood local of the United Mine Workers held a meeting on Thursday evening to make plans to march to Lattimer the next day. Joe Mahalko, president of the Harwood local of the United Mine Workers of America, cautioned his fellow workers to go without guns or any other kind of weapons, to harm no one nor to destroy any property, and to keep the peace. On the next day, Friday, September 10, around noon some two hundred and fifty strikers from the Harwood area, consisting almost exclusively of immigrant workers, started their ill-fated mission to get their counterparts to go on strike at Lattimer. As the march proceeded, some seventy-five to one hundred additional strikers joined the ranks. (125) When they reached the outskirts of West Hazleton on their route to Lattimer around two o 'clock, they were stopped by Evan Jones, Chief of Police of West Hazleton, who told them, "Go back out of this, you are in a dangerous place. If you have to go to Lattimer you must go another way."(126) At this point Sheriff Martin and his deputies SLOVAKIA 31 arrived on the scene with the intention of stopping the marchers from proceeding to Lattimer. A confrontation occurred between the Sheriff, his deputies , and the strikers, in which one striker was arrested, another had his arm broken by a deputy, many had guns thrust in their faces , the American flag they were carrying was destroyed, and there was an exchange of blasphemous name calling.(127) Martin read his proclamation containing the riot act, ordered them to cease their march to Lattimer , and urged them to return to their homes, telling them that all of the marching from colliery to colliery to drive men from work was no way to get better wages.(128) He believed there would be serious trouble since some of the marchers had picked up stones and looked as if they intended to throw them at the law enforcement officials. However, this fear proved to be unfounded since they did not take such a provocative action. (129) Efforts to halt the march were futile considering the strikers ' determination to continue their trek to Lattimer, and Martin 's inability to communicate with them since he spoke only English and had no interpreter . After becoming exhausted from the episode , he simply gave up trying to stop them.(130) The strikers ' perception of this hostile encounter differed from the law officers ' version and hinted at forthcoming trouble . John Eagler, one of the leaders of the march and secretary of the United Mine Workers local at Harwood stated: " We were met by the deputies at West Hazleton who did not come like civilized beings , but broke through the ranks, crying, 'Stop , stop!' " (131) Joseph Mahalko declared : '' I told the Sheriff we had no stick big as my finger in the crowd. All Sheriff said was 'don't go any farther .' Sheriff said , 'You go back or I shoot you . ' " (132) Again John Eagler stated that the Sheriff only took a piece of paper from his pocket and did not read any proclamation as he claimed but had simply told them that it was against the law to march to Lattimer.(133) The strikers asserted they did not initiate any altercation with the law officers but were merely the victims of an unwarranted attempt to prohibit them from using the public highway. Something that proved to be far more serious was the ominous threats attributted to the Sheriff and his deputies against the strikers: "Go back and take care of yourself, for there will be big trouble today ." (134) " We 'll get even with the --- at Lattimer."(135) "We ' ll leave them go till we get to Lattimer ; then we ' ll shoot them. "(136) "I'd like to get a pop at the ---of b---. I'll bet I'll drop six. " (137) "I didn 't know what the h--- the Sheriff makes us walk around here so much without giving us a chance to shoot those men .'' (138) ' 'Everyone of the G-- d-- Hunks ought to be shot. " (139) Sheriff Martin , formerly a coal foreman at the Mill Creek colliery in Luzerne County, allegedly stated, " . . . a little cold lead is the only way to conquer the strikers."(140) The Sheriff's efforts and reported intimidations to terminate the strike rs ' march to Lattimer became nothing more than a futile gesture that only made them more resolute to continue their journey. Un- 32 SLOVAKIA daunted, the marchers following the advice of Chief Evan Jones took a route toward Lattimer along the outskirts of Hazleton on which they could proceed without further interference.(141) Sheriff Martin realizing his efforts had been to no avail quickly returned to Hazleton, summoned his entire force of deputies telling them to take their arms and board the trolley to Lattimer so they could prevent the marchers from stopping the Lattimer mining operations.(142) En route there was talk among the deputies '' . . . about shooting and each man seemed to be eager ... "(143) Since some of the deputies had served as coal and iron police, they " ... had had much trouble with the strikers on previous occasions and were said to be in a revengeful mood against them. "(144) Even Sheriff Martin admitted, " ... I have no doubt that some of the deputies were excited, and certainly the ride over the mountain in that crowded car was animating."(145) The Sheriff and his posse arrived at Lattimer a few minutes after three o'clock and stationed themselves along the right side of the road as it entered Lattimer from the south. He instructed his deputies " ... to keep cool and not get excited. "(146) However, before the strikers arrived, the deputies ordered a woman to go into her house on the likelihood that some shooting may occur.(147) Shortly after the deputies were in place , the strikers appeared coming up the public road in an orderly array toward the Lattimer breaker. (148) There was every reason to suspect that the deputies were fully aware that the miners were unarmed. As they approached the law officers who were standing parallel to the road, the Sheriff stepped out and walked toward the marchers with the intention of learning what they planned to do. Martin indicated that " ... if they are not going to do anything, I may let them go on, and we will go along with them.' ' (149) He ordered them to halt about forty or fifty yards from the armed deputies. The front of the column slowed as the Sheriff approached and asked them what they intended to do. The Sheriff reported they said, "We stop Lattimer Mines."(150) He then proceeded to read his proclamation in English, which many of them could not understand, while at the same time the rear of the column kept pushing forward. Within a few minutes a fracas broke out between the Sheriff and some twenty strikers at the side of the road when he attempted to seize and arrest one of the men.(151) At this point the deputies aimed and fired directly into the ranks of the strikers. The exploding crescendo of Winchesters created a bloody massacre with the sound of shrieks and moaning of the dying and wounded lying in agony. One newspaper described the scene: ''It was a human slaughter in which men were mowed down like grain stalks before a scythe, by the deadly bullets which stormed for fully two minutes. The blood of the dead and dying soaked the dusty road and flowed in streams through the ditch."(152) The murderous volley created a human carnage taking the lives of nineteen immigrants and leaving thrity-eight wounded; eleven men died at Lattimer with the SLOVAKIA 33 remaining eight dying at the Hazleton Hospital. Dr. Keller, a physician at the hospital, stated that many of the victims were shot in the back.(153) What began a month earlier as a dispute between Gomer Jones and immigrant mule drivers grew into a serious strike finally ending as a sorrowful episode in American labor history. In the aftermath of this tragedy there were contradictory versions as to what actually happened. Sheriff Martin said the strikers were vicious, boisterous, a furious and desperate gang, fierce as wild beasts, threatening to physically harm or even kill him. He felt that they were bent on doing violence and had no intention of obeying his proclamation or the laws of Pennsylvania. Earlier at West Hazleton, Martin told the marchers that it was his duty to prevent them from interfering with the men who were working at the mines, and at Lattimer he went a step further to warn them that if they did not disperse there would be trouble.(154) When a Hungarian speaking in broken English told him, "Go to hell, you a---," (155) he sought to arrest the man who shouted the epithet. The men, excited, began assaulting him forcing him to draw his revolver in self defense and attempt to shoot an attacking man, but the gun failed to discharge. He claimed that two of his attackers had pistols and a third man with a knife sought to stab him. (156) In a letter written five weeks later explaining the event to Governor Hastings, Martin wrote the following description: "One high (sic) fellow gave me a blow on the cheek and knocked me on my knees. I would have been knocked down on my back, but the crowd was too close around me so that there was no room for me to get down, and while we were struggling I heard a shot followed closely by a second and then a number of shots together. Those who were attacking me were shot, and I was then unable to recover myself, and there is no doubt in my mind that if the deputies had not shot just when they did I would certainly have been killed. While I was struggling with part of the mob on one side of the road in the ditch where they had pushed me, the part on the other side of the road with a whoop and yell rushed on toward the deputies, who no doubt fearing that their lives were in danger and that I was to be killed, fired ... '' (157) On the day after the shooting, Martin gave several conflicting statements as to why the deputies shot the strikers. "I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers ... I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot if they must to protect their lives or to protect the property that they had been sent to guard from being demolished . . . I hated to give the command to shoot and was awfully sorry that I was compelled to do so. "(158) "I did not order the deputies to fire; someone else did that. I gave no order." (159) "The shooting commenced in a manner that baffles me completely when it comes to explaining."(160) A few days later in an interview Martin suggested that the cause of the shooting came from an impulse of his men to protect him: ''They saw me in the 34 SLOVAKIA midst of the strikers, with men aiming blows at me, and they supposed probably that my life was in danger."(161) The Sheriff's answers vacillated on how the shooting began, ranging from admitting that he gave the order to his deputies to fire their weapons to denying any knowledge of how the firing happened. Even among the deputies there was no satisfactory answer as to how the shooting commenced. The version of the confrontation by the strikers and bystanders differed from and challenged the assertions made by Sheriff Martin. According to the strikers, the Sheriff ordered them to halt and began to read his proclamation. The situation became disruptive when the Sheriff sought to arrest one of the marchers and get the others to disperse. One of the men told the Sheriff '' . . . we only want to move on peaceably ... "(162) Those in the rear of the column continued pressing forward and shouting '' go ahead,'' pushing the Sheriff and some of the men off to the side of the road. Whereupon, John Eagler reported that Martin flourished his revolver, '' ... grabbed one man by the arm, and, pointing the revolver at him, said, 'Did you tell them to go ahead?' The man said he had not spoken, and then the Sheriff grabbed another man and began to shove him about. 'You will say ''Go ahead," eh?' said the Sheriff, and at the same time he aimed the revolver squarely at the man's heart. The man naturally was frightened, and pushed the Sheriff's hand holding the revolver to one side. Whether or not the Sheriff considers that an attack or·not I don't know. I am positive that not a man hit the Sheriff."(163) An account from a bystander stated that Martin '' . . . became excited and ordered the deputies to shoot . . . " (164) A striker affirmed this point that the Sheriff gave the order to fire.(165) Another eye witness agreed that Martin's command was to fire but only a warning shot over the heads of the strikers.(166) Witnesses to the shooting pointed out there were no warning shots fired but told of excessive firing into the ranks of the strikers, deputies continuing to shoot after men ran for cover, and men shot down as far as 150 yards from where they were stopped by the Sheriff.(167) A Lattimer school teacher reported: "I saw men who had hidden behind trees and fences during the first fusillade leave their places of concealment only to be deliberately shot down."(168) The school house about three hundred yards distant from which the teacher saw the shooting was riddled with bullets. An area newspaper asserted: ''This would indicate that the strikers, fleeing by the shortest route to Hazleton across the hills, were shot at long after there was any danger to the deputies." (169) Strikers affirming this horror told of being targets as they ran for safety. A detached account by Henry Hoyt, United States Assistant Attorney General, based upon an investigation of the shooting made the following summation: ''It appeared that the strikers were unarmed; that small clubs which they had previously carried were thrown away on the march between West Hazleton and Lattimer; that they were peaceable and orderly in West SLOVAKIA 35 Hazleton and Lattimer; were not riotous at West Hazleton or Lattimer, and at neither place made an assault upon the Sheriff or his deputies, or offered any violence or used threatening language to them."(170) Martin confirmed Hoyt's account by stating, in response to a reporter's question, that the strikers until the time of the shooting had not committed any overt act nor behaved otherwise than peaceably. (171) The Lattimer tragedy resulted from a multiplicity of interrelated sources. Existing in the anthracite region were nativistic sentiments encompassing an attitude of disdain for Slavic and Italian immigrants; Anglo-Saxons looked upon the strikers as unwelcomed strangers who were inferiors and who could not possibly conform to accepted standards in society. In an interview a federal treasury official, who was familiar with Hazleton, affirmed this idea with his romantic (and distorted) depiction of an idyllic and bucolic setting disrupted by the intrusion of alien people who fostered hatred: ''I think when all the facts come out in regard to the shooting it will be found that the officers who did the shooting have covered a revenge of years under the wings of the law. I remember when twelve or fifteen years ago, the section around Hazleton was settled by hard-working and honest Irishmen, Welshmen, Englishmen, Germans, and Americans. They worked in the mines and did well. Many of them owned their own homes - pretty little cottages on the hillside, surrounded by outhouses for cattle and chickens, etc., and happiness seemed to smile on all. There were no strikes and the morality of the neighborhood was good. Then began to come in the Hungarians and the Poles and the class of foreigners, by accepting smaller wages, ran the others out. I knew several Irishmen who vowed they would not leave, but went away to other States, in many instances having to sell their little homes to pay their debts and to get away on. This naturally caused a bitter feeling, a feeling which exists to this day, and one which caused many vows of revenge. The houses once the property of prosperous Irishmen and Americans are now in filthy condition, occupied by two and three families of Hungarians and Poles. Instead of clean beds there are bunks ranged along the walls and as many as four people slept in a small room. In that band of deputies which encountered the marching miners a few days ago are many men who remembered the change from the scenes of years ago. Their hearts have been full of revenge. When the opportunity presented itself they seized it, with the horrible result too well known. They shot to kill, because their relatives and friends had been made paupers by these people. I do not approve of the shooting, but I believe the facts will reveal what I have stated." (172) These immigrant strikers represented a class of people outside the local structure, posed an economic threat to the interests of coal operators, and replaced Anglo-Saxons as the dominant mine workers. In contrast, the Sheriff's posse consisted of a class of people that was 36 SLOVAKIA diametrically opposite in nationality, place in society , and occupation. This dissimilarity in turn tended to heighten emotional responses. The strike increased the stresses of nativism. Passions grew in both contending groups; as workers sought to shut down the mines , the Sheriff and his deputies, under the pressure of coal companies , tried to prevent them from accomplishing their objective. A feeling of anxiety and tension grew in the community as the chances of an ugly confrontation between strikers and law officers became likely. Undoubtedly , the Sheriff and his men fully sensed this but realized the ramifications if they failed to prevent the strikers from closing down the mining operations at Lattimer. If unsuccessful, the chances of protecting the remaining mines from being closed down by the strikers would be slight. Combined with this pressure were frustrations in trying to quell the strikers' activities , tension and fatigue over the incident at West Hazleton, malicious attitudes toward the immigrants who were also labor agitators, and a glandular excitement capable of generating panic from a large group about to undergo another encounter with strikers . A maturation process among Slavic and Italian immigrants in the anthracite coal fields reached fruition when the strike broke out in the Lehigh region in the late summer of 1897. Having become the dominant group among the mine workers in the late 1890's, they asserted themselves by conceiving and initiating the strike . This decision resulted from the frustrating working conditions and discriminatory practices emanating from nativistic actions which combined to impose hardships and an inferior status . The culmination of these factors was the wellspring for discontent and dissatisfaction. At this time the United Mine Workers of America lacked strength to represent and protect the anthracite mine workers ' interest effectively and , in addition , generally showed little interest in including the new immigrants in their ranks or purview. Consequently, the only recourse for the immigrant workers was to take matters into their own hands to seek redress for grievances. As the strike developed, it lacked coherent strategies since it was unorganized, leaderless , and did not have benefit of an effective union structure to provide direction, articulation, and ability to successfully negotiate with the coal operators. (173) This point of inadequate experience and unfamiliarity in labor affairs made the strikers vulnerable to violence . Therefore, on that Friday afternoon as the immigrant strikers marched into Lattimer imbued with a spirit to win their strike, they came face to face with Sheriff Martin and his deputies equally committed to stopping them. It was as if for a moment, the recent social and economic history of the area had been centripetally compressed into a time capsule only to be exploded by indigenous divergent and incompatible forces . Catapulted into a deadly collision were two different worlds in conflict. The result was-violence, perpetrated by public peace keepers who were the instruments of coal SLOVAKIA 37 companies' strategy to break the strike . The effect was that Lattimer became the worst tragedy in American labor history in terms of the number of workers killed and wounded by public authorities, who were not provoked nor endangered and who attacked without warning unarmed strikers peacefully demonstrating on a public highway. FOOTNOTES (1) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 11, 1897. (2) Letter from Henry Hoyt, Assistant Attorney-General, to William Day, Secretary of State, April 8, 1898; in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, with the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1898 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1901), 82-87. Hoyt' s letter stemmed from an investigation made by the Department of Justice for the Department of State concerning a diplomatic protest from the Austria-Hungary government over several of its nationals killed and wounded at Lattimer. A great deal of confusion and inaccuracy existed in newspaper accounts as to the number of casualities from the shooting; reports varied from fourteen to as many as fifty people killed. Hoyt based his figures upon grand jury murder indictments against Sheriff Martin and his deputies who were brought to trial on February 1, 1898, in Luzerne County but were found not guilty by the jury. (3) Daily Standard (Hazleton), September 11, 1897. (4) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 11, 1897. (5) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (6) Daily Globe (South Bethlehem) , September 11, 1897. (7) St. Louis Post Dispatch, September 12, 1897. (8) San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 1897. (9) Detroit Free Press, September 11, 1897. (10) Pittsburgh Dispatch, September 11, 1897. (11) Boston Daily Globe, September 11, 1897. (12) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 5, 1897. (13) Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers : A Study in Immigration (Philadelphia: J . B. Lippincott Company, 1904) , 51 & 58 ; Frank Julian Warne, "Some Industrial Effects of Slav Immigration," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904), 223-224. (14) Rowland Berthoff, "The Social Order of the Anthracite Region , 1825-1902," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXXXIX (July 1965), 169-171; Charles B. Spahr, "America 's Working People," Outlook, Ll(Il (August 5, 1899) , 811. (15) Peter Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," Charities and the Commons, XIII (December 3, 1904) , 219. (16) Berthoff, 287; George 0 . Virtue, "The Anthracite Mine Laborers," Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor No. 13, (November, 1897) , 753. (17) Henry Edward Rood , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village ," Century Magazine, XXXIII, new series, (April, 1898), 811. (18) Roberts , " The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities," 221. (19) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1895 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1895), 643. (20) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Passed at the Session of 1897 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 546. 38 SLOVAKIA (21) Frank Julian Warne, " Organized Labor in the Anthracite Coal Fields," Outlook, LXXI (May 24 , 1902), 273 . '' . . . The operators used them (immigrants) originally to introduce low wages ... " Wilkes-Barre Record, August 8, 1897. The attitude that immigrants were responsible for undermining native labor interests was prevalent in newspaper editorials. Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette, September 25, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 8, 1897; Weekly Herald (Shenandoah), September 18, 1897; Sullivan Review, September 16, 1897 ; Detroit Free Press, September 12, 1897; Pittsburgh Post, September 15, 1897. (22) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. The laborer who assisted the contract miner was not employed by the coal operator but by the miner. Nearly eighty percent of the mine laborers in the Lehigh region worked under the contract system. Frank Julian Warne , " The Anthracite Coal Strike, " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XVII (January, 1901), 32-33 . (23) Rood, 815. (24) Frank Julian Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, XXI (January , 1903) , 23-24; Rood, 815; Virtue, 753 . (25) Victor R. Greene, The Slavic Community on Strike: Immigrant Labor in Pennsylvania Anthracite (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968), 86-87 ; Berthoff, 272-273 ; Virtue , 753 . (26) Spahr, 8ll ; Warne, " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker," 31-32 ; Roberts, "The Sclavs in Anthracite Coal Communities, " 218 . (27) Harold W. Aurand , From the Molly Maguires to the United Mine Workers: The Social Ecology of an Industrial Union, 1869-1897 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press , 1971) , 136. (28) Berthoff, 273 . (29) Warne , " The Effect of Unionism Upon the Mine Worker, " 21; Berthoff, 268. (30) Alexander Trachtenberg, The History of Legislation for the Protection of Coal Miners in Pennsylvania, 1824-1915 (New York: International Publishers, 1942) , 134135. (31) Ibid., 135-136; Frank Julian Warne, The Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88 . (32) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Sessions of 1889, Vol. I, Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1889) , 1529. (33) Virtue, 768; Greene, ll 7-ll8 ; Pottsville Republican, June 15, 1897 . (34) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1889, Vol. I, 1236. (35) Ibid. (36) United Mine Workers Journal, October 22, 1896, 1. (37) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1897, 289. (38) UMW Journal, August 12, 1897, 7. (39) Daily Standard, August 28, 1897. (40) Warne , Th e Slav Invasion and the Mine Workers, 88. (41) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Ses sion of 1897, 135-136. The bill passed the House and Senate by votes of 126 to 12 and 28 to 3 respectively . Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), 1069 & 2418 . There were attempts in the House to make the tax five cents a day. Ibid., 2418 (42) Ibid., 2292 . (43) Ibid., 2217 . SLOVAKIA 39 (44) UMW Journal, July 1, 1897, 1. (45) Fraser v. McConway & Torley Co., 82 The Federal Reporter 259 (1897) . (46) Pennsylvania Legislative Record for the Session of 1897, Vol. I, 2217. (47) Wilkes-Barre Record, August 26 & 28, 1897. (48) Peter Roberts, Anthracite Coal Communities: A Study of the Demography, The Social, Educational and Moral Life of the Anthracite Region (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1904), 44-45 . (49) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897. (50) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report on Conditions Existing Among the Miners and Those Employed in and About the Mines in the Anthracite Coal Regions ," Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Session Begun at Harrisburg, on the Fifth Day of January, 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1897), Il, 1824-1842. (51) R eports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896 (Harrisburg: Clarence M. Busch State Printer, 1897), xvi-xvii . (52) Ibid., xvii; "Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (53) Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 170-172. (54) "The Association Letter," Anthracite Coal Operators Association, September, 1897, 2. (55) John Graham Brooks, " An Impression of the Anthracite Coal Troubles," Yale Review, VI (November, 1897), 307. (56) "Legislative Investigating Committee Report, " 1826. (57) Virtue, 756 . (58) Ibid., 757-58; "The Association Letter," 14-15; "The Marketing of Small Sizes of Anthracite," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (June, 1897), 490. (59) The Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Fiftieth Congress, 1888-89, Vol. IV (Washington: U.S . Government Printing Office, 1889) , lxxix . (60) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891 (Harrisburg: Edwin K. Meyers State Printer, 1891), 256-57 . (61) Peter Roberts , Anthracite Coal Industry (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1901), 136. (62) Ibid., 138. (63) "Company Store Legislation," The Colliery Engineer, XVIl (April, 1897) , 395. (64) Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897. (65) Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897. (66) Virtue, 760 ; " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1839. (67) UMW Journal, January 14 , 1897, 5; Ibid., October 22, 1896, l; Wilkes-Barre Record, December 25, 1896; Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897 . Fahy launched a campaign in the anthracite region to secure public contributions to support the United Mine Workers of America lobbying activities to abolish the company store. The Pennsylvania Legislature, reflecting an increased awareness of labor interests, responded and passed a bill in July, 1897 , placing a ten percent tax upon the face value of all types of certificates or the equivalent issued in lieu of legal tender for employees' wages . This measure would have severely crippled the operation of company stores; however, Governor Hastings vetoed the legislation on the ground that it violated the state constitution. George Edward Reed, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. Xll, 4th ser., (Harrisburg: Wm . Stanley Ray State Printer, 1902), 150-54. 40 SLOVAKIA (68) Daily Standard, August 31 & September 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2 & 13, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike of May-October, 1902 by the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission (Washington : U.S . Government Printing Office , 1903), 144 . The above source contained information regarding the strikers' demands made to the G. B. Markle & Company in the 1897 strike. (69) Daily Standard, September 6 & 8, 1897; Spahr, 810 . (70) Ibid.; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897 ; The Reports of Committees of the Hous e ... Fiftieth Congress, lxxxi. (71) Berthoff, 286. If all the miners in the fifth district (Lehigh region) had turned in their empty powder kegs in 1896, they would have raised $10 ,028.30 . Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173. (72) Robe rts , Anthracite Coal Communities, 259, 262-263. (73) Report of the Industrial Commission of the Relations and Conditions of Capital and Labor in the Mining Industry Including Testimony, Review of Evidence, and Topical Digest, Vol. XIl (Washington : U.S. Government Printing Office , 1901), 142 . (74) Robe rts, Anthracite Coal Industry, 133-134. (75) Daily Standard, September 6, 8 & 9, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, September 7, 1897; Report to the President of the Anthracite Coal Strike, 144. (76) Daily Standard, September 9, 1897; Spahr, 810; Report of the Industrial Commission, 142. (77) Computation based on 5,754 miners and laborers in the fifth anthracite district and the use of 100,283 kegs of blasting powder. Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 1896, 173 & 176. (78) Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Passed at the Session of 1891, 96-97. (79) Pottsville Republican, September 20, 1897. (80) " Legislative Investigating Committee Report," 1830. (81) UMW Journal, Ocotber 22, 1896, 1. (82) Report of the Industrial Commission, 143. (83) UMW Journal, November 25, 1897, 2; Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (84) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 15, 1897. (85) Ibid.; Daily Standard, August 17, 1897. In the Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre newspapers there appeared an account of an interview with an unnamed individual defending Jones ' superintendency . Acknowledging that Jones may have made some mistakes, the source indicated that the workers' discontent really stemmed from the decisions made by the preceeding superintendent or from orders issued by higher company officials . ''He is charged with being a tyrant, and in reference to this it may be said that each foreman has full charge of all employees working under him . But Jones is among the first men about the works in the morning and among the last to leave at night, and because he attends strictly to business he is called a tyrant by men who want ten hours pay for less than ten hours of work.'' Wilkes-Barre Times, August 27, 1897. (86) Ibid., August 16, 1897. Gomer Jones was arrested later on a complaint by John Bodan on the charge of aggravated assault. Ibid., August 18, 1897. (87)lbid. , August 16, 1897 . (88) Ibid. , August 17, 1897 . (89) Ibid. , August 18, 1897. (90) Ibid. , August 20, 1897 . SLOVAKIA 41 (91) Ibid. , August 21, 1897. (92) Ibid. (93) Ibid., August 28, 30 & September 1, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28, 1897. (94) Ibid., September 3, 1897. (95) Ibid., September 3 & 4, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, September 4, 6 & 8, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 3, 1897 . (96) Ibid. , August 28, 1897; Daily Standard, August 28, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 , 1897. (97) Ibid. , August 30, 1897 . (98) Ibid., August 31, 1897. (99) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 3, 1897. (100) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. (101) Ibid, ; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & 30, 1897. (102) Ibid. , September 4 & 6, 1897. (103) Daily Standard, September 6, 1897. (104) Wilkes-Barre Record, September 4, 1897. (105) Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. A. S. Van Wickle Company operated independently of the other coal companies, provided their employees more work, and were regarded with greater esteem and confidence in the community. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 22, 1897 . (106) Letter from James Martin to Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania, October 18, 1897 , Governor Hastings Papers, MG-145, Box 18, Division of Archives and Manuscripts of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (107) Ibid. (108) R eco rd of the Times (Wilkes-Barre), March 4, 1898. (109) New York World, February 13, 1898; Dollar Weekly News-Dealer (Wilkes-Barre), September 18, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 23 , 1898 ; Pennsylvania, Department of State, Commission Bureau, "Policemen, 1889-1912," 346; Hazle Township and Hazleton City, "Real Estate Tax Assessment Books for 1896 and 1897 ,'' Office of the Board for the Assessment and Revision of Taxes , Luzerne County Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania . (110) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898; Daily Standard, September 7, 1897. (111) Record of the Times, March 4, 1897. (112) Daily Standard, October 21, 1897. A review of the annual financial report of the Comptroller for Luzerne County revealed that there were no payments from county funds for the services of the deputies at Hazleton , supporting the conclusion that the coal operators paid the deputies' salaries. Wilkes-Barre Record, January 23, 1898. (113) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (114) Daily Standard, September 9, 1898. (115) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (116) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (118) Ibid. (119) Ibid. , September 9, 1897. (120) Ibid. , September 10, 1897 . (121) Ibid., September 9, 1897. 42 SLOVAKIA (122) Ibid., September 8, 1897; Hazleton Sentinel, September 3, 1897; Spahr, 808. (123) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (124) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (125) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (126) Record of the Times, February 11, 1898. (127) Ibid. , March 4, 1898. (128) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (129) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897 . (130) Ibid. (131) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (132) Ibid. (133) Ibid. (134) Ibid., February 18, 1898. (135) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (136) Ibid., February 15, 1898. (137) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (138) Ibid., February 8, 1898. (139) Ibid., February 11, 1898. (140) New York World, September 12, 1898. "Whether deserved or not, Sheriff Martin, of Luzerne county, it is alleged, entertains an unquestionable hatred for the foreign element." Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (141) Record of the Times, February 8, 1898. (142) Ibid., September 11, 1897. (143) Wilkes-Barre Leader, September 13, 1897. (144) Easton Free Press, September 13, 1897. (145) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (146) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (147) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (148) Record of the Times, February 28, 1898; Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (149) Martin to Hastings , October 18, 1897. (150) Ibid. (151) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (152) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (153) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898; Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia), September 11, 1897; Record of the Times, February 8, 1898; Philadelphia Inquirer, September 12, 1897. (154) Ibid., September 11, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 11 , 1897; WilkesBarre Record, September 11, 1897 . (155) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (156) Record of the Times, March 4, 1898. (157) Martin to Hastings, October 18, 1897. (158) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (159) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897 . (160) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11 , 1897. SLOVAKIA 43 (161) Pottsville Republican, September 14, 1897. (162) Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (163) Evening Bulletin, September 13, 1897. (164) Daily Standard, September 11, 1897. (165) Record of the Times, February 22, 1897. (166) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (167) Record of the Times, February 11 & 15, 1898; Daily Standard, September 11, 1897; "Some of the guns were loaded with shells containing a lot of No.8 shot, which scattered with deadliest effect, and others had the plain bullets of heavy bore. The manner in which the victims were tom up looked as though they had been before gatling guns or on a field of where grape and canister were poured from cannon mouths." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 11, 1897. (168) Easton Free Press, September 11, 1897. (169) Wilkes-Barre Sunday Morning Leader, September 12, 1897. (170) Hoyt to Day, April 8, 1898. (171) Pottsville Republican, September 11, 1897. (172) New York Tribune, September 15, 1897. (173) Report of the Industrial Commission, 139-140; Wilkes-Barre Record, August 28 & September 5, 1897; Pottsville Republican, September 2, 1897; Daily Standard, September 4, 1897. When news of the Lattimer shooting spread through the coal fields surrounding Hazleton, the scope of the strike immediately enlarged involving some 10,000 mine employees and idling nineteen of the thirty-three area collieries. Strikers were unwilling to return to work during the following week when funerals for victims were held; they further refused to end their work stoppage until the coal operators met their grievances, mainly an increase in wages. The strike began to wane on September 20 when the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company agreed to grant a ten percent wage increase to mine laborers, pay six to eight cents more per car of coal to miners, and seek solutions to workers' complaints. Only two companies, Lehigh Valley Coal Company and C. Pardee and Company, had not reached a settlement by the end of the second week after the Lattimer shooting but by the end of September they both made an agreement similar to the other coal operators which finally brought an end to the Lehigh coal strike of 1897. Pennsylvania, Official Documents of 1897 (Harrisburg: Wm. Stanley Ray State Printer, 1899), ill, 124 Scranton Times, September 21, 1897; Daily Standard, September 21 & 24, 1897; UMW Journal, November 18, 1897, 3. 44 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre KON STANTIN CULEN A tragic event that occurred in September 1897 struck at the heart of Slovak American life with such telling impact that it served to solidify the Slovak immigrants in the United States into one unified body more effectively than had any previous experience in their new world. This event greatly furthered that awareness of a need for unity that began to crystallize under the pressures to which they had been subjected in their homeland Slovakia. In American history as well as in the record of early SlovakAmerican history this event is known as the Lattimer slaughter or the Lattimer massacre. The setting was the mining region around Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It was an area that had long seethed with the discontent and the restiveness of the men who were employed in the mines . Mine management groups had long bled their workers white, extracting the very marrow out of their bones . The companies paid out pauper wages, cheated the workmen on their weight checks, overcharged prices for foods and daily necessities that were sold through company stores. Scores of mining catastrophes underscored the obvious inadequacy of safety measures that existed to protect the men in their dangerous work in deep underground pits. Miners in Hazleton had declared a strike but nearby mines in neighboring communities continued to operate at practically full strength. Some casual talk was heard from time to time to the effect that the Hazleton operators were planning to bring in scabs in the near future. Union leaders realized that their Hazleton strike would lose all effectiveness unless the miners of the entire locality would join forces in one concerted resistance movement, supporting the Hazleton effort and pressing common demands for improved conditions and benefits. On September 10, 1897 a sizable group of Slovak and Polish miners who were on strike set out for the small mining settlement of Lattimer. In subsequent investigations during the trial they testified that they were on their way there because the Lattimer workers had sent them word that they decided to join the strike movement. The group of striking miners had hardly left Hazleton when Sheriff Martin with a company of about a hundred men from the supporting police force (so-called deputies) anticipated their movement and went An excerpt from Konstantin Culen's two-volume History of the Slovaks in America. (Bratislava, Slovenska Liga , 1942) vol. 1, Part XI , no . 5-9, pp. 162-176. Translated by Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. SLOVAKIA 45 on ahead of them riding the trolley lines. On reaching Lattimer, he assigned his force of deputies to various positions and then he moved several paces forward, addressing the group marching in on foot, to read a restraining order that forbade any gathering or assemblage of persons by provision ordinance dealing with uprising and rebellion. During the reading of this ordinance, a few strikers came closer to the sheriff and there was some minor verbal exchange. The miners objected that they were not disturbers of the public peace or revolutionaries of any kind; they were simply orderly and law-abiding citizens peacefully going along their way . This reaction so exasperated the sheriff that he reached out and snatched away a small American flag that one of the men was carrying, tore it up, pulled out his revolver and began to shoot. After he had drawn his trigger five times, his sixth shot struck a miner in the chest and hurled him to the ground. After the sheriff's outburst of fire, there was the sound of volleys from the deputies. The unarmed miners turned and fled in panic, trying to find safety or protection of some kind. The brutal frontal attack lasted but a few moments but the deputies continued to fire upon the fleeing miners so that practically all of them were struck and wounded in flight.(1) The deputies who were charged with excitement by this time, further assaulted the bleeding victims by beating them and kicking them cruelly as they lay helpless on the ground. A shot or a volley of shots can seem to be an effective argument at a given moment but usually its effectiveness wears off after a brief time. And shots or salvos of shots fail to carry conviction. This was brought out in the Lattimer situation. The Slovak colony found itself in a state of shock, standing inconsolate beside the corpses of the fallen men. It was all too clear to these newcomers now - if it had not been clear to them before - that every Slovak had to be very realistically a brother to a fellow-Slovak, that every Slovak would have to be the most reliable standby and defense of a fellow-Slovak. Anything less than that would serve to reduce them to the debasing circumstance of being mere henchmen and convenient tools of foreign overlords and exploiters. This extravagant bloodletting and bizarre butchering under unprovoked and non-violent circumstances evoked considerable humane reaction in the American press. The attitudes of American journalists were not all of a kind. Some reporters and editors were incensed over the needless killings and brutality. Some wrote with a sense of relief that the incident involved only "Hunkies" - the generic designation that most newspapers used for every newcomer from Austria-Hungary. News of this lamentable event spread to all the Slovak settlers scattered throughout the United States and set off a degree of outrage and consternation that no other experience had yet caused in SlovakAmerican life. Those who had been faction-torn or at odds for whatever 46 SLOVAKIA reasons , were at once moved to conciliation and unity through their common grief at the graveside of the murdered men. Slovak Ame rican journalists who had been indulging personal and non-personal bouts of polemics in their papers left all that trivia now that a common cause evolved out of this catastrophe , and a vigorous new spirit infused their energies and talents. They reacted with a sense of unity and resolute will not only to moderate the mounting resentment and growing agitation that could have been fanned to unreasonable and uncontrollable proportions but to divert effort and attention to an altruistic purpose on behalf of aiding and befriending the widowed and orphaned survivors . Slovak American journalists also undertook a determined program to secure in the free world of America that measure of civic dignity and security that would make it impossible for such brutal disregard of the human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ever to be repeated and condoned again . The press came out strongly with appeals for at least financial compensation to the bereaved widows and orphans and demanded that punitive justice be dealt the incriminated sheriff. The general feeling was that the just process of law and suitable sentencing should act as a deterrent to any possible repetition of the horrible incident. The whole body of Slovak immigrant life in America reacted with a corporate cry of pain and a strong appeal protesting the inhumanity of the Lattimer episode. New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, all made their voices heard as did lesser towns and even the lowly scattered hamlet settlements in America where Slovaks nursed the pain of this tragic hurt . Countless gatherings and demonstrations attracted thousands of Slovak laborers to review and assess the factors involved and the consequences of this catastrophe. Numberless formal discussions and rallies were climaxed with the drawing up of appropriate protest resolutions. All Slovak-American centers participated in drives to aid the victimized survivors of the callous murder, and there were also spirited fund-raising campaigns for legal expenses and court costs to bring Sheriff Martin to justice, for the prevailing view was that he should be made to pay for his crime, for his responsibility in leading and abetting reprehensible action . A committee for this express purpose was organized in Hazleton, holding itself charged to set in motion whatever action might be called for and to pursue the cause to its end. The September 16, 1897 issue (738) of the Amerikansko-Slovenske noviny appeared with a banner headline whose bold-faced lettering read: "Massacre of Slavs . In the freest country under the sun , people are shot at like dogs. Slavs are the victims of American savagery." Editor Pucher Ciernovodsky designated September 10 the bloody Friday of Slovak national life. His report seemed to be written with a pen dipped in blood. He denounced the attacking party and he did not spare the Slovaks themselves , finding them culpable of that lack of SLOVAKIA 47 interest in public affairs that could have contributed significantly to the culmination of this public scandal. Some of Pucher Ciernovodsky' s thoughts were: ' 'The mountainsides of Hazleton are drenched with Slovak blood, and pitiable orphans and widows, fathers and mothers, brothers and friends raise eyes brimming with bitter tears to heaven pleading, 0 God , is there justice in this life? If there is justice on this earth of ours, did our blood truly deserve this spilling? Who in this world is committed to greater drudgery than we? Who in this world is engaged in a work that is more dangerous than ours? ' 'When we are driven to extremes of misery because hunger and want have sapped our strength and our bodies are bone-weary from overwork, and when our famished and shabbily clothed children ask for food that we cannot provide for them , and we go to discuss our problems and try to come together for deliberations in an effort to arrive at some reasonable solutions, how to go about unsnarling this sad fate that so embitters our lives - what kind of law is it, what kind of justice and fairness is it - or is it our miserable doom that we should be shot at like dogs? Ah, America, America ... ''It is indeed a curious America. When the Turks set upon the Armenians, every full-blooded American protested and vehemently shouted his willingness to join a fighting force to check the Turks. And yet here and now when it comes to bringing to justice those who similarly violated the rights of Slavs in America, they do all in their power to prevent the guilty from being brought to legitimate trial. Reams have been written and volumes have been mouthed condemning the cruelties of the Spanish in Cuba. There was universal recrimination against the injustices inflicted upon the oppressed Cubans, yet journalists have scant syllables of tenderness or sympathy for our people who were felled by wanton gunshot in a manner more senseless and inhuman than any attack of the Spanish upon the Cubans . The Cubans at least had defense weapons but our people were shot unarmed, shot like animals . ''This grieves us unspeakably. '' And, in the last analysis, who is most responsible for all this? "We ourselves must hold ourselves responsible. "A Slav does not support a fellow-Slav. We have no mutual bonds of unity, no fellowship at all, no commonly shared activities. We cultivate none. We fail to get along amicably. Instead, we seem to make sport of baiting one another, and we lack even that zest for life that long ago should have whipped us into a common front to denounce the maligning that the American press released against us and to protest the discrimination and injustice imposed upon foreigners by the threecent-tax. If other ethnic groups had not taken the initiative , we would have let them dance on our heads . 48 SLOVAKIA ' ' What can the American public think about such men? It would not be surprising if they rated us cowardly, worthless, less than the Indians, and so deserving a fate no better than that of the Indians. "We give too little consideration to matters like citizenship, legal rights and civil rights or public opinion. No wonder, then, that public opinion shows no concern about us, has no regard for us . ''If public opinion had any respect for us, then those deputies and the sheriff who were involved in the Lattimer affair would not have allowed themselves to perpetrate such an act of sheer barbarism. Whatever the circumstances, whether there was any excuse or not for a collective attack with Winchester rifles, at least this truth remains that if we were not a subservient people they would not have kept firing at our fleeing men from behind. "The catchword of people like our attackers, is "Shoot the Hungarian dog! ' ' Why? Because we do not make the effort to have our own recognized defense and defenders , our own qualified men who are in touch with the pulse of political life and current trends , men qualified to speak out on our behalf. We ourselves all too readily and regrettably belittle our own ; we tend to regard with disfavor and lack of recognition those of us who have gifts of leadership; we begrudge them opportunities , cut them down and deny them a chance to develop their potential. "In the end we suffer for it collectively. It is true that there are officials whose duty it is to defend our people because they were appointed and authorized to do so, and they are salaried to execute this office , but they seem to be wrapped in safe slumber. They are our Austro-Hungarian consuls. " Just what did these officials, these Austro-Hungarian consuls do for us in previous strike situations? Exactly nothing. " On the other hand , how did the Italian consuls react when their Italian countrymen were being lynched in New Orleans? The furor that was generated on that occasion almost incited a war with the United States, and an indemnity of five thousand dollars had to be paid for every victim. ' 'It is our reasoned judgment that the Hazleton bloodshed is far more criminal than was the New Orleans lynching and it is the patent duty of the Austro-Hungarian government to make honorable and serious intervention on our behalf. "Since those who were shot to death were citizens of the United States , we have no alternative but to organize our effort in order to bring the whole affair to an exhaustive investigation and to the due process of justice. The burden of responsibility in this matter rests primarily with our Slavic organizations which, in every respect, bear the characteristics of American organizational structure. And their responsibility for such action is all the more binding if any of their members happened to be among the victims, if they were members of SLOVAKIA 49 the National Slovak Society, the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), the Greek Catholic society Sojedinenie, the Pennsylvania Slovak Union, Sojus, etc. Let these organizations set in motion the wheels that will bring about necessary lawsuits; let them underwrite out of their treasuries or raise funds in some way to cover related expenses, and let their united effort and combined strength prove that they truly have the good name and the best interests of all Slavic ethnics at heart. Let me presume to say that this Bartholomew night should serve as a Sturrnistic symbol effecting concerted and wholehearted cooperation. ''If this soul-shaking experience fails to jolt us out of our morbid lethargy, we ought to raise a memorial cross as a marker for our nation and our spirit of patriotism and declare that we buried it all on that bloody Friday in Hazleton.'' (2) Because of this massacre a violent disturbance broke out among the Slovak and Polish miners. Governor Hastings declared a state of emergency in Hazleton and dispatched 2,500 troops to move in and control the problem. Security measures that the governor ordered for the Hazleton area were very extensive and elaborate, involving the outlay of $475 ,000 - a very large sum in those days. The whole countryside seethed and repercussions were witnessed far and wide. The American press took sides with Sheriff Martin, generally arguing (as if it were a valid objection) that the slain men were not even American citizens. The press of the ethnic groups and those who supported the cause of the miners countered this attitude with the historically substantiated observation that neither were Pulaski, Kosciusko and some other heroes of the American War for Independence official citizens of the United States. They came to fight for freedom in a land that was alien to them because liberty and freedom are nowhere in the world foreign commodities to any human being. Freedom is the prerogative of every person and we are all entitled to our share of this gift. In the hour of our country's struggle for freedom, every able volunteer was welcome to share in the battle and in the pain to win it. Now that the fruits of liberty should be portioned out to all and denied to none in a free land, it is glibly said that freedom is our privilege - you are existentially in the land of liberty but you are not a free man. On September 11 the miners held an open air protest rally in Hazleton. Father Stas, pastor of St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic church in Freeland, spoke on behalf of the Slovak minority. He spoke out strongly and fearlessly against a freedom that countenances the murder of defenseless people. Some of the other speakers on this occasion were Reverend R. Aust of Hazleton who represented the Poles, Reverend Gullovic, Reverend Hauser, attorney John Shea of Wilkes-Barre and J . Fahy, president of the United Mine Workers. A gathering of over 4,000 Slovak and Polish mine workers resolved to 50 SLOVAKIA defend their rights, determined to make Sheriff Martin stand trial for this wanton bloodletting. The victims of the disaster were buried on September 12 as huge throngs converged upon the area for the occasion. This Lattimer massacre affected much of America. On September 15, the Slovaks and the Poles of the New York region held a mass demonstration at which they made it clear that the issue at stake was in no way related to religious affiliation or nationality roots or fratemalism of one kind or another. Their main concern was the general welfare of the American working class and fundamental civil rights for all. They appealed for unanimity and single-mindedness of purpose among them all - the Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians and English. A resolution which they formulated on this occasion includes these sentiments: · 'Profoundly affected by the catastrophe that occurred in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in a free country, the republic of the United States of North America, where on September 10 eighteen men who were Slavs and Slovaks were shot to death and about forty others were wounded by a sheriff's posse as these men peaceably and with no ill intent went their way on a public street, aware of the provision of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees every citizen freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and belief, and the right of assemblage, all of which this country esteems and safeguards as sacred civil rights. ' ' Aware that the action of Sheriff Martin and his party was wholly unlawful and totally uncalled for - for it has been proved that the workmen who were en route to their predetermined destination had neither arms nor foul purpose, and he had not even tried to inform them of his rights and their duties - we, on this basis, as American citizens, as workingmen, as Slavs by accident of birth, do most emphatically denounce and condemn this criminal act. We express our profound sympathy to the bereaved families of the unfortunate victims even as we invoke the widely esteemed American regard for justice, urging that formal action be taken to bring to trial those who are considered blameworthy and to have them face their responsibility by due process of law and in this way to effect moral satisfaction to our nation and material compensation to the survivors of the victim families; ' 'We further resolve that to the full extent of our ability and means we will morally and materially offer our assistance to the unfortunately bereaved and we will exert all our power and prestige to have bloodthirsty criminals bear the just punishment which their conduct deserves; "We finally resolve that copies of this resolution be sent to the governor of the state of Pennsylvania and to the district attorney of Luzerne County, and that it be published in all newspapers; we also urge the editors of our Slovak publications to appeal to our people to SLOVAKIA 51 support this action wholeheartedly with liberal contributions in an effort to redeem and justify the much maligned name and rights of the Slovaks who find it inevitable to undertake a distasteful reckoning with narrow-minded nativists." (3) A spirited call was made in the press for attendance at a protest gathering scheduled for September 20 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania "at which resolutions will be formulated denouncing the action of Sheriff Martin who is responsible for the shooting-death of so many blameless Slovaks . English, Slovak, Polish, Croatian and various other speakers will address those present." Protest and denunciation were voiced from all parts of the nation where there were fellow nationals of the slain miners . Dr. Theodorovic, who represented the office of the Austro-Hungarian consul, came to Hazleton for a personal assessment of the massacre and related factors. Slovak and Polish groups initiated drives throughout the United States in order to raise funds for promoting an equitable trial that would yield at least fair compensations where they were due, and just penalties for Sheriff Martin and his henchmen, all within the framework of jurisprudence and with a deterrent impact against similar injustice. One outcome of this effort was the organization of "the National Fair Trial and Beneficial Committee on Behalf of the Lattimer Victims. " This committee published a public statement and an appeal which was carried in all the current newspapers. It read in part: '' The underlings who are in the employ of corporations and share a thirst for liquidating their fellow-citizens are largely the lackeys and hacks of their bosses, all murderously eager to carry out every order from the top. The incident did not arise out of any disturbance of the peace by those guiltless men who were so brutally victimized; there was no intent to transgress law or ordinance; they carried no firearms , no clubs or flails. Workingmen were simply on a mission of their own, marching along the street to meet some fellow-workers from the same mining company in order to discuss a sharing of views and attitudes and to build moral support in a common cause. ''The Declaration of Independence in this land proclaims that all men are created free and equal. Somehow these hirelings felt that the life of an alien is not worth even as much as the life of a slave. Apparently they were led to believe that their killing of such people and under such circumstances would be universally approved by the press and by public opinion. '' It is well known that Americans endorse the principle of fair play. When poor workmen, unarmed victims, were so foully gunned down in cold blood, not only this land but all the civilized world was appalled by the atrocity. The Constitution of the United States provides for the right of peaceful assembly. Have these words meaning or force in the light of bullets and bayonets? We hold that every individual who participated in the shooting on that ill-fated day in Lattimer overstepped his rights 52 SLOVAKIA and violated the law. We hold that their act was nothing short of criminal, inhuman and unspeakable butchery. "We make this appeal and protest in the name of those who were wounded and as representatives of those who are the bereaved survivors in the families of the slain victims. Our committee has been organized in order to provide counsel and to call witnesses and to take care of whatever else may be necessary to bring Sheriff Martin and his deputies to face indictment and to stand trial according to the full force of our country's laws. ''We act on the principle that this struggle of ours is your struggle as well as ours and on the assumption that you are friends of the workingman who is often taken advantage of. If these people whom we desire to bring to an accounting are let go free and without making retribution for the killing of our countrymen, who knows what further fate can await us in the future? "Reverend Richard Aust, president; John Nemeth, treasurer; Loughran, secretary; Reverend John Stas, Salvator di Sandola, Nicholas Ballok, Matthews Long, John Kuntz, Charles Hauser, Edmund Lemhick, Reverend J. Formanek, Frank Kozlovski, George Kozarovich. '' Samuel Gompers, president of the Federation of Labor, visited the scene and made some observations about the cheap labor of the Poles, Slovaks and Italians whom the coal barons were importing into America in order to squeeze out the '' intelligent Irish and Welsh laborers.' ' Even before the sentencing, Gompers as president of the workers' union said, ''It is my opinion that the sheriff and his deputies will be acquitted in order to teach 'those foreigners' a lesson to behave differently in the future. ' 'Posterity will rate the Lattimer killings as nothing but massacre of a kind that has no equal in the history of civilized peoples, and the consciences of the perpetrators of this act will accuse and torment them to their last day. And even though monopolies and monopolists may succeed in achieving their victory, such slaughter must some day come to an end; truth will be victorious and all people will enjoy the fulness of their sacred rights - all people, whether they be of the common working class or the favored moneyed class of mine owners. "The laborers .of our country are moving toward better and stronger organization day by day, and the citizens at large are grasping a much better and a truer concept of the rights and obligations of individuals. When that day of ultimate realization does arrive, the account of the Lattimer murders will have been written in our history in letters of blood and this notorious crime will be looked upon as the most atrocious and vile offense of the nineteenth century.'' The trial of Sheriff Martin and his associates opened on February 1, 1898. The place of trial was the Luzerne County Court in WilkesBarre. Adherents of both the prosecution and the defense followed SLOVAKIA 53 developments with undivided attention and intense feeling. Sheriff Martin had the support of all the major coal corporations , top officialdom and capitalism . The plaintiffs were backed by the laboring masses. In the process of jury se lection , Judge Staley Woodward saw to it that only American-born citizens were seated as jurors . There was never any doubt that the se lected jury panel was unanimous in its antipathy for foreigners . Judge Woodward ascertained from sworn testimony that the striking miners had created no public disorder or disturbance during their march , that they were completely unarmed, that Sheriff Martin had stopped them and insolently ordered them to turn back , that the miners were not incline d to obey but had objected that they had every right to use a public street. Further testimony indicated that the sheriff challenged the leader of the marching group, gave the order to fire and that he himself fired the first shot , striking the leader of the marching miners in the chest as additional volleys were turned upon the men who began to run for shelter . The City Trust Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia supplied bail for the indicted to the amount of $256 ,000 . The press seldom missed an opportunity to belittle the foreign element and to overstate their shortcomings and least desirable traits - almost as if bad traits and undesirable characteristics were exclusively theirs. The presiding judge at the trial was Judge Woodward. He was related to the owner of the mines where strikes were beginning to be staged. He was also a shareholder in these mines. There was not a single Slav among the twelve jurors, most of whom were farmers, men who could hardly have firsthand knowledge of mining conditions and the situations that had justified the strike movement. They were not at all familiar with such matters as fair working conditions, e quitable pay, safety m easures, etc. A writer in one of the current publications observed, ' 'These are the names of the men in whose hands rests the power of passing a verdict that will tell the world whether anyone in this civilized country - even if he be the highest official of a particular country - may or may not, without cause, slaughter peaceful workers . It is easy to tell from the listed names that to the very last man these jurors are all Americans. The question is: are their hearts filled with rank nativism and malicious ill-will against foreigners? If they are bigoted nativists, it is vain to expect a fair sentence.'' Early in the opening of the trial the court denied the motion of the state prosecutor that the jury go to the scene of the massacre for a kind of re-enactment of the events that occurred there . The last act of this bloody drama took place during the trial. As charge followed upon charge , the full impact of hate and prejudice 54 SLOVAKIA harbored against the Slavic immigrants came into clearer and surer light. One of the defendants boasted, "I did all right; I aimed at nine and brought down five of them ." Meanwhile the mutilated survivors of that bloody Friday - some without an arm or a leg -- were in full view of the court and the spectators gathered at the trial. Before the eyes of them all , Gregory Gasparik with bandages bound about his head in which a bullet was still lodged, in moderate tones testified against Sheriff Martin and his posse. People who lived near the scene of the crime also came in to testify, telling how they had seen the deputies beat the strikers who were already all bloodied and wounded with shots . The defendants produced about a hundred witnesses who charged that Poles and Huns had terrorized the whole area and that on this occasion they were actuallly marching with firearms. They supported Sheriff Martin as a law man who was doing his duty when he ordered his men to fire at the group . Sheriff Martin, on his part, denied all guilt in the matter and entered a plea of innocent . He claimed that after reading the injunction, he attempted to arrest the leader of the marchers but the striking men , misunderstanding his action and intent, set upon him and began to beat and kick him. At this point he called upon his men for help and when even that restraint was ineffective, he finally gave an order to fire because he feared that he might be killed. When blank shots did not quell the situation , then they began to shoot in earnest even if it meant to wound and kill. He claimed that when he first met the marchers, he asked where they were going and that they answered, ''To Lattimer in order to get the men out of work! " " I begged them and pleaded with them not to go any farther ," he stated. " I urged them to obey the law and to disperse. Someone from the back of the crowd loudly cried out the word to go on. The strikers began to jostle me about and to shout abuse at me. One drunken Hungarian even tried to throttle me so I arrested him. The crowd that surrounded me swelled bigger and bigger. I drew my revolver and aimed into the air because I did not want to hurt anyone . In that instant, Joseph Novotny punched me in the face and I fell to the ground as the mob began to howl, 'Kill the s.o.b. ! ' '' I tried to defend myself with my revolver but it wouldn't fire. The mob that was pressing upon me was armed with revolvers and knives. When I fell to my knees, the deputies began to fire and the crowd then started to fall back. But they did not disperse at once. At a distance of 500 to 600 feet, they stopped in a wooded place. I felt that they might return. My men began to shout to them to disperse . Afterwards I gave the order to look after the wounded and the killed.'' The strikers countered this desposition with the charge that the sheriff was the first to fire a shot. They maintained that no one struck SLOVAKIA 55 him, no one kicked him nor was there any evidence on his clothing or his body that he had been subjected to rough treatment of any kind. No blanks were discharged and no man who was wounded or killed was struck by a frontal shot; all were shot from the back. The son of the mine owner, young Pardee, called out to the law men , "Boys, shoot down those Huns! " Further testimony indicated that the deputies were extremely harsh and unfeeling even toward the killed and the wounded , kicking them mercilessly. Sworn witnesses consistently testified that the miners had no arms of any kind . They carried no canes or sticks, no rocks or stones , much less firearms. Scores of witnesses corroborated this testimony . Andrew Siviar, one of the miners, testified that the workmen marched as members of the United Mine Workers of America and that they had no weapons and had planned no mischief or property destruction of any kind. John Milhala, secretary of the local union, testified that they had gone to the mayor of the city who assured them that they could go to Lattimer in orderly fashion , that the sheriff had no authority to stop or prevent them. Some striking testimony was presented by the local school teacher Charles Guscot. He was eyewitness to the entire episode. He attested to the opening of fire by Sheriff Martin and the inhumane shooting upon the men who helplessly tried to flee from the ruthless officers. Another teacher from a nearby school alleged that she personally saw one of the deputies pursuing a wounded and bloodied man and in horror witnessed how he shot him to death a few steps in front of her when the weakened man fell to the ground from exhaustion. Reverend Stafflet declared under sworn testimony that he was passing the scene in a trolley car and had seen no signs of provocation on the part of the miners . They conducted themselves becomingly and bothered nobody along the way. The daily papers reported that the courtroom was the scene of some most unusual proceedings. The firm that had provided the earlier funds for bail now again supplied further expense money in the amount of over $402 .00 . All the sworn testimony agreed on the fact that the miners had no weapons . As a matter of fact, they had reckoned with the possibility of being challenged on the way and had forbidden any man to carry arms. Not one of them carried even as much as a walking stick or ordinary cane. Among the witnesses one testified that when he decided to join the group, he went into the mountains and cut himself a staff - just in case - but the others prevailed upon him to throw it away. There was also testimony that the deputies had openly boasted in the town that they would kill "the dirty Huns" yet. One of them joked about the whole thing afterwards, commenting that if he had been 56 SLOVAKIA given a cent for every one that he shot, he would have had the price of a bee r because he himself hit five . The sheriff and all the indicted men appeared before the bench with an air of great self-confidence and assurance. Their backing firm had made an outlay of over $30,000 in legal fees, the judge undoubtedly lent them the weight of his favor and they knew beforehand that no kind of testimony could affect them adversely. Some of the leading American newspapers, including the New York World which was owned by Pulitzer , a Jew from Zemplin in Slovakia, slanted their reporting to discredit the miners. Maurice Engelman , who was also a witness, testified that back in town they laughingly told him to hide or he would be an easy target. John Petruska testified that he was present when the posse was choosing firearms and one of the deputies quipped, " We ' re on our way for a shooting in Lattimer!" Gaspar Wizneski testified that he himself saw the sheriff raise his revolver and fire into the crowd in front of him . '' Do you swear that you saw the sheriff kill one of the strikers?'' the attorney challenged him . '' I swear to it that I did! '' he answered in a clear and audible voice that carried throughout the electrified atmosphere of the courtroom. Martin McGahren and Scarlet, attorneys for the plaintiffs, did not lack incriminating evidence yet all the substance of the testimony did not seem to put the burden of guilt on the accused. The court demanded specific proof and specific charges identifying who killed whom . This could hardly be presented , given the circumstances of abrupt assault and the ensuing panic . Who could tell precisely whose bullet killed this victim or that one? And there was the persistent line of defense claiming that the sheriff acted in the discharge of his duty when he issued the order to fire on the crowd. The defense was called to investigate a hundred witnesses . It was a drawn out trial that finally ended on March 9, 1898 . The sentence that was pronounced was: "The accused are found not guilty. " The court ruled that they had the right to shoot, that they had a right to selfdefense. This verdict created a public scandal. Over 30 ,000 miners began to threaten to take to the streets again, to start another strike. But they were at a total disadvantage. Corporations had contributed several hundred thousands of dollars for this legal battle. How could that be matched by the trifling $5,930 that the impoverished and distracted miners were able to raise from their own resources? For long months, the prime topic of public interest and comment among the Slovaks was the Lattimer massacre. Dozens and dozens of articles, printed and spoken reactions of varying degrees of intensity, were devoted to this incredibly outrageous event and its disgraceful outcome . J. A. Feriencik vehemently and fearlessly criticized a court of SLOVAKIA 57 justice that would condone such wanton killing and allow such an act to go unpunished, unatoned, because the lords and the mighty ones assented to it. In stark disbelief he wrote: ''They will kill, they will shoot, and grant you no mourning or tears of relief. And somehow they will make it all come out within the limits of the law. '' On the one hand we keep calling out 'Friends and countrymen of ours, come out here and settle here in America, in this famed free country. Apply for American citizenship, learn English, do your utmost to become worthy citizens of the United States, etc.' On the other hand, we urge our people back home to come over with their entire families, to establish themselves as family units and to adopt the American way of life and so gain the ' respect' of their American neighbors. '' And our people here credulously throng to the courts for naturalization forms, they register their desire to become American citizens, set themselves to studying English, the language of this country, adopt American usage and custom, and with all the ardor of their nature they cultivate a deep love for this new country of theirs. In many instances their devotion and loyalty outstrip the sentiments of some native American citizens. And the returns for this good will and generous effort? - Heartless murder! "Even as our people spare no pain in their sincere enthusiasm to evidence their devotion , patriotism and good will, their love for the land of their adoption, their respect for its laws, they are contemptuously referred to as scoundrel Huns and Hunkies. And what hate goes with the slogans: They pushed us out of our jobs; take it out on them! Give it to them! Let them know that we don't like them one bit! '' Some of it is even more foul than this but I must restrain myself or some of that biased American justice might just get me across the knuckles too. "So it is then. These are the facts: You, my people , bend your neck willingly . You do all that you can to prove your genuine devotion to this new land. And what do you get for it all? - Censure, unmitigated scorn, cold brutality. '' Blameless blood is needlessly shed within the scope of the law. It is all but a miracle that the presiding judge did not pin a medal of heroism on the lapel of the sheriff and proclaim him a deliverer of some kind. ''It is time for us to look about and assess what's around us and not just sound off about the freedom, the democracy and the brotherhood of these people. "At every step you come upon hate, you face contempt. Even a street urchin will let you know that you are repulsive to him. ' ' My people, does misery force you to flee from one country as you seek to save your life and avoid starvation, and do you eagerly turn to 58 SLOVAKIA this free America to settle here and earn your bread through hard work and long hours? You escape from misery at home and the threat of death by famine only to hurl yourself into the arms of death here. There you tried to save your life; here they snatch it from you. "Foul murder! '' Are we to be the door mat of murderers forever? Some drive us out of our birthplace and in exile others set upon us with the intent to kill. "Introduce a system of slavery. Buy white slaves, shackle them, treat them at will and you will have a fair picture of American freedom and democracy in action . A realistic picture. Is the world to consider these democratic and freedom-loving people? A murderer has never yet been taken for a champion of freedom , a humanitarian or a freedom-lover. The lurid blotch left by Slovak blood spilled in Pennsylvania will long witness your kind of benevolence, your warped philanthropia? '' Are we to tell the undisguised truth to all our people? Well, if you want them to shoot you here, then tell it. It appears that before long they will pass laws making it legal to shoot Slovaks in certain particular months and not to consider them game in others - just as they do for various animals. It seems to be moving in that direction. This very trial gives proof of such widely touted justice and equity. The capitalist triumphs in spite of his crime and his guilt. The wretched workman loses even though it is he who has been wronged. " My people, if you only had millions of dollars in your hands, they would surely have proved to you how they can adjust and modify twisted paragraphs. But without the almighty dollar ... if you are the unfortunate wretch, then suffer and be still. That is the kind of principle that guided the judge presiding at the trial of the Lattimer murderers .'' (4) The American-Slovak News further editorialized on the subject of the trial and its verdict: '' For those who participated in the Lattimer massacre - or putting it more aptly - for those who defended the bloody trade of the butchers thirsting for human blood at the scene of the Lattimer carnage, it would be rather unfair to designate the event as a drama. For them this classic drama reached its denouement with all the impact of a genuine comedy. Twelve confirmed foes of all that does not breathe the fanatic ideas of the Apaches declared that the butcher Sheriff Martin and his vultures only did their duty; they acted as honorable men when they killed off those hated Huns. ''They crucified truth! They grossly trampled upon the rights of the disadvantaged workman in this free country. Why? For no reason other than this fact that the slaughtered victims first saw the light of day in Hungary, in Russia, in Germany or in Italy.'' (5) SLOVAKIA 59 Naturally such a foul crime of multiple homicide and utter ruthlessness could not have touched Slovak life without affecting it deeply. The Slovaks sensed that if they would truly avoid being so tom by factions and lack of unity, if they could somehow unite their thousands of workers with common purpose and a sense of solidarity, such a misfortune could never again be repeated. Gradually there evolved within them the consciousness that we are all at fault, all of us, for not claiming those rights to which we are entitled. And so we suffer punishment. Out of this painful and humiliating or humbling realization , even before the verdict was pronounced, there grew the first substantial endeavor of the Slovaks in this land to work in harmony and to achieve a common strength. Realization fortunately led to action. On October 17, 1897 representatives of the leading Slovak-American publications met in Cleveland in order to confer on definite practical steps toward cooperation and the pursuit of common goals. The conference of these journalists resolved to adopt measures related to basic issues in order to counteract the unwholesome attitudes and underserved attacks of certain American press agencies that treated the Slovak immigrant element as less than human . This Congress of Slavic Pressmen , which was organized by Fr. (Francis) Pucher , also sent expressions of condolence to the survivors of the Lattimer victims. This innocent Slovak blood that was shed then did not go wholly wasted. It tended to conciliate the Slovaks and to bring them together. And though this was an extravagantly harsh and costly lesson, it taught them that in their distant strange land they must renounce all petty conflicts and contentions, for in this new world their widely scattered strength will count only if they can bring themselves together and act as a corporate unit that has the general welfare at heart. Many families that had not bothered about joining a Slovak fraternal or beneficial organization now saw that membership in such a society could really mean much to them, especially in the event of an unfortunate or tragic occurrence. The blood that the Slovak miners shed for the general good was the first effective and lasting incentive that brought the Slovaks of America together into one unified and conscious body. One disappointment followed in the aftermath. Newspapers published the report that John Nemeth, chairman of the committee, was named consul just before the final settlement of all the misunderstandings; however, his appointment was conditioned on his withdrawal from the committee. The government of Austria-Hungary petitioned the government of the United States to allocate some compensation to the families of the Lattimer victims. The outcome is embodied in an official document of the Secretary of the Interior (78,999) which includes the following statement: 60 SLOVAKIA "The government of the United States does not recognize any obligation to provide compensation to our fellow-citizens or to the famili es of those who were killed in the clash between the mine workers and the police in the Hazleton-Lattimer area.'' From the blood of these martyrs there was a sprouting of the fragile and delicate flower of accord. Within a year the general tone of the Slovak press had changed from bitter acrimony and unprofitable controversy to understanding and kindlier feeling all around. Even in cases where everyone had believed that common ground could never be found among known antagonists, it had indeed been discovered that these individuals also had many mutually satisfying interests to share and promote and they could work together and get along satisfactorily in spite of their differences. From this point on, every other problem seemed to be of a trivial nature, insignificant trifles that caused minor rifts here and there but had no essential substance. The main drive was toward definite goals even though various and varied avenues led to the ultimate end. FOOTNOTES (1) In a newspaper report published by the Amerikansko Slovenske noviny right after the event, the following are listed as fatality victims in this unfortunate clash: 1) John Kosanec , 2) John Temoci , 3) Fr. Kedel, 4) John Ceka, 5) John Ceslak 6) George Versek, 7) Stephen Hornik , 8) George Kulik, 9) Fr. Ceka, 10) Stephen Ulrich, 11) Andrew Zesman, 12) John Ivanko. Later these names wer also added to the list: 13) John Futa , whose name is sometimes also given as Futas, 14) Stephen Jurek, 15) Michael Ceslak, 16) George Gasparek, 17) John Slebodnik , 18) John Banko, 19) Andrew Jurecek, 20) John Skrip. Since Sheriff Martin was indicted for the death of twenty-one victims , it is clear that this list is incomplete. Some of the men who had been seriously wounded in the incident later died in the hospital. An exact list with all names in their correct spelling is most likely available from the court records in Wilkes-Barre and probably from various English and Polish newspapers of that time. It was a common practice in those days to transmit news reports by telegraphic communication and so it is possible that some of the names were affected by transcription and could have been somewhat distorted. The following men were wounded in the encounter: Anthony Macuka, single , Polish; James Tomason , single, Polish; Francis Fetus, single, Slovak; John Penkames, married, Lithuanian; Joseph Macko, married, Slovak ; Andrew Josmont, married, Polish ; Martin Serfanek, single, Polish ; John Dolny , married , Slovak; John Krisak, single, Slovak ; John Presa, married, Slovak ; Andrew Majer , single, Slovak; John Padnok , married , Polish ; John Posca, married, Slovak ; George Gaspar, single, Slovak; Adolph Colak, married, Slovak ; Adam Lipianski , single, Polish; John Kulich, single, Polish , John Kontra, married , Slovak; Joseph Gasparik, married, Slovak; Thomas Paris , single, Polish ; Andrew Honas, married, Slovak; Andrew Orban, married , Polish; Gaspar Dula§, married , Slovak; Joseph Zapa, Slovak; Joseph Paulak, married , Polish; Matthew Chia, married , Polish; Clement Plotach, married, Polish; John Fora, single, Slovak; Stanislaus Kominski, married, Polish; Constantine Monsara , married , Polish , Bernard Rummal, single, Polish . In 1902 the convention of American Mine Workers adopted a resolution providing for the erection of a memorial to honor the fallen miners as pioneer heroes in the cause for SLOVAKIA 61 social justice. Additional names of stricken men that make their appearance within the formal text of this resolution include the following: Clement Patek, John Foote, Sebastian Praztomski, Raphael Rezervicz, Albert Czaja, Stanley Rajoski, Andrew Goekers, Andrew Miczkowski, John Krop, Andrew Morrikoski, Adam Zrainski, Adalbert Zienka, Frank Chazesjewski, Steve Znoec, Andrew Jamee (Jurecek), Mike Coseak (Ceslak), George Kulek (Kulik). Some of the surnames were garbled to some extent; most likely they happened to be misread in the course of years that had passed since the massacre itself. (2) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny (American-Slovak News), September 16, 1897. (3) Amerikansko-slovenske noviny, 30. IX. 1897. (4) "Let Slovak Blood Call to God for Vengeance" American-Slovak News, 31. ill. 1898. (5) American-Slovak News. 5.Il. 1899. 62 SLOVAKIA The Lattimer Massacre and Trial HARRY B. SCHOOLEY III INTRODUCTION To have a clearer understanding of the trial at issue it is necessary to say that upon entering the court where the trial is in progress one is immediately impressed with the fact that the issue involved is as much a question of the relations of employer and employed as a question of the trial of Sheriff Martin and his deputies for murder, and, as has been invariably the case, the representatives of corporate power assume a hauteur and domineering attitude toward all. The counsel for the defense, former Attorney-General Palmer and Mr. Lenahan, as well as Sheriff Martin and the Deputies , assume an air of offended pride and indignation at being called to defend themselves against a charge of killing a score or more laborers, and think of it! Foreign laborers at that! So wrote Samuel Gompers in an article for the New York World of February 20, 1898. The shooting at Lattimer, Pennsylvania, had become labor's forgotten massacre. Twenty-four striking anthracite coal miners were killed when Luzerne County Sheriff James Martin ordered his deputies to fire into their ranks when their parade threatened the security of the community shortly after three o'clock on the hot afternoon of September 10, 1897. While at times a Sheriff has been punished for criminal neglect of his duty in not firing on a riotous mob, Sheriff Martin was proceeded against in the Lattimer trial because he and his deputies did so fire. The law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for whose supremacy they battled, was used to compass their destruction because they did so. Gompers was wrong. Lattimer was not a '' question of the relations of employer and employed." The lesson of the verdict in the Lattimer case is not that the rich are to be protected, but that the poor and defenseless shall have an absolute guarantee of all their individual rights, and that those who attempt to impair them by lawlessness must answer to the law as criminals. H.B.s.,m May, 1965 (Harry B. Schooley ill teaches at the Buffalo Seminary for girls in Buffalo, New York. A native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he wrote this paper while an undergraduate at Williams College in May, 1965.) SLOVAKIA 63 Ariovistus Pardee, an ambitious engineering student with the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, was sent in May of 1833 to the Lehigh coal regions of Pennsylvania to survey a railroad line from the anthracite mines at Beaver Meadow to the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. Pardee 's success in the area led him to locating further lines in the region and he began his own mining operations in 1840.(1) In 1869 Pardee built the company towns of Lattimer and Harwood near Hazleton to house the miners working in his six mines. In 1892, following his father ' s death, Calvin Pardee took over the mines at Lattimer and Harwood. Feeling there would be less chance of a consolidation of the working men against his interests, Pardee mixed the foreign immigrant miners filling the houses at Lattimer largely with Italians and those at Harwood with Slovaks, Poles, and Lithuanians . Between 1875 and 1900 there were sporadic attempts on behalf of the Welsh, Irish, and German miners of the anthracite fields to organize for better working and wage conditions. A means for curbing any attempts to organize the miners was the introduction by the mine operators of large numbers of laborers from Austria-Hungary, Poland, Russia , and Italy who were content to work hard and long for low wages. This over supply of unorganized men literally depressed wages to a minimum through the ever-present competition.(2) By the late 1890's the mine patches of the Lehigh coal regions were largely populated by the new mixture of non-English speaking nationalities who with their cheaper immigrant labor replaced the old order of English , Welsh, and Irish miners. The new miners were largely Slovaks, Poles, Italians , Hungarians , and Lithuanians and were considered "foreigners" relegated by the social conditions to which they belonged - the unpainted company houses , shacks, and the dreaded company store. A racial and national prejudice predominated in the mine patches and the better educated, more intelligent of the foreigners met with each other and insisted that every good foreigner should get his "papers " as soon as possible so as to vote in the elections and prevent the '' white men ' ' from voting to pass a law that might drive them from the country. Many of the miners found themselves in great debt to the company store . In 1896 the Pennsylvania Legislature appointed a committee to investigate the company store system . An order for 50,000 copies of the committee report was canceled because, as American Federation of Labor Vice President J . P. McGuire stated in September of 1897 , ''of the disgrace which would fall upon the State were the truth made known of conditions existing in the Schuylkill region." (3) Conditions were the same in the Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys. Perhaps McGuire 's labor affiliations prejudiced him in the making of this statement, but the recent business depression had reduced the lot of the anthracite miner to a very poor one. The manager of one of the Hazleton collieries revealed that his payrolls for September 1, 1897, amounted to about $26,000, of which $18,000 was 64 SLOVAKIA deducted for living expenses (debts to the company store, rents for living in the company houses, fees deducted from pay for the company doctor, money deducted to pay the priest) leaving less than one-third the original amount to be divided among the miners. Discontent over small wages, idleness, and other alleged "wrongs" was seized upon by the new leadership composed of young, energetic and often violent labor organizers as a timely excuse for action. Their opportunity came in August of 1897. A strike broke out at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company 's Honeybrook Colliery near the new borough of McAdoo, when twenty driver boys were ordered to stable their mules after stopping work without extra pay. They refused and division superintendent Gomer Jones fired them. On Sunday, August 15, 2,500 Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company miners joined the strike. Newspapers feared that ''the Italians and Hungarians, who are very aggressive, cannot be controlled." (4) The Honeybrook strikers were led by a committee of grievances which met with general superintendent Elmer H. Lawall demanding an investigation of Gomer Jones to the effect that he reduced miners' wages and that the wages be restored to the original rates. Lawall promised an investigation of Jones if the miners returned to work; and a week after the first walk-out, work was resumed at Honeybrook.(5) On the same day (August 22) the Honeybrook miners returned to work, there arrived in the area from Philadelphia one John Fahy, selfappointed local president of the United Mine Workers of America. Meeting with Italian miners at Audenreid, Yorktown, and Beaver Brook, Fahy persuaded them to organize an Italian branch of the United Mine Workers.(6) Fahy's presence in the area on behalf of the union caused great concern among the mine operators as the miners became more aware of their plight and their demands became more intense. Fahy's word spread rapidly from operation to operation, and on August 26, Italian and Hungarian miners struck at the Van Wickle Coal Company collieries at Beaver Meadow and Coleraine. Two thousand miners moving overnight forced the workers from their shops at the Van Wickle breakers so as to stop all work. Their demands for higher wages were not considered serious as the strike was spontaneous and had no apparent intelligent leadership.(7) On August 27, the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville was idled by the strikers and a coal train was prevented from leaving the town. All Van Wickle operations were forced to shut down. The next day at a meeting of the strikers in Hazleton, a formal demand was presented to Van Wickle superintendent Roderick. Roderick claimed that the advanced scheduled wages (which would set a wage scale for the region) demanded by Fahy 's organizers would not be paid to the miners, although the average pay rates of the region would be paid. The speaker at a Coleraine meeting urged the strikers to resort to violence if the demands were not met. In answer armed members of the Coal and SLOVAKIA 65 Iron Police were sent to guard the Van Wickle properties.(8) Saloons in Milnesville and Coleraine were closed and a state of ominous calm pervaded the Hazleton area. English-speaking miners were willing to return to work were it not for the threats made by the foreigners. The employees of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company anxiously watched the Van Wickle situation as there had been no action taken towards the promised investigation of Superintendent Jones.(9) Between August 30 and September 3 the strike spread rapidly. Roderick agreed to make wage concessions at the Van Wickle colliery at Milnesville which immediately resumed work. If settlements were made at the other Van Wickle operations, then the Lehigh and WilkesBarre miners might never see Jones investigated at all. The miners at the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre's Audenreid colliery struck and five hundred strong marched on the company's Yorktown colliery and washeries at Dodson, Beaver Brook, Star, Monarch, and Carson, driving off all the workmen.(10) The miners at the Van Wickle Coleraine colliery remained on strike. Assembling in McAdoo on September 2, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre strikers marched with an American flag to the Beaver Brook colliery forcing it to close. Those workers who refused to stop work were driven off. From Beaver Brook they marched to Yorktown (which had resumed work in spite of the march on that operation by the Audenreid strikers a day earlier) where colliery superintendent Hayes tried to reason with them, as the Yorktown workers had no grievance. Nevertheless, the Yorktown colliery closed. The march then turned towards Audenreid and the home of Gomer Jones. Following a thorough but futile search for Jones , the then two thousand marchers proceeded to the colliery at Silver Brook where the workers fled. At a meeting that evening in McAdoo, the members of the grievance committee advised against future marches, but Fahy's organizers insisted that the marches would continue daily until all the collieries were idle. Fahy, incidentally, was in Silver Brook that evening organizing a new chapter of the United Mine Workers. At Coleraine the Van Wickle strikers were quiet and Superintendent Roderick, in a bid to maintain good will between the company and the strikers, stated that none of the Coleraine workers participated in the march.(11) Later on the evening of September 2, the Coleraine strikers agreed to return to work if they would be protected from the mob. Roderick gladly granted protection. Mayor Altmiller of Hazleton issued orders to the police that if any attempt was made to organize a mob parade on September 3, the marchers were to be dispersed, and if the police were not strong enough the citizens should help them. The Lehigh Valley Coal Company closed its collieries at Jeansville and Hazleton No. 1 not because of grievances between the company and its employees, but because the mob of strikers had threatened the workers. The Lehigh Valley counseled all its workmen to obey the will of the mob.(12) By September 3 the strike had stopped all 66 SLOVAKIA mining operations except those of the New Ebervale Coal Company , Van Wickle 's Coleraine and Milnesville Collieries, and Pardee 's colliery at Lattimer. The weapons of the foreigners were the threat and the mob . With the march of September 2 and the probability of future marches , many mine owners feared for the safety of their property at the hands of the striking miners. The Luzerne County Sheriff's office in Wilkes-Barre, in response to the pleas of the operators for protection , sent an urgent telegram to Sheriff James R. Martin , vacationing in Atlantic City, requesting his immediate return. As soon as Sheriff Martin arrived in Wilkes-Barre on September 5, he telegraphed the sheriffs of Carbon and Schuylkill counties to meet him in Hazleton the next day. Before boarding the train to Hazleton, Martin announced that if he thought necessary , a proclamation would be issued calling on the strikers to refrain from all acts of violence and to permit all who so desired to return to their usual vocation as well as to cease marching. "The fact that men are compelled against their will to march along with an ignorant and sometimes infuriated mob causes some fear that other and more dangerous complications may arise ." (13) Following the Hazleton meeting on September 6, the three sheriffs simultaneously published a proclamation prohibiting mob parades and demonstrations , stating the following: . . . notice is given to all good citizens to refrain from all tumultuous and unlawful assembly and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace . Notice is further given, that all such acts of disorder and lawlessness will be summarily repressed and punished in accordance with the laws of the land. - James Martin, High Sheriff of Luzerne County The proclamation was based on the Pennsylvania Riot Act of March 31, 1860 which forbade ''any persons riotously and tumultuously to assemble together to the disturbance of the public peace." (15) While the three sheriffs were meeting in Hazleton, Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company granted the same advances as did the Van Wickle Coal Company at Milnesville and Coleraine.(16) That night Sheriff Martin in his Broad Street hotel room swore in 87 deputies, most of whom were members of the Coal and Iron Police from the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley Coal companies , but some of whom were business and professional men of the Hazleton area .(17) For the next three days the Hazleton area remained in an uneasy calm as the sheriff and his deputies remained on call responding to separate incidents throughout the area. SLOVAKIA 67 While Martin and his men remained in Hazleton, John Fahy was active at the Pardee colliery at Harwood. Enlisting the aid of the popular young Hungarian slate boss, John Eagler, Fahy was successful in organizing a new branch of the United Mine Workers. Fahy claimed the new union advocated peaceful arbitration of differences between the miners and the operators. Selecting Eagler as their first local secretary and Joseph Mehalto, another well-known Slav from nearby Crystal Ridge as president, the Harwood body immediately formulated a list of grievances - demanding a ten cent wage raise, a reduction of blasting powder from $2. 75 to $1.50, and no company butcher or company doctor - which they presented to the Pardee office in Hazleton on September 9.(18) While the Harwood strikers were presenting their grievances, a mob of "young Italians and Huns" descended on the New Ebervale Coal Company's colliery at Ebervale, driving off Superintendent John Scott and his employees in a shower of rocks and sticks.(19) With this outbreak of new violence, the Pardee Company refused to consider any grievances until all sections of the Harwood colliery were working. Meeting in the Harwood schoolhouse on the evening of September 9, the striking miners decided that in order to get the bargaining position they needed, the whole company must be shut down. This meant work must be stopped at Lattimer. Upon Mehalto's suggestion, the members resolved to send a committee of ten to Lattimer on the next day to persuade the colliery to close down. (20) On the morning of the tenth it was suggested that the strikers go along with the committee, and with Mehalto and Eagler at the head of a column of 250 to 300 men and boys, the strikers set out for Lattimer. With the American flag at the head of the procession, they marched through Crystal Ridge and Cranberry where they were joined by others until the ranks numbered about four hundred. On entering West Hazleton the strikers found their route blocked by Sheriff Martin and his deputies . Standing in front of his line of deputies, Martin ordered the strikers to stop and to disperse. The march pushed on, a scuffle resulted, two strikers were arrested, and the flag was taken from them. Following this encounter, the strikers moved off into a field by the side of the road and the sheriff and his deputies withdrew maintaining a careful eye on the marchers. Soon, however, the march was under way once more, the strikers still heading for Lattimer but skirting West Hazleton to the north. Martin and his deputies hurriedly boarded an open trolley car, provided for their use by the Lehigh Transit Company, and rode back into Hazleton and out the Lattimer line to Harleigh , where the road to Lattimer and the rail line converged and ran parallel for a short distance. At Harleigh the sheriff and his deputies again met the marching strikers, the trolley car keeping pace with the men on foot, grim silence between them while the police in their trolley sat holding their rifles . (21) The car arrived in Lattimer in time for Martin to 68 SLOVAKIA watch the movement of the march, and, from a high point at the town 's approach, the column could be observed moving toward the Pardee colliery No. 1. Again the deputies, about 150 in number, having been reinforced by numbers of the coal and iron police from Lattimer, lined up in a semi-circle across the road with Sheriff Martin standing several yards in front of them. The scene at West Hazleton a few hours earlier appeared about to be re-enacted. When the strikers reached the line of deputies Martin, proclamation in hand, stepped out to meet them: ''You must stop marching and disperse. This is contrary to the law and you are creating a disturbance. You must go back. I won't let you go on to the colliery.'' (22) Eagler argued that American citizens had the right to parade as long as they were not disturbing the peace. Martin read the Riot Act. Most of the marchers, not understanding English, pushed forward to find out what Martin was saying. In the crowd the sheriff was jostled. Thinking himself in danger, he tried to get back to his line of deputies, but was knocked to his knees. The strikers made way for him, and just as he emerged from their ranks, the cry was heard, ''Fire, fire on' em!'' The deputies fired into the unarmed mob. (23) Following a meeting with his lawyer on arriving back in WilkesBarre that evening, Sheriff Martin issued a statement of the Hazleton conditions and shooting: I was not there to interfere in the strike in any shape or manner, but was there for the mere purpose to prevent all violations of the law, and to restore peace and quiet. I beseeched and entreated the leaders to talk to their comrades and ask them to disperse and return to their homes, act in a peaceable way and desist from doing any sort of violence ... (at West Hazleton) the strikers began to crowd together, and to mutter and chatter in their own languages. The leaders urged them on and at the same time began to curse and swear at me, as well as openly defy me and my deputies . (at Lattimer) I ... rushed ahead of my deputies ... dashed in among the foreigners and boldly placed the leader under arrest. (the strikers) at once attacked me most viciously , striking and kicking me, knocking me down. I called to the deputies to discharge their firearms into the air over the heads of the strikers, as it might probably frighten them ... I fully realized that the foreigners were a desperate lot ... (I assumed) they were too excited to listen to reason and that myself and deputies would be killed ... if we did not defend ourselves. I then called upon the deputies to defend themselves and shoot, if they must, to protect their lives or to SLOVAKIA 69 protect the property, that they had been sent to guard, from being demolished. I hated to give the command to shoot and was awful sorry that I was compelled to do so, but I was there to do my duty and I did it the best I knew how and as my conscience dictated, as the strikers were violating the laws of the Commonwealth and flatly refused to obey the proclamation that I had read to them. They, instead, insisted on doing violence and disobeying the laws.(24) In "doing violence and disobeying the laws" eighteen strikers were instantly killed while approximately twenty-four others were seriously wounded. Eagler and Mehalto escaped and their comrades fled in terror. One of the strikers, Martin Rosko, a Hungarian from Mt. Pleasant and wounded in the arm, gave the following account: We were going along the road to Lattimer and the deputies were lined across the road barring our progress. We tried to go through them and did not attempt to hit or molest them when they fired upon us. We ran but they kept on shooting while we ran. It (the massacre) is all their fault.(25) That evening three thousand Hazleton-area miners gathered at Hazleton's Donegal Hall for a meeting conducted by United Mine Workers' president John Fahy in which it was resolved "that we demand the prosecution of the sheriff and deputies of the crimes committed this tenth day of September."(26) At midnight Pennsylvania Governor Daniel Hastings notified Colonel C. B. Dougherty of the 9th Regiment that as there may be further disturbances and that the security of the community may be in danger, Dougherty was to take the regiment to Hazleton to maintain peace and order. (27) On September 11, Dougherty's regiment was joined by five regiments of the Third Brigade of the Pennsylvania National Guard under the leadership of General John P. Gobin. On the morning of September 11, John Nemeth, a leader of the strikers' general committee, went before Squire Gorman of Hazleton and had warrants sworn out for Sheriff Martin and 102 of his deputies. (28) When General Gobin heard of the warrants he issued an edict declaring that so long as the troops remain in the vicinity not a single deputy would be placed under arrest. Owing to the military authority, Sheriff Martin and the deputies were not arrested until ten days after the warrants were issued. Also on that morning a representative of the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Philadelphia arrived in Hazleton to investigate the murder of Hungarian nationals. (29) 70 SLOVAKIA In the meantime the strike continued. By September 14, seven thousand men had left their jobs, crippling the seven Hazleton area companies.(30) Out of sympathy for their murdered comrades from Harwood, 2,300 men left work at the Pardee operations at Lattimer. Visiting Hazleton from Philadelphia the next day, Calvin Pardee stated the following: My men were perfectly satisfied with the wages they were receiving, and would have continued work had they not been driven away by the mob . . . I have operated my collieries over twenty years on the sliding scale, the rate of wages being based on the price of coal at tide, and I will not change that method.(31) Sheriff Scott of Schuylkill County telegraphed to Governor Hastings an appeal for troops to maintain order should the strike spread to his county(32) as sporadic outbreaks of violence continued throughout the region with no apparent prospect of settlement in sight. John Fahy, in a somewhat curious statement to the press on September 18, claimed "The strike is not being conducted by the United Mine Workers." Speaking of his efforts to organize the miners, Fahy stated, "our objects are not to raise excitement and occasion violence but are arbitration, peace and conciliation. Our organization is not to encourage strikes but to prevent them." (33) Fahy expressed the hope that the strike would be settled more quickly if more men organized. If more men were organized in the manner in which the Harwood strikers were organized, the strike would be far from being settled. On September 19 following a Hazleton meeting, the owners of the mines at Lattimer, Beaver Meadow, Honeybrook, McAdoo, and Audenreid announced that they would open their mines on September 20, and if the men were not back at work, they would be discharged altogether. By September 20 all strikers but the employees of the Coxe Brothers Coal Company had returned to work.(34) That evening Fahy held a meeting at Donegal Hall whereat the miners resolved ''to demand that the Attorney-General of Pennsylvania immediately proceed against each corporation now conducting company stores."(35) On September 23, the employees of the Silver Brook collieries were told they were no longer subject to compulsory patronization of the company store and company butcher.(36) The operators gradually made concessions to prevent another such strike, and on September 29, General Gobin and his troops left Hazleton.(37) The anthracite strike of 1897 was virtually over. With peace returning to the Hazleton region, attention was turned to the fate of Sheriff Martin and his deputies. On September 20, Luzerne County District Attorney D.A. Fell and County Detective Isaac Eckert secured bench warrants from the Luzerne County Court of Oyer SLOVAKIA 71 and Terminer for the arrest of Martin and 68 of his deputies, charging them with' 'the willful and malicious killing of twenty-four (six had died since the shooting) strikers near the village of Lattimer on September 10 last."(38) Bail was posted at $4,000 for homicide and $1,000 for felonious wounding and, through the maneuvring of Calvin Pardee, bond was furnished by the City Trust, Safe Deposit and Surety Company of Philadelphia.(39) Seeing the opportunity to take up the cause, the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor meeting in Washington resolved on September 24, That we condemn most severely the wanton killing and wounding of the poor miners at Lattimer and will give our fullest help through the trade union and the American Federation of Labor to raise money for the legal prosecution and conviction of Sheriff Martin and his murderous minions, that through the courts of the land even-handed justice may be done to atone for those revolting murders.(40) A preliminary hearing was held in the Luzerne County Court House at Wilkes-Barre from September 21 to 27 wherein the grand jury came to the decision that Martin and his men had shown probable cause of a "wanton and unjustifiable" killing of the strikers.(41) The case of Commonwealth v. Martin was scheduled to begin on February 1, 1898. On February 4, 1898, an editorial in the Wilkes-Barre Record accurately predicted that the trial was expected to develop whether the sheriff and his posse were justified, under the circumstances, in resorting to the extreme measure they did, either for their own protection or to preserve law, order, and the public peace. The case was called on the morning of February 1, before Judge Stanley Woodward, presiding judge of Luzerne County. Sheriff Martin's defense counsel consisted of his personal lawyer, George S. Ferris, and the county's leading criminal lawyer, John T. Lenahan. Other attorneys for the defendants were Henry W. Palmer, George Troutman, C. W. Kline, George R. Urquhart and F. W. Wheaton. At the table for the prosecution sat the new District Attorney, T. R. Martin, who had only taken office a month earlier. With Martin were four other lawyers, who were secured by the strikers' prosecuting committee: John Garman, John McGahren, James Scarlett, and former secretary of the miners' prosecuting committee, J. F. Loughran. In addition to the deputies the court room was crowded with interested spectators including New York, Philadelphia, and nationally syndicated newspaper reporters, newspaper artists, representatives of the Royal Austro-Hungarian government which was planning to make a claim for indemnity for the deaths of the nationals should the sheriff be convicted, and the solicitor general of the United States, Luzerne County's own Henry M. Hoyt (Williams, 1849).(42) 72 SLOVAKIA For two tedious days the court was involved in selecting a jury. When the task had been completed, the twelve men who sat in the jury box were all native American citizens and were largely representative of the middle class skilled labor group.(43) Many of the jury men admitted in their examination by the counsels for defense and prosecution that although they had already formed an opinion, their verdict would not be so influenced. None of the jurors were foreign-born and counsel Loughran complained that the majority of them were ''in sympathy with the sheriff and his deputies." (44) The case for the Commonwealth was opened by McGahren, who claimed the shooting at Lattimer was a ''horrible massacre . '' In a highly emotional speech he told the courtroom how Sheriff Martin stood by proudly while his men brutally murdered the fleeing strikers. He even went so far as to claim the sheriff had emptied his pistol into the head of one of the march leaders. The Sheriff's actions at Lattimer were "a disgrace to civilization," he explained.(46) With this heated example of rhetoric, began the case for the prosecution which consumed nearly sixteen days of examination during which 103 witnesses testified. At the end of the first week of the trial on February 5, it developed that when the case had been continued from the November to the January term of court, bail for the defendants had not been renewed. District Attorney Martin immediately asked either that bail be posted or that the defendants be committed to jail. Judge Woodward replied he would not require the defendants to enter bail until Monday, February 7. Garman of the prosecution immediately pressed the court further to demand bail at once. Lenahan of the defense resented Garman's demands and charged, "You are a puppy! You have been a puppy all your life!" Garman's reply was apparently appropriate as he turned to Judge Woodward and said, "When the thing back of me shuts up, I will proceed." Lenahan replied, "That is only a part of the buffoonery of the Commonwealth.'' Garman turned to face him and raised his fist as if to strike. "If you touch me, I'll kill you!" By this time friends intervened and restrained the two attorneys until order was restored. Garman, eyeing Lenahan defiantly, replied, ''The buffoon has just ceased speaking." (4 7) This exchange of opinions on the floor of the courtroom did not change Woodward's mind and the bail was deferred. The exchange was, however, quickly picked up by the out-of-town reporters and reported in such a way that when court convened on February 7, Judge Woodward admonished the artists and reporters of some of the newspapers that if they continued to caricature the proceedings of the court or to misrepresent what developed, he would refuse them admission to the courtroom.(48) Woodward's admonishment of the reporters for their "yellow journalism" did not end the court's cause for concern. On the evening of February 14, the President of the American Federation of Labor, SLOVAKIA 73 Samuel Gompers, arrived in Wilkes-Barre to write a special report on the trial for the New York World. The Wilkes-Barre Record was critical of the labor leader's being in Wilkes-Barre, claiming that Gompers would only report the trial from the point of view of the strikers, not from the objective viewpoint of whether Martin was justified in shooting.(49) The Record was not the only newspaper critical of Gompers ' being in Wilkes-Barre. The New York Evening Sun stated " Gompers is so dissatisfied with the way Judge Woodward is conducting the Lattimer trial that he refused to be presented to him. We can only congratulate his Honor on a fortunate escape." (50) In an article in the World on February 20, Gompers attacked Woodward's conduct of the trial, his rulings on evidence, and went so far as to attack him personally as a friend of the mine owners, as Woodward: married into a family of land holders of the district, who receive royalties upon every ton of coal mined. When a cessation of mining occurs from any cause Judge Woodward is to that extent a loser of part of his income. He is a member of the Westmoreland Club, of which the mine-owners are largely members and of which also a number of the so-called deputies are members.(Of the strikers Gompers wrote) They had previously decided and carried out their purpose , to be unarmed and unprotected except by the justice of their cause and the American flag in which they had absolute faith. It is sad to contemplate when workingmen of either American or foreign birth have their faith and confidence in the emblem of our country destroyed and perhaps sadder still is the possibility of losing faith in the justice of our courts. In conclusion Gompers made the Lattimer trial a trial in behalf of the eventual triumph of the working man: The workers of our country are organizing better and more thoroughly each day; we shall not only create a healthier public sentiment as to man 's rights and man's duties, but we shall largely constitute that public opinion. And , when that day comes , the crime of Lattimer will be a record-letter day in the annals of our history to which all will look back upon with horror as the monumental crime of the century. (51) Should Sheriff Martin be convicted of murder, labor would win a great victory in its struggle for recognition. While labor adopted Lattimer as its forgotten massacre , the prosecution rested on February 74 SLOVAKIA 21, having produced testimony in line with McGahren's opening. Ferris opened the case for the defense claiming that if a sheriff and his posse meet a riotous mob which resists them in such a way that their duty to uphold the law requires the use of firearms, then, "they do their duty. They do not violate, but obey the law.'' (52) Anarchy ruled the Hazleton area, Ferris explained, and Martin, in the company of good, lawabiding citizens - not bar room toughs and thugs - brought security to the region. On March 1, Sheriff Martin took the stand. He testified that when he met the strikers at Lattimer, he demanded to know where they were going and they all answered, "Lattimer to get out the men!" He also told the court that he had told them they were doing wrong and that he read the proclamation to them. He said he begged them to go no farther, but they pushed on and someone tried to grab him by the neck. I arrested him, when a big crowd pushed around me. I pulled out my revolver for protection and held it in the air, as I did not want to shoot. One of the mob tried to grab it, but failed, and in the struggle I and the crowd around me were pushed to one side of the road." (53) Martin testified one of the strikers gave him a terrific blow on the side of the head and that he tried to shoot that man, but his pistol would not go off. Then the firing began. After 111 witnesses had testified for the defense the Court adjourned on March 4.(54) The closing pleas to the jury began on March 7, with Scarlett opening for the prosecution: "Every effort has been made to have it tried fairly and nothing has been excluded and every bit of evidence has been admitted according to the rules of the court." (55) The final plea was made by former state Attorney-General Henry W. Palmer, on behalf of the defense, to an overcrowded court room. Palmer's closing has been praised as a masterpiece of eloquence and damned as a bigoted oration and foul utterance against the Slav immigrants. To the jury Palmer said the following: Condemn these men and go home to your neighbors and tell them, 'We convicted Sheriff Martin and his deputies for an error in judgment when they were standing between your homes and the horrors of mob rule.' Tell your wives and children that henceforth when the rioters are about to march and the right of men to work is in peril that there will be no Sheriff and deputies to keep the peace or defend your homes, because by your verdict you will have forbidden them to act, under penalty of death or infamous punishment. (56) Following Palmer's plea District Attorney Martin closed the case for the prosecution, and late on the afternoon of March 9, Judge Woodward delivered his charge to the jury. In an admirably clear, impartial, and ably written presentation of the law of riot and murder, SLOVAKIA 75 Woodward charged that the sheriff had the right as the chief officer of the county to summon a posse to assist him in the preservation of order and in the prevention of riot. The public peace in Hazleton was threatened. Men were being driven from their jobs by the mob. The Sheriff saw the people were terrorized by the strikers. When they were at West Hazleton and at Lattimer, the strikers failed to obey the sheriff and insisted on pushing on. It was the duty of the crowd to obey his command and that disobedience of the sheriff was evidence of a riotous purpose. If you are satisfied, gentlemen, from the evidence that the purpose of the sheriff and of the posse was to preserve order and prevent a riot, then it would follow that their intent and object was not a criminal or unlawful one, and the rule of the law which makes the act of one the act of all has no application to the facts of this case. (57) At three minutes after ten on the morning of March 9, the jury arrived at its verdict. The sealed paper was handed up to the Judge, who examined it and returned it to the clerk. The clerk read: ''Gentlemen of the jury, harken unto your verdict as the Court hath recorded it. You find in the case wherein the Commonwealth is prosecutor and Sheriff Martin et. al., defendants, you find the defendants not guilty. So say you all?" (58) The verdict of acquittal was a just one under the law, yet, at the same time, it is possible that a terrible doubt exists that the slaughter at Lattimer was necessary or justifiable. Could the tragedy have been avoided? It is not clear that the miners should have been prevented from marching on the highway; it is not clear that they should have been denied the opportunity to show themselves within sight of the miners at work; it is not clear that the deputies should have fired as soon as they did. But, the law is for all men, and against all men who are not obedient to it. There is no question of the right of men to strike. The strike is often the only weapon. When the striker learns to keep within the law, to be fair to others, and to respect property rights, he will have made the greatest advances in the direction of public sympathy. The example of the Lattimer strikers was clear. Had a determined effort been made to keep within the law, to win the friendship of the people of the Hazleton region, the clash with Sheriff Martin and his deputies would have been avoided. The law is the defense of the individual and the salvation of the nation. Violence toward it cannot win. EPILOGUE In the course of researching the Commonwealth v. Martin Trial, it has been found that the Luzerne County Court records for that case are missing from their file at the Luzerne County Court House. Perhaps an 76 SLOVAKIA attorney borrowed them to study and never returned them ; or perhaps they were removed by intent considering the hard feelings exhibited by some members of the Hazleton mining community following the jury's verdict. The sleepy little mining patch of Lattimer today is much the same as it was sixty-eight years ago. The breakers are gone , the trolley tracks are gone , and the miners, whose families now occupy the same houses that witnessed the shooting, work at the near-by collieries in Harleigh and Jeddo . The excitement that brought the name Lattimer to the mind of most Americans in 1897 has been completely forgotten - even in Luzerne County. Should Lattimer be forgotten? Some say it should . But in today 's society when groups of American are banding together and marching, sometimes in defiance of the law, in causes they believe to be paramount, the tragedy of Lattimer could happen again. FOOTNOTES (1) John W . Jordan, Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, vol. 7, (New York , 1916), 2350. (2) John Mitchell , Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903), 375. (3) Henry Edward Rood , " A Pennsylvania Colliery Village, " The Century Magazine, vol. 55, no . 6, (April, 1898), 814. (4) "2,500 Men cut at Hazleton ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. (5) " The Honey Brook Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 21, 1897 , 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 23, 1897, 8. (6) ''The Hazleton Strike,'' Wilk es-Barre Evening Leader, August 23 , 1897, 8. (7) " Two Thousand Foreigners Out, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 27, 1897, 1. (8) " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control ," Wilkes-Barre E vening Leader, August 28, 1897. 1. " Hazleton Strike Comes to a Demand ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 29, 1897, 1. (9) " The Anthracite Strike ," Wilkes -Barre E ve ning Leader, August 30, 1897, 1. (10) " Wild Excitement, " Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 2, 1897, 1-2. (11) " Strike Situation at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (12) " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 3, 1897, 1. (13) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897 , 1. (14)/bid., 1. (15) " Labor Day Parade at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 7, 1897, 1. (16) " Sheriff Martin on the Ground ," Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, September 6, 1897, 1. (17) " Strikers Still Marching," Wilkes -Barre Evening Leader. SLOVAKIA 77 (18) Ibid., 2. (19)lbid., 2. (20) Ibid., 2. (21) Ibid., 2. (22) "Murdered in Cold Blood," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 11 , 1897, 1. (23) Ibid., 1. (24) Ibid., 1. (25) Ibid. , 1. (26) Ibid. , 1. (27) Ibid., 1. (28) "Sheriff Martin to be Arrested, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 12, 1897, 1. (29) Ibid., 1. (30) ''They Will Not Return to Work, '' Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 14, 1897, 1. (31) "Everything Quiet Along the Line, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (32) " Miners ' Strike is Spreading," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 16, 1897, 1. (33) " News from the Seat of War," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 18, 1897, 1. (34) " Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 21, 1897, 1. (35) " Many Strikers Return to Work, " Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897, 1. (36) "A Quiet Day at Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. (37) " Troops Leave Hazleton ," Wilkes-Barre Record, September 29, 1897, 1. (38) " A Stampede to Return to Work," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 21 , 1897, 1. (39) " The Court Sits In Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. (40) " The Court Sits in Judgment," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 22, 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattimer," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 24, 1897, 1. " The Sheriff Condemned," Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 28, 1897, 1. (42) ''The Lattimer Cases,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 28, 1897, 1. (43) "The Twelve Jurymen Selected, " Wilkes-Barre Record, February 3, 1898, 1. (44) " The Lattimer Cases," Wilkes-Barre Record, February 4, 1898, 1. (45) Henry W. Palmer, Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, Penna. , 1913) 64. (46) Ibid., 65. (47) ''Excitement In Court,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 7, 1898, 12. (48) '' Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6 . (49) '' Said the Sheriff Shot, '' Wilkes-Barre Record, February 16, 1898, 6. (50) "A Labor View of Judge Woodward ," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4. (51) "Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter," New York World, February 20, 1898, 20. (52) Palmer , 67. (53) George B. Kulp , Luzerne Legal Register Reports, vol. 9 (Wilkes-Barre, 1900), 81. (54) Palmer , 81. 78 SLOVAKIA (55) Ibid., ll0. (56) Ibid., 147. (57) From Judge Woodward ' s original hand-written charge to the jury as found in his personal scrapbook in the possession of his grand-daughter, Mrs . Bruce Payne of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (58) " The Deputies Are Not Guilty," Wilkes-Barre Times, March 9, 1898, 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Jordan, John W ., Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography vol. 7, (New York, 1916) . Kulp, George B., Luzerne Legal Register Reports vol. 9, (Wilkes-Barre, 1900) . Mitchell , John, Organized Labor, (Philadelphia, 1903). Palmer, Henry W ., Fifty Years at the Bar and in Politics, (Williamsport, 1913) . Rood, Henry Edward , "A Pennsylvania Colliery Village," The Century Magazine, Vol. 55, no. 6, (1898). Newspaper Sources "A Labor View of Judge Woodward," New York Evening Sun, February 17, 1898, 4 . '' Samuel Gompers on the Lattimer Slaughter, " New York World, February 20 , 1898, 20. ''Yellow Journalism in the Court,'' Pittsburgh Times, February 8, 1898, 6. ''2,500 Men out at Hazleton, '' Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, August 16, 1897, 1. " The Honey Brook Strike, " August 17, 1897, 1. "Concessions to Honey Brook Miners," August 21, 1897, 7. "The Hazleton Strike ," August 23, 1897, 8 . " Two Thousand Foreigners Out," August 27, 1897, 1. " Strikers in Hazleton Region in Complete Control," August 28, 1897, 1. " Hazleton Strike comes to a Demand ," August 29, 1897, 1. " The Anthracite Strike ," August 30, 1897, 1. " Wild Excitement" September 2, 1897, 1-2. " Strike Situation at Hazleton," September 3 , 1897, 1. " Wild Scenes at Hazleton ," September 3, 1897, 1. " Sheriff Martin on the Ground, " September 6, 1897, 1. · 'Labor Day Parade at Hazleton,'' September 7, 1897, 1. "Strikers Still Marching, " Wilkes-Barre News Dealer, September 9, 1897, 2. "Murdered in Cold Blood," September 11, 1897, 1. " She riff Martin to be Arrested ," September 12, 1897, 1. " They Will Not Return to Work," September 14, 1897 , 1. · 'Eve rything Quiet along the Line ,' ' September 16, 1897, 1. " Mine rs ' Strike is Spreading, " September 17, 1897, 1. " News from the Seat of War," September 18, 1897, 1. " A Stampede to return to Work ," Septe mber 21, 1897, 1. "The Court sits in Judgment," Se ptember 22 , 1897, 1. " The Shooting at Lattime r," September 24 , 1897, 1. " She riff Condemned," September 28 , 1897, 1. ··A Quiet Day at Hazleton ,'' Wilkes-Barre Record, September 23, 1897, 1. SLOVAKIA 79 "Troops Leave Hazleton ," September 29, 1897, 1. "The Twelve Jurymen Selected," February 3, 1898, 1. "The Lattimer Cases," February 4, 1898, 1. "Excitement in Court," February 7, 1898 , 12. "Said the Sheriff Shot," February 16, 1898, 6. "Sunday in the Strike Region ," Wilkes-Barre Times, September 20, 1897 , 1. "The Dep uties are Not Guilty," March 9, 1898, 1. Woodward, Stanley, the original hand-written charge to the jury as found in Judge Woodwa rd 's personal scrap book now in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Bruce Payne of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania.  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 MASSACRE AT LATIIMER MINES: September 10, 1897 Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977<br />pp. 9-79<br /><ol><li>The Lattimer Massacre and Its Sources / George A. Turner (pp. 9-43).</li> <li>The Lattimer Massacre / Konštantín Čulen (pp. 44-61).</li> <li>The Lattimer Massacre and Trial / Harry B. Schooley III (pp. 62-79).</li> </ol> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Turner, George A., 1935-2014 Schooley, Harry B. Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 name SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/293943c0b83f61cc8975d8cf3f6e79af.pdf 507d35d0db53abcb327341f0ff214eca PDF Text Text 80 SLOVAKIA Immigration, Education and the Social Mobility of Slovaks, 1870-1930* M. MARK STOLARIK In the last few decades the social mobility of ethnic groups in American society has drawn the attention of numerous scholars from a variety of disciplines. Their research has raised some important questions about the nature and meaning of this phenomenon. Particularly influential has been the work of the sociologists Seymour Martin Lipset and Reinhard Bendix. In their Social Mobility in Industrial Society, (1) Lipset and Bendix demonstrated that moving up or down the socio-economic ladder was an integral and continuing aspect of the process of industrialization. They did not explain, however, what caused some people to move up, others to remain where they were and others still to move down. Josef Barton, trained in both history and sociology, sought to answer these questions by comparing the relative rates of movement of three ethnic groups in Cleveland in Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 18901950. (2) Barton found that education, family size and the occupation of the father played a pivotal role in the traditional American '' success story." The Rumanians, who came from peasant backgrounds similar to that of the Slovaks and Italians, stressed extended public education for their children, they limited the size of their families and their fathers tended to move from blue-collar to white-collar occupations more often than did Italians or Slovaks. As a result, more than fifty per cent of Rumanian children moved from manual to non-manual employment in the period 1900-1950 while less than twenty per cent of Italians and Slovaks did so. (3) What Barton did not explain was why the Rumanians had such a strong commitment to education, to small families and why the fathers were so mobile in contrast to Italians and Slovaks. Part of the answer lies, I submit, in the Old World background of the various groups and • This paper was presented to the Bicentennial Symposium on "Religious Freedom: Churches and Ethnic Communities in the American City, " at Saint Joseph's College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 21 , 1975. Reprinted from Immigrants and Religion in Urban America, (edited by Randall Miller and Thomas Marzik, copyright 1977) with the kind permission of the original publisher, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pa. �SLOVAKIA 81 in their attitude towards life as molded by their religions. To illustrate this hypothesis the Slovak experience will be examined in detail. Before the mass migration of Slovaks to America began in the 1880's, lay leaders in the Old World had stressed the value of education for social mobility and their people seemed to agree with them. As early as 1845, for example, Jan Cipka, a student at Vienna's polytechnic institute, anticipated the abolition of serfdom and urged his countrymen to prepare themselves for the approaching industrial age by sending their children to technical schools. (4) The editors of N arodni hlasnik agreed and in subsequent decades urged the founding of Slovak trade and high schools.(5) The editors of Obzor added the sobering comment that "knowledge is power." (6) Reacting to the urgings of their leaders, the Slovak people built and supported educational institutions whenever possible. By 1870 they had established three 'gymnasiums' (high schools) and operated 1,822 religious grammar schools, with the result that every second village had its own schoolhouse. So successful was the Slovak educational system that by 1885 it enrolled 88 percent of all children in its districts , the highest percentage in the entire Kingdom of Hungary.(7) The Hungarian government, rather than applauding such efforts, set out to thwart them because they conflicted with its official policy of Magyarization. Shortly after they reached the famous Compromise of 1867 with the Habsburgs, the Magyars of Hungary set out to assimilate their subject nationalities by attacking their school systems. Thus, they closed the three Slovak gymnasiums in 1874 on the pretext that they propagated "Pan-Slavism". Furthermore, the Minister of Education seized upon the fact that many village schools were primitive structures and over-crowded to nationalize them and turn them into public institutions. By 1905 the Slovaks of Hungary had only 241 schools left under their control.(8) Not only did the Magyars turn Slovak schools into public institutions but they also set out to eradicate the use of all non-Magyar languages in them. In 1877 the Budapest parliament banned all nonMagyar texts and two years later made the teaching of Magyar compulsory in all schools. Furthermore, starting in 1881 it paid teachers a bonus of 100 gold forints (equivalent to a year's wages) if they did a good job in Magyarizing their pupils. Those teachers who refused to cooperate were fired and students who balked at the new rules were expelled. The net result was a decline in Slovak literacy from 88 percent in 1885 to 76 percent in 1911. The Magyar public school system had virtually destroyed education in the Slovak language by the First World War.(9) While the Hungarian government worked at assimilating its subject nationalities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a very large section of the population began to emigrate to �82 SLOVAKIA America. Poor economic conditions in the Old World compelled hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to seek a livelihood in the New. By 1920 more than 600,000 of them lived in America, toiling in the mines, mills and refineries of the industrial Northeast. They were followed by a small group of intellectuals, both lay and religious, who fled national persecution in Hungary and who were determined to preserve Slovak life in the United States. Educational conditions in Hungary had a profound effect upon the thinking of those intellectuals who left for America. They brought with them an understandable contempt for public schools and they expressed these thoughts in their press. In an analysis of the nondenominational Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny, the largest and most influential Slovak newspaper in America before 1914, I found five articles concerned with education between the years 1893 and 1902 and these expressed nine discrete statements about it. Four declared the purpose of education to be the preservation of the children's language and nationality, three stressed the moral value of education and only one affirmed schooling to be a process of self improvement. Only once did the editors suggest that parents send their children to public schools if no parochial ones existed. The main complaint the editors made was that public schools "assimilate our children and turn them against their parents. " (10) In an analysis of the N<irodny Kalend<ir, the almanac of the secular National Slovak Society, I found similar opinions in four articles concerned with education between 1899 and 1917. Three of six ideas expressed in these articles stressed the need to preserve the children's language and heritage through schools, one emphasized the need to preserve the students' morals through schooling while only one each pointed to the value of education for self-improvement and social mobility.(11) Indeed, one contributor denounced public schools because "whether in America or in Hungary, (they) denationalize our children." (12) Thus, secular Slovak leaders in the United States no longer shared the enthusiasm for education that their colleagues back home had expressed in earlier decades. Religious leaders, on the other hand , stressed the moral value of education. In the old World even the Lutheran editors of Dom a Skala (Home and School) labelled public schools as •'bastard children of the church and state." They quite correctly charged the government with using state schools to "wage war upon the nationalities" and they demanded a return to good religious instruction because ••a moral unbringing is the chief aim of school and education is only a means of achieving this end."(13) Roman Catholic editors agreed that the chief aim of schooling was to instill "morality" in children. However, since most of their educational journals in Hungary were sponsored by the government, they extended this aim to include not only piety and good behavior but also loyalty to the Magyar state.(14) �SLOVAKIA 83 Slovak Catholic leaders in America , meanwhile, cared little about loyalty to the Magyar state but they did continue to stress the moral value of education. In an analysis of the leading Catholic Slovak newspaper Jednota over the years 1902-1911 , for instance, I found seventeen articles concerned with education and these contained thirtyone statements about its worth. Eleven times the editors praised parochial schools for cultivating their children's morality , and an equal numbe r of times they stressed the role of such institutions in preserving the next generation's ethnicity. Only three statements admitted the value of education for social mobility and only once did they speak of schooling as a means of self-improvement. And, while on three occasions the editors pointed to the good example set by other nationalities in parochial education, only twice did they suggest sending Slovak children to non-Slovak Catholic schools if they had none of their own.(15) The Jednota Kalend<ir , almanac of the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile was even more emphatic about the moral value of education. This annual published eight articles about schooling between 1898 and 1917 and these contained fifteen statements about its worth. Eight of them stressed the role of Catholic institutions in cultivating a child's morality while four added that they also preserved the children's nationality . Only once did a statement appear which praised education as a vehicle for social mobility. Similarly , only once did an author suggest that children attend public schools or parochial schools of another nationality if they had none of their own. (16) Clearly, then, Catholic leaders valued parochial schools above all else, they worried much more about their children's moral and national upbringing than about social mobility and they had no use for public schools. Indeed, when one looks at the reaction of Slovak Roman Catholic priests towards state schools, one finds only the harshest condemnation of these institutions. The Reverend Andrej Pavco, for instance, blamed the supposed decline of morality in America at the turn of the century on the "anti-religious " nature of public schools which " made loafers of all girls who attended them. " (17) Father Stefan Furdek agreed and further charged that state schools provided "an anti-God education" with the result that America had the highest divorce rate in the world. (18) Father Jan Porubsky added that "life is a preparation for God" and American public schools ignored this, causing the United States to lead the world in immorality and crime. Porubsky especially singled out trade schools because they allegedly produced " illiterate " children and propagated "atheism." He added that " these are the places from which cities get their vagabonds, suburbs their tramps and murderers and the gallows their offerings. " (19) In a more subtle article the Reverend Stefan Furdek analyzed both school systems and, in condemning public institutions, revealed the �84 SLOVAKIA basis of his Catholic philosophy. Public schools , he pointed out, were free . They supplied books and clothes to poor children and had nurses to care for the sick. Classes consisted of only thirty to forty pupils taught by teachers with diplomas and a good command of English. Slovak parochial schools, on the other hand, required the parents to pay tuition, their classes were overcrowded and the teachers often lacked diplomas . In spite of these faults, Furdek found parochial schools superior to public ones because they taught catechism. He declared that ''the saving of souls is more important than a good secular education." In other words, schools did not exist to promote social mobility but to give the child a decent moral upbringing . He closed his argument with the revealing statement that "a Gypsy cannot read music, but he can sure play the violin!" (20) Since both secular and religious leaders of the Slovak community in America had such negative attitudes towards public schools, and since the majority of Slovaks (80 percent) were Roman Catholics, it became almost inevitable that they would build as many parochial schools as possible and that they would send their children to these or to other Catholic institutions. The first Slovak Catholic school was built in Streator, Illinois in 1889. By 1930, more than half of the 241 Slovak parishes in America had their own schools.(21) Furthermore, Josef Barton and I have discovered that wherever the Slovak community had its own school, as at St. Wendelin's parish in Cleveland or at St. Peter's in Fort William (now Thunder Bay, Ontario), the majority (between 60 percent and 80 percent) of eligible Slovak children did attend it. (22) Where they did not have their own school, as at St. Cyril's in Minneapolis before 1938, almost half of the children attended parochial schools of other nationalities. (23) Thus , whenever possible, Slovak parents heeded the advice of their leaders and sent their children to parochial schools. Slovak parents also seemed to agree with their priests' teachings that the chief aim of schooling was not necessarily to promote social mobility here on earth but to prepare for the afterlife . Thus, once one had acquired the "three R's" and knew one's catechism, extended schooling became superfluous . This was clearly evident in the school attendance records of Slovak children in Cleveland, Minneapolis and Thunder Bay. In all three cities more than 60 percent of these children dropped out between the sixth and ninth grades in the period 19101940. This contrasted with an average American drop-out rate of 44 percent over the same period . Only twenty percent graduated from high school.(24) A few lay leaders recognized this phenomenon and complained about it. Jozef Joscak, editor of N<irodne Noviny, accused his American countrymen of "caring less about education than had Slovaks in the Old Country."(25) Pavel Jamarik, a perceptive social critic, charged that American-Slovak parents "only sent their children to high school if they wanted them to become priests." (26) Finally, �SLOVAKIA 85 Michal Bosak , a banker and one of America's first Slovak millionaires, advised parents to at least send their youngsters to commerical schools instead of into the mines and factories, so as to enable them to compete in America' s capitalist society. (27) Such advice often fell on deaf ears, for, as Jozef Joscak had earlier concluded, American Slovaks "had their minds on other things . " (28) The '' other things '' that J oscak referred to were a way of life that rejected the basic tenets of the ''Protestant ethic.' ' The German sociologist Max Weber had observed that Catholic and Protestant peoples at the tum of the century had different attitudes towards life and he developed an elaborate theory to explain these differences. It appeared in his celebrated book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (29) Among other things, Weber theorized that the Protestant Reformation , especially its Calvinist branch , helped bring about the modem Capitalist world because Calvinists regarded work as a glorification of God rather than as a curse that followed the fall of Adam, as Medieval Catholics had believed. Furthermore , Weber continued, since Calvinists believed in predestination, they stressed self-discipline, education and a constant striving to improve one's position in life. If one did, indeed, improve oneself, the Calvinists believed, it was proof that one was saved because God ' s grace descended only upon the 'elect.' Weber's theory has caused quite a debate in academic circles , with some scholars arguing that he was correct and others denouncing his views. One of his most enthusiastic defenders has been Gerhard Lenski. In his Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics and Family Life, (30) Lenski focused on 658 people of various religious persuasions in Detroit and sought to test the Weber thesis. He found that the Protestants in his sample constantly strove harder to succeed and to climb the socio-economic ladder than did Catholics , and they were successful in doing so much more often than Catholics and thus he concluded that Weber was essentially correct. The Catholics , Lenski added, were held back by an attitude that stressed the after-life rather than success in this world. While Lenski defended Weber, many more critics have attacked the latter's theories. Lipset and Bendix, for instance, argued that ethnicity was far more important than religious persuasion in American social mobility . They attributed the low rate of social mobility of Eastern Europeans as compared to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants to the later arrival of the former to this country. It was only a matter of time , they asserted, before third and fourth generation Poles , Italians and Slovaks caught up with British and Scandinavian peoples in the United States.(31) Similarly, Father Andrew Greeley, in Religion and Career: A Study of College Graduates(32) bent over backwards to try to disprove both Weber's and Lenski's theories . By using the resources of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which had ad- �86 SLOVAKIA ministered questionnaires to 33,000 college graduates in 1961 , Greeley tried to show that Catholics and Protestants had basically the same goals and aspirations in life and that one was as likely to be successful as the other. He did admit, however, that arriving Catholic immigrants may have been influenced by what he called a ''folk element'' which was anti-intellectual, but he saw this rapidly disappearing. (33) I see several flaws in Greeley's research. First of all, the sample he used tested only college graduates ' opinions, not their actual performances . Opinions do not necessarily reflect what people do after they graduate. Nor are the opinions of college graduates a good indicator of what the rest of their ethnic community may be thinking. Furthermore , these students may have answered the questions the way they guessed was expected of them by a society that worships social mobility . Greeley also did not differentiate enough between ethnic groups. I suspect that the vast majority of his Catholic students were German and Irish. These two peoples have been in America much longer than Eastern Europeans , they have had greater contact with White Anglo-Saxon Protestants in the past, both in the Old World and in the New, and they may even have begun to accept the "Protestant ethic" as they have gradually assimilated into American society. Finally , Greeley paid absolutely no attention to what the Catholic church has been teaching its people about the goal of life . Let us focus on the last point for the moment. Recall the advice of Father Porubsky that " life is a preparation for God" and Father Furdek 's pronouncement that " the saving of souls is much more important than a good secular education. '' (34) Should we dismiss these as the words of a couple of naive priests or do they represent official church teaching? The Baltimore Catechism which until Vatican II had been more important to most American Catholics than the Bible, since it was used in most Parochial schools, essentially repeats Porubsky's and Furdek's teachings . In the first lesson, dealing with the purpose of life, the question is asked, "Why did God make us?" The answer given is: "God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. " The next question asks, "What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven? ' ' and the reply is '' ... we must know, love and serve God in this world."(35) Nowhere does it say that we must strive to better ourselves on this earth, to work hard, to study and make money and to climb the social ladder. Indeed, the only mention of "work" that I could find in the Catechism is a derogatory one. In the lesson on the creation and fall of man, we read that because of Adam's original sin, " we have to die, to suffer, to study, to work .. . ! '' (36) In other words , studying and work are a curse that Adam brought upon us because of his disobedience to God. This teaching is the exact opposite of the ''Protestant ethic' ' and it has reached and influenced millions of Catholics over the last century. �SLOVAKIA 87 Having surveyed Slovak Catholic attitudes towards both education and work, and having discovered their negative attitudes towards both, we are now in a better position to explain their low rate of social mobility. ' 'Success'' in America has traditionally been viewed through White Anglo-Saxon Protestant eyes. Sociologists who measure success reflect such a bias. They always look for people moving up from bluecollar to white-collar and thence to professional occupations. A corollary is that once one ' 'succeeds,'' one moves out of the central city to the more affluent suburbs. This pattern of "up and out" is usually accepted as the only meaningful form of social mobility in America.(37) There is another approach to life, however, one seldom discussed by American scholars, which is typified by the Catholic Slovak experience. Josef Barton discovered it in his study of Rumanians, Italians and Slovaks in Cleveland, although he did not pursue the subject to its final conclusion. Thus, in looking at the ways in which the three immigrant groups reacted to the American situation, Barton found that almost half of the Slovak men in his sample became skilled workers and-or acquired some property in their original neighborhoods of settlement. Furthermore, they had large families which often lived in the extended form and this increased their overall family income. (38) Here , then was a different way of ''making it. '' It was all right to be a blue-collar worker, to drop out of school at an early age and to live in the same neighborhood all of your life. Stability, rather than movement, characterized the people of this community and they seemed to be satisfied with it. Even though Barton recognized that he had discovered a different approach to social mobility, he did not really approve of it. The Rumanian example of " up and out" impressed him as the " classic rise" of an immigrant group and he left us with the impression that somehow the Slovaks had made a mistake.(39) Whether or not they had, indeed, made a mistake depends largely upon their and the observer's perception of life. Is it one's goal to constantly strive to improve oneself through education, work and the accumulation of wealth here on earth? Or is it more important to lead a moral life, to accept one 's status, no matter how low, and strive for the higher goal of everlasting salvation? The answer is usually very personal but much depends on the teachings of one's church and on the religiosity of the individual. The majority of Slovak Catholics, I submit, were very religious and did heed the teachings of their leaders and the church, at least in the first two generations. Thus, they cared more for the moral upbringing of their children than for success here on earth and this was reflected in their condemnation of public schools, in their praise for Catholic education and in their acceptance of blue-collar work and life in ethnic neighborhoods. �88 SLOVAKIA But what of third and fourth generation American Slovaks? Do they perceive life in the same way as their parents and grandparents? Do they have the same attitudes towards work and school, family and neighborhood? We do not know because no one has yet researched this group . If Andrew Greeley' s studies of German and Irish Catholics are correct, then perhaps the " Protestant ethic " will eventually rub off on Slovak Catholics as they become more assimilated into American society. Perhaps the growing nationwide decline in parochial school attendance will aid in this process . Indeed, Catholic values generally may be changing across the land and the third and fourth generations may reflect such changes. These are questions which await further research . Should someone still be skeptical about the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic ," the various components of the Slovak community in America can be studied to provide a clearer answer. While 80 percent of Slovaks are Roman Catholics , about 15 percent are Lutherans and 2 percent are Calvinists. The latter two groups could be studied, and their attitudes towards life, work , education and their social mobility could be compared and contrasted with that of their Catholic counterparts. Such a study would supercede previous efforts because one would not have to control for ethnicity , time of arrival and other variables except religion. Such research could, hopefully , deal with the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic " to everyone 's satisfaction. Finally, the American concept of social mobility needs closer scrutiny. Should the majority of scholars continue to accept without question the ideal that everyone should constantly strive to move ''up and out ' '? What are the social consequences of such a philosophy? Is it good and necessary that everyone seek a higher education, for example? Who will sweep the streets, collect the garbage, fix the roads and man the factories if we continue to revere non-manual work so much? And, what are the consequences of an upwardly-mobile whitecollar worker moving from neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city all the time in order to keep climbing? Is this good for his family? Does it not in fact destroy extended family solidarity and breed an intense nuclear family that has no roots and no sense of community? (40) Indeed, the historian Rowland Berthoff has argued that America has in the past suffered from too much mobility and he predicted that this country 's many social ills would not disappear until a sense of community was restored in this land and this implied that Americans would have to stop moving around so much.(41) In this respect those Eastern Europeans who have stayed put and have tried to preserve their neighborhoods have been in the vanguard of social planning,. Perhaps Michael Novak is right. Perhaps we should stress extended family life, ethnic neighborhoods, stability and quietness again. (42) At least we should let those who prefer this way of life to live in peace , without bureaucratic harrassment. This would mean fighting �SLOVAKIA 89 "block-busting," "red-lining," freeway construction, and any other threats to community life that individuals or the government may pose. In short, it would call for respect for the pluralism of American life. It would mean toleration for the Catholic alternative to the ''Protestant ethic.'' FOOTNOTES (1) Berkeley , 1959. (2) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (3) Ibid ., pp. 99-100 . (4) Slouenskje narodiije nouini (Bratislava), November 18, 1845, p. 125. (5) N<i.rodni hl<i.snik (Martin), August 31, 1868, p . 178; October 31, 1868, p . 225; and May 31, 1871, p . 135 . (6) Obzor (Skalica), January 5, 1872 and January 5, 1881. (7) Julius Mesaros et al. , Dejiny Slouenska II: Od Roku 1848 do 1900 (A History of Slovakia , II: From 1848 to 1900) (Bratislava, 1968) , 264 ; and Dom a Skala (Ruzomberok), ill (1887) , 23-25. (8) Zipser Batte (Levoca), No. 29, 1905; and Jozef Gregor-Tajovsky , "Vychodne Slovensko " (Eastern Slovakia) , N<i.rodny Kalendar, 1913 (Pittsburgh), 243-4 . (9) Minister of Education to the School Inspector of Spis, Slovak State Archives in Levoca , county Spis , Executive Council, 420, KB, 1877 ; the same, 462, 1881; the same, II , 181 , 1898 and the same again, II , 183, 1902. See also William P. Dillingham, Chairman, Reports of the Immigration Commission, Volume 3, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Senate Document No . 756 (Washington, 1911), 84 for literacy rates. (10) Amerik<i.nsko-Slouenske Nouiny (Pittsburgh), February 2, 1893, p . 6; December 8, 1894, p . 8; January 8, 1895 , p . l; July 13 , 1895 , p . 4 ; April 28, 1898, p. 8. The quotation is from the first article . (11) N<i.rodny Kalend<i.r, 1899, 44-5; 1911, 59-64 and 224-8; and 1917, 222-4 . (12) Ibid. , 1917, 222 . (13) Dom a Skala, II (1886), 194; and ill (1887), 73. (14) See for example Nafa Z<i.staua (Presov) September 20, 1908, p . 2 and October 4, 1908, p. 2; Eperjes (Presov), September 1, 1913, p . l; August 15, 1913, p . 2; October 15 , 1914 , p . 3; andEghy<i.z Es Iskola (Presov), February 15, 1918, p . 69 . (15) Jednota (Cleveland), September 17, 1902, p . 3 ; October 1, 1902, p . 4; August 31 , 1904, p . 4; July 12 , 1905 , p . 4; July 26, 1905, p . 4 ; August 9, 1905, p. 4; February 7, 1906, p. 4; July 1, 1908, p . 4; August 19, 1908, p. 4; September 8, 1909, p . 4; February 16, 1910, p . 4 ; March 23, 1910, p . 4; July 27, 1910, p . 4; August 17, 1910, p . 4; September 2, 1910, p . 4 ; April 5, 1911, p . 4; and August 23, 1911 , p . 4. (16) Kalend<i.r Jednota, 1898 (Cleveland), 133-4 ; 1899, 135-6; 1902, 128-36; 1907, 120-3; 1908, 177-8; 1911, 29-31; 1913, 123-8 ; 1917, 83-5. (17) Ibid., 1898, 133. (18) Jednota, July 12, 1905, p . 4. (19) Kalend<i.r J ednota, 1907, 120-3. (20) Jednota, August 19, 1908 , p . 4. (21) N<i.rodnie nouiny, October 5, 1889, p . 3 and October 23, 1890, p . 3; Kalendar Jednota, 1930, 193-201. �90 SLOVAKIA (22) Barton, Peasants and Strangers , 149-50; M. Mark Stolarik, "Immigration and Urbanization: the Slovak Experience, 1870-1918," Ph .D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1974, pp. 165-6. (23) Ibid., Stolarik, 165-6. (24) Barton, Peasants and Strangers, 132 , 137 and Stolarik , "Immigration and Urbanization," 170. (25) N<irodne Nouiny (Pittsburgh) , June 2, 1910, p . 4. (26) Pavel Jarnarik , Vychoua dietok: prakticke n<iuody pre Slouenskych rodic:ou (The Raising of Children : Practical Advice for Slovak Parents) (Author ' s publication, Disputant , Virginia, 1913), 22. (27) Kalend<ir J ednota 1917, 83-5. (28) N<irodne Nouiny , June 2, 1910, p. 4. (29) Translated by Talcott Parsons (London, 1930). (30) New York, 1961. (31) Social Mobility in Industrial Society, 49-52 . (32) New York, 1963. (33) Ibid., p . 134. (34) See above page 6. (35) Rev . Michael A. McGuire, The New Baltimore Catechism and Mass (No. 2, Official Revised Edition, New York, 1941), p. 14. (36) Ibid. , p. 29. (37) All the scholars cited above - Lipset and Bendix , Lenski, Greeley and even Barton - accept this pattern. One who questions its wisdom is Richard Sennett in Families Against the City: Middle Class Homes in Industrial Chicago, 1872-1890 (Cambridge, 1970) . (38) Barton , Peasants and Strangers, 143. (39) Ibid., 172-3. (40) This was part of Richard Sennet's argumentt in Families Against the City, cited above . (41) See his An Unsettled People; Social Order and Disorder in American History (New York , 1971). (42) Novak makes this argument in his Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics: Politics and Culture in the Seventies (New York, 1972) and again in the two EMPAC! (Ethnic Millions Political Action Committee) statements of 1973 and 1975. � 80 SLOVAKIA Immigration, Education and the Social Mobility of Slovaks, 1870-1930* M. MARK STOLARIK In the last few decades the social mobility of ethnic groups in American society has drawn the attention of numerous scholars from a variety of disciplines. Their research has raised some important questions about the nature and meaning of this phenomenon. Particularly influential has been the work of the sociologists Seymour Martin Lipset and Reinhard Bendix. In their Social Mobility in Industrial Society, (1) Lipset and Bendix demonstrated that moving up or down the socio-economic ladder was an integral and continuing aspect of the process of industrialization. They did not explain, however, what caused some people to move up, others to remain where they were and others still to move down. Josef Barton, trained in both history and sociology, sought to answer these questions by comparing the relative rates of movement of three ethnic groups in Cleveland in Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 18901950. (2) Barton found that education, family size and the occupation of the father played a pivotal role in the traditional American '' success story." The Rumanians, who came from peasant backgrounds similar to that of the Slovaks and Italians, stressed extended public education for their children, they limited the size of their families and their fathers tended to move from blue-collar to white-collar occupations more often than did Italians or Slovaks. As a result, more than fifty per cent of Rumanian children moved from manual to non-manual employment in the period 1900-1950 while less than twenty per cent of Italians and Slovaks did so. (3) What Barton did not explain was why the Rumanians had such a strong commitment to education, to small families and why the fathers were so mobile in contrast to Italians and Slovaks. Part of the answer lies, I submit, in the Old World background of the various groups and • This paper was presented to the Bicentennial Symposium on "Religious Freedom: Churches and Ethnic Communities in the American City, " at Saint Joseph's College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 21 , 1975. Reprinted from Immigrants and Religion in Urban America, (edited by Randall Miller and Thomas Marzik, copyright 1977) with the kind permission of the original publisher, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pa. �SLOVAKIA 81 in their attitude towards life as molded by their religions. To illustrate this hypothesis the Slovak experience will be examined in detail. Before the mass migration of Slovaks to America began in the 1880's, lay leaders in the Old World had stressed the value of education for social mobility and their people seemed to agree with them. As early as 1845, for example, Jan Cipka, a student at Vienna's polytechnic institute, anticipated the abolition of serfdom and urged his countrymen to prepare themselves for the approaching industrial age by sending their children to technical schools. (4) The editors of N arodni hlasnik agreed and in subsequent decades urged the founding of Slovak trade and high schools.(5) The editors of Obzor added the sobering comment that "knowledge is power." (6) Reacting to the urgings of their leaders, the Slovak people built and supported educational institutions whenever possible. By 1870 they had established three 'gymnasiums' (high schools) and operated 1,822 religious grammar schools, with the result that every second village had its own schoolhouse. So successful was the Slovak educational system that by 1885 it enrolled 88 percent of all children in its districts , the highest percentage in the entire Kingdom of Hungary.(7) The Hungarian government, rather than applauding such efforts, set out to thwart them because they conflicted with its official policy of Magyarization. Shortly after they reached the famous Compromise of 1867 with the Habsburgs, the Magyars of Hungary set out to assimilate their subject nationalities by attacking their school systems. Thus, they closed the three Slovak gymnasiums in 1874 on the pretext that they propagated "Pan-Slavism". Furthermore, the Minister of Education seized upon the fact that many village schools were primitive structures and over-crowded to nationalize them and turn them into public institutions. By 1905 the Slovaks of Hungary had only 241 schools left under their control.(8) Not only did the Magyars turn Slovak schools into public institutions but they also set out to eradicate the use of all non-Magyar languages in them. In 1877 the Budapest parliament banned all nonMagyar texts and two years later made the teaching of Magyar compulsory in all schools. Furthermore, starting in 1881 it paid teachers a bonus of 100 gold forints (equivalent to a year's wages) if they did a good job in Magyarizing their pupils. Those teachers who refused to cooperate were fired and students who balked at the new rules were expelled. The net result was a decline in Slovak literacy from 88 percent in 1885 to 76 percent in 1911. The Magyar public school system had virtually destroyed education in the Slovak language by the First World War.(9) While the Hungarian government worked at assimilating its subject nationalities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a very large section of the population began to emigrate to �82 SLOVAKIA America. Poor economic conditions in the Old World compelled hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to seek a livelihood in the New. By 1920 more than 600,000 of them lived in America, toiling in the mines, mills and refineries of the industrial Northeast. They were followed by a small group of intellectuals, both lay and religious, who fled national persecution in Hungary and who were determined to preserve Slovak life in the United States. Educational conditions in Hungary had a profound effect upon the thinking of those intellectuals who left for America. They brought with them an understandable contempt for public schools and they expressed these thoughts in their press. In an analysis of the nondenominational Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny, the largest and most influential Slovak newspaper in America before 1914, I found five articles concerned with education between the years 1893 and 1902 and these expressed nine discrete statements about it. Four declared the purpose of education to be the preservation of the children's language and nationality, three stressed the moral value of education and only one affirmed schooling to be a process of self improvement. Only once did the editors suggest that parents send their children to public schools if no parochial ones existed. The main complaint the editors made was that public schools "assimilate our children and turn them against their parents. " (10) In an analysis of the N<irodny Kalend<ir, the almanac of the secular National Slovak Society, I found similar opinions in four articles concerned with education between 1899 and 1917. Three of six ideas expressed in these articles stressed the need to preserve the children's language and heritage through schools, one emphasized the need to preserve the students' morals through schooling while only one each pointed to the value of education for self-improvement and social mobility.(11) Indeed, one contributor denounced public schools because "whether in America or in Hungary, (they) denationalize our children." (12) Thus, secular Slovak leaders in the United States no longer shared the enthusiasm for education that their colleagues back home had expressed in earlier decades. Religious leaders, on the other hand , stressed the moral value of education. In the old World even the Lutheran editors of Dom a Skala (Home and School) labelled public schools as •'bastard children of the church and state." They quite correctly charged the government with using state schools to "wage war upon the nationalities" and they demanded a return to good religious instruction because ••a moral unbringing is the chief aim of school and education is only a means of achieving this end."(13) Roman Catholic editors agreed that the chief aim of schooling was to instill "morality" in children. However, since most of their educational journals in Hungary were sponsored by the government, they extended this aim to include not only piety and good behavior but also loyalty to the Magyar state.(14) �SLOVAKIA 83 Slovak Catholic leaders in America , meanwhile, cared little about loyalty to the Magyar state but they did continue to stress the moral value of education. In an analysis of the leading Catholic Slovak newspaper Jednota over the years 1902-1911 , for instance, I found seventeen articles concerned with education and these contained thirtyone statements about its worth. Eleven times the editors praised parochial schools for cultivating their children's morality , and an equal numbe r of times they stressed the role of such institutions in preserving the next generation's ethnicity. Only three statements admitted the value of education for social mobility and only once did they speak of schooling as a means of self-improvement. And, while on three occasions the editors pointed to the good example set by other nationalities in parochial education, only twice did they suggest sending Slovak children to non-Slovak Catholic schools if they had none of their own.(15) The Jednota Kalend<ir , almanac of the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile was even more emphatic about the moral value of education. This annual published eight articles about schooling between 1898 and 1917 and these contained fifteen statements about its worth. Eight of them stressed the role of Catholic institutions in cultivating a child's morality while four added that they also preserved the children's nationality . Only once did a statement appear which praised education as a vehicle for social mobility. Similarly , only once did an author suggest that children attend public schools or parochial schools of another nationality if they had none of their own. (16) Clearly, then, Catholic leaders valued parochial schools above all else, they worried much more about their children's moral and national upbringing than about social mobility and they had no use for public schools. Indeed, when one looks at the reaction of Slovak Roman Catholic priests towards state schools, one finds only the harshest condemnation of these institutions. The Reverend Andrej Pavco, for instance, blamed the supposed decline of morality in America at the turn of the century on the "anti-religious " nature of public schools which " made loafers of all girls who attended them. " (17) Father Stefan Furdek agreed and further charged that state schools provided "an anti-God education" with the result that America had the highest divorce rate in the world. (18) Father Jan Porubsky added that "life is a preparation for God" and American public schools ignored this, causing the United States to lead the world in immorality and crime. Porubsky especially singled out trade schools because they allegedly produced " illiterate " children and propagated "atheism." He added that " these are the places from which cities get their vagabonds, suburbs their tramps and murderers and the gallows their offerings. " (19) In a more subtle article the Reverend Stefan Furdek analyzed both school systems and, in condemning public institutions, revealed the �84 SLOVAKIA basis of his Catholic philosophy. Public schools , he pointed out, were free . They supplied books and clothes to poor children and had nurses to care for the sick. Classes consisted of only thirty to forty pupils taught by teachers with diplomas and a good command of English. Slovak parochial schools, on the other hand, required the parents to pay tuition, their classes were overcrowded and the teachers often lacked diplomas . In spite of these faults, Furdek found parochial schools superior to public ones because they taught catechism. He declared that ''the saving of souls is more important than a good secular education." In other words, schools did not exist to promote social mobility but to give the child a decent moral upbringing . He closed his argument with the revealing statement that "a Gypsy cannot read music, but he can sure play the violin!" (20) Since both secular and religious leaders of the Slovak community in America had such negative attitudes towards public schools, and since the majority of Slovaks (80 percent) were Roman Catholics, it became almost inevitable that they would build as many parochial schools as possible and that they would send their children to these or to other Catholic institutions. The first Slovak Catholic school was built in Streator, Illinois in 1889. By 1930, more than half of the 241 Slovak parishes in America had their own schools.(21) Furthermore, Josef Barton and I have discovered that wherever the Slovak community had its own school, as at St. Wendelin's parish in Cleveland or at St. Peter's in Fort William (now Thunder Bay, Ontario), the majority (between 60 percent and 80 percent) of eligible Slovak children did attend it. (22) Where they did not have their own school, as at St. Cyril's in Minneapolis before 1938, almost half of the children attended parochial schools of other nationalities. (23) Thus , whenever possible, Slovak parents heeded the advice of their leaders and sent their children to parochial schools. Slovak parents also seemed to agree with their priests' teachings that the chief aim of schooling was not necessarily to promote social mobility here on earth but to prepare for the afterlife . Thus, once one had acquired the "three R's" and knew one's catechism, extended schooling became superfluous . This was clearly evident in the school attendance records of Slovak children in Cleveland, Minneapolis and Thunder Bay. In all three cities more than 60 percent of these children dropped out between the sixth and ninth grades in the period 19101940. This contrasted with an average American drop-out rate of 44 percent over the same period . Only twenty percent graduated from high school.(24) A few lay leaders recognized this phenomenon and complained about it. Jozef Joscak, editor of N<irodne Noviny, accused his American countrymen of "caring less about education than had Slovaks in the Old Country."(25) Pavel Jamarik, a perceptive social critic, charged that American-Slovak parents "only sent their children to high school if they wanted them to become priests." (26) Finally, �SLOVAKIA 85 Michal Bosak , a banker and one of America's first Slovak millionaires, advised parents to at least send their youngsters to commerical schools instead of into the mines and factories, so as to enable them to compete in America' s capitalist society. (27) Such advice often fell on deaf ears, for, as Jozef Joscak had earlier concluded, American Slovaks "had their minds on other things . " (28) The '' other things '' that J oscak referred to were a way of life that rejected the basic tenets of the ''Protestant ethic.' ' The German sociologist Max Weber had observed that Catholic and Protestant peoples at the tum of the century had different attitudes towards life and he developed an elaborate theory to explain these differences. It appeared in his celebrated book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (29) Among other things, Weber theorized that the Protestant Reformation , especially its Calvinist branch , helped bring about the modem Capitalist world because Calvinists regarded work as a glorification of God rather than as a curse that followed the fall of Adam, as Medieval Catholics had believed. Furthermore , Weber continued, since Calvinists believed in predestination, they stressed self-discipline, education and a constant striving to improve one's position in life. If one did, indeed, improve oneself, the Calvinists believed, it was proof that one was saved because God ' s grace descended only upon the 'elect.' Weber's theory has caused quite a debate in academic circles , with some scholars arguing that he was correct and others denouncing his views. One of his most enthusiastic defenders has been Gerhard Lenski. In his Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics and Family Life, (30) Lenski focused on 658 people of various religious persuasions in Detroit and sought to test the Weber thesis. He found that the Protestants in his sample constantly strove harder to succeed and to climb the socio-economic ladder than did Catholics , and they were successful in doing so much more often than Catholics and thus he concluded that Weber was essentially correct. The Catholics , Lenski added, were held back by an attitude that stressed the after-life rather than success in this world. While Lenski defended Weber, many more critics have attacked the latter's theories. Lipset and Bendix, for instance, argued that ethnicity was far more important than religious persuasion in American social mobility . They attributed the low rate of social mobility of Eastern Europeans as compared to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants to the later arrival of the former to this country. It was only a matter of time , they asserted, before third and fourth generation Poles , Italians and Slovaks caught up with British and Scandinavian peoples in the United States.(31) Similarly, Father Andrew Greeley, in Religion and Career: A Study of College Graduates(32) bent over backwards to try to disprove both Weber's and Lenski's theories . By using the resources of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which had ad- �86 SLOVAKIA ministered questionnaires to 33,000 college graduates in 1961 , Greeley tried to show that Catholics and Protestants had basically the same goals and aspirations in life and that one was as likely to be successful as the other. He did admit, however, that arriving Catholic immigrants may have been influenced by what he called a ''folk element'' which was anti-intellectual, but he saw this rapidly disappearing. (33) I see several flaws in Greeley's research. First of all, the sample he used tested only college graduates ' opinions, not their actual performances . Opinions do not necessarily reflect what people do after they graduate. Nor are the opinions of college graduates a good indicator of what the rest of their ethnic community may be thinking. Furthermore , these students may have answered the questions the way they guessed was expected of them by a society that worships social mobility . Greeley also did not differentiate enough between ethnic groups. I suspect that the vast majority of his Catholic students were German and Irish. These two peoples have been in America much longer than Eastern Europeans , they have had greater contact with White Anglo-Saxon Protestants in the past, both in the Old World and in the New, and they may even have begun to accept the "Protestant ethic" as they have gradually assimilated into American society. Finally , Greeley paid absolutely no attention to what the Catholic church has been teaching its people about the goal of life . Let us focus on the last point for the moment. Recall the advice of Father Porubsky that " life is a preparation for God" and Father Furdek 's pronouncement that " the saving of souls is much more important than a good secular education. '' (34) Should we dismiss these as the words of a couple of naive priests or do they represent official church teaching? The Baltimore Catechism which until Vatican II had been more important to most American Catholics than the Bible, since it was used in most Parochial schools, essentially repeats Porubsky's and Furdek's teachings . In the first lesson, dealing with the purpose of life, the question is asked, "Why did God make us?" The answer given is: "God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. " The next question asks, "What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven? ' ' and the reply is '' ... we must know, love and serve God in this world."(35) Nowhere does it say that we must strive to better ourselves on this earth, to work hard, to study and make money and to climb the social ladder. Indeed, the only mention of "work" that I could find in the Catechism is a derogatory one. In the lesson on the creation and fall of man, we read that because of Adam's original sin, " we have to die, to suffer, to study, to work .. . ! '' (36) In other words , studying and work are a curse that Adam brought upon us because of his disobedience to God. This teaching is the exact opposite of the ''Protestant ethic' ' and it has reached and influenced millions of Catholics over the last century. �SLOVAKIA 87 Having surveyed Slovak Catholic attitudes towards both education and work, and having discovered their negative attitudes towards both, we are now in a better position to explain their low rate of social mobility. ' 'Success'' in America has traditionally been viewed through White Anglo-Saxon Protestant eyes. Sociologists who measure success reflect such a bias. They always look for people moving up from bluecollar to white-collar and thence to professional occupations. A corollary is that once one ' 'succeeds,'' one moves out of the central city to the more affluent suburbs. This pattern of "up and out" is usually accepted as the only meaningful form of social mobility in America.(37) There is another approach to life, however, one seldom discussed by American scholars, which is typified by the Catholic Slovak experience. Josef Barton discovered it in his study of Rumanians, Italians and Slovaks in Cleveland, although he did not pursue the subject to its final conclusion. Thus, in looking at the ways in which the three immigrant groups reacted to the American situation, Barton found that almost half of the Slovak men in his sample became skilled workers and-or acquired some property in their original neighborhoods of settlement. Furthermore, they had large families which often lived in the extended form and this increased their overall family income. (38) Here , then was a different way of ''making it. '' It was all right to be a blue-collar worker, to drop out of school at an early age and to live in the same neighborhood all of your life. Stability, rather than movement, characterized the people of this community and they seemed to be satisfied with it. Even though Barton recognized that he had discovered a different approach to social mobility, he did not really approve of it. The Rumanian example of " up and out" impressed him as the " classic rise" of an immigrant group and he left us with the impression that somehow the Slovaks had made a mistake.(39) Whether or not they had, indeed, made a mistake depends largely upon their and the observer's perception of life. Is it one's goal to constantly strive to improve oneself through education, work and the accumulation of wealth here on earth? Or is it more important to lead a moral life, to accept one 's status, no matter how low, and strive for the higher goal of everlasting salvation? The answer is usually very personal but much depends on the teachings of one's church and on the religiosity of the individual. The majority of Slovak Catholics, I submit, were very religious and did heed the teachings of their leaders and the church, at least in the first two generations. Thus, they cared more for the moral upbringing of their children than for success here on earth and this was reflected in their condemnation of public schools, in their praise for Catholic education and in their acceptance of blue-collar work and life in ethnic neighborhoods. �88 SLOVAKIA But what of third and fourth generation American Slovaks? Do they perceive life in the same way as their parents and grandparents? Do they have the same attitudes towards work and school, family and neighborhood? We do not know because no one has yet researched this group . If Andrew Greeley' s studies of German and Irish Catholics are correct, then perhaps the " Protestant ethic " will eventually rub off on Slovak Catholics as they become more assimilated into American society. Perhaps the growing nationwide decline in parochial school attendance will aid in this process . Indeed, Catholic values generally may be changing across the land and the third and fourth generations may reflect such changes. These are questions which await further research . Should someone still be skeptical about the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic ," the various components of the Slovak community in America can be studied to provide a clearer answer. While 80 percent of Slovaks are Roman Catholics , about 15 percent are Lutherans and 2 percent are Calvinists. The latter two groups could be studied, and their attitudes towards life, work , education and their social mobility could be compared and contrasted with that of their Catholic counterparts. Such a study would supercede previous efforts because one would not have to control for ethnicity , time of arrival and other variables except religion. Such research could, hopefully , deal with the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic " to everyone 's satisfaction. Finally, the American concept of social mobility needs closer scrutiny. Should the majority of scholars continue to accept without question the ideal that everyone should constantly strive to move ''up and out ' '? What are the social consequences of such a philosophy? Is it good and necessary that everyone seek a higher education, for example? Who will sweep the streets, collect the garbage, fix the roads and man the factories if we continue to revere non-manual work so much? And, what are the consequences of an upwardly-mobile whitecollar worker moving from neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city all the time in order to keep climbing? Is this good for his family? Does it not in fact destroy extended family solidarity and breed an intense nuclear family that has no roots and no sense of community? (40) Indeed, the historian Rowland Berthoff has argued that America has in the past suffered from too much mobility and he predicted that this country 's many social ills would not disappear until a sense of community was restored in this land and this implied that Americans would have to stop moving around so much.(41) In this respect those Eastern Europeans who have stayed put and have tried to preserve their neighborhoods have been in the vanguard of social planning,. Perhaps Michael Novak is right. Perhaps we should stress extended family life, ethnic neighborhoods, stability and quietness again. (42) At least we should let those who prefer this way of life to live in peace , without bureaucratic harrassment. This would mean fighting �SLOVAKIA 89 "block-busting," "red-lining," freeway construction, and any other threats to community life that individuals or the government may pose. In short, it would call for respect for the pluralism of American life. It would mean toleration for the Catholic alternative to the ''Protestant ethic.'' FOOTNOTES (1) Berkeley , 1959. (2) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (3) Ibid ., pp. 99-100 . (4) Slouenskje narodiije nouini (Bratislava), November 18, 1845, p. 125. (5) N<i.rodni hl<i.snik (Martin), August 31, 1868, p . 178; October 31, 1868, p . 225; and May 31, 1871, p . 135 . (6) Obzor (Skalica), January 5, 1872 and January 5, 1881. (7) Julius Mesaros et al. , Dejiny Slouenska II: Od Roku 1848 do 1900 (A History of Slovakia , II: From 1848 to 1900) (Bratislava, 1968) , 264 ; and Dom a Skala (Ruzomberok), ill (1887) , 23-25. (8) Zipser Batte (Levoca), No. 29, 1905; and Jozef Gregor-Tajovsky , "Vychodne Slovensko " (Eastern Slovakia) , N<i.rodny Kalendar, 1913 (Pittsburgh), 243-4 . (9) Minister of Education to the School Inspector of Spis, Slovak State Archives in Levoca , county Spis , Executive Council, 420, KB, 1877 ; the same, 462, 1881; the same, II , 181 , 1898 and the same again, II , 183, 1902. See also William P. Dillingham, Chairman, Reports of the Immigration Commission, Volume 3, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Senate Document No . 756 (Washington, 1911), 84 for literacy rates. (10) Amerik<i.nsko-Slouenske Nouiny (Pittsburgh), February 2, 1893, p . 6; December 8, 1894, p . 8; January 8, 1895 , p . l; July 13 , 1895 , p . 4 ; April 28, 1898, p. 8. The quotation is from the first article . (11) N<i.rodny Kalend<i.r, 1899, 44-5; 1911, 59-64 and 224-8; and 1917, 222-4 . (12) Ibid. , 1917, 222 . (13) Dom a Skala, II (1886), 194; and ill (1887), 73. (14) See for example Nafa Z<i.staua (Presov) September 20, 1908, p . 2 and October 4, 1908, p. 2; Eperjes (Presov), September 1, 1913, p . l; August 15, 1913, p . 2; October 15 , 1914 , p . 3; andEghy<i.z Es Iskola (Presov), February 15, 1918, p . 69 . (15) Jednota (Cleveland), September 17, 1902, p . 3 ; October 1, 1902, p . 4; August 31 , 1904, p . 4; July 12 , 1905 , p . 4; July 26, 1905, p . 4 ; August 9, 1905, p. 4; February 7, 1906, p. 4; July 1, 1908, p . 4; August 19, 1908, p. 4; September 8, 1909, p . 4; February 16, 1910, p . 4 ; March 23, 1910, p . 4; July 27, 1910, p . 4; August 17, 1910, p . 4; September 2, 1910, p . 4 ; April 5, 1911, p . 4; and August 23, 1911 , p . 4. (16) Kalend<i.r Jednota, 1898 (Cleveland), 133-4 ; 1899, 135-6; 1902, 128-36; 1907, 120-3; 1908, 177-8; 1911, 29-31; 1913, 123-8 ; 1917, 83-5. (17) Ibid., 1898, 133. (18) Jednota, July 12, 1905, p . 4. (19) Kalend<i.r J ednota, 1907, 120-3. (20) Jednota, August 19, 1908 , p . 4. (21) N<i.rodnie nouiny, October 5, 1889, p . 3 and October 23, 1890, p . 3; Kalendar Jednota, 1930, 193-201. �90 SLOVAKIA (22) Barton, Peasants and Strangers , 149-50; M. Mark Stolarik, "Immigration and Urbanization: the Slovak Experience, 1870-1918," Ph .D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1974, pp. 165-6. (23) Ibid., Stolarik, 165-6. (24) Barton, Peasants and Strangers, 132 , 137 and Stolarik , "Immigration and Urbanization," 170. (25) N<irodne Nouiny (Pittsburgh) , June 2, 1910, p . 4. (26) Pavel Jarnarik , Vychoua dietok: prakticke n<iuody pre Slouenskych rodic:ou (The Raising of Children : Practical Advice for Slovak Parents) (Author ' s publication, Disputant , Virginia, 1913), 22. (27) Kalend<ir J ednota 1917, 83-5. (28) N<irodne Nouiny , June 2, 1910, p. 4. (29) Translated by Talcott Parsons (London, 1930). (30) New York, 1961. (31) Social Mobility in Industrial Society, 49-52 . (32) New York, 1963. (33) Ibid., p . 134. (34) See above page 6. (35) Rev . Michael A. McGuire, The New Baltimore Catechism and Mass (No. 2, Official Revised Edition, New York, 1941), p. 14. (36) Ibid. , p. 29. (37) All the scholars cited above - Lipset and Bendix , Lenski, Greeley and even Barton - accept this pattern. One who questions its wisdom is Richard Sennett in Families Against the City: Middle Class Homes in Industrial Chicago, 1872-1890 (Cambridge, 1970) . (38) Barton , Peasants and Strangers, 143. (39) Ibid., 172-3. (40) This was part of Richard Sennet's argumentt in Families Against the City, cited above . (41) See his An Unsettled People; Social Order and Disorder in American History (New York , 1971). (42) Novak makes this argument in his Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics: Politics and Culture in the Seventies (New York, 1972) and again in the two EMPAC! (Ethnic Millions Political Action Committee) statements of 1973 and 1975. � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 80 SLOVAKIA Immigration, Education and the Social Mobility of Slovaks, 1870-1930* M. MARK STOLARIK In the last few decades the social mobility of ethnic groups in American society has drawn the attention of numerous scholars from a variety of disciplines. Their research has raised some important questions about the nature and meaning of this phenomenon. Particularly influential has been the work of the sociologists Seymour Martin Lipset and Reinhard Bendix. In their Social Mobility in Industrial Society, (1) Lipset and Bendix demonstrated that moving up or down the socio-economic ladder was an integral and continuing aspect of the process of industrialization. They did not explain, however, what caused some people to move up, others to remain where they were and others still to move down. Josef Barton, trained in both history and sociology, sought to answer these questions by comparing the relative rates of movement of three ethnic groups in Cleveland in Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians and Slovaks in an American City, 18901950. (2) Barton found that education, family size and the occupation of the father played a pivotal role in the traditional American '' success story." The Rumanians, who came from peasant backgrounds similar to that of the Slovaks and Italians, stressed extended public education for their children, they limited the size of their families and their fathers tended to move from blue-collar to white-collar occupations more often than did Italians or Slovaks. As a result, more than fifty per cent of Rumanian children moved from manual to non-manual employment in the period 1900-1950 while less than twenty per cent of Italians and Slovaks did so. (3) What Barton did not explain was why the Rumanians had such a strong commitment to education, to small families and why the fathers were so mobile in contrast to Italians and Slovaks. Part of the answer lies, I submit, in the Old World background of the various groups and • This paper was presented to the Bicentennial Symposium on "Religious Freedom: Churches and Ethnic Communities in the American City, " at Saint Joseph's College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 21 , 1975. Reprinted from Immigrants and Religion in Urban America, (edited by Randall Miller and Thomas Marzik, copyright 1977) with the kind permission of the original publisher, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pa. SLOVAKIA 81 in their attitude towards life as molded by their religions. To illustrate this hypothesis the Slovak experience will be examined in detail. Before the mass migration of Slovaks to America began in the 1880's, lay leaders in the Old World had stressed the value of education for social mobility and their people seemed to agree with them. As early as 1845, for example, Jan Cipka, a student at Vienna's polytechnic institute, anticipated the abolition of serfdom and urged his countrymen to prepare themselves for the approaching industrial age by sending their children to technical schools. (4) The editors of N arodni hlasnik agreed and in subsequent decades urged the founding of Slovak trade and high schools.(5) The editors of Obzor added the sobering comment that "knowledge is power." (6) Reacting to the urgings of their leaders, the Slovak people built and supported educational institutions whenever possible. By 1870 they had established three 'gymnasiums' (high schools) and operated 1,822 religious grammar schools, with the result that every second village had its own schoolhouse. So successful was the Slovak educational system that by 1885 it enrolled 88 percent of all children in its districts , the highest percentage in the entire Kingdom of Hungary.(7) The Hungarian government, rather than applauding such efforts, set out to thwart them because they conflicted with its official policy of Magyarization. Shortly after they reached the famous Compromise of 1867 with the Habsburgs, the Magyars of Hungary set out to assimilate their subject nationalities by attacking their school systems. Thus, they closed the three Slovak gymnasiums in 1874 on the pretext that they propagated "Pan-Slavism". Furthermore, the Minister of Education seized upon the fact that many village schools were primitive structures and over-crowded to nationalize them and turn them into public institutions. By 1905 the Slovaks of Hungary had only 241 schools left under their control.(8) Not only did the Magyars turn Slovak schools into public institutions but they also set out to eradicate the use of all non-Magyar languages in them. In 1877 the Budapest parliament banned all nonMagyar texts and two years later made the teaching of Magyar compulsory in all schools. Furthermore, starting in 1881 it paid teachers a bonus of 100 gold forints (equivalent to a year's wages) if they did a good job in Magyarizing their pupils. Those teachers who refused to cooperate were fired and students who balked at the new rules were expelled. The net result was a decline in Slovak literacy from 88 percent in 1885 to 76 percent in 1911. The Magyar public school system had virtually destroyed education in the Slovak language by the First World War.(9) While the Hungarian government worked at assimilating its subject nationalities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a very large section of the population began to emigrate to 82 SLOVAKIA America. Poor economic conditions in the Old World compelled hundreds of thousands of Slovaks to seek a livelihood in the New. By 1920 more than 600,000 of them lived in America, toiling in the mines, mills and refineries of the industrial Northeast. They were followed by a small group of intellectuals, both lay and religious, who fled national persecution in Hungary and who were determined to preserve Slovak life in the United States. Educational conditions in Hungary had a profound effect upon the thinking of those intellectuals who left for America. They brought with them an understandable contempt for public schools and they expressed these thoughts in their press. In an analysis of the nondenominational Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny, the largest and most influential Slovak newspaper in America before 1914, I found five articles concerned with education between the years 1893 and 1902 and these expressed nine discrete statements about it. Four declared the purpose of education to be the preservation of the children's language and nationality, three stressed the moral value of education and only one affirmed schooling to be a process of self improvement. Only once did the editors suggest that parents send their children to public schools if no parochial ones existed. The main complaint the editors made was that public schools "assimilate our children and turn them against their parents. " (10) In an analysis of the N<irodny Kalend<ir, the almanac of the secular National Slovak Society, I found similar opinions in four articles concerned with education between 1899 and 1917. Three of six ideas expressed in these articles stressed the need to preserve the children's language and heritage through schools, one emphasized the need to preserve the students' morals through schooling while only one each pointed to the value of education for self-improvement and social mobility.(11) Indeed, one contributor denounced public schools because "whether in America or in Hungary, (they) denationalize our children." (12) Thus, secular Slovak leaders in the United States no longer shared the enthusiasm for education that their colleagues back home had expressed in earlier decades. Religious leaders, on the other hand , stressed the moral value of education. In the old World even the Lutheran editors of Dom a Skala (Home and School) labelled public schools as •'bastard children of the church and state." They quite correctly charged the government with using state schools to "wage war upon the nationalities" and they demanded a return to good religious instruction because ••a moral unbringing is the chief aim of school and education is only a means of achieving this end."(13) Roman Catholic editors agreed that the chief aim of schooling was to instill "morality" in children. However, since most of their educational journals in Hungary were sponsored by the government, they extended this aim to include not only piety and good behavior but also loyalty to the Magyar state.(14) SLOVAKIA 83 Slovak Catholic leaders in America , meanwhile, cared little about loyalty to the Magyar state but they did continue to stress the moral value of education. In an analysis of the leading Catholic Slovak newspaper Jednota over the years 1902-1911 , for instance, I found seventeen articles concerned with education and these contained thirtyone statements about its worth. Eleven times the editors praised parochial schools for cultivating their children's morality , and an equal numbe r of times they stressed the role of such institutions in preserving the next generation's ethnicity. Only three statements admitted the value of education for social mobility and only once did they speak of schooling as a means of self-improvement. And, while on three occasions the editors pointed to the good example set by other nationalities in parochial education, only twice did they suggest sending Slovak children to non-Slovak Catholic schools if they had none of their own.(15) The Jednota Kalend<ir , almanac of the First Catholic Slovak Union, meanwhile was even more emphatic about the moral value of education. This annual published eight articles about schooling between 1898 and 1917 and these contained fifteen statements about its worth. Eight of them stressed the role of Catholic institutions in cultivating a child's morality while four added that they also preserved the children's nationality . Only once did a statement appear which praised education as a vehicle for social mobility. Similarly , only once did an author suggest that children attend public schools or parochial schools of another nationality if they had none of their own. (16) Clearly, then, Catholic leaders valued parochial schools above all else, they worried much more about their children's moral and national upbringing than about social mobility and they had no use for public schools. Indeed, when one looks at the reaction of Slovak Roman Catholic priests towards state schools, one finds only the harshest condemnation of these institutions. The Reverend Andrej Pavco, for instance, blamed the supposed decline of morality in America at the turn of the century on the "anti-religious " nature of public schools which " made loafers of all girls who attended them. " (17) Father Stefan Furdek agreed and further charged that state schools provided "an anti-God education" with the result that America had the highest divorce rate in the world. (18) Father Jan Porubsky added that "life is a preparation for God" and American public schools ignored this, causing the United States to lead the world in immorality and crime. Porubsky especially singled out trade schools because they allegedly produced " illiterate " children and propagated "atheism." He added that " these are the places from which cities get their vagabonds, suburbs their tramps and murderers and the gallows their offerings. " (19) In a more subtle article the Reverend Stefan Furdek analyzed both school systems and, in condemning public institutions, revealed the 84 SLOVAKIA basis of his Catholic philosophy. Public schools , he pointed out, were free . They supplied books and clothes to poor children and had nurses to care for the sick. Classes consisted of only thirty to forty pupils taught by teachers with diplomas and a good command of English. Slovak parochial schools, on the other hand, required the parents to pay tuition, their classes were overcrowded and the teachers often lacked diplomas . In spite of these faults, Furdek found parochial schools superior to public ones because they taught catechism. He declared that ''the saving of souls is more important than a good secular education." In other words, schools did not exist to promote social mobility but to give the child a decent moral upbringing . He closed his argument with the revealing statement that "a Gypsy cannot read music, but he can sure play the violin!" (20) Since both secular and religious leaders of the Slovak community in America had such negative attitudes towards public schools, and since the majority of Slovaks (80 percent) were Roman Catholics, it became almost inevitable that they would build as many parochial schools as possible and that they would send their children to these or to other Catholic institutions. The first Slovak Catholic school was built in Streator, Illinois in 1889. By 1930, more than half of the 241 Slovak parishes in America had their own schools.(21) Furthermore, Josef Barton and I have discovered that wherever the Slovak community had its own school, as at St. Wendelin's parish in Cleveland or at St. Peter's in Fort William (now Thunder Bay, Ontario), the majority (between 60 percent and 80 percent) of eligible Slovak children did attend it. (22) Where they did not have their own school, as at St. Cyril's in Minneapolis before 1938, almost half of the children attended parochial schools of other nationalities. (23) Thus , whenever possible, Slovak parents heeded the advice of their leaders and sent their children to parochial schools. Slovak parents also seemed to agree with their priests' teachings that the chief aim of schooling was not necessarily to promote social mobility here on earth but to prepare for the afterlife . Thus, once one had acquired the "three R's" and knew one's catechism, extended schooling became superfluous . This was clearly evident in the school attendance records of Slovak children in Cleveland, Minneapolis and Thunder Bay. In all three cities more than 60 percent of these children dropped out between the sixth and ninth grades in the period 19101940. This contrasted with an average American drop-out rate of 44 percent over the same period . Only twenty percent graduated from high school.(24) A few lay leaders recognized this phenomenon and complained about it. Jozef Joscak, editor of N<irodne Noviny, accused his American countrymen of "caring less about education than had Slovaks in the Old Country."(25) Pavel Jamarik, a perceptive social critic, charged that American-Slovak parents "only sent their children to high school if they wanted them to become priests." (26) Finally, SLOVAKIA 85 Michal Bosak , a banker and one of America's first Slovak millionaires, advised parents to at least send their youngsters to commerical schools instead of into the mines and factories, so as to enable them to compete in America' s capitalist society. (27) Such advice often fell on deaf ears, for, as Jozef Joscak had earlier concluded, American Slovaks "had their minds on other things . " (28) The '' other things '' that J oscak referred to were a way of life that rejected the basic tenets of the ''Protestant ethic.' ' The German sociologist Max Weber had observed that Catholic and Protestant peoples at the tum of the century had different attitudes towards life and he developed an elaborate theory to explain these differences. It appeared in his celebrated book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. (29) Among other things, Weber theorized that the Protestant Reformation , especially its Calvinist branch , helped bring about the modem Capitalist world because Calvinists regarded work as a glorification of God rather than as a curse that followed the fall of Adam, as Medieval Catholics had believed. Furthermore , Weber continued, since Calvinists believed in predestination, they stressed self-discipline, education and a constant striving to improve one's position in life. If one did, indeed, improve oneself, the Calvinists believed, it was proof that one was saved because God ' s grace descended only upon the 'elect.' Weber's theory has caused quite a debate in academic circles , with some scholars arguing that he was correct and others denouncing his views. One of his most enthusiastic defenders has been Gerhard Lenski. In his Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics and Family Life, (30) Lenski focused on 658 people of various religious persuasions in Detroit and sought to test the Weber thesis. He found that the Protestants in his sample constantly strove harder to succeed and to climb the socio-economic ladder than did Catholics , and they were successful in doing so much more often than Catholics and thus he concluded that Weber was essentially correct. The Catholics , Lenski added, were held back by an attitude that stressed the after-life rather than success in this world. While Lenski defended Weber, many more critics have attacked the latter's theories. Lipset and Bendix, for instance, argued that ethnicity was far more important than religious persuasion in American social mobility . They attributed the low rate of social mobility of Eastern Europeans as compared to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants to the later arrival of the former to this country. It was only a matter of time , they asserted, before third and fourth generation Poles , Italians and Slovaks caught up with British and Scandinavian peoples in the United States.(31) Similarly, Father Andrew Greeley, in Religion and Career: A Study of College Graduates(32) bent over backwards to try to disprove both Weber's and Lenski's theories . By using the resources of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which had ad- 86 SLOVAKIA ministered questionnaires to 33,000 college graduates in 1961 , Greeley tried to show that Catholics and Protestants had basically the same goals and aspirations in life and that one was as likely to be successful as the other. He did admit, however, that arriving Catholic immigrants may have been influenced by what he called a ''folk element'' which was anti-intellectual, but he saw this rapidly disappearing. (33) I see several flaws in Greeley's research. First of all, the sample he used tested only college graduates ' opinions, not their actual performances . Opinions do not necessarily reflect what people do after they graduate. Nor are the opinions of college graduates a good indicator of what the rest of their ethnic community may be thinking. Furthermore , these students may have answered the questions the way they guessed was expected of them by a society that worships social mobility . Greeley also did not differentiate enough between ethnic groups. I suspect that the vast majority of his Catholic students were German and Irish. These two peoples have been in America much longer than Eastern Europeans , they have had greater contact with White Anglo-Saxon Protestants in the past, both in the Old World and in the New, and they may even have begun to accept the "Protestant ethic" as they have gradually assimilated into American society. Finally , Greeley paid absolutely no attention to what the Catholic church has been teaching its people about the goal of life . Let us focus on the last point for the moment. Recall the advice of Father Porubsky that " life is a preparation for God" and Father Furdek 's pronouncement that " the saving of souls is much more important than a good secular education. '' (34) Should we dismiss these as the words of a couple of naive priests or do they represent official church teaching? The Baltimore Catechism which until Vatican II had been more important to most American Catholics than the Bible, since it was used in most Parochial schools, essentially repeats Porubsky's and Furdek's teachings . In the first lesson, dealing with the purpose of life, the question is asked, "Why did God make us?" The answer given is: "God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. " The next question asks, "What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven? ' ' and the reply is '' ... we must know, love and serve God in this world."(35) Nowhere does it say that we must strive to better ourselves on this earth, to work hard, to study and make money and to climb the social ladder. Indeed, the only mention of "work" that I could find in the Catechism is a derogatory one. In the lesson on the creation and fall of man, we read that because of Adam's original sin, " we have to die, to suffer, to study, to work .. . ! '' (36) In other words , studying and work are a curse that Adam brought upon us because of his disobedience to God. This teaching is the exact opposite of the ''Protestant ethic' ' and it has reached and influenced millions of Catholics over the last century. SLOVAKIA 87 Having surveyed Slovak Catholic attitudes towards both education and work, and having discovered their negative attitudes towards both, we are now in a better position to explain their low rate of social mobility. ' 'Success'' in America has traditionally been viewed through White Anglo-Saxon Protestant eyes. Sociologists who measure success reflect such a bias. They always look for people moving up from bluecollar to white-collar and thence to professional occupations. A corollary is that once one ' 'succeeds,'' one moves out of the central city to the more affluent suburbs. This pattern of "up and out" is usually accepted as the only meaningful form of social mobility in America.(37) There is another approach to life, however, one seldom discussed by American scholars, which is typified by the Catholic Slovak experience. Josef Barton discovered it in his study of Rumanians, Italians and Slovaks in Cleveland, although he did not pursue the subject to its final conclusion. Thus, in looking at the ways in which the three immigrant groups reacted to the American situation, Barton found that almost half of the Slovak men in his sample became skilled workers and-or acquired some property in their original neighborhoods of settlement. Furthermore, they had large families which often lived in the extended form and this increased their overall family income. (38) Here , then was a different way of ''making it. '' It was all right to be a blue-collar worker, to drop out of school at an early age and to live in the same neighborhood all of your life. Stability, rather than movement, characterized the people of this community and they seemed to be satisfied with it. Even though Barton recognized that he had discovered a different approach to social mobility, he did not really approve of it. The Rumanian example of " up and out" impressed him as the " classic rise" of an immigrant group and he left us with the impression that somehow the Slovaks had made a mistake.(39) Whether or not they had, indeed, made a mistake depends largely upon their and the observer's perception of life. Is it one's goal to constantly strive to improve oneself through education, work and the accumulation of wealth here on earth? Or is it more important to lead a moral life, to accept one 's status, no matter how low, and strive for the higher goal of everlasting salvation? The answer is usually very personal but much depends on the teachings of one's church and on the religiosity of the individual. The majority of Slovak Catholics, I submit, were very religious and did heed the teachings of their leaders and the church, at least in the first two generations. Thus, they cared more for the moral upbringing of their children than for success here on earth and this was reflected in their condemnation of public schools, in their praise for Catholic education and in their acceptance of blue-collar work and life in ethnic neighborhoods. 88 SLOVAKIA But what of third and fourth generation American Slovaks? Do they perceive life in the same way as their parents and grandparents? Do they have the same attitudes towards work and school, family and neighborhood? We do not know because no one has yet researched this group . If Andrew Greeley' s studies of German and Irish Catholics are correct, then perhaps the " Protestant ethic " will eventually rub off on Slovak Catholics as they become more assimilated into American society. Perhaps the growing nationwide decline in parochial school attendance will aid in this process . Indeed, Catholic values generally may be changing across the land and the third and fourth generations may reflect such changes. These are questions which await further research . Should someone still be skeptical about the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic ," the various components of the Slovak community in America can be studied to provide a clearer answer. While 80 percent of Slovaks are Roman Catholics , about 15 percent are Lutherans and 2 percent are Calvinists. The latter two groups could be studied, and their attitudes towards life, work , education and their social mobility could be compared and contrasted with that of their Catholic counterparts. Such a study would supercede previous efforts because one would not have to control for ethnicity , time of arrival and other variables except religion. Such research could, hopefully , deal with the whole theory of the " Protestant ethic " to everyone 's satisfaction. Finally, the American concept of social mobility needs closer scrutiny. Should the majority of scholars continue to accept without question the ideal that everyone should constantly strive to move ''up and out ' '? What are the social consequences of such a philosophy? Is it good and necessary that everyone seek a higher education, for example? Who will sweep the streets, collect the garbage, fix the roads and man the factories if we continue to revere non-manual work so much? And, what are the consequences of an upwardly-mobile whitecollar worker moving from neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city all the time in order to keep climbing? Is this good for his family? Does it not in fact destroy extended family solidarity and breed an intense nuclear family that has no roots and no sense of community? (40) Indeed, the historian Rowland Berthoff has argued that America has in the past suffered from too much mobility and he predicted that this country 's many social ills would not disappear until a sense of community was restored in this land and this implied that Americans would have to stop moving around so much.(41) In this respect those Eastern Europeans who have stayed put and have tried to preserve their neighborhoods have been in the vanguard of social planning,. Perhaps Michael Novak is right. Perhaps we should stress extended family life, ethnic neighborhoods, stability and quietness again. (42) At least we should let those who prefer this way of life to live in peace , without bureaucratic harrassment. This would mean fighting SLOVAKIA 89 "block-busting," "red-lining," freeway construction, and any other threats to community life that individuals or the government may pose. In short, it would call for respect for the pluralism of American life. It would mean toleration for the Catholic alternative to the ''Protestant ethic.'' FOOTNOTES (1) Berkeley , 1959. (2) Cambridge, Mass., 1975 . (3) Ibid ., pp. 99-100 . (4) Slouenskje narodiije nouini (Bratislava), November 18, 1845, p. 125. (5) N<i.rodni hl<i.snik (Martin), August 31, 1868, p . 178; October 31, 1868, p . 225; and May 31, 1871, p . 135 . (6) Obzor (Skalica), January 5, 1872 and January 5, 1881. (7) Julius Mesaros et al. , Dejiny Slouenska II: Od Roku 1848 do 1900 (A History of Slovakia , II: From 1848 to 1900) (Bratislava, 1968) , 264 ; and Dom a Skala (Ruzomberok), ill (1887) , 23-25. (8) Zipser Batte (Levoca), No. 29, 1905; and Jozef Gregor-Tajovsky , "Vychodne Slovensko " (Eastern Slovakia) , N<i.rodny Kalendar, 1913 (Pittsburgh), 243-4 . (9) Minister of Education to the School Inspector of Spis, Slovak State Archives in Levoca , county Spis , Executive Council, 420, KB, 1877 ; the same, 462, 1881; the same, II , 181 , 1898 and the same again, II , 183, 1902. See also William P. Dillingham, Chairman, Reports of the Immigration Commission, Volume 3, 61st Congress, 3rd Session, Senate Document No . 756 (Washington, 1911), 84 for literacy rates. (10) Amerik<i.nsko-Slouenske Nouiny (Pittsburgh), February 2, 1893, p . 6; December 8, 1894, p . 8; January 8, 1895 , p . l; July 13 , 1895 , p . 4 ; April 28, 1898, p. 8. The quotation is from the first article . (11) N<i.rodny Kalend<i.r, 1899, 44-5; 1911, 59-64 and 224-8; and 1917, 222-4 . (12) Ibid. , 1917, 222 . (13) Dom a Skala, II (1886), 194; and ill (1887), 73. (14) See for example Nafa Z<i.staua (Presov) September 20, 1908, p . 2 and October 4, 1908, p. 2; Eperjes (Presov), September 1, 1913, p . l; August 15, 1913, p . 2; October 15 , 1914 , p . 3; andEghy<i.z Es Iskola (Presov), February 15, 1918, p . 69 . (15) Jednota (Cleveland), September 17, 1902, p . 3 ; October 1, 1902, p . 4; August 31 , 1904, p . 4; July 12 , 1905 , p . 4; July 26, 1905, p . 4 ; August 9, 1905, p. 4; February 7, 1906, p. 4; July 1, 1908, p . 4; August 19, 1908, p. 4; September 8, 1909, p . 4; February 16, 1910, p . 4 ; March 23, 1910, p . 4; July 27, 1910, p . 4; August 17, 1910, p . 4; September 2, 1910, p . 4 ; April 5, 1911, p . 4; and August 23, 1911 , p . 4. (16) Kalend<i.r Jednota, 1898 (Cleveland), 133-4 ; 1899, 135-6; 1902, 128-36; 1907, 120-3; 1908, 177-8; 1911, 29-31; 1913, 123-8 ; 1917, 83-5. (17) Ibid., 1898, 133. (18) Jednota, July 12, 1905, p . 4. (19) Kalend<i.r J ednota, 1907, 120-3. (20) Jednota, August 19, 1908 , p . 4. (21) N<i.rodnie nouiny, October 5, 1889, p . 3 and October 23, 1890, p . 3; Kalendar Jednota, 1930, 193-201. 90 SLOVAKIA (22) Barton, Peasants and Strangers , 149-50; M. Mark Stolarik, "Immigration and Urbanization: the Slovak Experience, 1870-1918," Ph .D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1974, pp. 165-6. (23) Ibid., Stolarik, 165-6. (24) Barton, Peasants and Strangers, 132 , 137 and Stolarik , "Immigration and Urbanization," 170. (25) N<irodne Nouiny (Pittsburgh) , June 2, 1910, p . 4. (26) Pavel Jarnarik , Vychoua dietok: prakticke n<iuody pre Slouenskych rodic:ou (The Raising of Children : Practical Advice for Slovak Parents) (Author ' s publication, Disputant , Virginia, 1913), 22. (27) Kalend<ir J ednota 1917, 83-5. (28) N<irodne Nouiny , June 2, 1910, p. 4. (29) Translated by Talcott Parsons (London, 1930). (30) New York, 1961. (31) Social Mobility in Industrial Society, 49-52 . (32) New York, 1963. (33) Ibid., p . 134. (34) See above page 6. (35) Rev . Michael A. McGuire, The New Baltimore Catechism and Mass (No. 2, Official Revised Edition, New York, 1941), p. 14. (36) Ibid. , p. 29. (37) All the scholars cited above - Lipset and Bendix , Lenski, Greeley and even Barton - accept this pattern. One who questions its wisdom is Richard Sennett in Families Against the City: Middle Class Homes in Industrial Chicago, 1872-1890 (Cambridge, 1970) . (38) Barton , Peasants and Strangers, 143. (39) Ibid., 172-3. (40) This was part of Richard Sennet's argumentt in Families Against the City, cited above . (41) See his An Unsettled People; Social Order and Disorder in American History (New York , 1971). (42) Novak makes this argument in his Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics: Politics and Culture in the Seventies (New York, 1972) and again in the two EMPAC! (Ethnic Millions Political Action Committee) statements of 1973 and 1975.  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 Immigration, Education, and the Social Mobility of Slovaks, 1870-1930 Description An account of the resource M. Mark Stolarik Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977 pp. 80-90 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stolarik, M. Mark, 1943- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/61f7383a7c1f833e76ab21ff25507d49.pdf cbe51529c06c366ec59bc030c5e6ac8b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 91 Preludes to nCharter '77" THEODORIC J. ZUBEK, O.F.M. The occupation of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviet armies and their satellites in August, 1968, brought new enslavement. The Soviets did not achieve their goal immediately, but they gradually tightened the political relaxations of the Dubcek era. The Russians imprisoned Dubcek and his closest associates and dragged them to Russia. This gravely irritated public opinion. The leadership of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia insisted on the release of Dubcek and his co-workers and their own restoration to positions of leadership in Czecho-Slovakia. At first, the Russians were not able to find a person agreeable to collaborate with occupation authorities. They had to restore Dubcek and permit him to continue as the first Secretary of the Central Committee and leading member of the Presidium of the Communist Party. But the Russians worked feverishly to split the leadership of the Party. Dr. Gustav Husak proved to be the most able and articulate politician in the chaotic situation. In the early fifties, Husak, a Slovak, had been imprisoned and condemned for so-called bourgeois nationalistic deviation. He was ousted from the Communist party. In the period of de-Stalinization in 1963, he was released from prison and re-admitted into the Party, but held no official position. But, he was active behind the scenes in fomenting a movement against President Novotny and his Stalinist methods. In April, 1968, Husak became one of the vice-premiers of the government, and after the occupation also became a member of the Presidium. Though he had been politically rehabilitated through the moderate policy of Alexander Dubcek, it was, after the occupation that Husak became an open critic of "Communism with a human face." Dubcek was gradually pushed to the background, and lost one position after another. Finally, under increasing pressure, on April 17, 1969, Dubcek resigned as first secretary of the Communist Party, and was stripped of his membership in the Party. On the same day, Husak took his position as first secretary. Husak had considerable support among the people, especially in Slovakia, since he had suffered 12 years of imprisonment for his Slovak nationalism and later fought against Prague centralism. He had promoted the federalization of Czecho-Slovakia. He also seemed to favor Dubcek's liberalization. After the Russian occupation, many accepted Husak's argument that there was no military possibility of defending the country, and that it was necessary to yield to Russian pressure to some degree, and to consolidate the internal situation in the country in order to persuade Moscow that there was no need for the �92 SLOVAKIA continued presence of Russian armies in Czecho-Slovakia. Some also believed Husak's pledge that there would never be a return to Stalinism and that the earlier process of democratization would continue. Nevertheless , it became clear that Husak was primarily interested in gaining Moscow's confidence and in strengthening his own leading position. He fully accepted suppression and terrorism and in a short time, under the guise of "normalization, " he once again enslaved the country. In his hatred of religion, Husak outdid his Moscow bosses. Religion had strong roots, especially in Slovakia, so Husak's antireligious campaign is aimed particularly against the Catholic Church. Present day persecution of the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia is more brutal than in any other communist-dominated country of Europe. It is more pervasive and more cunning than it was during the regimes of Gottwald or Novotny. In recent years, more and more news stories about the terrorism of Husak's regime and the suppression of human rights appeared in the free world. At the beginning of 1977, a transcript of Charter '77 was published in many newspapers of the Western world. In this document, more than 600 Czech and Slovak signers protested against the suppression of human rights, specifically mentioning suppression of the rights to religious conviction. These rights are guaranteed by the . Czecho-Slovak Constitution as well as by the Helsinki Agreement which was by signed Czecho-Slovakia. This Charter '77 was preceded by several public protests of individual citizens, laymen and priests, who openly denounced the abuses of government power and the systematic campaign against religion. Some of these written protests found their way to the free world. A number of them were written before the Helsinki Agreement (September, 1975) and they refer to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution and other laws; later protests also refer to the Helsinki Agreement. It was a number of these protests that prepared the mood for Charter '77. It is proper to express admiration and respect for these individual dissidents for their courage and strength. In a Communist regime, it is riskier for an individual to protest against government abuses than it is for a group. Individual internationally unknown dissidents are taken care of quickly. Under the pretext of anti-state activity, they are silenced in prison or labor camps without much notice or commotion, and without comment in the free world. The Case of Pavol Carnogursky Pavol Carnogursky is a sixty-eight year old layman, who from his youth played an important role in the Catholic life of Slovakia. As an employee of the Catholic Agency in Bratislava, he organized and led Catholic Action programs among Slovak young people, patterned �SLOVAKIA 93 largely on the practices of the French and Belgian Catholic Workers and Catholic Organizations of intellectuals. During the period of Slovak autonomy and independence (19381945), he was a member of the Slovak Parliament and was esteemed as an expert on education and school matters. He opposed the Nazi tendencies of some Slovak politicians and belonged to the group of Slovak Catholic moderates headed by President Joseph Tiso and Dr. Martin Sokol, speaker of the Slovak Parliament . For this reason the Germans regarded him as a persona non grata. Immediately after World War II , Pavol Carnogursky tried to organize the Christian Republican Party as a platform for defending human rights and freedom of conscience in Slovakia, when the country was again made part of Czecho-Slovakia. On the insistence of Slovak bishops, however, the Slovak Catholics joined forces with the predominantly Lutheran Democratic Party and helped it attain an overwhelming victory in Slovakia, triumphing over the communists and other small parties in the 1946 elections. Although Carnogursky was clearly anti-Nazi, yet because of his position as a deputy during the Slovak Republic, he was not found acceptable for any public role in the political life of post-war Slovakia. In 1947 , because of his well known anti-communist stand and his involvement in re-organizing the Catholic workers and the intelligentsia, he was imprisoned and eventually forced into seclusion and silence, providing for his family as a manual worker in a Bratislava factory . Nevertheless, during all those years of seclusion, Carnogursky carefully observed the political and religious situation in Slovakia, read all the biased works of communist historians about the Slovak Republic, and occasionally expressed his critical views in letters he sent to his friends abroad . After the fall of Dubcek in 1969, there began an era of brutal suppression of human rights and a systematic denial of freedom of religion. A pro-communist organization of the clergy, called Pacem in Terris, was established and the priests of Czecho-Slovakia were again torn into two groups, each distrusting the other. The Catholic press, i.e. the Katolicke nouiny (Catholic News) and Duchouny Pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) were put under strict communist control. The pro-communist speeches and articles of Canon Jozef Dovala, pastor in Ziar nad Hronom in the Banska Bystrica Diocese and vicar general of the Diocese , a prominent member of the Pacem in Terris movement, brought the patience and silence of Pavol Carnogursky to an end. The corruption of the Katolicke nouiny offended Carnogursky in a special way, since for some time after the war he had been the editor of this Catholic weekly and worked earnestly to bring it to a high journalistic level. On September 11 , 1974, the executive board of the Federal Association of the Catholic Clergymen, Pacem in Terris , celebrated the �94 SLOVAKIA thirtieth a nniversary of the Slovak upri sing in Banska Bystrica. Canon Joze f Dov ala was the main speaker. He equated the so-called '' political Catholicism ' ' of the Slovak Republic with collaboration with Ge rman Naz ism, and made it co-responsible for the death of about four thou sand priests in Nazi concentration camps. In a letter to Dovala, Carnogursky said it was ab surd to draw a connection between the regime of the Slovak Republic and Ge rman atrocities during the war. He wrote: In a few months it will be thirty years since the e nd of the S econd World War. During this p eriod a countless multitude of articles, political or pseudo-political, as well as scholarly and professional works on the current situation in Slo vakia appeared. Only in exceptional cases are they free of anti-Catholic tendencies. The great majority of the m obtusely describe the situation prejudicially, as you did. I read all tho se articles and books. In the last analysis, they have the same goal: to destroy Catholic ideology and Catholic life in Slo vakia. For that reason the arguments, of which even a mildly honest man and more so a scholar would be ashamed, are crude, unfounded, even hostile, negative and degrading. But what you, Father, associated with the ideas of political Catholicism in Slovakia, surpasses e verything. W e should give credit to anti-Catholic propaganda for using such tricks. The Slo vak State had to be proclaimed at that particular time (March 14, 1939, ed.) and under prevailing circumstances, if we were to make sure that among the thousands of priests murdered (in other countries) in Hitler 's concentration camps there would not be Slo vak priests. In the last analysis, our administrative authorities were not motivated only by a concern for the priests, but for the whole nation as well. And the nation has been saved. I cannot understand why you are angered and prompted to attack it (Slovak independence), since its existence gave you guarantees assuring that you yourself did not become a victim of Hitler 's concentration camp, if you were ordained before World War II. (Douala was ordained March 17, 1938.) I cannot understand why they talk only about political Catholicism and not about political Lutheranism, political Judaism, political atheism, and about the means by which these denominations and institutions have in that day and even to our day influenced and affected public life. Catholicism in Slovakia was a historical force in the nation. Without the care of the Catholic church for education, the social structure, schools, the press, agriculture and social and economic institutions, especially without the work and sacrifices of the best sons of the nation who as Catholic priests defended its voice and language, developing and enriching it through the centuries and assuring its cultural and economic growth - we would have perished. I can well understand why in the Protestant milieu, among the Jews and other denominations in Slovakia, there was not a similar �SLOVAKIA 95 attack on their own. They are fully conscious of the consequences of such a step. Your attack on so-called political Catholicism during the span of the Slovak Republic, unfounded and, to say in openly, irresponsible as it is, is the more tragic because it came at the time when large-scale militant atheism was active in Slovakia and aimed its fury against the Catholic Church, its doctrine, essence and its historical influence upon the thinking and feeling of our people. And this is done by repressive methods not invoked now at the end of the twentieth century by any other Socialist country, not even in black Africa. No teacher, no educator among us, is permitted to enter a classroom, to work among the students, to teach even technical subject matter, unless he declares that he has solved the religious question, which means that he proclaims that he is an atheist. He must avow that he is an atheist not only in his private convictions, but in an active sense as well, ready to teach and educate in the atheistic way. Any doubt in this area, any evidence of religious feelings, such as attendance at divine services, reception of any sacrament, excludes him from a teaching position. Parents who enrolled their children for religious instruction are exposed to unheard of pressure from the school officials and from their employers. Children who attended religious instruction are denied advanced studies. There is a general rule valid even among the most primitive social groups that under-age children are not responsible for a transgression of the law. In our case, children are punished for attending religious instructions, while the Constitution of the peoples' democratic system ironically guarantees freedom of religious conviction. And these sanctions against children are not for a limited period of time, but for their whole lifetime. Father, how will the history of the Church in Slovakia and the general history of mankind call this kind of Catholicism, which, witnessing all this, still feels and expresses itself as you did in this case? My letter to you cannot delineate a complete description of the tragic situation of the Catholic Church in Slovakia. This situation has the dimensions of a world problem that cannot be contained in one letter. The core of the problem is the effort at the eradication of Christian consciousness in the life and culture of a nation which by its very nature and because of its Christian Catholic roots contributed to the civilization process in the heart of Europe ever since the ninth century. We cannot blind our eyes with illusions, assuming that the working of divine grace alone will defeat the imperiled Christianity of our n(!,tion. Without our personal co-operation, our struggle and our living faith, we cannot count on perpetuating the religious life and spirit of our universally Christian country. Doubtless, this struggle demands not only our standing up as Christians but also our intelligent approach to find reasonable �96 SLOVAKIA possibilities to solve the problems facing us without craven concessions and compromises. But an attack like yours, coming in such a form and content, inveighing upon political Catholicism as you have done, cannot be accounted as an acceptable line of conduct. Pavol Camogursky's second letter of protest was addressed to Bishop Jozef Feranec, Ordinary of the Diocese of Banska Bystrica. It deals with an article by Jozef Dovala published in the Katolicke Nouiny (Catholic News) August 29, 1976, in which the author states that the priests and laity participate in up building the new way of life in CzechoSlovakia where freedom of religion is constitutionally safeguarded. Dovala wrote this article after his return from the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia (August 1-7, 1976) where he attended the Slovak services as the only priest from Slovakia. The text of Camogursky' s letter of August 29, 1976, is as follows: Your Excellency, after reading the editorial in the last issue of the Katolicke Nouiny (no. 53, August 29, 1976) even the simplest believer cannot refrain from reacting in protest, realizing how severe is the extermination process against the Church in Slovakia and how this bitter reality opposes his religious conviction and undermines his devotion to the duties which bind him to the Church. In this article vicar Jozef Douala of Banska Bystrica, wrote among other things: 'Priests as well as laymen participate in the up building of our new life and they also share in its fruits. The Constitution of our state system respects the conviction of every citizen and guarantees the freedom of religion'. With pain in my heart I must state that reality in no way bears out the import of these words. Only a cynical scoffer could write thus, bringing the paper to the level of absurdity and compromising the reader in whose name he so dares to write. What then is the factual status of religious affairs, notwithstanding what the Constitution and Article 7 of the Helsinki Agreement provide? Two weeks ago, on August 18, 1976, the daily Pravda, organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia, published a report on the conclusions of the Party Congress and on atheistic education in Slovakia. The gist of these conclusions by the reporting officer read: 'Slovakia became a country of mass atheism. 'A competent representative would hardly dare to make such a bold and far reaching statement in the Party organ of any other Socialist state. Since it cannot be doubted that P. Prusak 's report was factual, even if he did not elaborate about what means were used where it was attained, one must take it as a hard fact. In Slovakia there is a special campaign against religion. I am convinced that Church leadership in Slovakia definitely and carefully concerns itself with the gravity of this article and will weigh its consequences both for itself and for the sake of the Church in Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 97 I am merely emphasizing the fact that the core of such purported success of atheism in Slovakia is viewed by the author as a purposeful atheistic work which has assumed a systematic character, as he specifically underlines it. In this systematic character of mass abandonment of the paternal heritage - the Catholic Church - by her sons and daughters, one must also see the fact that in Church leadership there are some persons whose high positions serve as the necessary front windows for facilitating apostasy and promoting mass atheism by playing a role assigned to them in their high functions. On the very same level, alas, one must also place the paper Katolicke Noviny which is degenerating into a publication of professional flatterers writing explicitly about themes that have very little in common with authentic religion. This attitude is in total contradiction to the contemporary difficult position of the Church, especially with the mentality of tormented parent-believers. It does not serve the serious matter of peace and rapprochement and easing of tensions. Forgive me, my Bishop, for the bitter tone of this letter. Truly, it is not as bitter as it is painful. And it is precisely for that reason that I must react to the slap on the face inflicted by the aforementioned writing of your vicar general. But not to write would pose an impossible dilemma for me: Am I still a Catholic? Has Mr. Prusak also rightfully included me in his concept of 'mass atheism' in Slovakia? For a responsible member of the Church not to react righteously to this critical development at a time when the very existence of the Church is at stake would be tantamount to not being in rapport with her, with this historic force which endowed Slovakia with all her spiritual, moral and cultural wealth. (1) Pavol Camogursky was imprisoned on November 10, 1976, undoubtedly for this daring analysis of the religious situation in Slovakia and his sharp criticism of Jozef Dovala. In such cases, stock charges of anti-state activities are readily found in the deformed communist system of justice. When Carnogursky ' s case evoked wide publicity in the free world, he was released from prison. He is awaiting trial for purported anti-state activity in the near future. A Speech by Aloysius Tkac Aloysius Tkac is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Kosice (Eastern Slovakia). He is now 43 years old. He was an archivist in the bishop's chancery and as such he was a member of the pro-communist priestly organization Pacem in Terris. Seeing all the abuses perpetrated against the Church by the communist regime, he decided to publicly denounce them at the festive meeting of this organization on October 23, 1974. On the occasion of the celebration of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Slovak Uprising, in the presence of communist officials controlling �98 SLOVAKIA all activities of the said organization, he first recalled the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic (art. 32) guaranteeing religious freedom of all citizens. Then he cited the government decrees and pertinent regulations of the Ministry of Culture from 1970 and 1972, by which religious education of children of second to seventh grades is permitted. He mentioned recent statements of the President about religious freedom; and no. 326 of the criminal code, by which all those hindering religious freedom and religious activity by force should be prosecuted and punished. He then proceeded to give accounts of actual religious situations in the country: We cannot pass with silence the unpleasant fact which causes both priests and believers great suffering; we feel we are being discriminated against. The procedure in regard to the spiritual needs many times is reckless and we consider it extremely harsh. The guidelines of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic concerning the enrollment of children for religious instructions are in many places disregarded. Groups were formed which not only belittle religious instructions, but hold back parents from the enrollment of their children in religious instruction by direct terror. Contrary to official guidelines about the enrollment, both parents have to present the enrollment petition; often the father or the mother have to excuse themselves from their jobs and complete their work after working hours. It was brought forth to some parents: 'Don't you want to send your children to a higher level of education? Do you want to bury the future of your children in technical schooling?' The behavior of many teachers was harsh, arrogant (such as tearing to pieces the enrollment petition or throwing it away), an illegal act, and it offended the dignity of the citizen-believers. Children attending religious instructions are often excluded from activities with their peers; they cannot make the Pioneers' pledge. During the school year there is also a great deal of peer and teacher pressure put on them. Parents and their children are going through Calvary. They are really martyrs. But how does all this square with the above mentioned state decrees? Even if there were only a few of thse examples, still we must not be silent. Unfortunately, such incidents are very frequent! The fact is that only a small percentage of the children are enrolled for religious instructions. Does this mean that parents and students have renounced their faith and become atheists? By no means! It is largely the result of a natural fear concerning the future! Citizen-believers are being deterred from fulfilling their religious needs, from receiving sacraments (Mass, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony). Only with difficulty can a priest secretly administer the sacraments of the dying in a hospital. Under various, even false, accusations state permission for priestly work has been revoked to several priests. Does that not bother �SLOVAKIA 99 us? Does not the fate of our brothers in the priesthood concern us? Do we not stand up for the defense of the honor of the priestly state? If not, it is a tragedy! Fifteen newly ordained priests, four months after their ordination, are still waiting for their assignments. Other college graduates have their work assignments in their pockets the moment they have finished their studies. And there are so many parishes and chaplaincies unoccupied/ There are other pains, but others should speak about them! Brothers, friends, I have brought up our common pains. I have spoken to you about the suffering of our believing people. We are not too sensitive, nor are we asking for privileges. We are in pain from the thorns that we have to wear with our people. We are happy to live in our Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic. We would not betray it for anything. But let us eliminate the mistakes and inadequacies which make our lives difficult. This frank statement shocked the priests and the communist government representatives who always attend such meetings . As a rule, only praise of and gratitude to the regime are expressed at such gatherings. The statement was not even mentioned in the so-called Catholic press of Czecho-Slovakia, or other newspapers. It was secretly smuggled to the free world. What happened to this brave Catholic priest who openly expressed both the facts and the feelings of all conscientious priests and Catholic lay people? Nothing immediately . But then in July of 1975 , almost a year later, news came from Slovakia that several priests who expressed their anti-communist feelings were attacked and some of them severely injured by some individuals who were never apprehended by the police . One of those attacked and severely injured was Aloysius Tkac. In December , 1975 the state permit of Aloysius Tkac to perform priestly duties was withdrawn. His present fate is not known . It may be either manual work or jail. (2) Protests of Monsignor Trstensky Monsignor Victor Trstensky is a prominent Slovak priest. He was born in Trstena (District Orava) on March 29, 1908. After finishing his basic and high school studies in Trstena, he enrolled in the Spis Diocesan Seminary, and was ordained on June 29, 1931. Because of his pastoral zeal and exemplary priestly life, he early became pastor of St. Catherine Church in Dolny Kubin, where he was also a teacher of religion at the local gynmasium. On the recommendation of his Bishop, John Vojtassak, he was made Papal Prelate (Monsignor) while still a very young priest. During the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), as a prominent member of the Hlinka Slovak Populist Party, he took an active part in the public life of his town; at the same time he was involved in the Catholic Action Movement. �100 SLOVAKIA For this activity, after the Second World War he was imprisoned and spent twenty-one years in various prisons, in labor camps, and in manual work. During the Dubcek era, he was rehabilitated and received a state permit for pastoral work on October 7, 1969. The Ordinary of the Spis Diocese , Reverend Joseph Ligos, appointed him adminstrator of St. Nicholas Church in Stara Lubovna where he worked tirelessly for four years. In the post-Dubcek era, the communists in Czecho-Slovakia could not tolerate strong personalities like Monsignor Trstensky in pastoral work . They were afraid of his moral influence on parishioners and particularly on youth. With the year 1974, a new Calvary began for Monsignor Trstensky. The communist-dominated District Committee in Stara Lubovna decided that Trstensky had to leave the town and again be removed from pastoral work . He was notified about his imminent dismissal on January 21, 1974 by the new Ordinary of the Diocese, Stephen Garaj. On January 27, 1974 , Monsignor Trstensky preached to his stunned parishioners a memorable homily, which was secretly taped and later found its way to the free world. The principal reasons for Trstensky's dismissal, given to the vicar capitular by Communist officials, were as follows: 1. preaching against atheism and atheists; 2. sending gifts to old people on Christmas; 3. meetings with altar boys in the church and rectory; 4. keeping in his parish religious Sisters in violation of state regulations; 5. blessing the homes of parishioners after Epiphany. In his classic homily, Monsignor Trstensky explained his activity as pastor of the church in Stara Lubovna and argued convincingly that there was nothing illegal in his pastoral work . He concluded his homily with these words: What does matter is the truth. Whoever distorts the truth cannot build the country. Only truth can save the nation and the country. Remember, if I have to leave here, I am not leaving as a criminal, murderer, traitor of the nation and country. I love my country. Twice I was abroad - in Vienna, Rome, Paris. I could have stayed there. I was invited to do so. But I said: 'I am a Slovak. I did not do anything wrong. I want to live among our people because I love my country and my people.' I returned home. I sincerely love my country, and not only in words but more so by teaching you to love God and one another; by teaching you to work diligently and to live morally. I do not talk about peace, but I promote it with my whole life and work. (3) The decision of the County Committee, Department of Culture, in Stara Lubovna, prohibiting Trstensky to perform priestly ministry was dated January 30, 1974 and delivered to him on February 1, 1974. The reasons for his dismissal are formulated as follows : From the beginning of his assignment to Stara Lubovna, Victor Trstensky in various ways manifested his dissent with the development �SLOVAKIA 101 of our socialist society. For that reason, several sessions were held with him where he was notified that he was breaking the norms established for state-church relationships. In recent times he has increased his reactionary activity and in his sermons he openly and vituperatively spoke against progressively thinking citizens and incited against them. In one of his sermons he said that the unbelievers will once again experience the supremacy of god (sic) and will wish to become believers, but it will be too late. By this activity he was systematically breaking the established laws regarding state-church relations. Such was the case during the last Christmas season, when with the help of school children he distributed to some families packages containing wine, oranges, soap and other items. During his assignment to the parish of Stara Lubovna he intentionally infringed upon the directives on religious instructions by gathering a group of altar boys and choir singers in the church and rectory for practice; furthermore, he organized meetings with a considerable number of children in the rectory. During his assignment at the parish of Stara Lubovna, three religious Sisters came to him and, under his direction, performed church functions and worked actively on the revitalization of the church in the city and among the youth. For these reasons and for his dangerously anti-socialist stand, shown particularly in recent times and in these last days, when he caused among the believers a high and dangerous tension, his continuance in church administration would seriously endanger peaceful social life and the interests of our working people; therefore, with immediate effectiveness, we take away his state permit to work in church administration. On February 14, 1974, Monsignor Trstensky appealed this verdict. As a preliminary to his letter of appeal, he pointed to the irregularities in the whole procedure against him by quoting eight paragraphs of law 71-1967, which were disregarded in his case. Then, in eight pages, he convincingly refuted all the vague or completely false charges against him. He referred to the public and well-known record of his activity as pastor of Stara Lubovna parish. He emphatically stated that he only fulfilled his duties as pastor of a parish, never acting against the state laws and official regulations. The only real reason for the removal of Monsignor Trstensky from pastoral work was his exemplary priestly life and his zealous work for the spiritual welfare of his flock. The appeal of Monsignor Trstensky had no effect and the District Committee in Kosice which by the decision of February 19, 1974, confirmed the verdict of the County Committee in Stara Lubovna and made the decision final, precluding any further appeal. Monsignor Trstensky thereafter went to live in his town of birth, Trstena, in the region of Orava. Grateful parishioners of Stara Lubovna did not forget their beloved pastor. As a token of their appreciation and �102 SLOVAKIA gratitude during the rest of the year 1974, they traveled to Trstena in trucks loaded with construction material and built a home for him. He lives there today. Letters to Highest Authorities After spending years in prison and now being deprived of the permit to work as a priest, Monsignor Trstensky became a fearless witness to communist persecution of loyal priests, and a bold defender of the minimal rights of religion. Monsignor Trstensky carefully observes the situation in his country, sharply analyzes it, and sends his observations to the highest government places. He is sending protest letters to Dr. Peter Colotka, Prime Minister of Slovakia, and even to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. Copies of some of his letters have found their way to the free world. They are quite revealing, since they contain the first-hand experiences and observations of a man who lives there, sees with open eyes, and is able to analyze the situation. One such letter was addressed to Dr. Colotka as a reaction to his television talk on the occasion of the International Year of Women, on March 7, 1974. Colotka is a native of Orava region, and Trstensky was his teacher of religion in Dolny Kubin gymnasium. The letter starts with acknowledgements to Colotka for his fine tribute to women, to Slovak mothers and grandmothers, who taught their children honesty, loyalty and readiness to sacrifice for the truth even with their lives. In his letter Trstensky asks Colotka what these women get from the communist regime. Isn't it tearing apart the hearts of our mothers and grandmothers and their offspring, when religious education of children is being hindered more and more? I heard, for example, that in Banska Bystrica, because of brutal terror at the time of enrollment for religious instructions, not one child was registered. It is the same in many cities of Slovakia. Not that the parents and children would not be interested in religion, as purported, but because of the fear for their existence, they do not dare to register their children for religious instructions. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when it is made impossible for their sons to devote themselves to a priestly state of life? And even when they have achieved it after years of demanding studies, obtusely to deprive them of a permit to work in the Church ministry, despite a great shortage of priests? In Slovakia, every year 50 to 60 priests die, while hardly 20 to 22 newly ordained priests come out of the seminary. The reason for this is the unfortunate numerous clauses (restricted number) by which only a small number of the candidates can be accepted into the seminary, and this number only on the evaluation of various non-ecclesiastical authorities. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when their daughters and granddaughters are not permitted to choose a vocation in which �SLOVAKIA 103 they could peacefully serve God and their neighbors? Even those religious Sisters who previously had chosen this vocation are, so to say, thrown out from their own houses to the streets? lsn 't it hurting our mothers and grandmothers to see how their children, plying their vocations as teachers, civil servants, or factory foremen cannot fulfill their religious obligations for fear of being/ired or transferred to some other job with a lower salary? What can our mothers and grandmothers say about the so-called Catholic press, which in fact does not exist? ''The statements of Pacem in Terris officers that everything is all right here in the matters of religion, do not change these sad facts. By such statements they compromise not only themselves and the Church, but put into a bad perspective our whole system. We are like open cards, and whoever stops here can evaluate religious situations himself and can see the one-sidedness of such self-serving statements. It would be much more fruitful, it those from our priestly ranks who are writing for Pacem in Terris and who think they are promoting peace and social progress, mainly and openly told the heads of our regime that man is not only a body, but also a soul, which is in need of spiritual food. Our simple old women in Orava are shaking their heads when, while reading in the Katolicke Noviny all those praises about religious life in our country, they live in sadness with their daughters who were thrown out of religious life not by Church but by State authorities, or with their sons who were stripped of the State permit for Church administration, or when they see their sons and daughters sneaking away, if they want to pray, get married in church, or have their child baptized. (4) In July, 1976, Monsignor Trstensky asked for travel permission to see his sick brother and his aged sister living in the U.S.A. His petition was turned down by the government officials. Trstensky again sent appeals to the Slovak Prime Minister, Peter Colotka, and to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. In his letter to the President dated January 6, 1977, Trstensky again presented a sharp analysis of the situation in Slovakia. I still have not received an answer about my own sufferings and those of believing people. Probably the reason is that it regards a Roman Catholic priest, thus a man outside the law. This confirms my conviction that the main task of some of our circles is to harrass the citizens, especially believers, and to unleash a ruthless war against religion and its adherents. By watching television, by reading newspapers, and magazines and books about so-called "scientific" atheism, by talking with believers, by watching their sad faces, by seeing hundreds of priests outside pastoral work, tormented Sisters, the fear of teachers, civil servants, nurses, foremen in factories, one gets a clear testimony what injustices are being perpetrated against believers. A member of the Party can be like a stump of wood, as long as he knows some phrases about atheism, Marxism. He is preferred to a non- �104 SLOVAKIA Party man, no matter how intelligent, conscientious and patriotic the latter may be. How much more useful would it be to our country, if those much needed billions squandered on anti-religious propaganda, on so-called civil baptisms, weddings, burials, and on the tens of thousands of atheistic propagandists, were used for real re-education in the spirit of justice and mutual love, and for the promotion of material, spiritual, cultural and social development. Wherever there is an anti-religious campaign and justice is trampled upon, morality declines, the families fall apart, enthusiasm for work vanishes, honesty and responsibility disappear, criminality among adults and even among adolescents increases, and the very foundations of the country are undermined. If there is to be a lasting peace, it must be built on justice, truth, freedom and love. (5) It is interesting to note that despite his sharp protest letters, some of which were published in the Western press , Monsignor Trstensky is still not in jail. He is harrassed and intimidated, as appears from his letters . The reason for his not being imprisoned may be the notoriety of his case throughout Czecho-Slovakia and, to some extent, even throughout the free world. The regime fears the out-cry of the free world which follows the imprisonment of well-known dissidents. Examples of Living Faith Not all opponents of militant atheism express their protests against the persecution of the Church by letters and manifestos. In Slovakia there are many priests and lay people resisting the communist oppression of religion with their lives. There are people filling the churches on Sundays and holy days, receiving the sacraments regularly , enrolling their children for religious instructions - ready to pay for it with a loss of better jobs and in some instances with a loss of personal freedom. There are still priests who are in a real sense spiritual fathers of their flock, risking the loss of a state permit to function as priests, or risking the loss of liberty. There are priests and lay people who by the depth of their religious life equal the heroism of the Christians of the early Church. They are luminaries of deep faith in these hours of darkness. One such is John Chrysostom Korec. At the time of the suppression of religious orders in 1950, John Korec was a Jesuit cleric. After nearly completing his regular theological studies, he was secretly ordained a priest and in 1951, bishop. He was then 27 years old, the youngest bishop in the world. He had to go through military service. He then became a factory worker. He worked as a bishop in the underground by secretly preaching to small groups of people, administering the sacrament of Confirmation , teaching young clerics, ~d �SLOVAKIA 105 eventually ordaining them as priests. In 1960, communist spies discovered who John Korec really was. He was sentenced to twelve years in a high security prison. But even in those years of imprisonment, he continued his priestly work among his fellow inmates. In 1968, Bishop Korec was released from jail, weakened in body. He became one of the leading personalities in revitalizing the religious life of Slovakia during this period of thaw. In 1969, he visited Rome and had a private audience with the Holy Father, who gave him one of his personal croziers and a pectoral cross as a sign of his appreciation for the young bishop's work. After the fall of Dubcek (April 17, 1969), renewed terrorism began in Czecho-Slovakia. The state permit to publicly celebrate the Mass was taken away from Bishop Korec. He was not permitted to take part in any official functions of the Church. He became a factory worker in Bratislava. Today, the whole of Slovakia knows about the case of Bishop Korec. People distressed by harsh religious repression, particularly the highly educated, come to Bishop Korec for his words of advice and consolation. This is not looked upon favorably by the communist authorities. They would like to get rid of Bishop Korec, but without further disturbing the populace. They offered him an opporutnity to emigrate from Slovakia. Bishop Korec rejected the suggestion. They offered him a state permit to perform a ministry in some parish outside Bratislava. Bishop Korec said he would accept the ministry outside Bratislava, on the condition that all other priests to whom the state permit was denied or taken away be given permission to function as priests. The communist authorities rejected this condition. The case of the heroic Bishop Korec was reported in the Catholic press throughout the free world. Perhaps this will protect him temporarily against imprisonment. (6) Stephen J avorsky, a Salesian priest, administrator of the parish in Muran, was imprisoned by the state police on November 26, 1975 and sentenced to eighteen months in jail. His state permit to perform his priestly duties was suspended for two years after the expiration of his jail sentence. For this verdict the following reasons are given by the County Court in Muran: ''He enticed youth, especially university students, by inducing them to listen to the Vatican Radio; he distributed books among them; in their presence, he projected film strips and played tapes containing unacceptable conferences on religious philosophy directed against the interests of our socialist society and against materialistic philosophy, with the aim of involving into this work a large group of religious lay people who besides their regular vocation should exercise missionary activity as well. On June 1, 1975, during the divine services in the parish church of Muran, he tried to influence parents, calling the County Spartakiad (gymnastic exhibition) a worldly vanity fair to be opposed by the parents in the future. " Javorsky's appeal of this verdict to a higher court was rejected and the length of his prison term was prolonged to two full years. (7) �106 SLOVAKIA Among Slovak dissidents are also brave writers and distributors of anonymous pamphlets which sporadically appear in various parts of the country. Such a leaflet distributed in June, 1975, analyzes the religious situation in Slovakia and exhorts Christian believers to defend religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution and state laws.(8) Another pamphlet, distributed in Slovakia in April of 1976, warns Slovak Catholics of the biased news published in the Katolicke Noviny and against the priest-collaborators active in the pro-communist organization Pacem in Terris. (9) It is proper to express our respect and admiration of these known and unknown heroes. They suffer for their deep religious convictions . The whole country lives in an atmosphere of imprisonment. Their suffering sooner or later will bring about the liberty of the Church and of the people in Slovakia. FOOTNOTES The complete text of both Camogursky letters was published in HORIZONT ' 77 , March-April , 1977, p . 8-9. (2) The text of Rev. Tkac 's speech can be found in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," Ed . JUSTITIA ET PAX 1976, p. 134138. (3) Frantisek Vnuk : Prenasledo uanie katolickeho ducho uenst ua sa stupi'tuje . (Mounting Persecution of the Catholic Clergy) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE (Slovak in America), May 8, 1974, p . 1, 3. (4) The text of this Jetter was published in HLASY Z RIMA (Voices of Rome), July 1976, p. 22-23. (5) The main parts of this letter were published in JEDNOTA , March 30, 1977, p. 20, 17; also in HLASY Z RIMA , April 1977, p. 21-23 . (6) " Narodeniny biskupa-robotnika Jana Korea " (The Birthday of Bishop-Worker, John Korec) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE , Jan. 26, 1977 , p . 1. (7) HLASY Z RIMA , January 1977, p . 22. (8) The complete text of this pamphlet was published in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISCHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," p. 123-130. (9) Ibid. , p . 84-85 ; HLASY Z RIMA , August-September, 1976, p . 31. (1) � SLOVAKIA 91 Preludes to nCharter '77" THEODORIC J. ZUBEK, O.F.M. The occupation of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviet armies and their satellites in August, 1968, brought new enslavement. The Soviets did not achieve their goal immediately, but they gradually tightened the political relaxations of the Dubcek era. The Russians imprisoned Dubcek and his closest associates and dragged them to Russia. This gravely irritated public opinion. The leadership of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia insisted on the release of Dubcek and his co-workers and their own restoration to positions of leadership in Czecho-Slovakia. At first, the Russians were not able to find a person agreeable to collaborate with occupation authorities. They had to restore Dubcek and permit him to continue as the first Secretary of the Central Committee and leading member of the Presidium of the Communist Party. But the Russians worked feverishly to split the leadership of the Party. Dr. Gustav Husak proved to be the most able and articulate politician in the chaotic situation. In the early fifties, Husak, a Slovak, had been imprisoned and condemned for so-called bourgeois nationalistic deviation. He was ousted from the Communist party. In the period of de-Stalinization in 1963, he was released from prison and re-admitted into the Party, but held no official position. But, he was active behind the scenes in fomenting a movement against President Novotny and his Stalinist methods. In April, 1968, Husak became one of the vice-premiers of the government, and after the occupation also became a member of the Presidium. Though he had been politically rehabilitated through the moderate policy of Alexander Dubcek, it was, after the occupation that Husak became an open critic of "Communism with a human face." Dubcek was gradually pushed to the background, and lost one position after another. Finally, under increasing pressure, on April 17, 1969, Dubcek resigned as first secretary of the Communist Party, and was stripped of his membership in the Party. On the same day, Husak took his position as first secretary. Husak had considerable support among the people, especially in Slovakia, since he had suffered 12 years of imprisonment for his Slovak nationalism and later fought against Prague centralism. He had promoted the federalization of Czecho-Slovakia. He also seemed to favor Dubcek's liberalization. After the Russian occupation, many accepted Husak's argument that there was no military possibility of defending the country, and that it was necessary to yield to Russian pressure to some degree, and to consolidate the internal situation in the country in order to persuade Moscow that there was no need for the �92 SLOVAKIA continued presence of Russian armies in Czecho-Slovakia. Some also believed Husak's pledge that there would never be a return to Stalinism and that the earlier process of democratization would continue. Nevertheless , it became clear that Husak was primarily interested in gaining Moscow's confidence and in strengthening his own leading position. He fully accepted suppression and terrorism and in a short time, under the guise of "normalization, " he once again enslaved the country. In his hatred of religion, Husak outdid his Moscow bosses. Religion had strong roots, especially in Slovakia, so Husak's antireligious campaign is aimed particularly against the Catholic Church. Present day persecution of the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia is more brutal than in any other communist-dominated country of Europe. It is more pervasive and more cunning than it was during the regimes of Gottwald or Novotny. In recent years, more and more news stories about the terrorism of Husak's regime and the suppression of human rights appeared in the free world. At the beginning of 1977, a transcript of Charter '77 was published in many newspapers of the Western world. In this document, more than 600 Czech and Slovak signers protested against the suppression of human rights, specifically mentioning suppression of the rights to religious conviction. These rights are guaranteed by the . Czecho-Slovak Constitution as well as by the Helsinki Agreement which was by signed Czecho-Slovakia. This Charter '77 was preceded by several public protests of individual citizens, laymen and priests, who openly denounced the abuses of government power and the systematic campaign against religion. Some of these written protests found their way to the free world. A number of them were written before the Helsinki Agreement (September, 1975) and they refer to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution and other laws; later protests also refer to the Helsinki Agreement. It was a number of these protests that prepared the mood for Charter '77. It is proper to express admiration and respect for these individual dissidents for their courage and strength. In a Communist regime, it is riskier for an individual to protest against government abuses than it is for a group. Individual internationally unknown dissidents are taken care of quickly. Under the pretext of anti-state activity, they are silenced in prison or labor camps without much notice or commotion, and without comment in the free world. The Case of Pavol Carnogursky Pavol Carnogursky is a sixty-eight year old layman, who from his youth played an important role in the Catholic life of Slovakia. As an employee of the Catholic Agency in Bratislava, he organized and led Catholic Action programs among Slovak young people, patterned �SLOVAKIA 93 largely on the practices of the French and Belgian Catholic Workers and Catholic Organizations of intellectuals. During the period of Slovak autonomy and independence (19381945), he was a member of the Slovak Parliament and was esteemed as an expert on education and school matters. He opposed the Nazi tendencies of some Slovak politicians and belonged to the group of Slovak Catholic moderates headed by President Joseph Tiso and Dr. Martin Sokol, speaker of the Slovak Parliament . For this reason the Germans regarded him as a persona non grata. Immediately after World War II , Pavol Carnogursky tried to organize the Christian Republican Party as a platform for defending human rights and freedom of conscience in Slovakia, when the country was again made part of Czecho-Slovakia. On the insistence of Slovak bishops, however, the Slovak Catholics joined forces with the predominantly Lutheran Democratic Party and helped it attain an overwhelming victory in Slovakia, triumphing over the communists and other small parties in the 1946 elections. Although Carnogursky was clearly anti-Nazi, yet because of his position as a deputy during the Slovak Republic, he was not found acceptable for any public role in the political life of post-war Slovakia. In 1947 , because of his well known anti-communist stand and his involvement in re-organizing the Catholic workers and the intelligentsia, he was imprisoned and eventually forced into seclusion and silence, providing for his family as a manual worker in a Bratislava factory . Nevertheless, during all those years of seclusion, Carnogursky carefully observed the political and religious situation in Slovakia, read all the biased works of communist historians about the Slovak Republic, and occasionally expressed his critical views in letters he sent to his friends abroad . After the fall of Dubcek in 1969, there began an era of brutal suppression of human rights and a systematic denial of freedom of religion. A pro-communist organization of the clergy, called Pacem in Terris, was established and the priests of Czecho-Slovakia were again torn into two groups, each distrusting the other. The Catholic press, i.e. the Katolicke nouiny (Catholic News) and Duchouny Pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) were put under strict communist control. The pro-communist speeches and articles of Canon Jozef Dovala, pastor in Ziar nad Hronom in the Banska Bystrica Diocese and vicar general of the Diocese , a prominent member of the Pacem in Terris movement, brought the patience and silence of Pavol Carnogursky to an end. The corruption of the Katolicke nouiny offended Carnogursky in a special way, since for some time after the war he had been the editor of this Catholic weekly and worked earnestly to bring it to a high journalistic level. On September 11 , 1974, the executive board of the Federal Association of the Catholic Clergymen, Pacem in Terris , celebrated the �94 SLOVAKIA thirtieth a nniversary of the Slovak upri sing in Banska Bystrica. Canon Joze f Dov ala was the main speaker. He equated the so-called '' political Catholicism ' ' of the Slovak Republic with collaboration with Ge rman Naz ism, and made it co-responsible for the death of about four thou sand priests in Nazi concentration camps. In a letter to Dovala, Carnogursky said it was ab surd to draw a connection between the regime of the Slovak Republic and Ge rman atrocities during the war. He wrote: In a few months it will be thirty years since the e nd of the S econd World War. During this p eriod a countless multitude of articles, political or pseudo-political, as well as scholarly and professional works on the current situation in Slo vakia appeared. Only in exceptional cases are they free of anti-Catholic tendencies. The great majority of the m obtusely describe the situation prejudicially, as you did. I read all tho se articles and books. In the last analysis, they have the same goal: to destroy Catholic ideology and Catholic life in Slo vakia. For that reason the arguments, of which even a mildly honest man and more so a scholar would be ashamed, are crude, unfounded, even hostile, negative and degrading. But what you, Father, associated with the ideas of political Catholicism in Slovakia, surpasses e verything. W e should give credit to anti-Catholic propaganda for using such tricks. The Slo vak State had to be proclaimed at that particular time (March 14, 1939, ed.) and under prevailing circumstances, if we were to make sure that among the thousands of priests murdered (in other countries) in Hitler 's concentration camps there would not be Slo vak priests. In the last analysis, our administrative authorities were not motivated only by a concern for the priests, but for the whole nation as well. And the nation has been saved. I cannot understand why you are angered and prompted to attack it (Slovak independence), since its existence gave you guarantees assuring that you yourself did not become a victim of Hitler 's concentration camp, if you were ordained before World War II. (Douala was ordained March 17, 1938.) I cannot understand why they talk only about political Catholicism and not about political Lutheranism, political Judaism, political atheism, and about the means by which these denominations and institutions have in that day and even to our day influenced and affected public life. Catholicism in Slovakia was a historical force in the nation. Without the care of the Catholic church for education, the social structure, schools, the press, agriculture and social and economic institutions, especially without the work and sacrifices of the best sons of the nation who as Catholic priests defended its voice and language, developing and enriching it through the centuries and assuring its cultural and economic growth - we would have perished. I can well understand why in the Protestant milieu, among the Jews and other denominations in Slovakia, there was not a similar �SLOVAKIA 95 attack on their own. They are fully conscious of the consequences of such a step. Your attack on so-called political Catholicism during the span of the Slovak Republic, unfounded and, to say in openly, irresponsible as it is, is the more tragic because it came at the time when large-scale militant atheism was active in Slovakia and aimed its fury against the Catholic Church, its doctrine, essence and its historical influence upon the thinking and feeling of our people. And this is done by repressive methods not invoked now at the end of the twentieth century by any other Socialist country, not even in black Africa. No teacher, no educator among us, is permitted to enter a classroom, to work among the students, to teach even technical subject matter, unless he declares that he has solved the religious question, which means that he proclaims that he is an atheist. He must avow that he is an atheist not only in his private convictions, but in an active sense as well, ready to teach and educate in the atheistic way. Any doubt in this area, any evidence of religious feelings, such as attendance at divine services, reception of any sacrament, excludes him from a teaching position. Parents who enrolled their children for religious instruction are exposed to unheard of pressure from the school officials and from their employers. Children who attended religious instruction are denied advanced studies. There is a general rule valid even among the most primitive social groups that under-age children are not responsible for a transgression of the law. In our case, children are punished for attending religious instructions, while the Constitution of the peoples' democratic system ironically guarantees freedom of religious conviction. And these sanctions against children are not for a limited period of time, but for their whole lifetime. Father, how will the history of the Church in Slovakia and the general history of mankind call this kind of Catholicism, which, witnessing all this, still feels and expresses itself as you did in this case? My letter to you cannot delineate a complete description of the tragic situation of the Catholic Church in Slovakia. This situation has the dimensions of a world problem that cannot be contained in one letter. The core of the problem is the effort at the eradication of Christian consciousness in the life and culture of a nation which by its very nature and because of its Christian Catholic roots contributed to the civilization process in the heart of Europe ever since the ninth century. We cannot blind our eyes with illusions, assuming that the working of divine grace alone will defeat the imperiled Christianity of our n(!,tion. Without our personal co-operation, our struggle and our living faith, we cannot count on perpetuating the religious life and spirit of our universally Christian country. Doubtless, this struggle demands not only our standing up as Christians but also our intelligent approach to find reasonable �96 SLOVAKIA possibilities to solve the problems facing us without craven concessions and compromises. But an attack like yours, coming in such a form and content, inveighing upon political Catholicism as you have done, cannot be accounted as an acceptable line of conduct. Pavol Camogursky's second letter of protest was addressed to Bishop Jozef Feranec, Ordinary of the Diocese of Banska Bystrica. It deals with an article by Jozef Dovala published in the Katolicke Nouiny (Catholic News) August 29, 1976, in which the author states that the priests and laity participate in up building the new way of life in CzechoSlovakia where freedom of religion is constitutionally safeguarded. Dovala wrote this article after his return from the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia (August 1-7, 1976) where he attended the Slovak services as the only priest from Slovakia. The text of Camogursky' s letter of August 29, 1976, is as follows: Your Excellency, after reading the editorial in the last issue of the Katolicke Nouiny (no. 53, August 29, 1976) even the simplest believer cannot refrain from reacting in protest, realizing how severe is the extermination process against the Church in Slovakia and how this bitter reality opposes his religious conviction and undermines his devotion to the duties which bind him to the Church. In this article vicar Jozef Douala of Banska Bystrica, wrote among other things: 'Priests as well as laymen participate in the up building of our new life and they also share in its fruits. The Constitution of our state system respects the conviction of every citizen and guarantees the freedom of religion'. With pain in my heart I must state that reality in no way bears out the import of these words. Only a cynical scoffer could write thus, bringing the paper to the level of absurdity and compromising the reader in whose name he so dares to write. What then is the factual status of religious affairs, notwithstanding what the Constitution and Article 7 of the Helsinki Agreement provide? Two weeks ago, on August 18, 1976, the daily Pravda, organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia, published a report on the conclusions of the Party Congress and on atheistic education in Slovakia. The gist of these conclusions by the reporting officer read: 'Slovakia became a country of mass atheism. 'A competent representative would hardly dare to make such a bold and far reaching statement in the Party organ of any other Socialist state. Since it cannot be doubted that P. Prusak 's report was factual, even if he did not elaborate about what means were used where it was attained, one must take it as a hard fact. In Slovakia there is a special campaign against religion. I am convinced that Church leadership in Slovakia definitely and carefully concerns itself with the gravity of this article and will weigh its consequences both for itself and for the sake of the Church in Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 97 I am merely emphasizing the fact that the core of such purported success of atheism in Slovakia is viewed by the author as a purposeful atheistic work which has assumed a systematic character, as he specifically underlines it. In this systematic character of mass abandonment of the paternal heritage - the Catholic Church - by her sons and daughters, one must also see the fact that in Church leadership there are some persons whose high positions serve as the necessary front windows for facilitating apostasy and promoting mass atheism by playing a role assigned to them in their high functions. On the very same level, alas, one must also place the paper Katolicke Noviny which is degenerating into a publication of professional flatterers writing explicitly about themes that have very little in common with authentic religion. This attitude is in total contradiction to the contemporary difficult position of the Church, especially with the mentality of tormented parent-believers. It does not serve the serious matter of peace and rapprochement and easing of tensions. Forgive me, my Bishop, for the bitter tone of this letter. Truly, it is not as bitter as it is painful. And it is precisely for that reason that I must react to the slap on the face inflicted by the aforementioned writing of your vicar general. But not to write would pose an impossible dilemma for me: Am I still a Catholic? Has Mr. Prusak also rightfully included me in his concept of 'mass atheism' in Slovakia? For a responsible member of the Church not to react righteously to this critical development at a time when the very existence of the Church is at stake would be tantamount to not being in rapport with her, with this historic force which endowed Slovakia with all her spiritual, moral and cultural wealth. (1) Pavol Camogursky was imprisoned on November 10, 1976, undoubtedly for this daring analysis of the religious situation in Slovakia and his sharp criticism of Jozef Dovala. In such cases, stock charges of anti-state activities are readily found in the deformed communist system of justice. When Carnogursky ' s case evoked wide publicity in the free world, he was released from prison. He is awaiting trial for purported anti-state activity in the near future. A Speech by Aloysius Tkac Aloysius Tkac is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Kosice (Eastern Slovakia). He is now 43 years old. He was an archivist in the bishop's chancery and as such he was a member of the pro-communist priestly organization Pacem in Terris. Seeing all the abuses perpetrated against the Church by the communist regime, he decided to publicly denounce them at the festive meeting of this organization on October 23, 1974. On the occasion of the celebration of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Slovak Uprising, in the presence of communist officials controlling �98 SLOVAKIA all activities of the said organization, he first recalled the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic (art. 32) guaranteeing religious freedom of all citizens. Then he cited the government decrees and pertinent regulations of the Ministry of Culture from 1970 and 1972, by which religious education of children of second to seventh grades is permitted. He mentioned recent statements of the President about religious freedom; and no. 326 of the criminal code, by which all those hindering religious freedom and religious activity by force should be prosecuted and punished. He then proceeded to give accounts of actual religious situations in the country: We cannot pass with silence the unpleasant fact which causes both priests and believers great suffering; we feel we are being discriminated against. The procedure in regard to the spiritual needs many times is reckless and we consider it extremely harsh. The guidelines of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic concerning the enrollment of children for religious instructions are in many places disregarded. Groups were formed which not only belittle religious instructions, but hold back parents from the enrollment of their children in religious instruction by direct terror. Contrary to official guidelines about the enrollment, both parents have to present the enrollment petition; often the father or the mother have to excuse themselves from their jobs and complete their work after working hours. It was brought forth to some parents: 'Don't you want to send your children to a higher level of education? Do you want to bury the future of your children in technical schooling?' The behavior of many teachers was harsh, arrogant (such as tearing to pieces the enrollment petition or throwing it away), an illegal act, and it offended the dignity of the citizen-believers. Children attending religious instructions are often excluded from activities with their peers; they cannot make the Pioneers' pledge. During the school year there is also a great deal of peer and teacher pressure put on them. Parents and their children are going through Calvary. They are really martyrs. But how does all this square with the above mentioned state decrees? Even if there were only a few of thse examples, still we must not be silent. Unfortunately, such incidents are very frequent! The fact is that only a small percentage of the children are enrolled for religious instructions. Does this mean that parents and students have renounced their faith and become atheists? By no means! It is largely the result of a natural fear concerning the future! Citizen-believers are being deterred from fulfilling their religious needs, from receiving sacraments (Mass, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony). Only with difficulty can a priest secretly administer the sacraments of the dying in a hospital. Under various, even false, accusations state permission for priestly work has been revoked to several priests. Does that not bother �SLOVAKIA 99 us? Does not the fate of our brothers in the priesthood concern us? Do we not stand up for the defense of the honor of the priestly state? If not, it is a tragedy! Fifteen newly ordained priests, four months after their ordination, are still waiting for their assignments. Other college graduates have their work assignments in their pockets the moment they have finished their studies. And there are so many parishes and chaplaincies unoccupied/ There are other pains, but others should speak about them! Brothers, friends, I have brought up our common pains. I have spoken to you about the suffering of our believing people. We are not too sensitive, nor are we asking for privileges. We are in pain from the thorns that we have to wear with our people. We are happy to live in our Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic. We would not betray it for anything. But let us eliminate the mistakes and inadequacies which make our lives difficult. This frank statement shocked the priests and the communist government representatives who always attend such meetings . As a rule, only praise of and gratitude to the regime are expressed at such gatherings. The statement was not even mentioned in the so-called Catholic press of Czecho-Slovakia, or other newspapers. It was secretly smuggled to the free world. What happened to this brave Catholic priest who openly expressed both the facts and the feelings of all conscientious priests and Catholic lay people? Nothing immediately . But then in July of 1975 , almost a year later, news came from Slovakia that several priests who expressed their anti-communist feelings were attacked and some of them severely injured by some individuals who were never apprehended by the police . One of those attacked and severely injured was Aloysius Tkac. In December , 1975 the state permit of Aloysius Tkac to perform priestly duties was withdrawn. His present fate is not known . It may be either manual work or jail. (2) Protests of Monsignor Trstensky Monsignor Victor Trstensky is a prominent Slovak priest. He was born in Trstena (District Orava) on March 29, 1908. After finishing his basic and high school studies in Trstena, he enrolled in the Spis Diocesan Seminary, and was ordained on June 29, 1931. Because of his pastoral zeal and exemplary priestly life, he early became pastor of St. Catherine Church in Dolny Kubin, where he was also a teacher of religion at the local gynmasium. On the recommendation of his Bishop, John Vojtassak, he was made Papal Prelate (Monsignor) while still a very young priest. During the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), as a prominent member of the Hlinka Slovak Populist Party, he took an active part in the public life of his town; at the same time he was involved in the Catholic Action Movement. �100 SLOVAKIA For this activity, after the Second World War he was imprisoned and spent twenty-one years in various prisons, in labor camps, and in manual work. During the Dubcek era, he was rehabilitated and received a state permit for pastoral work on October 7, 1969. The Ordinary of the Spis Diocese , Reverend Joseph Ligos, appointed him adminstrator of St. Nicholas Church in Stara Lubovna where he worked tirelessly for four years. In the post-Dubcek era, the communists in Czecho-Slovakia could not tolerate strong personalities like Monsignor Trstensky in pastoral work . They were afraid of his moral influence on parishioners and particularly on youth. With the year 1974, a new Calvary began for Monsignor Trstensky. The communist-dominated District Committee in Stara Lubovna decided that Trstensky had to leave the town and again be removed from pastoral work . He was notified about his imminent dismissal on January 21, 1974 by the new Ordinary of the Diocese, Stephen Garaj. On January 27, 1974 , Monsignor Trstensky preached to his stunned parishioners a memorable homily, which was secretly taped and later found its way to the free world. The principal reasons for Trstensky's dismissal, given to the vicar capitular by Communist officials, were as follows: 1. preaching against atheism and atheists; 2. sending gifts to old people on Christmas; 3. meetings with altar boys in the church and rectory; 4. keeping in his parish religious Sisters in violation of state regulations; 5. blessing the homes of parishioners after Epiphany. In his classic homily, Monsignor Trstensky explained his activity as pastor of the church in Stara Lubovna and argued convincingly that there was nothing illegal in his pastoral work . He concluded his homily with these words: What does matter is the truth. Whoever distorts the truth cannot build the country. Only truth can save the nation and the country. Remember, if I have to leave here, I am not leaving as a criminal, murderer, traitor of the nation and country. I love my country. Twice I was abroad - in Vienna, Rome, Paris. I could have stayed there. I was invited to do so. But I said: 'I am a Slovak. I did not do anything wrong. I want to live among our people because I love my country and my people.' I returned home. I sincerely love my country, and not only in words but more so by teaching you to love God and one another; by teaching you to work diligently and to live morally. I do not talk about peace, but I promote it with my whole life and work. (3) The decision of the County Committee, Department of Culture, in Stara Lubovna, prohibiting Trstensky to perform priestly ministry was dated January 30, 1974 and delivered to him on February 1, 1974. The reasons for his dismissal are formulated as follows : From the beginning of his assignment to Stara Lubovna, Victor Trstensky in various ways manifested his dissent with the development �SLOVAKIA 101 of our socialist society. For that reason, several sessions were held with him where he was notified that he was breaking the norms established for state-church relationships. In recent times he has increased his reactionary activity and in his sermons he openly and vituperatively spoke against progressively thinking citizens and incited against them. In one of his sermons he said that the unbelievers will once again experience the supremacy of god (sic) and will wish to become believers, but it will be too late. By this activity he was systematically breaking the established laws regarding state-church relations. Such was the case during the last Christmas season, when with the help of school children he distributed to some families packages containing wine, oranges, soap and other items. During his assignment to the parish of Stara Lubovna he intentionally infringed upon the directives on religious instructions by gathering a group of altar boys and choir singers in the church and rectory for practice; furthermore, he organized meetings with a considerable number of children in the rectory. During his assignment at the parish of Stara Lubovna, three religious Sisters came to him and, under his direction, performed church functions and worked actively on the revitalization of the church in the city and among the youth. For these reasons and for his dangerously anti-socialist stand, shown particularly in recent times and in these last days, when he caused among the believers a high and dangerous tension, his continuance in church administration would seriously endanger peaceful social life and the interests of our working people; therefore, with immediate effectiveness, we take away his state permit to work in church administration. On February 14, 1974, Monsignor Trstensky appealed this verdict. As a preliminary to his letter of appeal, he pointed to the irregularities in the whole procedure against him by quoting eight paragraphs of law 71-1967, which were disregarded in his case. Then, in eight pages, he convincingly refuted all the vague or completely false charges against him. He referred to the public and well-known record of his activity as pastor of Stara Lubovna parish. He emphatically stated that he only fulfilled his duties as pastor of a parish, never acting against the state laws and official regulations. The only real reason for the removal of Monsignor Trstensky from pastoral work was his exemplary priestly life and his zealous work for the spiritual welfare of his flock. The appeal of Monsignor Trstensky had no effect and the District Committee in Kosice which by the decision of February 19, 1974, confirmed the verdict of the County Committee in Stara Lubovna and made the decision final, precluding any further appeal. Monsignor Trstensky thereafter went to live in his town of birth, Trstena, in the region of Orava. Grateful parishioners of Stara Lubovna did not forget their beloved pastor. As a token of their appreciation and �102 SLOVAKIA gratitude during the rest of the year 1974, they traveled to Trstena in trucks loaded with construction material and built a home for him. He lives there today. Letters to Highest Authorities After spending years in prison and now being deprived of the permit to work as a priest, Monsignor Trstensky became a fearless witness to communist persecution of loyal priests, and a bold defender of the minimal rights of religion. Monsignor Trstensky carefully observes the situation in his country, sharply analyzes it, and sends his observations to the highest government places. He is sending protest letters to Dr. Peter Colotka, Prime Minister of Slovakia, and even to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. Copies of some of his letters have found their way to the free world. They are quite revealing, since they contain the first-hand experiences and observations of a man who lives there, sees with open eyes, and is able to analyze the situation. One such letter was addressed to Dr. Colotka as a reaction to his television talk on the occasion of the International Year of Women, on March 7, 1974. Colotka is a native of Orava region, and Trstensky was his teacher of religion in Dolny Kubin gymnasium. The letter starts with acknowledgements to Colotka for his fine tribute to women, to Slovak mothers and grandmothers, who taught their children honesty, loyalty and readiness to sacrifice for the truth even with their lives. In his letter Trstensky asks Colotka what these women get from the communist regime. Isn't it tearing apart the hearts of our mothers and grandmothers and their offspring, when religious education of children is being hindered more and more? I heard, for example, that in Banska Bystrica, because of brutal terror at the time of enrollment for religious instructions, not one child was registered. It is the same in many cities of Slovakia. Not that the parents and children would not be interested in religion, as purported, but because of the fear for their existence, they do not dare to register their children for religious instructions. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when it is made impossible for their sons to devote themselves to a priestly state of life? And even when they have achieved it after years of demanding studies, obtusely to deprive them of a permit to work in the Church ministry, despite a great shortage of priests? In Slovakia, every year 50 to 60 priests die, while hardly 20 to 22 newly ordained priests come out of the seminary. The reason for this is the unfortunate numerous clauses (restricted number) by which only a small number of the candidates can be accepted into the seminary, and this number only on the evaluation of various non-ecclesiastical authorities. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when their daughters and granddaughters are not permitted to choose a vocation in which �SLOVAKIA 103 they could peacefully serve God and their neighbors? Even those religious Sisters who previously had chosen this vocation are, so to say, thrown out from their own houses to the streets? lsn 't it hurting our mothers and grandmothers to see how their children, plying their vocations as teachers, civil servants, or factory foremen cannot fulfill their religious obligations for fear of being/ired or transferred to some other job with a lower salary? What can our mothers and grandmothers say about the so-called Catholic press, which in fact does not exist? ''The statements of Pacem in Terris officers that everything is all right here in the matters of religion, do not change these sad facts. By such statements they compromise not only themselves and the Church, but put into a bad perspective our whole system. We are like open cards, and whoever stops here can evaluate religious situations himself and can see the one-sidedness of such self-serving statements. It would be much more fruitful, it those from our priestly ranks who are writing for Pacem in Terris and who think they are promoting peace and social progress, mainly and openly told the heads of our regime that man is not only a body, but also a soul, which is in need of spiritual food. Our simple old women in Orava are shaking their heads when, while reading in the Katolicke Noviny all those praises about religious life in our country, they live in sadness with their daughters who were thrown out of religious life not by Church but by State authorities, or with their sons who were stripped of the State permit for Church administration, or when they see their sons and daughters sneaking away, if they want to pray, get married in church, or have their child baptized. (4) In July, 1976, Monsignor Trstensky asked for travel permission to see his sick brother and his aged sister living in the U.S.A. His petition was turned down by the government officials. Trstensky again sent appeals to the Slovak Prime Minister, Peter Colotka, and to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. In his letter to the President dated January 6, 1977, Trstensky again presented a sharp analysis of the situation in Slovakia. I still have not received an answer about my own sufferings and those of believing people. Probably the reason is that it regards a Roman Catholic priest, thus a man outside the law. This confirms my conviction that the main task of some of our circles is to harrass the citizens, especially believers, and to unleash a ruthless war against religion and its adherents. By watching television, by reading newspapers, and magazines and books about so-called "scientific" atheism, by talking with believers, by watching their sad faces, by seeing hundreds of priests outside pastoral work, tormented Sisters, the fear of teachers, civil servants, nurses, foremen in factories, one gets a clear testimony what injustices are being perpetrated against believers. A member of the Party can be like a stump of wood, as long as he knows some phrases about atheism, Marxism. He is preferred to a non- �104 SLOVAKIA Party man, no matter how intelligent, conscientious and patriotic the latter may be. How much more useful would it be to our country, if those much needed billions squandered on anti-religious propaganda, on so-called civil baptisms, weddings, burials, and on the tens of thousands of atheistic propagandists, were used for real re-education in the spirit of justice and mutual love, and for the promotion of material, spiritual, cultural and social development. Wherever there is an anti-religious campaign and justice is trampled upon, morality declines, the families fall apart, enthusiasm for work vanishes, honesty and responsibility disappear, criminality among adults and even among adolescents increases, and the very foundations of the country are undermined. If there is to be a lasting peace, it must be built on justice, truth, freedom and love. (5) It is interesting to note that despite his sharp protest letters, some of which were published in the Western press , Monsignor Trstensky is still not in jail. He is harrassed and intimidated, as appears from his letters . The reason for his not being imprisoned may be the notoriety of his case throughout Czecho-Slovakia and, to some extent, even throughout the free world. The regime fears the out-cry of the free world which follows the imprisonment of well-known dissidents. Examples of Living Faith Not all opponents of militant atheism express their protests against the persecution of the Church by letters and manifestos. In Slovakia there are many priests and lay people resisting the communist oppression of religion with their lives. There are people filling the churches on Sundays and holy days, receiving the sacraments regularly , enrolling their children for religious instructions - ready to pay for it with a loss of better jobs and in some instances with a loss of personal freedom. There are still priests who are in a real sense spiritual fathers of their flock, risking the loss of a state permit to function as priests, or risking the loss of liberty. There are priests and lay people who by the depth of their religious life equal the heroism of the Christians of the early Church. They are luminaries of deep faith in these hours of darkness. One such is John Chrysostom Korec. At the time of the suppression of religious orders in 1950, John Korec was a Jesuit cleric. After nearly completing his regular theological studies, he was secretly ordained a priest and in 1951, bishop. He was then 27 years old, the youngest bishop in the world. He had to go through military service. He then became a factory worker. He worked as a bishop in the underground by secretly preaching to small groups of people, administering the sacrament of Confirmation , teaching young clerics, ~d �SLOVAKIA 105 eventually ordaining them as priests. In 1960, communist spies discovered who John Korec really was. He was sentenced to twelve years in a high security prison. But even in those years of imprisonment, he continued his priestly work among his fellow inmates. In 1968, Bishop Korec was released from jail, weakened in body. He became one of the leading personalities in revitalizing the religious life of Slovakia during this period of thaw. In 1969, he visited Rome and had a private audience with the Holy Father, who gave him one of his personal croziers and a pectoral cross as a sign of his appreciation for the young bishop's work. After the fall of Dubcek (April 17, 1969), renewed terrorism began in Czecho-Slovakia. The state permit to publicly celebrate the Mass was taken away from Bishop Korec. He was not permitted to take part in any official functions of the Church. He became a factory worker in Bratislava. Today, the whole of Slovakia knows about the case of Bishop Korec. People distressed by harsh religious repression, particularly the highly educated, come to Bishop Korec for his words of advice and consolation. This is not looked upon favorably by the communist authorities. They would like to get rid of Bishop Korec, but without further disturbing the populace. They offered him an opporutnity to emigrate from Slovakia. Bishop Korec rejected the suggestion. They offered him a state permit to perform a ministry in some parish outside Bratislava. Bishop Korec said he would accept the ministry outside Bratislava, on the condition that all other priests to whom the state permit was denied or taken away be given permission to function as priests. The communist authorities rejected this condition. The case of the heroic Bishop Korec was reported in the Catholic press throughout the free world. Perhaps this will protect him temporarily against imprisonment. (6) Stephen J avorsky, a Salesian priest, administrator of the parish in Muran, was imprisoned by the state police on November 26, 1975 and sentenced to eighteen months in jail. His state permit to perform his priestly duties was suspended for two years after the expiration of his jail sentence. For this verdict the following reasons are given by the County Court in Muran: ''He enticed youth, especially university students, by inducing them to listen to the Vatican Radio; he distributed books among them; in their presence, he projected film strips and played tapes containing unacceptable conferences on religious philosophy directed against the interests of our socialist society and against materialistic philosophy, with the aim of involving into this work a large group of religious lay people who besides their regular vocation should exercise missionary activity as well. On June 1, 1975, during the divine services in the parish church of Muran, he tried to influence parents, calling the County Spartakiad (gymnastic exhibition) a worldly vanity fair to be opposed by the parents in the future. " Javorsky's appeal of this verdict to a higher court was rejected and the length of his prison term was prolonged to two full years. (7) �106 SLOVAKIA Among Slovak dissidents are also brave writers and distributors of anonymous pamphlets which sporadically appear in various parts of the country. Such a leaflet distributed in June, 1975, analyzes the religious situation in Slovakia and exhorts Christian believers to defend religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution and state laws.(8) Another pamphlet, distributed in Slovakia in April of 1976, warns Slovak Catholics of the biased news published in the Katolicke Noviny and against the priest-collaborators active in the pro-communist organization Pacem in Terris. (9) It is proper to express our respect and admiration of these known and unknown heroes. They suffer for their deep religious convictions . The whole country lives in an atmosphere of imprisonment. Their suffering sooner or later will bring about the liberty of the Church and of the people in Slovakia. FOOTNOTES The complete text of both Camogursky letters was published in HORIZONT ' 77 , March-April , 1977, p . 8-9. (2) The text of Rev. Tkac 's speech can be found in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," Ed . JUSTITIA ET PAX 1976, p. 134138. (3) Frantisek Vnuk : Prenasledo uanie katolickeho ducho uenst ua sa stupi'tuje . (Mounting Persecution of the Catholic Clergy) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE (Slovak in America), May 8, 1974, p . 1, 3. (4) The text of this Jetter was published in HLASY Z RIMA (Voices of Rome), July 1976, p. 22-23. (5) The main parts of this letter were published in JEDNOTA , March 30, 1977, p. 20, 17; also in HLASY Z RIMA , April 1977, p. 21-23 . (6) " Narodeniny biskupa-robotnika Jana Korea " (The Birthday of Bishop-Worker, John Korec) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE , Jan. 26, 1977 , p . 1. (7) HLASY Z RIMA , January 1977, p . 22. (8) The complete text of this pamphlet was published in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISCHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," p. 123-130. (9) Ibid. , p . 84-85 ; HLASY Z RIMA , August-September, 1976, p . 31. (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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 91 Preludes to nCharter '77" THEODORIC J. ZUBEK, O.F.M. The occupation of Czecho-Slovakia by the Soviet armies and their satellites in August, 1968, brought new enslavement. The Soviets did not achieve their goal immediately, but they gradually tightened the political relaxations of the Dubcek era. The Russians imprisoned Dubcek and his closest associates and dragged them to Russia. This gravely irritated public opinion. The leadership of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia insisted on the release of Dubcek and his co-workers and their own restoration to positions of leadership in Czecho-Slovakia. At first, the Russians were not able to find a person agreeable to collaborate with occupation authorities. They had to restore Dubcek and permit him to continue as the first Secretary of the Central Committee and leading member of the Presidium of the Communist Party. But the Russians worked feverishly to split the leadership of the Party. Dr. Gustav Husak proved to be the most able and articulate politician in the chaotic situation. In the early fifties, Husak, a Slovak, had been imprisoned and condemned for so-called bourgeois nationalistic deviation. He was ousted from the Communist party. In the period of de-Stalinization in 1963, he was released from prison and re-admitted into the Party, but held no official position. But, he was active behind the scenes in fomenting a movement against President Novotny and his Stalinist methods. In April, 1968, Husak became one of the vice-premiers of the government, and after the occupation also became a member of the Presidium. Though he had been politically rehabilitated through the moderate policy of Alexander Dubcek, it was, after the occupation that Husak became an open critic of "Communism with a human face." Dubcek was gradually pushed to the background, and lost one position after another. Finally, under increasing pressure, on April 17, 1969, Dubcek resigned as first secretary of the Communist Party, and was stripped of his membership in the Party. On the same day, Husak took his position as first secretary. Husak had considerable support among the people, especially in Slovakia, since he had suffered 12 years of imprisonment for his Slovak nationalism and later fought against Prague centralism. He had promoted the federalization of Czecho-Slovakia. He also seemed to favor Dubcek's liberalization. After the Russian occupation, many accepted Husak's argument that there was no military possibility of defending the country, and that it was necessary to yield to Russian pressure to some degree, and to consolidate the internal situation in the country in order to persuade Moscow that there was no need for the 92 SLOVAKIA continued presence of Russian armies in Czecho-Slovakia. Some also believed Husak's pledge that there would never be a return to Stalinism and that the earlier process of democratization would continue. Nevertheless , it became clear that Husak was primarily interested in gaining Moscow's confidence and in strengthening his own leading position. He fully accepted suppression and terrorism and in a short time, under the guise of "normalization, " he once again enslaved the country. In his hatred of religion, Husak outdid his Moscow bosses. Religion had strong roots, especially in Slovakia, so Husak's antireligious campaign is aimed particularly against the Catholic Church. Present day persecution of the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia is more brutal than in any other communist-dominated country of Europe. It is more pervasive and more cunning than it was during the regimes of Gottwald or Novotny. In recent years, more and more news stories about the terrorism of Husak's regime and the suppression of human rights appeared in the free world. At the beginning of 1977, a transcript of Charter '77 was published in many newspapers of the Western world. In this document, more than 600 Czech and Slovak signers protested against the suppression of human rights, specifically mentioning suppression of the rights to religious conviction. These rights are guaranteed by the . Czecho-Slovak Constitution as well as by the Helsinki Agreement which was by signed Czecho-Slovakia. This Charter '77 was preceded by several public protests of individual citizens, laymen and priests, who openly denounced the abuses of government power and the systematic campaign against religion. Some of these written protests found their way to the free world. A number of them were written before the Helsinki Agreement (September, 1975) and they refer to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution and other laws; later protests also refer to the Helsinki Agreement. It was a number of these protests that prepared the mood for Charter '77. It is proper to express admiration and respect for these individual dissidents for their courage and strength. In a Communist regime, it is riskier for an individual to protest against government abuses than it is for a group. Individual internationally unknown dissidents are taken care of quickly. Under the pretext of anti-state activity, they are silenced in prison or labor camps without much notice or commotion, and without comment in the free world. The Case of Pavol Carnogursky Pavol Carnogursky is a sixty-eight year old layman, who from his youth played an important role in the Catholic life of Slovakia. As an employee of the Catholic Agency in Bratislava, he organized and led Catholic Action programs among Slovak young people, patterned SLOVAKIA 93 largely on the practices of the French and Belgian Catholic Workers and Catholic Organizations of intellectuals. During the period of Slovak autonomy and independence (19381945), he was a member of the Slovak Parliament and was esteemed as an expert on education and school matters. He opposed the Nazi tendencies of some Slovak politicians and belonged to the group of Slovak Catholic moderates headed by President Joseph Tiso and Dr. Martin Sokol, speaker of the Slovak Parliament . For this reason the Germans regarded him as a persona non grata. Immediately after World War II , Pavol Carnogursky tried to organize the Christian Republican Party as a platform for defending human rights and freedom of conscience in Slovakia, when the country was again made part of Czecho-Slovakia. On the insistence of Slovak bishops, however, the Slovak Catholics joined forces with the predominantly Lutheran Democratic Party and helped it attain an overwhelming victory in Slovakia, triumphing over the communists and other small parties in the 1946 elections. Although Carnogursky was clearly anti-Nazi, yet because of his position as a deputy during the Slovak Republic, he was not found acceptable for any public role in the political life of post-war Slovakia. In 1947 , because of his well known anti-communist stand and his involvement in re-organizing the Catholic workers and the intelligentsia, he was imprisoned and eventually forced into seclusion and silence, providing for his family as a manual worker in a Bratislava factory . Nevertheless, during all those years of seclusion, Carnogursky carefully observed the political and religious situation in Slovakia, read all the biased works of communist historians about the Slovak Republic, and occasionally expressed his critical views in letters he sent to his friends abroad . After the fall of Dubcek in 1969, there began an era of brutal suppression of human rights and a systematic denial of freedom of religion. A pro-communist organization of the clergy, called Pacem in Terris, was established and the priests of Czecho-Slovakia were again torn into two groups, each distrusting the other. The Catholic press, i.e. the Katolicke nouiny (Catholic News) and Duchouny Pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) were put under strict communist control. The pro-communist speeches and articles of Canon Jozef Dovala, pastor in Ziar nad Hronom in the Banska Bystrica Diocese and vicar general of the Diocese , a prominent member of the Pacem in Terris movement, brought the patience and silence of Pavol Carnogursky to an end. The corruption of the Katolicke nouiny offended Carnogursky in a special way, since for some time after the war he had been the editor of this Catholic weekly and worked earnestly to bring it to a high journalistic level. On September 11 , 1974, the executive board of the Federal Association of the Catholic Clergymen, Pacem in Terris , celebrated the 94 SLOVAKIA thirtieth a nniversary of the Slovak upri sing in Banska Bystrica. Canon Joze f Dov ala was the main speaker. He equated the so-called '' political Catholicism ' ' of the Slovak Republic with collaboration with Ge rman Naz ism, and made it co-responsible for the death of about four thou sand priests in Nazi concentration camps. In a letter to Dovala, Carnogursky said it was ab surd to draw a connection between the regime of the Slovak Republic and Ge rman atrocities during the war. He wrote: In a few months it will be thirty years since the e nd of the S econd World War. During this p eriod a countless multitude of articles, political or pseudo-political, as well as scholarly and professional works on the current situation in Slo vakia appeared. Only in exceptional cases are they free of anti-Catholic tendencies. The great majority of the m obtusely describe the situation prejudicially, as you did. I read all tho se articles and books. In the last analysis, they have the same goal: to destroy Catholic ideology and Catholic life in Slo vakia. For that reason the arguments, of which even a mildly honest man and more so a scholar would be ashamed, are crude, unfounded, even hostile, negative and degrading. But what you, Father, associated with the ideas of political Catholicism in Slovakia, surpasses e verything. W e should give credit to anti-Catholic propaganda for using such tricks. The Slo vak State had to be proclaimed at that particular time (March 14, 1939, ed.) and under prevailing circumstances, if we were to make sure that among the thousands of priests murdered (in other countries) in Hitler 's concentration camps there would not be Slo vak priests. In the last analysis, our administrative authorities were not motivated only by a concern for the priests, but for the whole nation as well. And the nation has been saved. I cannot understand why you are angered and prompted to attack it (Slovak independence), since its existence gave you guarantees assuring that you yourself did not become a victim of Hitler 's concentration camp, if you were ordained before World War II. (Douala was ordained March 17, 1938.) I cannot understand why they talk only about political Catholicism and not about political Lutheranism, political Judaism, political atheism, and about the means by which these denominations and institutions have in that day and even to our day influenced and affected public life. Catholicism in Slovakia was a historical force in the nation. Without the care of the Catholic church for education, the social structure, schools, the press, agriculture and social and economic institutions, especially without the work and sacrifices of the best sons of the nation who as Catholic priests defended its voice and language, developing and enriching it through the centuries and assuring its cultural and economic growth - we would have perished. I can well understand why in the Protestant milieu, among the Jews and other denominations in Slovakia, there was not a similar SLOVAKIA 95 attack on their own. They are fully conscious of the consequences of such a step. Your attack on so-called political Catholicism during the span of the Slovak Republic, unfounded and, to say in openly, irresponsible as it is, is the more tragic because it came at the time when large-scale militant atheism was active in Slovakia and aimed its fury against the Catholic Church, its doctrine, essence and its historical influence upon the thinking and feeling of our people. And this is done by repressive methods not invoked now at the end of the twentieth century by any other Socialist country, not even in black Africa. No teacher, no educator among us, is permitted to enter a classroom, to work among the students, to teach even technical subject matter, unless he declares that he has solved the religious question, which means that he proclaims that he is an atheist. He must avow that he is an atheist not only in his private convictions, but in an active sense as well, ready to teach and educate in the atheistic way. Any doubt in this area, any evidence of religious feelings, such as attendance at divine services, reception of any sacrament, excludes him from a teaching position. Parents who enrolled their children for religious instruction are exposed to unheard of pressure from the school officials and from their employers. Children who attended religious instruction are denied advanced studies. There is a general rule valid even among the most primitive social groups that under-age children are not responsible for a transgression of the law. In our case, children are punished for attending religious instructions, while the Constitution of the peoples' democratic system ironically guarantees freedom of religious conviction. And these sanctions against children are not for a limited period of time, but for their whole lifetime. Father, how will the history of the Church in Slovakia and the general history of mankind call this kind of Catholicism, which, witnessing all this, still feels and expresses itself as you did in this case? My letter to you cannot delineate a complete description of the tragic situation of the Catholic Church in Slovakia. This situation has the dimensions of a world problem that cannot be contained in one letter. The core of the problem is the effort at the eradication of Christian consciousness in the life and culture of a nation which by its very nature and because of its Christian Catholic roots contributed to the civilization process in the heart of Europe ever since the ninth century. We cannot blind our eyes with illusions, assuming that the working of divine grace alone will defeat the imperiled Christianity of our n(!,tion. Without our personal co-operation, our struggle and our living faith, we cannot count on perpetuating the religious life and spirit of our universally Christian country. Doubtless, this struggle demands not only our standing up as Christians but also our intelligent approach to find reasonable 96 SLOVAKIA possibilities to solve the problems facing us without craven concessions and compromises. But an attack like yours, coming in such a form and content, inveighing upon political Catholicism as you have done, cannot be accounted as an acceptable line of conduct. Pavol Camogursky's second letter of protest was addressed to Bishop Jozef Feranec, Ordinary of the Diocese of Banska Bystrica. It deals with an article by Jozef Dovala published in the Katolicke Nouiny (Catholic News) August 29, 1976, in which the author states that the priests and laity participate in up building the new way of life in CzechoSlovakia where freedom of religion is constitutionally safeguarded. Dovala wrote this article after his return from the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia (August 1-7, 1976) where he attended the Slovak services as the only priest from Slovakia. The text of Camogursky' s letter of August 29, 1976, is as follows: Your Excellency, after reading the editorial in the last issue of the Katolicke Nouiny (no. 53, August 29, 1976) even the simplest believer cannot refrain from reacting in protest, realizing how severe is the extermination process against the Church in Slovakia and how this bitter reality opposes his religious conviction and undermines his devotion to the duties which bind him to the Church. In this article vicar Jozef Douala of Banska Bystrica, wrote among other things: 'Priests as well as laymen participate in the up building of our new life and they also share in its fruits. The Constitution of our state system respects the conviction of every citizen and guarantees the freedom of religion'. With pain in my heart I must state that reality in no way bears out the import of these words. Only a cynical scoffer could write thus, bringing the paper to the level of absurdity and compromising the reader in whose name he so dares to write. What then is the factual status of religious affairs, notwithstanding what the Constitution and Article 7 of the Helsinki Agreement provide? Two weeks ago, on August 18, 1976, the daily Pravda, organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia, published a report on the conclusions of the Party Congress and on atheistic education in Slovakia. The gist of these conclusions by the reporting officer read: 'Slovakia became a country of mass atheism. 'A competent representative would hardly dare to make such a bold and far reaching statement in the Party organ of any other Socialist state. Since it cannot be doubted that P. Prusak 's report was factual, even if he did not elaborate about what means were used where it was attained, one must take it as a hard fact. In Slovakia there is a special campaign against religion. I am convinced that Church leadership in Slovakia definitely and carefully concerns itself with the gravity of this article and will weigh its consequences both for itself and for the sake of the Church in Slovakia. SLOVAKIA 97 I am merely emphasizing the fact that the core of such purported success of atheism in Slovakia is viewed by the author as a purposeful atheistic work which has assumed a systematic character, as he specifically underlines it. In this systematic character of mass abandonment of the paternal heritage - the Catholic Church - by her sons and daughters, one must also see the fact that in Church leadership there are some persons whose high positions serve as the necessary front windows for facilitating apostasy and promoting mass atheism by playing a role assigned to them in their high functions. On the very same level, alas, one must also place the paper Katolicke Noviny which is degenerating into a publication of professional flatterers writing explicitly about themes that have very little in common with authentic religion. This attitude is in total contradiction to the contemporary difficult position of the Church, especially with the mentality of tormented parent-believers. It does not serve the serious matter of peace and rapprochement and easing of tensions. Forgive me, my Bishop, for the bitter tone of this letter. Truly, it is not as bitter as it is painful. And it is precisely for that reason that I must react to the slap on the face inflicted by the aforementioned writing of your vicar general. But not to write would pose an impossible dilemma for me: Am I still a Catholic? Has Mr. Prusak also rightfully included me in his concept of 'mass atheism' in Slovakia? For a responsible member of the Church not to react righteously to this critical development at a time when the very existence of the Church is at stake would be tantamount to not being in rapport with her, with this historic force which endowed Slovakia with all her spiritual, moral and cultural wealth. (1) Pavol Camogursky was imprisoned on November 10, 1976, undoubtedly for this daring analysis of the religious situation in Slovakia and his sharp criticism of Jozef Dovala. In such cases, stock charges of anti-state activities are readily found in the deformed communist system of justice. When Carnogursky ' s case evoked wide publicity in the free world, he was released from prison. He is awaiting trial for purported anti-state activity in the near future. A Speech by Aloysius Tkac Aloysius Tkac is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Kosice (Eastern Slovakia). He is now 43 years old. He was an archivist in the bishop's chancery and as such he was a member of the pro-communist priestly organization Pacem in Terris. Seeing all the abuses perpetrated against the Church by the communist regime, he decided to publicly denounce them at the festive meeting of this organization on October 23, 1974. On the occasion of the celebration of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Slovak Uprising, in the presence of communist officials controlling 98 SLOVAKIA all activities of the said organization, he first recalled the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic (art. 32) guaranteeing religious freedom of all citizens. Then he cited the government decrees and pertinent regulations of the Ministry of Culture from 1970 and 1972, by which religious education of children of second to seventh grades is permitted. He mentioned recent statements of the President about religious freedom; and no. 326 of the criminal code, by which all those hindering religious freedom and religious activity by force should be prosecuted and punished. He then proceeded to give accounts of actual religious situations in the country: We cannot pass with silence the unpleasant fact which causes both priests and believers great suffering; we feel we are being discriminated against. The procedure in regard to the spiritual needs many times is reckless and we consider it extremely harsh. The guidelines of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic concerning the enrollment of children for religious instructions are in many places disregarded. Groups were formed which not only belittle religious instructions, but hold back parents from the enrollment of their children in religious instruction by direct terror. Contrary to official guidelines about the enrollment, both parents have to present the enrollment petition; often the father or the mother have to excuse themselves from their jobs and complete their work after working hours. It was brought forth to some parents: 'Don't you want to send your children to a higher level of education? Do you want to bury the future of your children in technical schooling?' The behavior of many teachers was harsh, arrogant (such as tearing to pieces the enrollment petition or throwing it away), an illegal act, and it offended the dignity of the citizen-believers. Children attending religious instructions are often excluded from activities with their peers; they cannot make the Pioneers' pledge. During the school year there is also a great deal of peer and teacher pressure put on them. Parents and their children are going through Calvary. They are really martyrs. But how does all this square with the above mentioned state decrees? Even if there were only a few of thse examples, still we must not be silent. Unfortunately, such incidents are very frequent! The fact is that only a small percentage of the children are enrolled for religious instructions. Does this mean that parents and students have renounced their faith and become atheists? By no means! It is largely the result of a natural fear concerning the future! Citizen-believers are being deterred from fulfilling their religious needs, from receiving sacraments (Mass, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony). Only with difficulty can a priest secretly administer the sacraments of the dying in a hospital. Under various, even false, accusations state permission for priestly work has been revoked to several priests. Does that not bother SLOVAKIA 99 us? Does not the fate of our brothers in the priesthood concern us? Do we not stand up for the defense of the honor of the priestly state? If not, it is a tragedy! Fifteen newly ordained priests, four months after their ordination, are still waiting for their assignments. Other college graduates have their work assignments in their pockets the moment they have finished their studies. And there are so many parishes and chaplaincies unoccupied/ There are other pains, but others should speak about them! Brothers, friends, I have brought up our common pains. I have spoken to you about the suffering of our believing people. We are not too sensitive, nor are we asking for privileges. We are in pain from the thorns that we have to wear with our people. We are happy to live in our Czecho-Slovak Socialist Republic. We would not betray it for anything. But let us eliminate the mistakes and inadequacies which make our lives difficult. This frank statement shocked the priests and the communist government representatives who always attend such meetings . As a rule, only praise of and gratitude to the regime are expressed at such gatherings. The statement was not even mentioned in the so-called Catholic press of Czecho-Slovakia, or other newspapers. It was secretly smuggled to the free world. What happened to this brave Catholic priest who openly expressed both the facts and the feelings of all conscientious priests and Catholic lay people? Nothing immediately . But then in July of 1975 , almost a year later, news came from Slovakia that several priests who expressed their anti-communist feelings were attacked and some of them severely injured by some individuals who were never apprehended by the police . One of those attacked and severely injured was Aloysius Tkac. In December , 1975 the state permit of Aloysius Tkac to perform priestly duties was withdrawn. His present fate is not known . It may be either manual work or jail. (2) Protests of Monsignor Trstensky Monsignor Victor Trstensky is a prominent Slovak priest. He was born in Trstena (District Orava) on March 29, 1908. After finishing his basic and high school studies in Trstena, he enrolled in the Spis Diocesan Seminary, and was ordained on June 29, 1931. Because of his pastoral zeal and exemplary priestly life, he early became pastor of St. Catherine Church in Dolny Kubin, where he was also a teacher of religion at the local gynmasium. On the recommendation of his Bishop, John Vojtassak, he was made Papal Prelate (Monsignor) while still a very young priest. During the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), as a prominent member of the Hlinka Slovak Populist Party, he took an active part in the public life of his town; at the same time he was involved in the Catholic Action Movement. 100 SLOVAKIA For this activity, after the Second World War he was imprisoned and spent twenty-one years in various prisons, in labor camps, and in manual work. During the Dubcek era, he was rehabilitated and received a state permit for pastoral work on October 7, 1969. The Ordinary of the Spis Diocese , Reverend Joseph Ligos, appointed him adminstrator of St. Nicholas Church in Stara Lubovna where he worked tirelessly for four years. In the post-Dubcek era, the communists in Czecho-Slovakia could not tolerate strong personalities like Monsignor Trstensky in pastoral work . They were afraid of his moral influence on parishioners and particularly on youth. With the year 1974, a new Calvary began for Monsignor Trstensky. The communist-dominated District Committee in Stara Lubovna decided that Trstensky had to leave the town and again be removed from pastoral work . He was notified about his imminent dismissal on January 21, 1974 by the new Ordinary of the Diocese, Stephen Garaj. On January 27, 1974 , Monsignor Trstensky preached to his stunned parishioners a memorable homily, which was secretly taped and later found its way to the free world. The principal reasons for Trstensky's dismissal, given to the vicar capitular by Communist officials, were as follows: 1. preaching against atheism and atheists; 2. sending gifts to old people on Christmas; 3. meetings with altar boys in the church and rectory; 4. keeping in his parish religious Sisters in violation of state regulations; 5. blessing the homes of parishioners after Epiphany. In his classic homily, Monsignor Trstensky explained his activity as pastor of the church in Stara Lubovna and argued convincingly that there was nothing illegal in his pastoral work . He concluded his homily with these words: What does matter is the truth. Whoever distorts the truth cannot build the country. Only truth can save the nation and the country. Remember, if I have to leave here, I am not leaving as a criminal, murderer, traitor of the nation and country. I love my country. Twice I was abroad - in Vienna, Rome, Paris. I could have stayed there. I was invited to do so. But I said: 'I am a Slovak. I did not do anything wrong. I want to live among our people because I love my country and my people.' I returned home. I sincerely love my country, and not only in words but more so by teaching you to love God and one another; by teaching you to work diligently and to live morally. I do not talk about peace, but I promote it with my whole life and work. (3) The decision of the County Committee, Department of Culture, in Stara Lubovna, prohibiting Trstensky to perform priestly ministry was dated January 30, 1974 and delivered to him on February 1, 1974. The reasons for his dismissal are formulated as follows : From the beginning of his assignment to Stara Lubovna, Victor Trstensky in various ways manifested his dissent with the development SLOVAKIA 101 of our socialist society. For that reason, several sessions were held with him where he was notified that he was breaking the norms established for state-church relationships. In recent times he has increased his reactionary activity and in his sermons he openly and vituperatively spoke against progressively thinking citizens and incited against them. In one of his sermons he said that the unbelievers will once again experience the supremacy of god (sic) and will wish to become believers, but it will be too late. By this activity he was systematically breaking the established laws regarding state-church relations. Such was the case during the last Christmas season, when with the help of school children he distributed to some families packages containing wine, oranges, soap and other items. During his assignment to the parish of Stara Lubovna he intentionally infringed upon the directives on religious instructions by gathering a group of altar boys and choir singers in the church and rectory for practice; furthermore, he organized meetings with a considerable number of children in the rectory. During his assignment at the parish of Stara Lubovna, three religious Sisters came to him and, under his direction, performed church functions and worked actively on the revitalization of the church in the city and among the youth. For these reasons and for his dangerously anti-socialist stand, shown particularly in recent times and in these last days, when he caused among the believers a high and dangerous tension, his continuance in church administration would seriously endanger peaceful social life and the interests of our working people; therefore, with immediate effectiveness, we take away his state permit to work in church administration. On February 14, 1974, Monsignor Trstensky appealed this verdict. As a preliminary to his letter of appeal, he pointed to the irregularities in the whole procedure against him by quoting eight paragraphs of law 71-1967, which were disregarded in his case. Then, in eight pages, he convincingly refuted all the vague or completely false charges against him. He referred to the public and well-known record of his activity as pastor of Stara Lubovna parish. He emphatically stated that he only fulfilled his duties as pastor of a parish, never acting against the state laws and official regulations. The only real reason for the removal of Monsignor Trstensky from pastoral work was his exemplary priestly life and his zealous work for the spiritual welfare of his flock. The appeal of Monsignor Trstensky had no effect and the District Committee in Kosice which by the decision of February 19, 1974, confirmed the verdict of the County Committee in Stara Lubovna and made the decision final, precluding any further appeal. Monsignor Trstensky thereafter went to live in his town of birth, Trstena, in the region of Orava. Grateful parishioners of Stara Lubovna did not forget their beloved pastor. As a token of their appreciation and 102 SLOVAKIA gratitude during the rest of the year 1974, they traveled to Trstena in trucks loaded with construction material and built a home for him. He lives there today. Letters to Highest Authorities After spending years in prison and now being deprived of the permit to work as a priest, Monsignor Trstensky became a fearless witness to communist persecution of loyal priests, and a bold defender of the minimal rights of religion. Monsignor Trstensky carefully observes the situation in his country, sharply analyzes it, and sends his observations to the highest government places. He is sending protest letters to Dr. Peter Colotka, Prime Minister of Slovakia, and even to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. Copies of some of his letters have found their way to the free world. They are quite revealing, since they contain the first-hand experiences and observations of a man who lives there, sees with open eyes, and is able to analyze the situation. One such letter was addressed to Dr. Colotka as a reaction to his television talk on the occasion of the International Year of Women, on March 7, 1974. Colotka is a native of Orava region, and Trstensky was his teacher of religion in Dolny Kubin gymnasium. The letter starts with acknowledgements to Colotka for his fine tribute to women, to Slovak mothers and grandmothers, who taught their children honesty, loyalty and readiness to sacrifice for the truth even with their lives. In his letter Trstensky asks Colotka what these women get from the communist regime. Isn't it tearing apart the hearts of our mothers and grandmothers and their offspring, when religious education of children is being hindered more and more? I heard, for example, that in Banska Bystrica, because of brutal terror at the time of enrollment for religious instructions, not one child was registered. It is the same in many cities of Slovakia. Not that the parents and children would not be interested in religion, as purported, but because of the fear for their existence, they do not dare to register their children for religious instructions. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when it is made impossible for their sons to devote themselves to a priestly state of life? And even when they have achieved it after years of demanding studies, obtusely to deprive them of a permit to work in the Church ministry, despite a great shortage of priests? In Slovakia, every year 50 to 60 priests die, while hardly 20 to 22 newly ordained priests come out of the seminary. The reason for this is the unfortunate numerous clauses (restricted number) by which only a small number of the candidates can be accepted into the seminary, and this number only on the evaluation of various non-ecclesiastical authorities. Isn't it a punishment for our mothers and grandmothers, when their daughters and granddaughters are not permitted to choose a vocation in which SLOVAKIA 103 they could peacefully serve God and their neighbors? Even those religious Sisters who previously had chosen this vocation are, so to say, thrown out from their own houses to the streets? lsn 't it hurting our mothers and grandmothers to see how their children, plying their vocations as teachers, civil servants, or factory foremen cannot fulfill their religious obligations for fear of being/ired or transferred to some other job with a lower salary? What can our mothers and grandmothers say about the so-called Catholic press, which in fact does not exist? ''The statements of Pacem in Terris officers that everything is all right here in the matters of religion, do not change these sad facts. By such statements they compromise not only themselves and the Church, but put into a bad perspective our whole system. We are like open cards, and whoever stops here can evaluate religious situations himself and can see the one-sidedness of such self-serving statements. It would be much more fruitful, it those from our priestly ranks who are writing for Pacem in Terris and who think they are promoting peace and social progress, mainly and openly told the heads of our regime that man is not only a body, but also a soul, which is in need of spiritual food. Our simple old women in Orava are shaking their heads when, while reading in the Katolicke Noviny all those praises about religious life in our country, they live in sadness with their daughters who were thrown out of religious life not by Church but by State authorities, or with their sons who were stripped of the State permit for Church administration, or when they see their sons and daughters sneaking away, if they want to pray, get married in church, or have their child baptized. (4) In July, 1976, Monsignor Trstensky asked for travel permission to see his sick brother and his aged sister living in the U.S.A. His petition was turned down by the government officials. Trstensky again sent appeals to the Slovak Prime Minister, Peter Colotka, and to the President of Czecho-Slovakia, Dr. Gustav Husak. In his letter to the President dated January 6, 1977, Trstensky again presented a sharp analysis of the situation in Slovakia. I still have not received an answer about my own sufferings and those of believing people. Probably the reason is that it regards a Roman Catholic priest, thus a man outside the law. This confirms my conviction that the main task of some of our circles is to harrass the citizens, especially believers, and to unleash a ruthless war against religion and its adherents. By watching television, by reading newspapers, and magazines and books about so-called "scientific" atheism, by talking with believers, by watching their sad faces, by seeing hundreds of priests outside pastoral work, tormented Sisters, the fear of teachers, civil servants, nurses, foremen in factories, one gets a clear testimony what injustices are being perpetrated against believers. A member of the Party can be like a stump of wood, as long as he knows some phrases about atheism, Marxism. He is preferred to a non- 104 SLOVAKIA Party man, no matter how intelligent, conscientious and patriotic the latter may be. How much more useful would it be to our country, if those much needed billions squandered on anti-religious propaganda, on so-called civil baptisms, weddings, burials, and on the tens of thousands of atheistic propagandists, were used for real re-education in the spirit of justice and mutual love, and for the promotion of material, spiritual, cultural and social development. Wherever there is an anti-religious campaign and justice is trampled upon, morality declines, the families fall apart, enthusiasm for work vanishes, honesty and responsibility disappear, criminality among adults and even among adolescents increases, and the very foundations of the country are undermined. If there is to be a lasting peace, it must be built on justice, truth, freedom and love. (5) It is interesting to note that despite his sharp protest letters, some of which were published in the Western press , Monsignor Trstensky is still not in jail. He is harrassed and intimidated, as appears from his letters . The reason for his not being imprisoned may be the notoriety of his case throughout Czecho-Slovakia and, to some extent, even throughout the free world. The regime fears the out-cry of the free world which follows the imprisonment of well-known dissidents. Examples of Living Faith Not all opponents of militant atheism express their protests against the persecution of the Church by letters and manifestos. In Slovakia there are many priests and lay people resisting the communist oppression of religion with their lives. There are people filling the churches on Sundays and holy days, receiving the sacraments regularly , enrolling their children for religious instructions - ready to pay for it with a loss of better jobs and in some instances with a loss of personal freedom. There are still priests who are in a real sense spiritual fathers of their flock, risking the loss of a state permit to function as priests, or risking the loss of liberty. There are priests and lay people who by the depth of their religious life equal the heroism of the Christians of the early Church. They are luminaries of deep faith in these hours of darkness. One such is John Chrysostom Korec. At the time of the suppression of religious orders in 1950, John Korec was a Jesuit cleric. After nearly completing his regular theological studies, he was secretly ordained a priest and in 1951, bishop. He was then 27 years old, the youngest bishop in the world. He had to go through military service. He then became a factory worker. He worked as a bishop in the underground by secretly preaching to small groups of people, administering the sacrament of Confirmation , teaching young clerics, ~d SLOVAKIA 105 eventually ordaining them as priests. In 1960, communist spies discovered who John Korec really was. He was sentenced to twelve years in a high security prison. But even in those years of imprisonment, he continued his priestly work among his fellow inmates. In 1968, Bishop Korec was released from jail, weakened in body. He became one of the leading personalities in revitalizing the religious life of Slovakia during this period of thaw. In 1969, he visited Rome and had a private audience with the Holy Father, who gave him one of his personal croziers and a pectoral cross as a sign of his appreciation for the young bishop's work. After the fall of Dubcek (April 17, 1969), renewed terrorism began in Czecho-Slovakia. The state permit to publicly celebrate the Mass was taken away from Bishop Korec. He was not permitted to take part in any official functions of the Church. He became a factory worker in Bratislava. Today, the whole of Slovakia knows about the case of Bishop Korec. People distressed by harsh religious repression, particularly the highly educated, come to Bishop Korec for his words of advice and consolation. This is not looked upon favorably by the communist authorities. They would like to get rid of Bishop Korec, but without further disturbing the populace. They offered him an opporutnity to emigrate from Slovakia. Bishop Korec rejected the suggestion. They offered him a state permit to perform a ministry in some parish outside Bratislava. Bishop Korec said he would accept the ministry outside Bratislava, on the condition that all other priests to whom the state permit was denied or taken away be given permission to function as priests. The communist authorities rejected this condition. The case of the heroic Bishop Korec was reported in the Catholic press throughout the free world. Perhaps this will protect him temporarily against imprisonment. (6) Stephen J avorsky, a Salesian priest, administrator of the parish in Muran, was imprisoned by the state police on November 26, 1975 and sentenced to eighteen months in jail. His state permit to perform his priestly duties was suspended for two years after the expiration of his jail sentence. For this verdict the following reasons are given by the County Court in Muran: ''He enticed youth, especially university students, by inducing them to listen to the Vatican Radio; he distributed books among them; in their presence, he projected film strips and played tapes containing unacceptable conferences on religious philosophy directed against the interests of our socialist society and against materialistic philosophy, with the aim of involving into this work a large group of religious lay people who besides their regular vocation should exercise missionary activity as well. On June 1, 1975, during the divine services in the parish church of Muran, he tried to influence parents, calling the County Spartakiad (gymnastic exhibition) a worldly vanity fair to be opposed by the parents in the future. " Javorsky's appeal of this verdict to a higher court was rejected and the length of his prison term was prolonged to two full years. (7) 106 SLOVAKIA Among Slovak dissidents are also brave writers and distributors of anonymous pamphlets which sporadically appear in various parts of the country. Such a leaflet distributed in June, 1975, analyzes the religious situation in Slovakia and exhorts Christian believers to defend religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution and state laws.(8) Another pamphlet, distributed in Slovakia in April of 1976, warns Slovak Catholics of the biased news published in the Katolicke Noviny and against the priest-collaborators active in the pro-communist organization Pacem in Terris. (9) It is proper to express our respect and admiration of these known and unknown heroes. They suffer for their deep religious convictions . The whole country lives in an atmosphere of imprisonment. Their suffering sooner or later will bring about the liberty of the Church and of the people in Slovakia. FOOTNOTES The complete text of both Camogursky letters was published in HORIZONT ' 77 , March-April , 1977, p . 8-9. (2) The text of Rev. Tkac 's speech can be found in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," Ed . JUSTITIA ET PAX 1976, p. 134138. (3) Frantisek Vnuk : Prenasledo uanie katolickeho ducho uenst ua sa stupi'tuje . (Mounting Persecution of the Catholic Clergy) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE (Slovak in America), May 8, 1974, p . 1, 3. (4) The text of this Jetter was published in HLASY Z RIMA (Voices of Rome), July 1976, p. 22-23. (5) The main parts of this letter were published in JEDNOTA , March 30, 1977, p. 20, 17; also in HLASY Z RIMA , April 1977, p. 21-23 . (6) " Narodeniny biskupa-robotnika Jana Korea " (The Birthday of Bishop-Worker, John Korec) . SLOVAK V AMERIKE , Jan. 26, 1977 , p . 1. (7) HLASY Z RIMA , January 1977, p . 22. (8) The complete text of this pamphlet was published in " SITUATION DER KATHOLISCHEN KIRCHE IN DER TSCHECHOSLOWAKEI," p. 123-130. (9) Ibid. , p . 84-85 ; HLASY Z RIMA , August-September, 1976, p . 31. (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 Preludes to "Charter '77" Description An account of the resource Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M. Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977 pp. 91-106 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zúbek, Teodorik J., 1914-1988 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2b6ffd2bc25a578864af4acebea874cb.pdf fecee9742e45dbaca1968d95260c911b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 107 A Call for Courage HANA PONICKA INTRODUCTION BY J.M . KIRSCHBAUM Due to the peculiar circumstances under which the Slovak people were subjected to Communism, cultural life in Slovakia may have experienced the strongest repression of any Soviet satellite. (1) The short period of liberalization under A. Dubcek proved, however, that the Stalinist system was unable to break the moral backbone of Slovak writers or to eradicate Slovak literary traditions. Within a few months after the suspension of censorship, Slovak intellectuals displayed a moral courage which startled Wes tern observers. They were among the initiators of the struggle for "socialism with a human face. '' They condemned and criticized the excesses of the Stalinist period, called for rehabilitation of its victims, and insisted on giving cultural institutions (Matica Slovenska, for instance) their original functions and cultural freedom. (2) The short period of liberalization made possible a freer portrayal of the past in literary and political history. The memoirs of T. J. Gaspar and testimonies about political trials (G. Husak, E. Loebl, D . Viest and others) were published. Cultural contacts with the Western world were renewed. This new cultural freedom was interrupted by the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies on August 21, 1968. The subsequent Soviet occupation put an end to free cultural expression. " Socialism with a human face '' perished with the final removal of Dubcek from his position in the Spring of 1969. The new regime under Dr. Gustav Husak proclaimed the Soviet invasion an act of 'fraternal assistance of the socialist countries to protect socialism in Czecho-Slovakia. ' ' It introduced a policy of "normalization. " Dubcek 's liberalization was condemned as "counterrevolutionary. ' ' Massive purges eliminated thousands of people from scientific institutions, artists' unions, schools, broadcasting, journalism, and literary journals. The regime "moved swiftly to block or to reverse the major reforms of 1968, including political democratization, freedom of expression and association, legal reform and rehabiliation . . . '' One saw ' 'the restoration of the Soviet model in all spheres of life. The penetration of Soviet ideas was so blatant that a visitor could not escape the impression that Czecho-Slovakia had taken on the character of a Soviet republic. " (3) Among the first measures of this ' 'normalization'' policy were the introduction of a strict censorship and the establishment of new committees to head cultural and scientific institutions. The Academy of �108 SLOVAKIA Sciences and the Matica Slovenska were transformed into instruments for the "development of socialist culture, science and education in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism. " Artists' unions were transformed into ideological organizations subject to the Communist Party. The periodicals Kulturny iivot and Nova tvorba were forced out of publication. Many scholars, writers, and artists found themselves pariahs, unable to engage in creative work of any kind, and restricted to menial work, at a very low fixed income. Their children also suffered from discrimination in schooling and employment. New and refined methods of persecution were employed, not as grim and macabre as the slow trials of the 'fifties.' These took the form, in Havel's words, of existential pressure, threatening every one, high or low, loyal or disloyal, with loss of position in case of nonconformity. ''This became a veritable vendetta against all who were engaged in reform activities in 1968 and who were unwilling to recant. "(4) That this ''normalization'' has not changed during the past eight years, observers of the Sovak cultural scene have little doubt. Corroboration is found in a courageous address by a Slovak writer who was neither purged nor persecuted, Hana Ponicka. Here follow, in abbreviated form, without the knowledge or permission of the author, her propositions for discussion at the 3rd Conference of Slovak Writers in Bratislava, March 2, 1977, undelivered due to the preemptory halting of discussion, but offered to the Conference as a matter of record. Esteemed assembly: This is our third Slovak Writers' Conference . In the five years since our last conference, held May 31, 1972 in Bratislava, every one of us has surely created something. We have realized the publication of new books and various dramatic and other works. Numerically, with respect to contemporary Slovak literature, this is not the worst record, for our classics are being reissued, and new editions of Slovak translations of classical world literature are also being published. And yet I am not, I cannot be, satisfied. In the vicinity of the village where I live, I see in the fall a great amount of ungathered harvest. But I am troubled just as much by the ungathered harvests in our literary fields. We have been living for nine years now in an atmosphere of unusual social tension. Even during such long-lasting tension, however, it is possible for excellent works to appear that are worth reading and deserving of literary criticism. And yet we have suffered and continue to suffer disproportionate losses. In the past few years, we have lost more notable writers. Though they have died, their work continues to be published. But besides them we have lost many remarkable writers living here and elsewhere, fully capable of creativity, but whose work has not appeared for many years. To this day they are not fellow-members of our writers' organization, nor are �SLOVAKIA 109 they permitted to publish, writers such as Dominik Tatarka, Peter Karvas, and Ladislav Tazky. Nor, unlike the works of other writers recently deceased, do the highly qualified translations of Zora Jesenska from Russian, Soviet, English classics and contemporary literature appear, and are even less likely to. If her name was not mentioned among the others in the requested moment of reverent silence by which we were to honor the work and memory of all our departed writers, I do so at least now with this brief pause of respect. To this day (a long list of writers) is forbidden to publish their poems, prose, or translations , articles or literary critiques, or to write with the hope of being published , whether they are former members or candidates of our writers' organization or even non-members and workers on our literary and cultural journals, such as Jan Rozner, Pavol Hruz, Milan Hamada, Josef Bzoch , Fedor Cadra, Miroslav Kusy, Zlata Solivajsova, Miroslav Hysko, Michal Gafri, Julius Vanovic, Ctibor Stitnicky, Frantisek Andrascik, Stefan Moravcik, Roman Kalisky, Juraj Spitzer, Albert Marencin, Agnesa Kalinova, Sona Cechova, Ladislav Dobis, Ivan Kadlecik , Jan Kalina, Tomas Winkler, and others. If there are any errors in my listing, or if in the case of some authors administrative changes have taken place, that is not my fault. Meeting less seldom in the framework of our organization now than ever before, we know very little about each other. Hence we do not have in our ranks to this day many creators of literature, criticism, journalism or dramatic works. Their names have been lost together with their works from the catalogs and shelves of our public libraries. And yet these friends and colleagues of ours work and live among us, or rather, apart from us and around us. They work in jobs, though not the worst in every case, that are mostly foreign to them and inferior to their abilities. Some of the younger ones who did not try to become members of the Slovak Writers ' Union have taken hold of axe and spade, but among them there are also those who are literally vegetating physically, morally and spiritually - on pension. And what particularly catches us up short is the fact that years ago many of them were awarded the highest artistic titles and honors of our socialist state. As far as I know, these titles have not been taken away from them . Titles, yes; publication, no. I shall never forget that picture of our contemporary literature that appeared to me a couple of years ago when, on the occasion of my chats with them in schools of various districts, Slovak students and their teachers showed me pages of these literary textbooks crossed-out . With what knowledge of our recent history will those youths go out into the world, who with their own hands had to expunge from their textbooks the names and works of living writers, whom they were recently taught to respect and admire? This picture of expunged contemporary literature must also be a part of our balancing of the recent interconference period. Likewise must examples of discarded galleys and �110 SLOVAKIA the shredding of freshly published books and literary works of our expelled writers be included in this picture. It has to be said with sadness that the losses of creative forces in literature, the arts, and in all cultural activity on the part of Czechs are immeasurably greater than those of the Slovaks. I personally feel the continuation of this situation of precious losses as a great fault of our cultural policy, as a serious crime against our creative element and our respective literatures, arts and cultures. Twenty-one years ago, the poet Vitezslav Nezval said at a conference on Czech poetry in Prague: "So long as a single poet in this land lives with the feeling that he cannot publish, my comrades, something is out of order. '' And a year later, at the Second Conference of Czechoslovak Writers, in Prague in 1956, the poet Frantisek Hrubin said: "He who walks among us unconcernedly, writes and calmly gathers honors and goes to sleep peacefully, as though he knew nothing was amiss, who does not cry out aloud, 'A crime is being committed!' is a disguised bourgeois and egotist, and the one who is only secretly ashamed, is a coward!" Esteemed Conference: I can no longer bear the secret shame that I am allowed to publish while others cannot. I can probably claim some justification for myself, namely, that I was one of those who long believed and hoped that the conflicts and injustices would be corrected and solved, and with the intention of improving a difficult societal situation especially for young people, I worked from the fall of 1968 to the end of 1971 in the editorial offices of juvenile publications. Then I somehow stopped hoping. It became necessary for me to create for myself a new working situation in order to accomplish something. I worked hard physically and mentally, I found my place in a new environment where things are called by their right name, and, after long deliberations and daily conversations with people who are being shipped out of our own communities to factories, railroads and other places of occupation, or with those who remained to work in the JRD (collective farms) that is, after acquiring new experiences and knowledge and, of course, as I followed the course of domestic and world events in the press and in our own and foreign broadcasts - I decided to speak out honestly about that which hurts us and disturbs us. We are suffering morally, and our moral suffering is caused by the moral suffering of others, by the endless contradictions between words and deeds, by the rampant growth of half-truths and lies, by unceasing duplicity, and by the incomprehensibly harmful interventions of our society. Our Sturovian poet said 130 years ago: ' 'Among us one loves! '' Another said: ''Among us one sings.'' But today our poetic nation says: '' Among us one deceives!'' And we hear it said further: ''I wouldn't say anything if it were just a little deception; for after all, I too deceive an old woman a little if I can �SLOVAKIA 111 get away with short-changing her a decimeter; but here the deception goes on daily, and only on Sunday is there a little truth to be found. And as for freely confessing our faith? You have to crawl through the back alleys if you want your child christened. And as for equal rights? This is what they are like: Take a child who has completed his entrance examinations with distinction, both parents are workers - but the child is not only not accepted by the school, but is not even given the right to appeal! For it is said that even the application for an appeal must be made in advance, and that even the appeal will be decided in advance by the higher authorities. That's what they told me, I swear!" our people conclude, and they must then go to other districts to find a school that will enroll their child. Our people are indeed grateful for their material improvements, and yet they have a soul as well - the kind of soul they have possessed for ages - and so they are not satisfied merely with material things. They want to realize their full personal dignity, the respect of their communities toward everything that is within them. They also wish independently to be able to evaluate their abilities and to arrive at their conclusions and views without the endless propaganda and imposition of prescribed and ready-made views, as well as without fear of unpleasant consequences if they do not always parrot a for a, but also must do the same for b, c, d, and so on to z. Our people are also entitled to their full dignity in their congregations and the feeling of actual freedom to confess their faith and to perform the activities pertaining thereto. It is impossible, after all, to make instant atheists quickly, haphazardly and forcibly out of one-third of the population of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic that still professes a religious faith. I have not touched upon our literature of the last period, but I know that our literature has lost its experimentation and innovation, and that these have been replaced in the main by conventional tastes, ideas and forms. Such innovations as do manage to appear here or there are not welcomed directly. And the significance of exceptional works is systematically pushed into the background if their author is not on the list of acceptable authors who may publish but without publicity. Esteemed Conference, I conclude. I have spoken extremely critically, because if I had said anything of a complimentary nature, that would have amounted to carrying wood into the forest considering our press of late. And I have spoken extremely critically also out of carefulness, lest it happen, God forbid, that out of my presentation only some positive excerpt would be quoted in print. That happens among us regularly with the comments of author-delegates. And finally, I permit myself the privilege of proposing a motion: that our debates at this conference be published. I think that now when our press has lately revealed such an interest in writers and their signatures, that there would be an equal willingness to provide space for their debates at their Third Write rs ' Conference.'' �112 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) See Chapter X in my book Slovak Language and Literature (University of Manitoba, Dept. of Slavic Studies, Winnipeg, 1975) pp. 215-234. (2) See H. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution (Princeton , 1976), pp. 62-72, and J . Kirschbaum , " Slovakia in the de-Stalinization Process of Czechoslovakia," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. X, 4, 1968, pp. 549-556. (3) Skilling, "Czechoslovakia and Helsinki," Canadian Slavonic Papers, XVIII, 3, pp. 246-253. (4) Skilling, ibid., p. 254. � SLOVAKIA 107 A Call for Courage HANA PONICKA INTRODUCTION BY J.M . KIRSCHBAUM Due to the peculiar circumstances under which the Slovak people were subjected to Communism, cultural life in Slovakia may have experienced the strongest repression of any Soviet satellite. (1) The short period of liberalization under A. Dubcek proved, however, that the Stalinist system was unable to break the moral backbone of Slovak writers or to eradicate Slovak literary traditions. Within a few months after the suspension of censorship, Slovak intellectuals displayed a moral courage which startled Wes tern observers. They were among the initiators of the struggle for "socialism with a human face. '' They condemned and criticized the excesses of the Stalinist period, called for rehabilitation of its victims, and insisted on giving cultural institutions (Matica Slovenska, for instance) their original functions and cultural freedom. (2) The short period of liberalization made possible a freer portrayal of the past in literary and political history. The memoirs of T. J. Gaspar and testimonies about political trials (G. Husak, E. Loebl, D . Viest and others) were published. Cultural contacts with the Western world were renewed. This new cultural freedom was interrupted by the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies on August 21, 1968. The subsequent Soviet occupation put an end to free cultural expression. " Socialism with a human face '' perished with the final removal of Dubcek from his position in the Spring of 1969. The new regime under Dr. Gustav Husak proclaimed the Soviet invasion an act of 'fraternal assistance of the socialist countries to protect socialism in Czecho-Slovakia. ' ' It introduced a policy of "normalization. " Dubcek 's liberalization was condemned as "counterrevolutionary. ' ' Massive purges eliminated thousands of people from scientific institutions, artists' unions, schools, broadcasting, journalism, and literary journals. The regime "moved swiftly to block or to reverse the major reforms of 1968, including political democratization, freedom of expression and association, legal reform and rehabiliation . . . '' One saw ' 'the restoration of the Soviet model in all spheres of life. The penetration of Soviet ideas was so blatant that a visitor could not escape the impression that Czecho-Slovakia had taken on the character of a Soviet republic. " (3) Among the first measures of this ' 'normalization'' policy were the introduction of a strict censorship and the establishment of new committees to head cultural and scientific institutions. The Academy of �108 SLOVAKIA Sciences and the Matica Slovenska were transformed into instruments for the "development of socialist culture, science and education in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism. " Artists' unions were transformed into ideological organizations subject to the Communist Party. The periodicals Kulturny iivot and Nova tvorba were forced out of publication. Many scholars, writers, and artists found themselves pariahs, unable to engage in creative work of any kind, and restricted to menial work, at a very low fixed income. Their children also suffered from discrimination in schooling and employment. New and refined methods of persecution were employed, not as grim and macabre as the slow trials of the 'fifties.' These took the form, in Havel's words, of existential pressure, threatening every one, high or low, loyal or disloyal, with loss of position in case of nonconformity. ''This became a veritable vendetta against all who were engaged in reform activities in 1968 and who were unwilling to recant. "(4) That this ''normalization'' has not changed during the past eight years, observers of the Sovak cultural scene have little doubt. Corroboration is found in a courageous address by a Slovak writer who was neither purged nor persecuted, Hana Ponicka. Here follow, in abbreviated form, without the knowledge or permission of the author, her propositions for discussion at the 3rd Conference of Slovak Writers in Bratislava, March 2, 1977, undelivered due to the preemptory halting of discussion, but offered to the Conference as a matter of record. Esteemed assembly: This is our third Slovak Writers' Conference . In the five years since our last conference, held May 31, 1972 in Bratislava, every one of us has surely created something. We have realized the publication of new books and various dramatic and other works. Numerically, with respect to contemporary Slovak literature, this is not the worst record, for our classics are being reissued, and new editions of Slovak translations of classical world literature are also being published. And yet I am not, I cannot be, satisfied. In the vicinity of the village where I live, I see in the fall a great amount of ungathered harvest. But I am troubled just as much by the ungathered harvests in our literary fields. We have been living for nine years now in an atmosphere of unusual social tension. Even during such long-lasting tension, however, it is possible for excellent works to appear that are worth reading and deserving of literary criticism. And yet we have suffered and continue to suffer disproportionate losses. In the past few years, we have lost more notable writers. Though they have died, their work continues to be published. But besides them we have lost many remarkable writers living here and elsewhere, fully capable of creativity, but whose work has not appeared for many years. To this day they are not fellow-members of our writers' organization, nor are �SLOVAKIA 109 they permitted to publish, writers such as Dominik Tatarka, Peter Karvas, and Ladislav Tazky. Nor, unlike the works of other writers recently deceased, do the highly qualified translations of Zora Jesenska from Russian, Soviet, English classics and contemporary literature appear, and are even less likely to. If her name was not mentioned among the others in the requested moment of reverent silence by which we were to honor the work and memory of all our departed writers, I do so at least now with this brief pause of respect. To this day (a long list of writers) is forbidden to publish their poems, prose, or translations , articles or literary critiques, or to write with the hope of being published , whether they are former members or candidates of our writers' organization or even non-members and workers on our literary and cultural journals, such as Jan Rozner, Pavol Hruz, Milan Hamada, Josef Bzoch , Fedor Cadra, Miroslav Kusy, Zlata Solivajsova, Miroslav Hysko, Michal Gafri, Julius Vanovic, Ctibor Stitnicky, Frantisek Andrascik, Stefan Moravcik, Roman Kalisky, Juraj Spitzer, Albert Marencin, Agnesa Kalinova, Sona Cechova, Ladislav Dobis, Ivan Kadlecik , Jan Kalina, Tomas Winkler, and others. If there are any errors in my listing, or if in the case of some authors administrative changes have taken place, that is not my fault. Meeting less seldom in the framework of our organization now than ever before, we know very little about each other. Hence we do not have in our ranks to this day many creators of literature, criticism, journalism or dramatic works. Their names have been lost together with their works from the catalogs and shelves of our public libraries. And yet these friends and colleagues of ours work and live among us, or rather, apart from us and around us. They work in jobs, though not the worst in every case, that are mostly foreign to them and inferior to their abilities. Some of the younger ones who did not try to become members of the Slovak Writers ' Union have taken hold of axe and spade, but among them there are also those who are literally vegetating physically, morally and spiritually - on pension. And what particularly catches us up short is the fact that years ago many of them were awarded the highest artistic titles and honors of our socialist state. As far as I know, these titles have not been taken away from them . Titles, yes; publication, no. I shall never forget that picture of our contemporary literature that appeared to me a couple of years ago when, on the occasion of my chats with them in schools of various districts, Slovak students and their teachers showed me pages of these literary textbooks crossed-out . With what knowledge of our recent history will those youths go out into the world, who with their own hands had to expunge from their textbooks the names and works of living writers, whom they were recently taught to respect and admire? This picture of expunged contemporary literature must also be a part of our balancing of the recent interconference period. Likewise must examples of discarded galleys and �110 SLOVAKIA the shredding of freshly published books and literary works of our expelled writers be included in this picture. It has to be said with sadness that the losses of creative forces in literature, the arts, and in all cultural activity on the part of Czechs are immeasurably greater than those of the Slovaks. I personally feel the continuation of this situation of precious losses as a great fault of our cultural policy, as a serious crime against our creative element and our respective literatures, arts and cultures. Twenty-one years ago, the poet Vitezslav Nezval said at a conference on Czech poetry in Prague: "So long as a single poet in this land lives with the feeling that he cannot publish, my comrades, something is out of order. '' And a year later, at the Second Conference of Czechoslovak Writers, in Prague in 1956, the poet Frantisek Hrubin said: "He who walks among us unconcernedly, writes and calmly gathers honors and goes to sleep peacefully, as though he knew nothing was amiss, who does not cry out aloud, 'A crime is being committed!' is a disguised bourgeois and egotist, and the one who is only secretly ashamed, is a coward!" Esteemed Conference: I can no longer bear the secret shame that I am allowed to publish while others cannot. I can probably claim some justification for myself, namely, that I was one of those who long believed and hoped that the conflicts and injustices would be corrected and solved, and with the intention of improving a difficult societal situation especially for young people, I worked from the fall of 1968 to the end of 1971 in the editorial offices of juvenile publications. Then I somehow stopped hoping. It became necessary for me to create for myself a new working situation in order to accomplish something. I worked hard physically and mentally, I found my place in a new environment where things are called by their right name, and, after long deliberations and daily conversations with people who are being shipped out of our own communities to factories, railroads and other places of occupation, or with those who remained to work in the JRD (collective farms) that is, after acquiring new experiences and knowledge and, of course, as I followed the course of domestic and world events in the press and in our own and foreign broadcasts - I decided to speak out honestly about that which hurts us and disturbs us. We are suffering morally, and our moral suffering is caused by the moral suffering of others, by the endless contradictions between words and deeds, by the rampant growth of half-truths and lies, by unceasing duplicity, and by the incomprehensibly harmful interventions of our society. Our Sturovian poet said 130 years ago: ' 'Among us one loves! '' Another said: ''Among us one sings.'' But today our poetic nation says: '' Among us one deceives!'' And we hear it said further: ''I wouldn't say anything if it were just a little deception; for after all, I too deceive an old woman a little if I can �SLOVAKIA 111 get away with short-changing her a decimeter; but here the deception goes on daily, and only on Sunday is there a little truth to be found. And as for freely confessing our faith? You have to crawl through the back alleys if you want your child christened. And as for equal rights? This is what they are like: Take a child who has completed his entrance examinations with distinction, both parents are workers - but the child is not only not accepted by the school, but is not even given the right to appeal! For it is said that even the application for an appeal must be made in advance, and that even the appeal will be decided in advance by the higher authorities. That's what they told me, I swear!" our people conclude, and they must then go to other districts to find a school that will enroll their child. Our people are indeed grateful for their material improvements, and yet they have a soul as well - the kind of soul they have possessed for ages - and so they are not satisfied merely with material things. They want to realize their full personal dignity, the respect of their communities toward everything that is within them. They also wish independently to be able to evaluate their abilities and to arrive at their conclusions and views without the endless propaganda and imposition of prescribed and ready-made views, as well as without fear of unpleasant consequences if they do not always parrot a for a, but also must do the same for b, c, d, and so on to z. Our people are also entitled to their full dignity in their congregations and the feeling of actual freedom to confess their faith and to perform the activities pertaining thereto. It is impossible, after all, to make instant atheists quickly, haphazardly and forcibly out of one-third of the population of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic that still professes a religious faith. I have not touched upon our literature of the last period, but I know that our literature has lost its experimentation and innovation, and that these have been replaced in the main by conventional tastes, ideas and forms. Such innovations as do manage to appear here or there are not welcomed directly. And the significance of exceptional works is systematically pushed into the background if their author is not on the list of acceptable authors who may publish but without publicity. Esteemed Conference, I conclude. I have spoken extremely critically, because if I had said anything of a complimentary nature, that would have amounted to carrying wood into the forest considering our press of late. And I have spoken extremely critically also out of carefulness, lest it happen, God forbid, that out of my presentation only some positive excerpt would be quoted in print. That happens among us regularly with the comments of author-delegates. And finally, I permit myself the privilege of proposing a motion: that our debates at this conference be published. I think that now when our press has lately revealed such an interest in writers and their signatures, that there would be an equal willingness to provide space for their debates at their Third Write rs ' Conference.'' �112 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) See Chapter X in my book Slovak Language and Literature (University of Manitoba, Dept. of Slavic Studies, Winnipeg, 1975) pp. 215-234. (2) See H. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution (Princeton , 1976), pp. 62-72, and J . Kirschbaum , " Slovakia in the de-Stalinization Process of Czechoslovakia," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. X, 4, 1968, pp. 549-556. (3) Skilling, "Czechoslovakia and Helsinki," Canadian Slavonic Papers, XVIII, 3, pp. 246-253. (4) Skilling, ibid., p. 254. � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 107 A Call for Courage HANA PONICKA INTRODUCTION BY J.M . KIRSCHBAUM Due to the peculiar circumstances under which the Slovak people were subjected to Communism, cultural life in Slovakia may have experienced the strongest repression of any Soviet satellite. (1) The short period of liberalization under A. Dubcek proved, however, that the Stalinist system was unable to break the moral backbone of Slovak writers or to eradicate Slovak literary traditions. Within a few months after the suspension of censorship, Slovak intellectuals displayed a moral courage which startled Wes tern observers. They were among the initiators of the struggle for "socialism with a human face. '' They condemned and criticized the excesses of the Stalinist period, called for rehabilitation of its victims, and insisted on giving cultural institutions (Matica Slovenska, for instance) their original functions and cultural freedom. (2) The short period of liberalization made possible a freer portrayal of the past in literary and political history. The memoirs of T. J. Gaspar and testimonies about political trials (G. Husak, E. Loebl, D . Viest and others) were published. Cultural contacts with the Western world were renewed. This new cultural freedom was interrupted by the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies on August 21, 1968. The subsequent Soviet occupation put an end to free cultural expression. " Socialism with a human face '' perished with the final removal of Dubcek from his position in the Spring of 1969. The new regime under Dr. Gustav Husak proclaimed the Soviet invasion an act of 'fraternal assistance of the socialist countries to protect socialism in Czecho-Slovakia. ' ' It introduced a policy of "normalization. " Dubcek 's liberalization was condemned as "counterrevolutionary. ' ' Massive purges eliminated thousands of people from scientific institutions, artists' unions, schools, broadcasting, journalism, and literary journals. The regime "moved swiftly to block or to reverse the major reforms of 1968, including political democratization, freedom of expression and association, legal reform and rehabiliation . . . '' One saw ' 'the restoration of the Soviet model in all spheres of life. The penetration of Soviet ideas was so blatant that a visitor could not escape the impression that Czecho-Slovakia had taken on the character of a Soviet republic. " (3) Among the first measures of this ' 'normalization'' policy were the introduction of a strict censorship and the establishment of new committees to head cultural and scientific institutions. The Academy of 108 SLOVAKIA Sciences and the Matica Slovenska were transformed into instruments for the "development of socialist culture, science and education in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism. " Artists' unions were transformed into ideological organizations subject to the Communist Party. The periodicals Kulturny iivot and Nova tvorba were forced out of publication. Many scholars, writers, and artists found themselves pariahs, unable to engage in creative work of any kind, and restricted to menial work, at a very low fixed income. Their children also suffered from discrimination in schooling and employment. New and refined methods of persecution were employed, not as grim and macabre as the slow trials of the 'fifties.' These took the form, in Havel's words, of existential pressure, threatening every one, high or low, loyal or disloyal, with loss of position in case of nonconformity. ''This became a veritable vendetta against all who were engaged in reform activities in 1968 and who were unwilling to recant. "(4) That this ''normalization'' has not changed during the past eight years, observers of the Sovak cultural scene have little doubt. Corroboration is found in a courageous address by a Slovak writer who was neither purged nor persecuted, Hana Ponicka. Here follow, in abbreviated form, without the knowledge or permission of the author, her propositions for discussion at the 3rd Conference of Slovak Writers in Bratislava, March 2, 1977, undelivered due to the preemptory halting of discussion, but offered to the Conference as a matter of record. Esteemed assembly: This is our third Slovak Writers' Conference . In the five years since our last conference, held May 31, 1972 in Bratislava, every one of us has surely created something. We have realized the publication of new books and various dramatic and other works. Numerically, with respect to contemporary Slovak literature, this is not the worst record, for our classics are being reissued, and new editions of Slovak translations of classical world literature are also being published. And yet I am not, I cannot be, satisfied. In the vicinity of the village where I live, I see in the fall a great amount of ungathered harvest. But I am troubled just as much by the ungathered harvests in our literary fields. We have been living for nine years now in an atmosphere of unusual social tension. Even during such long-lasting tension, however, it is possible for excellent works to appear that are worth reading and deserving of literary criticism. And yet we have suffered and continue to suffer disproportionate losses. In the past few years, we have lost more notable writers. Though they have died, their work continues to be published. But besides them we have lost many remarkable writers living here and elsewhere, fully capable of creativity, but whose work has not appeared for many years. To this day they are not fellow-members of our writers' organization, nor are SLOVAKIA 109 they permitted to publish, writers such as Dominik Tatarka, Peter Karvas, and Ladislav Tazky. Nor, unlike the works of other writers recently deceased, do the highly qualified translations of Zora Jesenska from Russian, Soviet, English classics and contemporary literature appear, and are even less likely to. If her name was not mentioned among the others in the requested moment of reverent silence by which we were to honor the work and memory of all our departed writers, I do so at least now with this brief pause of respect. To this day (a long list of writers) is forbidden to publish their poems, prose, or translations , articles or literary critiques, or to write with the hope of being published , whether they are former members or candidates of our writers' organization or even non-members and workers on our literary and cultural journals, such as Jan Rozner, Pavol Hruz, Milan Hamada, Josef Bzoch , Fedor Cadra, Miroslav Kusy, Zlata Solivajsova, Miroslav Hysko, Michal Gafri, Julius Vanovic, Ctibor Stitnicky, Frantisek Andrascik, Stefan Moravcik, Roman Kalisky, Juraj Spitzer, Albert Marencin, Agnesa Kalinova, Sona Cechova, Ladislav Dobis, Ivan Kadlecik , Jan Kalina, Tomas Winkler, and others. If there are any errors in my listing, or if in the case of some authors administrative changes have taken place, that is not my fault. Meeting less seldom in the framework of our organization now than ever before, we know very little about each other. Hence we do not have in our ranks to this day many creators of literature, criticism, journalism or dramatic works. Their names have been lost together with their works from the catalogs and shelves of our public libraries. And yet these friends and colleagues of ours work and live among us, or rather, apart from us and around us. They work in jobs, though not the worst in every case, that are mostly foreign to them and inferior to their abilities. Some of the younger ones who did not try to become members of the Slovak Writers ' Union have taken hold of axe and spade, but among them there are also those who are literally vegetating physically, morally and spiritually - on pension. And what particularly catches us up short is the fact that years ago many of them were awarded the highest artistic titles and honors of our socialist state. As far as I know, these titles have not been taken away from them . Titles, yes; publication, no. I shall never forget that picture of our contemporary literature that appeared to me a couple of years ago when, on the occasion of my chats with them in schools of various districts, Slovak students and their teachers showed me pages of these literary textbooks crossed-out . With what knowledge of our recent history will those youths go out into the world, who with their own hands had to expunge from their textbooks the names and works of living writers, whom they were recently taught to respect and admire? This picture of expunged contemporary literature must also be a part of our balancing of the recent interconference period. Likewise must examples of discarded galleys and 110 SLOVAKIA the shredding of freshly published books and literary works of our expelled writers be included in this picture. It has to be said with sadness that the losses of creative forces in literature, the arts, and in all cultural activity on the part of Czechs are immeasurably greater than those of the Slovaks. I personally feel the continuation of this situation of precious losses as a great fault of our cultural policy, as a serious crime against our creative element and our respective literatures, arts and cultures. Twenty-one years ago, the poet Vitezslav Nezval said at a conference on Czech poetry in Prague: "So long as a single poet in this land lives with the feeling that he cannot publish, my comrades, something is out of order. '' And a year later, at the Second Conference of Czechoslovak Writers, in Prague in 1956, the poet Frantisek Hrubin said: "He who walks among us unconcernedly, writes and calmly gathers honors and goes to sleep peacefully, as though he knew nothing was amiss, who does not cry out aloud, 'A crime is being committed!' is a disguised bourgeois and egotist, and the one who is only secretly ashamed, is a coward!" Esteemed Conference: I can no longer bear the secret shame that I am allowed to publish while others cannot. I can probably claim some justification for myself, namely, that I was one of those who long believed and hoped that the conflicts and injustices would be corrected and solved, and with the intention of improving a difficult societal situation especially for young people, I worked from the fall of 1968 to the end of 1971 in the editorial offices of juvenile publications. Then I somehow stopped hoping. It became necessary for me to create for myself a new working situation in order to accomplish something. I worked hard physically and mentally, I found my place in a new environment where things are called by their right name, and, after long deliberations and daily conversations with people who are being shipped out of our own communities to factories, railroads and other places of occupation, or with those who remained to work in the JRD (collective farms) that is, after acquiring new experiences and knowledge and, of course, as I followed the course of domestic and world events in the press and in our own and foreign broadcasts - I decided to speak out honestly about that which hurts us and disturbs us. We are suffering morally, and our moral suffering is caused by the moral suffering of others, by the endless contradictions between words and deeds, by the rampant growth of half-truths and lies, by unceasing duplicity, and by the incomprehensibly harmful interventions of our society. Our Sturovian poet said 130 years ago: ' 'Among us one loves! '' Another said: ''Among us one sings.'' But today our poetic nation says: '' Among us one deceives!'' And we hear it said further: ''I wouldn't say anything if it were just a little deception; for after all, I too deceive an old woman a little if I can SLOVAKIA 111 get away with short-changing her a decimeter; but here the deception goes on daily, and only on Sunday is there a little truth to be found. And as for freely confessing our faith? You have to crawl through the back alleys if you want your child christened. And as for equal rights? This is what they are like: Take a child who has completed his entrance examinations with distinction, both parents are workers - but the child is not only not accepted by the school, but is not even given the right to appeal! For it is said that even the application for an appeal must be made in advance, and that even the appeal will be decided in advance by the higher authorities. That's what they told me, I swear!" our people conclude, and they must then go to other districts to find a school that will enroll their child. Our people are indeed grateful for their material improvements, and yet they have a soul as well - the kind of soul they have possessed for ages - and so they are not satisfied merely with material things. They want to realize their full personal dignity, the respect of their communities toward everything that is within them. They also wish independently to be able to evaluate their abilities and to arrive at their conclusions and views without the endless propaganda and imposition of prescribed and ready-made views, as well as without fear of unpleasant consequences if they do not always parrot a for a, but also must do the same for b, c, d, and so on to z. Our people are also entitled to their full dignity in their congregations and the feeling of actual freedom to confess their faith and to perform the activities pertaining thereto. It is impossible, after all, to make instant atheists quickly, haphazardly and forcibly out of one-third of the population of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic that still professes a religious faith. I have not touched upon our literature of the last period, but I know that our literature has lost its experimentation and innovation, and that these have been replaced in the main by conventional tastes, ideas and forms. Such innovations as do manage to appear here or there are not welcomed directly. And the significance of exceptional works is systematically pushed into the background if their author is not on the list of acceptable authors who may publish but without publicity. Esteemed Conference, I conclude. I have spoken extremely critically, because if I had said anything of a complimentary nature, that would have amounted to carrying wood into the forest considering our press of late. And I have spoken extremely critically also out of carefulness, lest it happen, God forbid, that out of my presentation only some positive excerpt would be quoted in print. That happens among us regularly with the comments of author-delegates. And finally, I permit myself the privilege of proposing a motion: that our debates at this conference be published. I think that now when our press has lately revealed such an interest in writers and their signatures, that there would be an equal willingness to provide space for their debates at their Third Write rs ' Conference.'' 112 SLOVAKIA FOOTNOTES (1) See Chapter X in my book Slovak Language and Literature (University of Manitoba, Dept. of Slavic Studies, Winnipeg, 1975) pp. 215-234. (2) See H. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution (Princeton , 1976), pp. 62-72, and J . Kirschbaum , " Slovakia in the de-Stalinization Process of Czechoslovakia," Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. X, 4, 1968, pp. 549-556. (3) Skilling, "Czechoslovakia and Helsinki," Canadian Slavonic Papers, XVIII, 3, pp. 246-253. (4) Skilling, ibid., p. 254.  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 Call for Courage Description An account of the resource Hana Ponická Introduction by J.M. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977 pp. 107-112 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ponická, Hana, 1922-2007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e88f15a5a3124cc119704332de7e69a9.pdf 2324226e9d0c8548ddb018a3c20fad83 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 113 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile STANLEY Z. PECH The year 1848 was unlike any other in the long and arduous saga of the Austrian Slavs. It was a year when the Austrian Slavs, like the rest of Europe, passed through a major social and political upheaval. However, the year held for them a very special significance: in 1848 they first emerged as fledgling nations, from the backwater of Europe to stake out a claim for themselves as rightful members of the European family. As William H. Stiles, the United States charge d'affaires in Vienna at the time put it: " Previous to that period," the Austrian Slavs possessed "no proper individuality , their political nationality was unacknowledged, and for centuries, consequently, they exercised no influence in the political councils of Europe. The storms of 1848 and 1849 raised them to consideration, and even power. " (1) In recent years, Western historians have been diligent enough in providing the Western reader with the essential facts concerning the revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Slavic realm. There is indeed ample material for a good copy: the fever of the March Days, the clashes and recriminations between Germans and Slavs, the Magyars and Slavs; the fervent preachments of the highpriests of the various Slavic nationalisms; the Slavic Congress in Prague flaring up into an uprising and aborted by the artillery of General Windischgratz. These are the high points of the revolutions essential to an understanding of the events of that year. However, this understanding now needs to be broadened and refined in the light of new techniques and methodologies developed in the West. There is need for a structural analysis of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848. There is an added potential benefit to be derived from cross-national comparisons to which these movements lend themselves. The present account seeks to construct a social profile of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848 and to analyze and compare their strength. I In the mid-nineteenth century, the Austrian Empire counted seven Slavic nationalities in its multi-ethnic structure: Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Poles, and Ukrainians. The last three will not Reprinted with permission from Histoire Sociale-Social History (Ottawa), Vol. 9, November 1976. �114 SLOVAKIA be treated here. For them the Austrian Empire was not the principal homeland: a majority of Ukrainians and Poles lived under Russia (a number of Poles also lived under Prussia), and a majority of Serbs under Turkey. This makes comparisons involving them problematical. Czechs , Slovaks , Slovenes , and Croats, on the other hand, were not so divided; they had no " home " other than the Austrian Empire. Their basic comparability derives from the following: 1) they experienced a revolution in 1848 ; 2) they lived under the same empire; 3) they were Slavic and shared the status of "subject" nationalities living under " alien " rule: the Czechs and the Slovenes under the Austro-Germans in the western half of the empire, and the Slovaks and the Croats under the Magyars in the eastern half of the empire; 4) they were passing through early stages of national awakening. The largest of the four national groups were the Czechs who numbered, in the middle of the nineteenth century, approximately 4 million. The number of Slovaks in the same period was 1. 7 million, that of the Croats 1.6 million, and that of the Slovenes a little over 1 million. (2) The total population of the Austrian Empire is estimated to have been 37 million ,(3) with the Austro-Germans the largest nationality (over 7 million) and the Magyars the second largest (4 .5 million) .(4) The revolutionary stresses that brought on the upheaval in 1848 had been accentuated by the demographic pressures of the halfcentury preceding the upheaval. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century , the population of the empire had been increasing steadily by 1850 the increase had amounted to one third as against the year 1800, a rate comparable to the other large states of Western Europe.(5) While it is difficult to separate the growth rates for the different peoples of the empire , this much can be hypothesized from the evidence: the rate of growth of the Slavs was greater than that of the non-Slavs.(6) In religious affiliation, Czechs , Slovenes, and Croats were at least 95 percent Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism was also dominant among the Slovaks but there it was confronted with a numerically strong Protestant population (between 25 percent and 30 percent) . (7) The fact that the four nationalities being surveyed here had evolved through centuries as "subject" nationalities imparted to their social structures certain distinctive features - features that set them apart from W estem Europe and left a special mark on their development as modernizing societies. The West European model, with France and Germany as a typical example, exhibited a social structure that was unencumbered (small exceptions aside) by the complicating presence of a different nationality: peasants, nobles, workers, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, priests, bishops, all spoke the same language and belonged to the same nationality. This comfortable ethnic homogeneity was lacking among most of the Austrian Slavs. To generalize: the four nationalities had an "incomplete" social structure; the lower portions �SLOVAKIA 115 of their social pyramid were Slavic while the upper portions were filled with members of the ruling nationality . How did the socio-ethnic edifice look in the specific cases? In the western half of the empire, the Czechs and the Slovenes each had their own peasantry, working class, artisanate, shopkeeper class, intelligentsia, lower clergy and lower bureaucracy. At the same time, their complementing higher classes, the nobility, the entrepreneurs and the higher bureaucracy, were German. The one point of difference between the Czechs and the Slovenes concerned the ecclesiastical hierarchy: in the Czech regions the hierarchy was entirely German whereas in the Slovene regions an influential segment of it was Slovene . This difference explains , in part, the divergent religious attitudes of the two peoples during the next century: the Czechs tended to embrace religious scepticism whereas the Slovenes evinced a vigorous religious spirit and lent strong support to movements of political Catholicism. In the eastern half of the empire, the structure was more complicated. The Slovaks occupied the lower portions of the social pyramid, but the upper portions included, besides the Germans , also the Magyars. The Croats, on the other hand , held a position significantly different from the other three national groups . Of the four nationalities , they alone retained, in part, their own governing class: a segment of the nobility, of higher clergy and of higher bureaucracy in Croatia belonged to the Croatian nationality; the remaining segment was Magyar (or Magyar-oriented Croat) or German. The fact that the Croats retained a substantial foothold in the governing class gave them an advantage not enjoyed by the other three national groups: in the pre-industrial age when the nobility alone counted as a political class , they had at all times a political voice . They had never been reduced to a mere '' nation of peasants.' ' In that sense, they were the only one of the four groups that approximated the West European model of social development. The Austrian Empire was not only a labyrinth of seemingly disarrayed social and ethnic parts. It also was a bewildering conglomerate of provinces and administrative divisions that disarrayed the ethnic parts still further. The existing administrative system had taken shape during the pre-nationalist age and bore no relationship to ethnic boundaries. As a result, not only did some nationality sometimes inhabit two or more provinces but if often shared each such province with a different nationality. Little useful purpose would be served by listing all the administrative divisions with their particular ethnic mosaics. Suffice it to say that for each nationality, one province usually stood out as a core of nationalist activism and attention will be focused on these. For the Czechs, this was the province of Bohemia which the Czechs shared with the Germans, the Czech-German ethnic ratio being 60 percent to 40 percent.(8) For the Slovenes, it was Carniola which was over 90 percent _S lovene, the Germans making up the balance.(9) For �116 SLOVAKIA the Croats, it was Croatia (full name "Croatia-Slavonia") in which the Slavs comprised over 95 percent of the population (two thirds of which were Croats and one third Serbs) while the ruling Magyars and Germans together did not exceed 2 percent; certain other small groups accounted for the remainder. (10) Croatia, it should be stressed, possessed a number of self-governing institutions in which the Croatian nobility, clergy and bureaucracy wielded considerable influence which helped cushion the German-Magyar rule. It even had an army which though subordinated directly to the emperor, was nevertheless an important symbol of Croatian national identity. In short, these social and institutional paraphernalia provided the Croats with defenses and opportunities not available to the other Slavs. This made it possible for them, in the course of 1848, to wrest political control entirely from the Magyars and Germans and erect what amounted to their own state with its own government that recognized only the authority of the emperor in Vienna. None of the other three nationalities came close to generating this type of institutional power. In this connection, it may be noted that the people who exercised the least power from the institutional point of view were the Slovaks. They had been totally submerged through centuries in the existing Hungarian system of counties and no part of the Slovak territory enjoyed the status of a province. The Slovak territory was reasonably compact in ethnic terms but had no institutional support to lend it distinctiveness and distinguish it from the other areas of Hungary. This made the Slovaks the most vulnerable and the least visible of the four peoples. After the Congress of Vienna, the Austrian Empire entered upon the first stages of industrialization . There were, however, marked regional disparities in the tempo with which industrialization proceeded , with the western half of the monarchy moving ahead more rapidly than the eastern half. Among the Slavic peoples, by the middle of the nineteenth century, only the Czechs had made significant advances along the road of modernization . By 1857 , the agrarian sector in Bohemia had been reduced to the point where only some 55 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture .(11) The above figure applies to all of Bohemia (both to its Czech and Germanspeaking areas) ; and it is not possible to say exactly what it would be for the Czech inhabitants specifically. However, it is known that the German-speaking areas of Bohemia were by far the more industrialized( 12) and this would justify revising the figure, as applied to the Czechs, upward: 65 percent to 70 percent seems a more realistic estimate. At this same time, the agrarian sector in the three other Austro-Slavic regions continued to employ 90 percent or more of the economically active population.(13) The economic growth was reflected in the expansion of the urban population, with similar regional disparities prevailing in the degree or urbanization attained. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the proportion of the urban �SLOVAKIA 117 population in Bohemia was just under 20 percent;(14) for the Czechspeaking population of Bohemia this figure would have to be revised downward to some extent, perhaps to 15 percent. The Slovenes had at this time an urban population of 4 percent(15) while for the Slovaks and the Croats the figure was even less. (France had then an urban population of 26 percent and Germany 35 percent.)(16) ThE: major cities were few and not even their rapid expansion during the first half of the nineteenth century - some cities doubled in size during this period had produced many large urban centers by West European standards. The largest one was Prague, the most populous Czech city and the capital of Bohemia. With a population of 118,000 in the middle of the nineteenth century (77 ,000 in 1800), (17) it was the only city in the four ethnic regions to attain the 100,000 mark, an achievement placing it in a class with the major cities of Western Europe. The largest Croatian city was Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, with a population of 15,000(18) (8,000 at the beginning of the century)(19) and the largest Slovene city was Ljubljana (Laibach), the capital of Carniola, with a population of 17,000 (it was half this size in 1817). (20) The biggest city in what is today the Slovak region was Bratislava (Pressburg) which had a population, in 1848, of 40,000 (in 1805 it had been just under 22,000).(21) However, Bratislava was then not a Slovak city in any meaningful sense of the term; the majority of its inhabitants were German and it was not the scene of any mass Slovak nationalist activity in 1848.(22) The case of Bratislava was far from unique: many cities and towns throughout the Slavic regions of the Austrian Empire contained a large number of Germans, and sizeable German minorities were to be found in Prague. Ljubljana and Zagreb.(23) Economic power in the cities and indeed throughout the monarchy was largely in the hands of Germans and German Jews. Germans typically constituted the urban elite which controlled municipal administrations and in general exercised a decisive influence over the Slavic substratum. The demographic development of Prague, as the largest metropolis, deserves a special comment. Although the city grew more or less steadily after the year 1800, the really important demographic transformation was not the growth itself, but the increasing proportion of newcomers who moved into the city from the surrounding countryside. In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the proportion of these newcomers remained relatively stable - hovering near 6 percent of the total population. A change set in during the 1820s: the proportion of newcomers began to increase markedly, from 6.3 percent in 1818, to 15 percent in 1826, to 36.3 percent in 1834, and finally to 48.9 percent in 1850.(24) This meant that by the middle of the century nearly one half of the Prague population consisted of people who had severed their previous roots and come to the city in search of a new life. The mass of newcomers was Czech. They found work in the new textile and machine industries founded during the 1830s and �118 SLOVAKIA 1840s, and in other forms of employment. Textile workers, about a thousand strong, became the largest distinctive group of the labor force in the capital city. Their rioting in 1844 announced the advent of an industrial age in Bohemia and attracted the attention of Europe, its effect reinforced by the rioting at almost the same time of Prague workers employed on the construction of a new railway.(25) One of the consequences of the influx of newcomers was to augment the Czechspeaking substratum in a city governed by the German elite. All this provided a setting calculated to raise the social and political fever of the capital city and goes far toward explaining the intensity of the upheaval that swept Prague during 1848. The other three cities mentioned above were drawn less precipitously into the vortex of social and economic change. Zagreb may serve as an example of a city standing at the opposite pole of the socio-economic spectrum from Prague. Although its size had almost doubled in the half-century before 1848, the city had not acquired an industrial face in the process. In 1808, nearly 40 percent of its population consisted of nobles and clergy (! ) and by 1848 these two groups, along with the intelligentsia, still accounted for one half of the total number of inhabitants.(26) City life in Zagreb, and in the eastern half of the empire as a whole, retained essentially a pre-industrial character as late as 1848. What passed for a town in the eastern half of the empire was different from what it was understood to be in the western half and in Western Europe. As one contemporary observer described the town scene in the eastern half of the empire just on the eve of 1848: not only the small towns but also the larger cities there '' consisted of nothing but settlements of ploughmen, vine growers, and shepherds in which respect they did not differ at all from the villages .'' (27) It is startling to realize that at the time of the outbreak of the 1848 revolution, Croatia - and also Slovakia - had not yet acquired a single mile of railroad. II How strong were the nationalist movements to which these structures gave rise and which broke into the open during the years 1848-1849, complete with leaders and programs? The nationalist movements of 1848 were the culminating point of the preceding halfcentury of "national awakening." This development had of course proceeded at a different pace in the case of the various peoples and by 1848 each movement ·had attained a different level of strength. How can this strength be measured? How did the movements compare in their ability to mobilize supporters? It is generally agreed that to be effective a movement requires '' some kind of organization that enables certain persons to act as authorized spokesmen and representatives. This can take the form of committees, clubs, labor unions, or political parties.'' (28) Such clubs consist of individuals with the highest degree �SLOVAKIA 119 of commitment to a movement's objectives. In our context, organizations with such a commitment were the pre-March patriotic societies that had come into being during the 1830s and 1840s. The Czechs, the Croats and the Slovaks each had one such society: they were, respectively, the Czech Foundation (Ceska Matice, founded in 1832), the Croatian Foundation (Matica Hrvatska, 1842) and the Slovak Tatrin (1844). These were nationalist societies comprising the highest echelon of nationalist elites. Although independent of each other, they had similar organizational structures and pursued identical objectives: to promote the native language and culture, and to foster the publication of books and newspapers in that language . With this comparability in mind, we can use the numerical strength of these societies as a comparative index of the strength with which the three nationalist movements entered upon the year 1848. On the eve of 1848, the Czech Foundation had a membership of 2329 (for the year 1847),(29) the Croatian Foundation 300(30) (for 1844, the last pre-1848 year available) and Tatrin 80 (1847).(31) Measured against the total population of each nationality as given earlier, this yields the ratio of 5.8 per 10,000 for the Czech national movement, 1.9 per 10,000 for the Croatian, and a low 0.5 per 10,000 for the Slovak. It may be added that the membership in all three societies was growing.(32) Evidently, the nationalist movements had acquired a momentum of their own, adding their weight to the forces that precipitated the collapse of absolutism in March 1848. The revolutions of 1848 may not have been inevitable but the forces that produced them had been unmistakably at work. The Slovenes lacked a patriotic society before 1848 and consequently we cannot measure the strength of the Slovene movement on a basis strictly comparable with the other three. It may be assumed, however, that the absence of a patriotic society is itself evidence of a sort: it suggests the existence of a less developed nationalist movement. Nevertheless, the Slovenes were not without visible manifestations of progress on the nationalist front. Their patriots established a foothold in the Agricultural Society of Camiola, an organization of long standing. This was not a Slovene patriotic society for it counted both Germans and Slovenes among its members and its avowed purpose was improvement of agriculture, not promotion of Slovene nationalism. However, in 1842 the society appointed a moderate, Dr. Janez Bleiweis, as its new secretary, and under him Slovene nationalist forces found elbow room within the society's framework. The success of the first modem Slovene newspaper, Novice, which Bleiweis launched in 1843 under the auspices of the society, afforded proof that Slovene nationalism was on the rise. (33) Still, the absence of a genuine patriotic society was a serious drawback; it meant that the Slovene elite entered upon the year 1848 with little organizational contact, strength and experience. In this it resembled the Slovak elite whose Tatrin offered too feeble a basis when the need �120 SLOVAKIA for action arose . The Slovene and the Slovak elites were the weaker members in the group, the Czech and the Croatian ones the stronger. This distribution of pre-1848 strength corresponds, in fact, very closely to the performance of these nationalist movements during the year 1848. What about the social hue of the elites? The membership rosters of the three patriotic societies contain occupational data that permit us to make cross-national comparisons. For the Slovenes, we must again resort to substitute material which furnishes a basis for an informed estimate. Surveying all four elites, one can perceive two social groups playing a dominant role: the intelligentsia and the lower clergy. The intelligentsia, as defined here, includes teachers, officials, writers, students, and professionals. The term clergy refers to both Roman Catholic and Protestant clergymen. The latter were numerically strong only in the Slovak elite. In the other three elites, the clergy was, with few exceptions, Roman Catholic. While it is true that the intelligentsia and the clergy were prominent in all four elites, their weight varied from case to case. From the material at our disposal it is evident that the intelligentsia had a larger share in the Czech and Croatian elites, while the clergy had a larger share in the Slovene and Slovak elites. The proportion of the intelligentsia and the clergy in the three patriotic societies was, respectively: 54 percent and 29 percent in the Czech.(34) 52 percent and 20 percent in the Croatian(35) and 30 percent and 59 percent in the Slovak society.(36) It is noteworthy that businessmen and other groups ranked after the intelligentsia and the clergy. The peasants as might be expected were hardly significant. The dominant role of the clergy in the Slovene elite can be gleaned from the list of subscribers to the abovementioned newspaper Novice. Although Novice was intended to be a peasant newspaper, the peasants constituted only a small minority of its subscribers; nearly half of the subscribers (in 1847) were nationalist clergymen!(37) The influence of the clergy was noted by a Slovene historian of the last century; in relating the origins of the nationalist movement he observed that ''The number of conscious (Slovene) patriots outside the ranks of the clergy was small.'' (38) The role of the nobility was important only in the Croatian elite . Its proportion in the Croatian Foundation was 7 percent, as compared with 1.5 percent in the Czech Foundation and zero in the Slovak Tatrin. (39) There were, to be sure, influential individual nobles active also in the Czech nationalist movement in its earliest stages. However, they were, as a rule , German-speaking "Bohemian patriots" who sympathized with the Czech movement without identifying themselves with the Czech nationalism. They were friendly outsiders "looking in" and withdrew from the movement in proportion as that movement acquired a clearly Czech nationalist stamp. The role of the nobility in the Croatian movement was completely different. Far from being outsiders �SLOVAKIA 121 looking in, they were anchored squarely in the very heart of the nationalist movement at all times, helping to give it shape and direction in a manner in which the Czech nobility never did. The Croatian elite , it should be pointed out, had an added feature all of its own; this consisted in a peculiar collaboration between the nobles and the intelligentsia. It was almost routine practice for the Croatian nobles who had the right to sit in pre-1848 county assemblies to allow themselves to be represented by members of the nationalist intelligentsia. (40) This gave the intelligentsia considerable influence over and above its numercial strength , but there was a reverse side to the coin: the intelligentsia fell into a state of dependence upon the nobles to some extent and acted as a conduit for noble influence. A particular reference should be made at this point to the Slovak elite and to the problem that bedeviled the relationship between its members: the religious problem. Perhaps half of the clergymen in the Slovak patriotic society were Protestant (Lutheran), the remainder were Roman Catholic.(41) Protestants, however, had acquired a commanding position during the years preceding 1848. Moreover, Protestants and Catholics were divided not only by religious convictions - which would have been serious enough to jeopardize the movement - but also by different attitudes regarding the conception of Slovak nationhood and literary language . The chasm separating the two religious groups proved difficult to bridge and Roman Catholics treated the Protestant initiatives with the greatest reserve. This was bound to have a damaging effect on Slovak efforts; how damaging, the events of 1848 were to bear out only too painfully. This added to the vulnerability of a nationalist movement that had already been rendered vulnerable on other counts. The Slovaks were the only one of the four nationalities that entered the year 1848 with a seriously disunited elite . The elites as organized in the patriotic societies comprised the most highly committed or mobilized members of the nationalist movements. How did the elites draw the broader strata of the populations into the movement? How did the wider process of social mobilization take place? It is now increasingly recognized that the development of nationalism is related to the role of communications. A group of sociological theories assigns communications a prime place in the process of national awakening. One communications model in fact considers ' 'the role of the intelligentsia ... to be a necessary condition of all nationalist movements, " (42) an observation which appears to receive support from the role the intelligentsia played in the four movements examined here. If one includes the clergy, as some historians do , in the concept of "intelligentsia" (" clerical intelligentsia'' ), then the importance of this social group in the genesis of Austro-Slavic nationalisms becomes overwhelming. In this context literacy was an essential factor contributing to the success of any mobilizing effort mounted by the elites. How did the four �122 SLOVAKIA nationalities rate on this count? Literacy statistics were not compiled in the Austrian Empire at the time we are discussing. In order to obtain a picture, we are obliged to rely on later census data that indicate the literacy of the generation that was born in the 1830s and was of school age in the 1840s. In this generation, the Czechs led the others . Their rate was 84. 75 percent which was nearly three times as much as that of the Slovaks (30.2 percent), the Slovenes (28.62 percent) and the Croats (26. 7 percent) . (43) It is necessary to add that the Slavic populations in general were at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the Austro-Germans when it came to the use of their languages as a medium of instruction in schools. Only in the lower schools was teaching conducted in the language appropriate to the ethnic region. The language of middle and higher schools was German in the western half of the empire and German, Latin or Magyar in the eastern half. In other words, attaining a higher level of education generally compelled the individual concerned to leave the cultural ambience of his native language . The results of this process were often bizarre. For example, the Czech Karel Havlicek and the Slovene Bleiwies, both leading nationalists, were, in the early stages of their nationalist activity, more fluent in German than in their own native language - a situation by no means untypical of Slavic national awakeners.(44) The elites were keenly aware of the efficacy of the printed word as a medium through which they could best transmit their ideas and mobilize the larger non-elite mass; hence the preoccupation of the patriotic societies with publishing. The printed word devised and disseminated nationalist symbols, awakened an interest in the past and created an awareness of shared leaders, thus ultimately engendering a sense of the community of language, culture and history. For maximum effectiveness, the printed word had to have periodicity and this pointed to the importance of the newspaper as a vehicle most suitable for communication. It was a portent of an approaching nationalist storm that the fifteen-year period preceding the revolutions of 1848 saw the foundation of the first modem national and nationalist newspapers in the case of all four nationalities . One such newspaper was founded in each case, under the auspices of or in association with, the patriotic societies.(45) Of the four, only one, the Slovak, remained stationary in circulation during the pre-March period(46) while the other three showed a circulation increase, with the Czech newspaper registering an increase that can only be described as extraordinary, from 200 in 1846 to 1,500 in 1848.(47) The editor of the Czech newspaper was Karel Havlicek , of the Croatian, Ljudevit Gaj, of the Slovak, I.:udovit Stur, and of the Slovene, Dr. Janez Bleiweis. It is interesting to note that the last three men were the principal nationalist leaders of their peoples at the time and are considered the ''fathers' ' of their particular nationalist movements. As for Havlicek, he shared this honor with the Czech historian Frantisek Palacky. Nothing illustrates more tellingly the �SLOVAKIA 123 importance of communications to nationalism than the fact that the nationalist editors were the leaders of their national groups. ill In March 1848 absolutism in the Austrian Empire collapsed and this ushered in the "revolutions of 1848," a period of constitutional government that lasted for over a year, until the emperor began to reimpose absolutism in the spring and summer of 1849. Among the most important constitutional innovations introduced by the liberal regime was the abolition of censorship in March 1848. This led to the foundation of new magazines and newspapers, making it possible for the Czech leaders to start a veritable avalanche of the printed word. On the eve of 1848 the Czechs had a total of 13 newspapers and periodicals; after March this number quadrupled, to 52.(48) Elsewhere, the expansion was more modest. In Croatia, the increase was from 5 in 184 7 to 8 in 1848(49) while the corresponding Slovak figures were 6 and 8.(50) The Slovenes, starting from a low base of 1 newspaper in 1847 brought the number up to 6 in 1848.(51) (After the return of the reaction in 1849 the number of newspapers began to drop again to pre1848 levels.) Calculated on a per capita basis, there was, in 1848, one newspaper or magazine for 77,000 Czechs, 167,000 Slovenes, 200,000 Croats and 213,000 Slovaks. Clearly, the Czech elite had at their disposal the most highly developed network of communications - an advantage heightened by the fact that some of their newspapers appeared daily (six times a week) whereas the frequency of the newspapers of the other nationalities was not more than three times a week. The strengths and the handicaps with which each Slavic group had entered upon the revolution became evident in the first days of freedom. The Czechs and the Croats promptly staged mass meetings , (in March in their capital cities) at which nationalist programs were adopted. (52) In the other two ethnic regions, the adoption of nationalist programs was accomplished with less mass support. The Slovenes formulated their nationalist programs in March without the benefit of a single mass meeting - the only Slav group to pass through the revolutionary year without mass demonstrations or rallies in support of nationalist objectives.(53) In Slovakia, the elite was slow in getting off the mark and encountered difficulties in mobilizing public opinion. A full-fledged nationalist program was not adopted until the beginning of May 1848 at a meeting in Liptovsky Svlity Mikulas, but the public presence at this meeting was modest and the program failed to acquire the legitimacy and force sufficient to compel the Magyar authorities to heed it.(54) The opening stages of the revolutionary period demonstrated the advantage of a people having a body of nationalists with organizational experience and mutual contact who would seize the initiatives, and �124 SLOVAKIA quickly and forcefully responded to the challenges of the moment. The pre-1848 patriotic societies consisted of such nationalists. However, accustomed as they had been to more genteel forms of struggle, these societies could not in themselves become the instruments of political activism at a time of revolutionary turbulence, and so new organizations were established to cope with new forms of struggle. The Czechs in Prague created in March a National Committee which served, until its dissolution after the June 1848 uprising in Prague, as a center of Czech nationalist activity throughout Bohemia. Many members of the Czech Foundation became active in the National Committee which counted over a hundred members. In the National Committee, the intelligentsia prevailed, as it had done in the Czech Foundation, with 44 percent of the members belonging to this stratum. However, the proportion of the clergy was drastically reduced in this elite group, to a mere 4 percent, as compared with 29 percent it had had in the Czech Foundation in the last year before the revolution. It appears that the revolution had pushed the clergy into the background. Its place was taken by the bourgeoisie (burghers, artisans, businessmen) whose share in the National Committee was 42 percent.(55) After June 1848 the vacuum created by the demise of the National Committee was filled by the newly founded Slavic Linden (Slovanska Lipa), a nationalist pressure group consciously seeking political change. The Slavic Linden was led by intellectuals and bourgeoisie, with some members of the National Committee passing into its ranks. (56) The clergy played no major role. Politically, the Slavic Linden was somewhat to the left of the National Committee and, unlike the latter, acquired some of the characteristics of a political party: it had its own newspaper, an elected executive, a headquarters (in Prague), and local branches. By the beginning of 1849 it counted 49 branches throughout Bohemia, forming a network reaching into all corners of the province, with a total estimated membership of 2,000.(57) Among rank and file members of the Slavic Linden were peasants and people of the humble stations in life. (58) The Slavic Linden was in fact the only non-elite stratum, showing a widening circle of nationalistically mobilized population. None of the other three nationalities could point to this level of national awakening, and none devised the kind of network through which the nationalists could communicate and operate in an organized fashion. The Croatian nationalist movement operated with instruments essentially different from those employed by the Czechs. The Croatian elite relied less on the spontaneous organs such as the Czech National Committee and more on Croatia's existing institutions of selfgovernment which it revived and re-shaped to suit the new post-March conditions. After March, the Croats acquired their provincial government, the Ban's Council, which managed the affairs of the country throughout 1848-1849. The Croats were the only Slavic group to �SLOVAKIA 125 become for the duration of the 1848-1849 revolutionary period , masters in their own house, recognizing the authority of none but the emperor. Their nobility continued to be active and influential in the existing arrangements. The only new non-governmental nationalist political or quasi-political organization to which the elite gave rise in the postMarch period was the Croatian version of the Slavic Linden. It was inspired by but independent of the Czech Slavic Linden. It was founded in Zagreb , was led by moderately left-oriented intellectuals, and acquired a newspaper of its own. However, it was never too active and never succeeded in building a network of branches throughout the Croatian regions. Only one major branch was set up outside of Zagreb.(59) The total membership of the two branches was no more than a few score and the organization never reached into the non-elite strata. (60) The effectiveness and power of the Croatian nationalist movement derived more from the existing institutional structure and the participation of the nobility than from the mobilization of the wider segments of the population. The Slovenes and the Slovaks could offer little to match the Czech and the Croatian examples. Among the Slovenes, the revolution gave rise to the Slovene Society of Ljubljana founded in April 1848 which became the largest and most influential body of Slovene patriots of the revolutionary period . Its slogan was "Everything for Religion, Emperor and Nationality" and doubtless expressed the influence of clergymen who, according to a police report, formed the largest social group within the 400-member society, with the intelligentsia accounting for the rest .(61) The slogan captures the spirit of the society sufficiently to contrast it with the Czech National Committee which was secular minded and in which the clergy had hardly any role to play. At the same time, it deserves to be noted that the thrust of the Society ' s efforts was cultural more than political. It did not become a center of political activity and did not regard itself as much more than a patriotic interest group. The position of the Slovaks was the least satisfactory. At no time after March 1848 did they form anything resembling the Czech National Committee or even the Slovene Society of Ljubljana. As a consequence, their movement was without an organized thrust and without a single direction. Only the political newspaper, the Slouenskje N<irodnjc Nouini continued to function as a voice of Slovak nationalism but it was compelled to suspend publication in June 1848 under Magyar pressure and with its passing, the last channel of communications through which the elite could address itself to the mass had been destroyed. The Slovak people were thus left without a political newspaper for the greater part of the revolutionary era - a handicap to which none of the other three nationalities was subjected. Furth ermore, in June 1848, Magyar authorities declared martial law over much of Slovak territory - charging the Slovak leaders with '' Pan- �126 SLOVAKIA Slavic" subversion and forcing many of them into exile - and this paralyzed the Slovak movement still further.(62) The clergy (Protestant) continued to dominate what was left of the life of the Slovak movement after June. (63 ) The organizational strength of the elites and the degree to which they were able to mobilize the wider segments of the populations were tested at the elections to the various representative assemblies that took place during 1848 - the first such modem elections to be held in the history of the Austrian Empire. Until 1848 , public life in the empire had borne a German or, in the eastern half, German-Magyar character and this was bound to favor German and Magyar candidates in the election contests even in the Slavic-speaking areas . Conversely, success at the polls of the Slavic candidates could be regarded as evidence of a relatively high degree of mobilization among the Slavic electorate. The right to vote was more liberal in the western than in the eastern half of the empire , and even in the former, segments of the lower social classes were excluded. Nevertheless , it must be acknowledged that everywhere a large number of " common" people enjoyed the right to vote and the election results can serve as a rough expression of popular sentiment vis-a-vis the nationalist movements . The elections yielded the following results. In Bohemia, they demonstrated a high degree of responsiveness of voters to the Czech nationalist movement. In the election of the Bohemian diet in J une 1848 the proportion of Czech deputies elected was just over 60 percent (the remainder were Germans) - a figure corresponding closely to the estimated proportion of the Czech population in the province. The election to the Imperial Parliament held in the same month brought similar results, with the Bohemian voters sending to Vienna 55 Czech as against 35 German deputies.(64) In Croatia, the elections to the diet (June 1848) were a clean sweep for the nationalist candidates. This was due , in part , to the militancy of the Croatian authorities who saw to it that only committed to the Croatian cause could stand as candidates. (65) Because of this, the election results are not very meaningful. In the Slovene regions, the electoral behavior of the voters was less affected by nationalist sentiment. The election of the diet of Carniola produced " numerous" Slovene deputies(66) but not nearly the decisive majority the size of the Slovene population of Camiola (90 percent) would warrant. Similarly, only about half of the deputies elected to the Imperial Parliament in ethnically Slovene territory were actually of Slovene orientation ; the other half were German or bilingual without specifically Slovene leanings.(67) Finally, the nationalists in the Slovak regions failed completely: the first modern Hungarian Parliament , elected in June 1848, did not have a single Slovak deputy. This was attributable, in part , to Magyar electoral pressures. But the principal reason was the underdeveloped nationalist sentiment of the Slovak mass . Slovak leaders were themselves not unaware of this and �SLOVAKIA 127 fielded only a few candidates . (68) The nationalist leaders realized that much of their effectiveness depended on the success with which they mobilized the support of the largest social group: the peasantry . To achieve this, they experimented with the publication of newspapers written and edited specifically for the peasantry. However, the results of this effort proved disappointing. The only peasant newspaper that proved successful was the Slovene Novice but even in this instance , no more than 15 percent of its subscribers belonged to the class for which it was primarily aimed.(69) Clearly, Novice could maintain itself only because of the support of non-peasant readers , particularly the clergy. Publication of peasant newspapers was tried also by Croatian (Summer 1848) and Czech (Spring 1849) leaders but both ventures failed for lack of reader support. (70) A more technically oriented newspaper was devised and launched for the Slovak peasants but it likewise proved short-lived (1848). (71) These failures have usually been attributed to a lack of national consciousness on the part of the peasantry, and doubtless there is more than a grain of truth in the observation. After all, the peasantry had only just emerged, in 1848, from the last vestiges of serfdom . A large number of peasants was still illiterate and could not be expected to display a degree of political and nationalist commitment of the kind evinced by the elites. Plainly, the peasant's most immediate and active concerns involved his own social problems rather than the problems of nationalism . At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the peasants were the authentic traditional bearers of the national cultures and folklore and it would be implausible to maintain that such traditions had failed to engender varying degrees of national consciousness or even of interest in the nationalist movement. There is, in fact , good evidence to show that although the peasants turned their back on peasant newspapers, many of them followed the great nationalist press, such as the Czech Narodni Noviny (successor, since April 1848 to Praiske Noviny) .(72) It is probable that such newspapers offered them a more direct opportunity of identifying with the nationalist leaders . The quality and intensity of the peasants' commitment to nationalism did not and could not equal that of the elites , but not a few of them were prepared to support the elites in the capacity of followers. However, this differed from one ethnic region to another. Peasant support for the nationalist elites was the most widespread in the Czech regions. The authorities in Bohemia were not oblivious to the support from the peasants the Czech leaders enjoyed; a confidential police report of May 1849 noted that Czech leaders could count on Czech peasants in resisting unpopular government measures.(73) In the other three ethnic regions, the peasantry seemed moblized to a lesser degree , the least , to judge from the election results, in Slovakia. The apathy of the Slovak peasant seemed more marked than that of his Czech, Slovene and Croatian counterparts. Indeed, the Slovak �128 SLOVAKIA movement as a whole was so weak that a brief digression concerning this weakness appears warranted. Certainly , a major weakening factor was religious discord. Although a majority of Slovaks were Roman Catholic, the Protestants occupied the highest rungs of power in the elite and were , for all practical purposes , the moving spirits of the revolution of 1848 in Slovakia - a situation calculated to displease the Roman Catholics. The great triad of the movement, tudovit Stur, M. M . Hodza and J.M. Hurban, were all Protestants , the latter two were practicing Lutheran clergymen. The group that adopted the nationalist program of May 1848 consisted almost entirely of Protestants.(74) At the grass roots, the climate was similar: the areas inhabited by Protestants manifested a more active nationalist sentiment during the revolution than those inhabited by Roman Catholics - hardly a favorable omen in a people that was in majority Roman Catholic. It is not surprising that some Roman Catholic Slovaks regarded the movement of 1848 as a Protestant plot.(75) Furthermore , the Slovaks lacked a major center of national culture and their geographic setting in general hindered rather than aided the growth of communications and the development of nationalism . The river valleys amid the high peaks of the Tatra Mountains had an isolating effect. " We are an unfortunate people," lamented one Slovak leader, ' ' in that we live only in our valleys - isolated from one another, ' ' and contrasted it with the advantage the Czechs possessed in having a centrally located city , Prague , which was " like the heart of the (Czech) body ." (76) The network of roads and postal services and transportation facilities was sparse, much sparser than, for instance , in the Czech regions. It took considerably less time to traverse a distance in Bohemia than it did to traverse the same distance in Slovakia. (77) Bratislava was in 1848 a predominantly German city, on the fringes of Slovak ethnic territory. Although Stur's Slovenske Narodnje No vini was published there, the city was far from dominant in Slovak national life . Of the 8 Slovak newspapers appearing in 1848, only 3 were published in Bratislava. (78) The cultural facilities of the Slovaks were dispersed, with no city standing above the others as undisputed national leader. When it came to a center of national culture, the other three peoples were in a better position. The Slovenes , it is true , faced a hostile geographic environment in their mountainous terrain, but had at least a reasonably active center in the city of Ljubljana, situated in the heart of the Slovene ethnic territory. Of the 6 Slovene newspapers appearing in 1848 , all but one originated in Ljubljana. (79) The position of the Croats and the Czechs was again superior to that of the Slovenes. The Croats had their undisputed capital and nationalist center in Zagreb, with 7 of the existing 8 Croatian newspapers published there , (80) and with all major cultural institutions located there. While the Czechs had the most vigorous national center of all, in Prague, to which not only the Czechs but also most other Austrian Slavs, looked �SLOVAKIA 129 for leadership . Of the 41 Czech newspapers published in Bohemia, 33 were appearing in Prague, and they were the ones with the nationwide circulation.(81) Prague was already then becoming the towering symbol of Czech nationalism. To sum up the strength of the Austrian Slavic nationalist movements: the Czechs and the Croats belonged in one category as the stronger pair, while the Slovenes and the Slovaks were the weaker. Within each pair, however, there were marked differences. The Czech movement derived its strength principally from a large popular base , created by more highly developed communications. The Croatian movement had a more restricted popular base but compensated for this by having at is disposal an administrative structure rooted in the traditions of self-government. This, combined with the foothold the movement had in the governing class, the nobility, gave it a readymade leverage of political influence which was denied to the other three nationalities. To formulate it in slightly different language: the strength of the Croatian movement was derived from the traditional social and political features; that of the Czech movement was more clearly associated with the features of modernization. The latter was born in a society that could be described as early industrial, the former in a society that was essentially pre-industrial. A few data will illustrate this. On the eve of 1848, Croatia was without a railroad and with only 4 steam engines operating on its territory.(82) Bohemia (with Moravia) had over 500 kilometers of railroads(83) and some 360 steam engines.(84) For the sake of comparison, it may be noted that at this same time Slovakia was, like Croatia, without a railroad and with only 3 steam engines(85) while Slovenia was more advanced, with 25 steam engines(86) and a stretch of railroad a little under 100 kilometers.(87) (The number of steam engines in Britain then was 30,000 and in France 5,000.(88) Britain had more than 4,000 kilometers of railroad.)(89) The Slovenes and the Slovaks were weaker on several counts . Their nationalist elites were less well organized. The Slovak elite was especially hampered by the Protestant-Catholic differences which constituted a unique element not present in the other three movements. Also, alone of the nationalities being surveyed here, the Slovaks had no institutional forms that would lend their ethnic territory a certain visibility and a possible leverage for political action; and, after June 1848, no political press. Furthermore, the Slovak mass appears to have been the least mobilized into the national movement: the Slovak elite had little impact on the rest of the population. In some of these respects, the Slovenes were in a better position than the Slovaks. They had at least the provincial institutions of Carniola which could be made to serve as an instrument with which to advance the nationalist cause. Their elite was not rent with religious discord. During the year 1848 it succeeded in producing at least a modicum of organizational life (Slovene Society of Ljubljana) and also a political or quasi-political �130 SLOVAKIA press that functioned throughout the 1848-1849 constitutional period. The circulation figures for the Slovene and Slovak newspapers offer unmistakable evidence that the Slovene nationalist movement was reaching a larger proportion of its constituency than the Slovak one.(90) The social and occupational groups that made up the preponderant strain in the nationalist elites were the intelligentsia and the clergy: the former was dominant in the Czech and the Croatian (here linked closely with the nobility) elites, the latter in the Slovene and the Slovak ones. The elites were the ideologues of the nationalist movements, disseminating their views chiefly through the press which they controlled. This suggests some possibilities for future research. It would be desirable to know in what ways the social structure of the elites was reflected in the political ideologies of the nationalist movements.(91) It would be also interesting to discover in what ways the elites helped shape the merging political cultures - the revolutions of 1848 constitute the beginning of modem political life among the peoples of the Austrian Empire - and to what extent this contributed to the enduring pattern of political culture as it crystallized in the coming generations. In our own century, down to the outbreak of World War II, the Czechs gained a reputation for supporting center and left-of-center political movements; the Croats displayed political vagaries but a certain centrist mixture of liberal and conservative seemed to hold the most sway: while among the Slovenes and the Slovaks militant right-wing clericalist movements proved the most dynamic. This pattern seems to mirror, to a considerable extent, the dominant social classes in the nationalist elites as they existed in the middle of the last century. With the present popularity of the study of political cultures, it should not be long before social scientists interested in the Austrian Slavs tum to the middle of the nineteenth century as the time ''when it all began.'' FOOTNOTES 1) W. H. STILLS, Austria in 1848-49 (New York: 1852), 388. ( 2) For the figures for Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes, see the tables in Fran ZWITTER et al., Nacionalni problemi v Habsbudki Monarhiji (Ljubljana: 1962) , 212-219. For Croats, see the article "Hrvati" in EnciklopedijaJugoslavije. Vol. 4, p. 58. ( 3) Uebersichts-Tafeln zur Statistik der oesterreichisechen Monarchie (Special Reprint of Fascicle X and XI of Statistische Mittheilungen, Vienna: 1850), 1. ( 4) ZWITTER, op. cit., 216, 219. ( 5) George FASEL, Europe in Upheaval: The Revolutions of 1848 (Chicago: 1970), 4. ( 6) Johann SPRINGER, Statistik des oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, Vol. 1 (Vienna: 1840), 98. ( 7) Slovenska jar: Slovenske povstanie 1848-49, ed. by Jan SLOBODA (Bratislava: 1971), 40 , estimates the Slovak Protestants at one third. ( 8) See the table in ZWITTER, op. cit., 215. �SLOVAKIA 131 ( 9) Bogo GRAFENAUER, Zgodovina slovenskega naroda, Vol. 5 (Ljubljana: 1962), 172. (10) I. KARAMAN, "Ekonomske prilike u vrijeme hrvatskog narodnog preporoda," Kolo, New Series, Vol. 4 (1966), Nos. 8-10, p. 181. (11) K. NOVOTNY and M. MYSKA, eds., Prvni kroky k vitezstvi (Prague: 1966), 10. (12) For the historical development of the ethnic regions of Bohemia, see the map in Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague: 1969), following p. 80. Compare with this the map depicting the industrial development of Bohemia before 1848, in Atlas ceskoslovenskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 17 a. (13) In Croatia as late as 1880 (the earliest year for which accurate statistics are available). 84.64 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture; see Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 4, article "Hrvatska," p. 196. For the Slovenes, the estimate for the middle of the nineteenth century is 89 percent; see article "Slovenija," EnciklopedijaJugoslavije, Vol. 7,353. Much the same picture emerges for the Slovaks, from Slovenskajar, op. cit. 34. (14) See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., 154. (15) Ibid. (16) J. GODECHOT, Les Revolutions de 1848 (Paris: 1971), 90. (17) L. KARNlKOVA, Vyvoj obyvatelstva v ceskych zemich 1754-1914 (Prague: 1965), 105. (18) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. (19) F. SISlC, HrvatskaPovijest, Vol. 3 (Zagreb: 1913), 7. (20) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. I. CHURKINA, "O nekotorykh osobennostiakh formirovaniia slovenskoi natsii, '' Sovetskoe slavianovedenie, No. 2, 1968, p . 16. (21) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3 Dejiny Slovenska, ed. by L. HOLOTIK, Vol. 1 (Bratislava: 1961), 435. - For the overall economic trends in Eastern Europe, see I. T. BEREND and G. RAN KI, Economic Development in East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries (translation from the Hungarian) (New York and London: 1974). (22) In 1850, the ethnic composition of the population of Bratislava was as follows: Germans 70.6 percent, Jews 12.9 percent, Slovaks 10.09 percent, Magyars 6.18 percent, others 0.23 percent. See I. HOUDEK, "Bratislava v revolucnych rokoch 1848-1849." Acta Musei Civitatis Bratislavensis: Bratislava, Vol. 5 (1969), 169. (23) No reliable ethnic statistics exist for these three cities for the middle of the nineteenth century and the available estimates differ so widely that it is unprofitable to reproduce them here. As a rule, German historians claim a larger share of German inhabitants for each city than do the Slavic historians. (24) KARNlKOVA, op. cit., 105. (25) J. JANACEK, ed., Dejiny Prahy (Prague: 1964), 432-433. (26) I. I. LESHCHILOVSKAIA, Illirizm (Moscow: 1968), 94. (27) Quoted in R. A. AVERBUKH, Revoliutsiia i natsionalno-osvoboditelnaia borba v Vengrii 1848-1849 (Moscow: 1965), 5. (28) "Social Movements," in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 14, p. 441. (29) Prehled ceskoslovenskych dejin, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1958), 688. (30) J. RAVLIC, Matica Hrvatska 1842-1962 (Zagreb: 1963), 40. (31) D. RAP ANT, Tatrin (Martin, 1950), 11-12. For the patriotic societies of the various Slavic groups, see S. B. KIMBALL, The Austro-Slav Revival: A Study of Nineteenth- �132 SLOVAKIA Century Literary Foundations, in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, LXIII, Part 4 (Philadelphia: 1973). (32) The number of members of the Czech Foundation grew from 35 in 1832 to over 500 in 1839, to 2329 in 1847; see Prehled teskoswvenskych dejin op. cit., 688. Tatrin expanded from 23 in 1844 to 80 in 1847; see RAPANT, op. cit., 12, who says that the membership lists were not always accurate. The Croatian Foundation expanded from 158 members in 1842 to 300 in 1844 (figures for the later pre-March years are not available): see RA VLlC, op. cit., 34, 40. (33) J. BLEIWEIS, Zgodovina C. K. krajnske kmetijske druibe (Ljubljana: 1855), 11. (34) M. HROCH, Die Vorkiimpfer der nationalen Bewegung bei den Kleinen Voelkem Europas (Prague: 1968), 44. The percentages refer to the situation as it was in 1847. (35) I have computed these percentages from a membership list containing occupational data, as reproduced in RA VLlC, op. cit., 260-263. The Croatian Foundation was a successor to the so-called Illyrian Reading Room and the above list gives the names of members, 217 in all, of that reading room, for the year 1838-1839. It is the only extant list that contains occupational data and can give us an indication of the social structure of the Croatian Foundation. (36) Computed from a list given in RAP ANT , op. cit., 12. (37) In 1847 the total number of subscribers was 1522 of whom 230 were peasants and 689 clergymen. See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., Vol. 5, 165. (38) J . APIH, "Die Slovenen und die Miirzbewegung von 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch , XIV (1890), 93. (39) See Notes 34, 35, 36. (40) On the role of the nobility in the Croatian nationalist movement, see LESHCHILOVSKAIA, op. cit., 72-75. (41) RAPANT, op. cit., 12. I have supplemented Rapant's data with those found M. SLAVIK, ed. , Swvenski narodovci do 30. okt6bra 1918 (Trencin: 1945), Ch. ill. For a basic monograph on the early stages of the Slovak nationalist movement, see J. BUTVIN, Slovenske narodno-zjednocovacie hnutie 1780-1848 (Bratislava, 1965). A new quantifying study of the Slovak pre-1848 patriotic intelligentsia is J. HUCKO Socialne sloienie a povod slovenskej obrodenskej inteligencie (Bratislava: 1974). This volume had not reached me at the time this study was completed. (42) A. D. SMITH, Theories of Nationalism (London: 1971), 87 . One of the most influential exponents of the communications theory of nationalism is K. W . DEUTSCH. Nationalism and Social Communication (second edition, Cambridge, Mass ., 1966) . Deutsch inspired the Czech historian HROCH whose work (Note 34) is an important study comparing the origin of certain West and East (including Czech and Slovak) European nationalist movements. (43) M. N. KUZMIN , Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekhoslovakii (Moscow: 1971), 89, 159. (44) One of the leading members of the Czech nationalist movement of the time says of Havlicek and several other Czech nationalists that they spoke Czech "extremely unclearly": quoted in E. BASS, Cteni o roce osmoctyricatem, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1940), 208. For a similar situation among the Slovenes , see F. GESTRIN and V. MELIK, Swvenska zgodovina od konca osemnajstego stoletja do 1918 (Ljubljana: 1968), 83, 88. (45) They were: the Czech Praiske Noviny which began to appear in 1825 but assumed a militant nationalist posture only under the editorship of Karel Havlicek who took it over in 1845-46; the Slovene Novice, founded in 1843; the Croatian Novine Hrvatske (1835); and the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini (1845). (46) The Slovak newspaper had a circulation of about 500 in the year in which it was launched: see Stur 's letter of September 6, 1845, as printed in Listy Eudovita Stura. Vol. II, ed. by J. AMBRUS (Bratislava: 1956), 94. Subsequent complaints by Stur �SLOVAKIA 133 about circulation indicate that it failed to grow; indeed, for a time at least, it appears to have slipped slightly; see Stur' s letter of August 3, 1846, in Listy, Vol. II, as cited, p. 143. (47) The circulation figures for the Czech newspaper are given by Havlicek in an article published by him on December 28, 1849, and reproduced in Z. V. TOBOLKA , ed. , Karel Havlitek Borovski; Politicke Spisy, Vol. II. Pt. 2 (Prague, 1902) , 875. For a recent article on Havlicek, see B. K. KIMMEL, "Karel Havlicek and the Czech Press before 1848," in P . BROCK and H . Gordon SKILIJNG, eds., The Czech Renascence of the Nineteenth Century (Toronto: 1970) . The Croatian newspaper was printed in 750 copies in the year of its first appearance (1835). This dipped to 400 in 1837 but then began to rise again steadily until the circulation reached 800 in 1848; see J. HORVAT, Povijest novinstva Hrvatske 17711939 (Zagreb : 1962), 123, 133 . The Slovene newspaper started with a run of 1,000 in 1843 and rose to 1,800 by 1848; see J . SLEBINGER, Slovenski tasniki i tasopisi: Bibliografski pregled od 1797-1936 (Ljubljana: 1937), 5. (48) M. LAISKE , Casopisectvi v Cechach 1650-1847 (Prague: 1959), 162, for the pre1848 figure . For the 1848 figure, see F. ROUBIK , Casopisectvo v Cechach v letech 1848-1862 (Prague, 1930). Appendix No . 9 (this for Bohemia) and M. WURMOVA, Soupis moravskych novin a tasopisu z let 1848-1918 (Brno: 1955), 4 (for Moravia) . (49) I. HERGESIC , Hrvatske novine i tasopisi do 1848 (Zagreb : 1936) , 102-103 . (50) M . POTEMRA , Bibliografia slovenskych novin a tasopisov do roku 1918 (Martin: 1958), 117. (51) SLEBINGER, op. cit., 5-7 . (52) For the meeting in Prague, see my Czech Revolution of 1848 (Chapel Hill: 1969), Chpt. 2. For the meeting in Zagreb, see R. HORVAT , Najnovije doba hrvatske povjesti (Zagreb : 1906), 112-113. (53) For the circumstances surrounding the formulation of the Slovene programs , see F. ZWITTER, "Slovenski politicni prerod XIX, stoletja v okviru evropske nacionalne problematike ," Zgodovinski Casopis, Vol. 18 (1964), 110-111. See also I. B. CHURKINA , " Politicheskaia programma Matii Maiara v 1848 godu," Sovetskoe Slavianovedenie 1969, No . 5. (54) J . BUTVIN and J . HA VRANEK, Dejiny Ceskoslovenska (Prague: 1968) , 220-221. (55) A list of members of the National Committee, with occupational data, is found Narodni Noviny, 14 April, 1848. The role of this committee is discussed in PECH, op. cit., 76-79, 115-121. (56) The Slavic Linden executive in Prague had 50 members. Their names, with incomplete occupational data, are printed in Noviny Lipy Slovanske , 11 April, 1849. I was able to identify the occupations of 42 of the members; of these 33 belonged to the inte lligentsia , 6 were merchants , 2 were liberal nobles, and one was a liberal Protestant clergyman . (57) See my "Czech Political Parties in 1848," Canadian Slavonic Papers-Revue canadiene des slavistes XV (1973) , 484-485 . For a map showing the geographic distribution of the branches, see Atlas teskoslovanskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 19j . (58) Thus , in one branch in a city , only one member out of 150 enjoyed the status of " burgher." In another, a majority were "poor artisans ," still another consisted largely of " cottagers and poor agricultural workers ." See Narodni Noviny 30 December , 1848 which contains an account of the congress of Slavic Linden branches held in Prague . This account offers some fragmentary data on the occupations of members of a few individual branches . (59) See " Slovenska Lipa ," Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, 220-221. �134 SLOVAKIA (60) The Slavic Linden in Zagreb had 80-90 members : Noviny Lipy Slo vans ke, 20 January , 1849. The other major branch, Zadar, is said to have had 200 members ; see V. ZACEK , " Ceske a jihoslovanske Slovanske lipy v roce 1848, " Lite r<irni Archiv Vl (1971) , 227 . (61) J. MAL, " Ljubljana in leto 1848 ," Glasnik Muzejskega Dru~tva za Slovenijo XIV (1933) , 123. See also, J . APIH , Slovenci in 1848 le to (Ljubljana: 1888), 133 . (62) BUTVIN-HAVRANEK , op. cit., 221. (63) Of the four Slovak members who sat on a special 7-man council formed in the fall of 1848 to conduct resistance to Magyar authorities on Slovak territory, 3 were Protestant clergymen ; F . BOKES, " Slovenska narodna rada z rokov 1848-1849," Historicky Casopis xm (1965) , 214 . (64) PECH , Czech Revolution, 104, 167. (65) J . HORVAT, Politii!ka povijest Hrvatske (Zagreb : 1936) , 176. (66) J. APIH, " Die slovenische Bewegung im Fruhjahr und Vorsommer 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch, XVI (1892); 201. (67) ZWITTER , " Slovenski politicni . .. " 128. (68) D. RAPANT, Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 1 Pt. 1 (Martin : 1937) , 212. (69) See Note 37 . (70) The Croatian one, entitled Prijatelj Puka, appeared in Zagreb as a weekly supplement of Slavenski Jug. from 9 August to 29 November, 1848 ; see ''Slavenski Jug,' ' Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, p. 221. The Czech one was Sedlsk e Noviny, published in Prague between 1 April, 1849 and 30 June, 1849. It is now available in J.J. TYi, Spisy, XIV, ed . by F. STREJCEK and H . HRZALOVA (Prague : 1953). (71) " Noviny pre hospodarstvo , remeslo a domaci zivot ," published from 5 April, 1848 to 27 September, 1848 ; see F . RUTTKAY, Daniel G. Lichard a slovenske novin<irstvo jeho doby (Martin : 1961) , 81 ff . (72) The influence of Havlicek on the peasants was striking. He advised them how to vote and what type of deputies to choose and they followed his advice quite readily; see PECH, Czech R evolution, 105, 284. (73) Ibid. , 258 . (74) L. VON GOGOLAK , Beitriige zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes , Vol. 2: Die slowakische nationale Fragen der Reformepoche Ungarns 1790-1848 (Munich: 1969) , 263. (75) D. RAP ANT , Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 11 Pt. 1 (Martin: 1950), 344 . According to Rapant, Slovak national consciousness was the most highly developed in the Turcian County; RAPANT , op. cit., Vol. ill, Pt. 1 (1956), 351. This was also a region in which the Protestants were especially strong. (76) N<irodni Noviny, 31 May, 1848, article by Hurban . (77) See the map in Atlas i!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague : 1965), No. 19f; this is an ingenious map comparing the speed of travel in the Czech and Slovak regions in the year 1827. (78) POTEMRA , op. cit., 117. (79) SLEBINGER , op. cit., 5-7 . (80) HERGESIC, op. cit., 102-103. (81) ROUBlK , op. cit., Appendix 6 and 9. (82) R. BICANIC , Doba manufakture u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji 1750-1860 (Zagreb, 1951), 344. �SLOVAKIA 135 (83) See the map in Skolni atlas t!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague, 1959), No. 25. (84) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague, 1969), 93. (85) Ibid., 104. The first railroad came to Slovakia in the latter part of 1848. (86) GESTRIN-MELIK, op. cit., 50. (87) R. PAVLOVCIC, Zgodovinski atlas Slovenije (Buenos Aires, 1960), No. 69. Also GESTRIN-MELIK , op. cit., 103. (88) GODECHOT . op. cit. , 103. (89) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, op. cit., 104. (90) The circulation of the Slovene Novice in 1848 was 1,800 copies which yields a ratio of one copy for 556 people . The circulation of the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini may be assumed to have been 500 copies in 1848 which yields a ratio of one copy for 3 ,400 people.For the circulation figures, see Notes 46 and 47. (91) I have attempted to compare the ideology of the press of the four nationalities in S. Z. PECH, " The Press of the Habsburg Slavs in 1848: Contribution to a Political Profile ," Canadian Journal of History-Anna/es canadiennes d'histoire, X (1975): 3549 . However, I did not attempt to relate the ideology to the social structure of the elites . � SLOVAKIA 113 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile STANLEY Z. PECH The year 1848 was unlike any other in the long and arduous saga of the Austrian Slavs. It was a year when the Austrian Slavs, like the rest of Europe, passed through a major social and political upheaval. However, the year held for them a very special significance: in 1848 they first emerged as fledgling nations, from the backwater of Europe to stake out a claim for themselves as rightful members of the European family. As William H. Stiles, the United States charge d'affaires in Vienna at the time put it: " Previous to that period," the Austrian Slavs possessed "no proper individuality , their political nationality was unacknowledged, and for centuries, consequently, they exercised no influence in the political councils of Europe. The storms of 1848 and 1849 raised them to consideration, and even power. " (1) In recent years, Western historians have been diligent enough in providing the Western reader with the essential facts concerning the revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Slavic realm. There is indeed ample material for a good copy: the fever of the March Days, the clashes and recriminations between Germans and Slavs, the Magyars and Slavs; the fervent preachments of the highpriests of the various Slavic nationalisms; the Slavic Congress in Prague flaring up into an uprising and aborted by the artillery of General Windischgratz. These are the high points of the revolutions essential to an understanding of the events of that year. However, this understanding now needs to be broadened and refined in the light of new techniques and methodologies developed in the West. There is need for a structural analysis of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848. There is an added potential benefit to be derived from cross-national comparisons to which these movements lend themselves. The present account seeks to construct a social profile of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848 and to analyze and compare their strength. I In the mid-nineteenth century, the Austrian Empire counted seven Slavic nationalities in its multi-ethnic structure: Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Poles, and Ukrainians. The last three will not Reprinted with permission from Histoire Sociale-Social History (Ottawa), Vol. 9, November 1976. �114 SLOVAKIA be treated here. For them the Austrian Empire was not the principal homeland: a majority of Ukrainians and Poles lived under Russia (a number of Poles also lived under Prussia), and a majority of Serbs under Turkey. This makes comparisons involving them problematical. Czechs , Slovaks , Slovenes , and Croats, on the other hand, were not so divided; they had no " home " other than the Austrian Empire. Their basic comparability derives from the following: 1) they experienced a revolution in 1848 ; 2) they lived under the same empire; 3) they were Slavic and shared the status of "subject" nationalities living under " alien " rule: the Czechs and the Slovenes under the Austro-Germans in the western half of the empire, and the Slovaks and the Croats under the Magyars in the eastern half of the empire; 4) they were passing through early stages of national awakening. The largest of the four national groups were the Czechs who numbered, in the middle of the nineteenth century, approximately 4 million. The number of Slovaks in the same period was 1. 7 million, that of the Croats 1.6 million, and that of the Slovenes a little over 1 million. (2) The total population of the Austrian Empire is estimated to have been 37 million ,(3) with the Austro-Germans the largest nationality (over 7 million) and the Magyars the second largest (4 .5 million) .(4) The revolutionary stresses that brought on the upheaval in 1848 had been accentuated by the demographic pressures of the halfcentury preceding the upheaval. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century , the population of the empire had been increasing steadily by 1850 the increase had amounted to one third as against the year 1800, a rate comparable to the other large states of Western Europe.(5) While it is difficult to separate the growth rates for the different peoples of the empire , this much can be hypothesized from the evidence: the rate of growth of the Slavs was greater than that of the non-Slavs.(6) In religious affiliation, Czechs , Slovenes, and Croats were at least 95 percent Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism was also dominant among the Slovaks but there it was confronted with a numerically strong Protestant population (between 25 percent and 30 percent) . (7) The fact that the four nationalities being surveyed here had evolved through centuries as "subject" nationalities imparted to their social structures certain distinctive features - features that set them apart from W estem Europe and left a special mark on their development as modernizing societies. The West European model, with France and Germany as a typical example, exhibited a social structure that was unencumbered (small exceptions aside) by the complicating presence of a different nationality: peasants, nobles, workers, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, priests, bishops, all spoke the same language and belonged to the same nationality. This comfortable ethnic homogeneity was lacking among most of the Austrian Slavs. To generalize: the four nationalities had an "incomplete" social structure; the lower portions �SLOVAKIA 115 of their social pyramid were Slavic while the upper portions were filled with members of the ruling nationality . How did the socio-ethnic edifice look in the specific cases? In the western half of the empire, the Czechs and the Slovenes each had their own peasantry, working class, artisanate, shopkeeper class, intelligentsia, lower clergy and lower bureaucracy. At the same time, their complementing higher classes, the nobility, the entrepreneurs and the higher bureaucracy, were German. The one point of difference between the Czechs and the Slovenes concerned the ecclesiastical hierarchy: in the Czech regions the hierarchy was entirely German whereas in the Slovene regions an influential segment of it was Slovene . This difference explains , in part, the divergent religious attitudes of the two peoples during the next century: the Czechs tended to embrace religious scepticism whereas the Slovenes evinced a vigorous religious spirit and lent strong support to movements of political Catholicism. In the eastern half of the empire, the structure was more complicated. The Slovaks occupied the lower portions of the social pyramid, but the upper portions included, besides the Germans , also the Magyars. The Croats, on the other hand , held a position significantly different from the other three national groups . Of the four nationalities , they alone retained, in part, their own governing class: a segment of the nobility, of higher clergy and of higher bureaucracy in Croatia belonged to the Croatian nationality; the remaining segment was Magyar (or Magyar-oriented Croat) or German. The fact that the Croats retained a substantial foothold in the governing class gave them an advantage not enjoyed by the other three national groups: in the pre-industrial age when the nobility alone counted as a political class , they had at all times a political voice . They had never been reduced to a mere '' nation of peasants.' ' In that sense, they were the only one of the four groups that approximated the West European model of social development. The Austrian Empire was not only a labyrinth of seemingly disarrayed social and ethnic parts. It also was a bewildering conglomerate of provinces and administrative divisions that disarrayed the ethnic parts still further. The existing administrative system had taken shape during the pre-nationalist age and bore no relationship to ethnic boundaries. As a result, not only did some nationality sometimes inhabit two or more provinces but if often shared each such province with a different nationality. Little useful purpose would be served by listing all the administrative divisions with their particular ethnic mosaics. Suffice it to say that for each nationality, one province usually stood out as a core of nationalist activism and attention will be focused on these. For the Czechs, this was the province of Bohemia which the Czechs shared with the Germans, the Czech-German ethnic ratio being 60 percent to 40 percent.(8) For the Slovenes, it was Carniola which was over 90 percent _S lovene, the Germans making up the balance.(9) For �116 SLOVAKIA the Croats, it was Croatia (full name "Croatia-Slavonia") in which the Slavs comprised over 95 percent of the population (two thirds of which were Croats and one third Serbs) while the ruling Magyars and Germans together did not exceed 2 percent; certain other small groups accounted for the remainder. (10) Croatia, it should be stressed, possessed a number of self-governing institutions in which the Croatian nobility, clergy and bureaucracy wielded considerable influence which helped cushion the German-Magyar rule. It even had an army which though subordinated directly to the emperor, was nevertheless an important symbol of Croatian national identity. In short, these social and institutional paraphernalia provided the Croats with defenses and opportunities not available to the other Slavs. This made it possible for them, in the course of 1848, to wrest political control entirely from the Magyars and Germans and erect what amounted to their own state with its own government that recognized only the authority of the emperor in Vienna. None of the other three nationalities came close to generating this type of institutional power. In this connection, it may be noted that the people who exercised the least power from the institutional point of view were the Slovaks. They had been totally submerged through centuries in the existing Hungarian system of counties and no part of the Slovak territory enjoyed the status of a province. The Slovak territory was reasonably compact in ethnic terms but had no institutional support to lend it distinctiveness and distinguish it from the other areas of Hungary. This made the Slovaks the most vulnerable and the least visible of the four peoples. After the Congress of Vienna, the Austrian Empire entered upon the first stages of industrialization . There were, however, marked regional disparities in the tempo with which industrialization proceeded , with the western half of the monarchy moving ahead more rapidly than the eastern half. Among the Slavic peoples, by the middle of the nineteenth century, only the Czechs had made significant advances along the road of modernization . By 1857 , the agrarian sector in Bohemia had been reduced to the point where only some 55 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture .(11) The above figure applies to all of Bohemia (both to its Czech and Germanspeaking areas) ; and it is not possible to say exactly what it would be for the Czech inhabitants specifically. However, it is known that the German-speaking areas of Bohemia were by far the more industrialized( 12) and this would justify revising the figure, as applied to the Czechs, upward: 65 percent to 70 percent seems a more realistic estimate. At this same time, the agrarian sector in the three other Austro-Slavic regions continued to employ 90 percent or more of the economically active population.(13) The economic growth was reflected in the expansion of the urban population, with similar regional disparities prevailing in the degree or urbanization attained. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the proportion of the urban �SLOVAKIA 117 population in Bohemia was just under 20 percent;(14) for the Czechspeaking population of Bohemia this figure would have to be revised downward to some extent, perhaps to 15 percent. The Slovenes had at this time an urban population of 4 percent(15) while for the Slovaks and the Croats the figure was even less. (France had then an urban population of 26 percent and Germany 35 percent.)(16) ThE: major cities were few and not even their rapid expansion during the first half of the nineteenth century - some cities doubled in size during this period had produced many large urban centers by West European standards. The largest one was Prague, the most populous Czech city and the capital of Bohemia. With a population of 118,000 in the middle of the nineteenth century (77 ,000 in 1800), (17) it was the only city in the four ethnic regions to attain the 100,000 mark, an achievement placing it in a class with the major cities of Western Europe. The largest Croatian city was Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, with a population of 15,000(18) (8,000 at the beginning of the century)(19) and the largest Slovene city was Ljubljana (Laibach), the capital of Carniola, with a population of 17,000 (it was half this size in 1817). (20) The biggest city in what is today the Slovak region was Bratislava (Pressburg) which had a population, in 1848, of 40,000 (in 1805 it had been just under 22,000).(21) However, Bratislava was then not a Slovak city in any meaningful sense of the term; the majority of its inhabitants were German and it was not the scene of any mass Slovak nationalist activity in 1848.(22) The case of Bratislava was far from unique: many cities and towns throughout the Slavic regions of the Austrian Empire contained a large number of Germans, and sizeable German minorities were to be found in Prague. Ljubljana and Zagreb.(23) Economic power in the cities and indeed throughout the monarchy was largely in the hands of Germans and German Jews. Germans typically constituted the urban elite which controlled municipal administrations and in general exercised a decisive influence over the Slavic substratum. The demographic development of Prague, as the largest metropolis, deserves a special comment. Although the city grew more or less steadily after the year 1800, the really important demographic transformation was not the growth itself, but the increasing proportion of newcomers who moved into the city from the surrounding countryside. In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the proportion of these newcomers remained relatively stable - hovering near 6 percent of the total population. A change set in during the 1820s: the proportion of newcomers began to increase markedly, from 6.3 percent in 1818, to 15 percent in 1826, to 36.3 percent in 1834, and finally to 48.9 percent in 1850.(24) This meant that by the middle of the century nearly one half of the Prague population consisted of people who had severed their previous roots and come to the city in search of a new life. The mass of newcomers was Czech. They found work in the new textile and machine industries founded during the 1830s and �118 SLOVAKIA 1840s, and in other forms of employment. Textile workers, about a thousand strong, became the largest distinctive group of the labor force in the capital city. Their rioting in 1844 announced the advent of an industrial age in Bohemia and attracted the attention of Europe, its effect reinforced by the rioting at almost the same time of Prague workers employed on the construction of a new railway.(25) One of the consequences of the influx of newcomers was to augment the Czechspeaking substratum in a city governed by the German elite. All this provided a setting calculated to raise the social and political fever of the capital city and goes far toward explaining the intensity of the upheaval that swept Prague during 1848. The other three cities mentioned above were drawn less precipitously into the vortex of social and economic change. Zagreb may serve as an example of a city standing at the opposite pole of the socio-economic spectrum from Prague. Although its size had almost doubled in the half-century before 1848, the city had not acquired an industrial face in the process. In 1808, nearly 40 percent of its population consisted of nobles and clergy (! ) and by 1848 these two groups, along with the intelligentsia, still accounted for one half of the total number of inhabitants.(26) City life in Zagreb, and in the eastern half of the empire as a whole, retained essentially a pre-industrial character as late as 1848. What passed for a town in the eastern half of the empire was different from what it was understood to be in the western half and in Western Europe. As one contemporary observer described the town scene in the eastern half of the empire just on the eve of 1848: not only the small towns but also the larger cities there '' consisted of nothing but settlements of ploughmen, vine growers, and shepherds in which respect they did not differ at all from the villages .'' (27) It is startling to realize that at the time of the outbreak of the 1848 revolution, Croatia - and also Slovakia - had not yet acquired a single mile of railroad. II How strong were the nationalist movements to which these structures gave rise and which broke into the open during the years 1848-1849, complete with leaders and programs? The nationalist movements of 1848 were the culminating point of the preceding halfcentury of "national awakening." This development had of course proceeded at a different pace in the case of the various peoples and by 1848 each movement ·had attained a different level of strength. How can this strength be measured? How did the movements compare in their ability to mobilize supporters? It is generally agreed that to be effective a movement requires '' some kind of organization that enables certain persons to act as authorized spokesmen and representatives. This can take the form of committees, clubs, labor unions, or political parties.'' (28) Such clubs consist of individuals with the highest degree �SLOVAKIA 119 of commitment to a movement's objectives. In our context, organizations with such a commitment were the pre-March patriotic societies that had come into being during the 1830s and 1840s. The Czechs, the Croats and the Slovaks each had one such society: they were, respectively, the Czech Foundation (Ceska Matice, founded in 1832), the Croatian Foundation (Matica Hrvatska, 1842) and the Slovak Tatrin (1844). These were nationalist societies comprising the highest echelon of nationalist elites. Although independent of each other, they had similar organizational structures and pursued identical objectives: to promote the native language and culture, and to foster the publication of books and newspapers in that language . With this comparability in mind, we can use the numerical strength of these societies as a comparative index of the strength with which the three nationalist movements entered upon the year 1848. On the eve of 1848, the Czech Foundation had a membership of 2329 (for the year 1847),(29) the Croatian Foundation 300(30) (for 1844, the last pre-1848 year available) and Tatrin 80 (1847).(31) Measured against the total population of each nationality as given earlier, this yields the ratio of 5.8 per 10,000 for the Czech national movement, 1.9 per 10,000 for the Croatian, and a low 0.5 per 10,000 for the Slovak. It may be added that the membership in all three societies was growing.(32) Evidently, the nationalist movements had acquired a momentum of their own, adding their weight to the forces that precipitated the collapse of absolutism in March 1848. The revolutions of 1848 may not have been inevitable but the forces that produced them had been unmistakably at work. The Slovenes lacked a patriotic society before 1848 and consequently we cannot measure the strength of the Slovene movement on a basis strictly comparable with the other three. It may be assumed, however, that the absence of a patriotic society is itself evidence of a sort: it suggests the existence of a less developed nationalist movement. Nevertheless, the Slovenes were not without visible manifestations of progress on the nationalist front. Their patriots established a foothold in the Agricultural Society of Camiola, an organization of long standing. This was not a Slovene patriotic society for it counted both Germans and Slovenes among its members and its avowed purpose was improvement of agriculture, not promotion of Slovene nationalism. However, in 1842 the society appointed a moderate, Dr. Janez Bleiweis, as its new secretary, and under him Slovene nationalist forces found elbow room within the society's framework. The success of the first modem Slovene newspaper, Novice, which Bleiweis launched in 1843 under the auspices of the society, afforded proof that Slovene nationalism was on the rise. (33) Still, the absence of a genuine patriotic society was a serious drawback; it meant that the Slovene elite entered upon the year 1848 with little organizational contact, strength and experience. In this it resembled the Slovak elite whose Tatrin offered too feeble a basis when the need �120 SLOVAKIA for action arose . The Slovene and the Slovak elites were the weaker members in the group, the Czech and the Croatian ones the stronger. This distribution of pre-1848 strength corresponds, in fact, very closely to the performance of these nationalist movements during the year 1848. What about the social hue of the elites? The membership rosters of the three patriotic societies contain occupational data that permit us to make cross-national comparisons. For the Slovenes, we must again resort to substitute material which furnishes a basis for an informed estimate. Surveying all four elites, one can perceive two social groups playing a dominant role: the intelligentsia and the lower clergy. The intelligentsia, as defined here, includes teachers, officials, writers, students, and professionals. The term clergy refers to both Roman Catholic and Protestant clergymen. The latter were numerically strong only in the Slovak elite. In the other three elites, the clergy was, with few exceptions, Roman Catholic. While it is true that the intelligentsia and the clergy were prominent in all four elites, their weight varied from case to case. From the material at our disposal it is evident that the intelligentsia had a larger share in the Czech and Croatian elites, while the clergy had a larger share in the Slovene and Slovak elites. The proportion of the intelligentsia and the clergy in the three patriotic societies was, respectively: 54 percent and 29 percent in the Czech.(34) 52 percent and 20 percent in the Croatian(35) and 30 percent and 59 percent in the Slovak society.(36) It is noteworthy that businessmen and other groups ranked after the intelligentsia and the clergy. The peasants as might be expected were hardly significant. The dominant role of the clergy in the Slovene elite can be gleaned from the list of subscribers to the abovementioned newspaper Novice. Although Novice was intended to be a peasant newspaper, the peasants constituted only a small minority of its subscribers; nearly half of the subscribers (in 1847) were nationalist clergymen!(37) The influence of the clergy was noted by a Slovene historian of the last century; in relating the origins of the nationalist movement he observed that ''The number of conscious (Slovene) patriots outside the ranks of the clergy was small.'' (38) The role of the nobility was important only in the Croatian elite . Its proportion in the Croatian Foundation was 7 percent, as compared with 1.5 percent in the Czech Foundation and zero in the Slovak Tatrin. (39) There were, to be sure, influential individual nobles active also in the Czech nationalist movement in its earliest stages. However, they were, as a rule , German-speaking "Bohemian patriots" who sympathized with the Czech movement without identifying themselves with the Czech nationalism. They were friendly outsiders "looking in" and withdrew from the movement in proportion as that movement acquired a clearly Czech nationalist stamp. The role of the nobility in the Croatian movement was completely different. Far from being outsiders �SLOVAKIA 121 looking in, they were anchored squarely in the very heart of the nationalist movement at all times, helping to give it shape and direction in a manner in which the Czech nobility never did. The Croatian elite , it should be pointed out, had an added feature all of its own; this consisted in a peculiar collaboration between the nobles and the intelligentsia. It was almost routine practice for the Croatian nobles who had the right to sit in pre-1848 county assemblies to allow themselves to be represented by members of the nationalist intelligentsia. (40) This gave the intelligentsia considerable influence over and above its numercial strength , but there was a reverse side to the coin: the intelligentsia fell into a state of dependence upon the nobles to some extent and acted as a conduit for noble influence. A particular reference should be made at this point to the Slovak elite and to the problem that bedeviled the relationship between its members: the religious problem. Perhaps half of the clergymen in the Slovak patriotic society were Protestant (Lutheran), the remainder were Roman Catholic.(41) Protestants, however, had acquired a commanding position during the years preceding 1848. Moreover, Protestants and Catholics were divided not only by religious convictions - which would have been serious enough to jeopardize the movement - but also by different attitudes regarding the conception of Slovak nationhood and literary language . The chasm separating the two religious groups proved difficult to bridge and Roman Catholics treated the Protestant initiatives with the greatest reserve. This was bound to have a damaging effect on Slovak efforts; how damaging, the events of 1848 were to bear out only too painfully. This added to the vulnerability of a nationalist movement that had already been rendered vulnerable on other counts. The Slovaks were the only one of the four nationalities that entered the year 1848 with a seriously disunited elite . The elites as organized in the patriotic societies comprised the most highly committed or mobilized members of the nationalist movements. How did the elites draw the broader strata of the populations into the movement? How did the wider process of social mobilization take place? It is now increasingly recognized that the development of nationalism is related to the role of communications. A group of sociological theories assigns communications a prime place in the process of national awakening. One communications model in fact considers ' 'the role of the intelligentsia ... to be a necessary condition of all nationalist movements, " (42) an observation which appears to receive support from the role the intelligentsia played in the four movements examined here. If one includes the clergy, as some historians do , in the concept of "intelligentsia" (" clerical intelligentsia'' ), then the importance of this social group in the genesis of Austro-Slavic nationalisms becomes overwhelming. In this context literacy was an essential factor contributing to the success of any mobilizing effort mounted by the elites. How did the four �122 SLOVAKIA nationalities rate on this count? Literacy statistics were not compiled in the Austrian Empire at the time we are discussing. In order to obtain a picture, we are obliged to rely on later census data that indicate the literacy of the generation that was born in the 1830s and was of school age in the 1840s. In this generation, the Czechs led the others . Their rate was 84. 75 percent which was nearly three times as much as that of the Slovaks (30.2 percent), the Slovenes (28.62 percent) and the Croats (26. 7 percent) . (43) It is necessary to add that the Slavic populations in general were at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the Austro-Germans when it came to the use of their languages as a medium of instruction in schools. Only in the lower schools was teaching conducted in the language appropriate to the ethnic region. The language of middle and higher schools was German in the western half of the empire and German, Latin or Magyar in the eastern half. In other words, attaining a higher level of education generally compelled the individual concerned to leave the cultural ambience of his native language . The results of this process were often bizarre. For example, the Czech Karel Havlicek and the Slovene Bleiwies, both leading nationalists, were, in the early stages of their nationalist activity, more fluent in German than in their own native language - a situation by no means untypical of Slavic national awakeners.(44) The elites were keenly aware of the efficacy of the printed word as a medium through which they could best transmit their ideas and mobilize the larger non-elite mass; hence the preoccupation of the patriotic societies with publishing. The printed word devised and disseminated nationalist symbols, awakened an interest in the past and created an awareness of shared leaders, thus ultimately engendering a sense of the community of language, culture and history. For maximum effectiveness, the printed word had to have periodicity and this pointed to the importance of the newspaper as a vehicle most suitable for communication. It was a portent of an approaching nationalist storm that the fifteen-year period preceding the revolutions of 1848 saw the foundation of the first modem national and nationalist newspapers in the case of all four nationalities . One such newspaper was founded in each case, under the auspices of or in association with, the patriotic societies.(45) Of the four, only one, the Slovak, remained stationary in circulation during the pre-March period(46) while the other three showed a circulation increase, with the Czech newspaper registering an increase that can only be described as extraordinary, from 200 in 1846 to 1,500 in 1848.(47) The editor of the Czech newspaper was Karel Havlicek , of the Croatian, Ljudevit Gaj, of the Slovak, I.:udovit Stur, and of the Slovene, Dr. Janez Bleiweis. It is interesting to note that the last three men were the principal nationalist leaders of their peoples at the time and are considered the ''fathers' ' of their particular nationalist movements. As for Havlicek, he shared this honor with the Czech historian Frantisek Palacky. Nothing illustrates more tellingly the �SLOVAKIA 123 importance of communications to nationalism than the fact that the nationalist editors were the leaders of their national groups. ill In March 1848 absolutism in the Austrian Empire collapsed and this ushered in the "revolutions of 1848," a period of constitutional government that lasted for over a year, until the emperor began to reimpose absolutism in the spring and summer of 1849. Among the most important constitutional innovations introduced by the liberal regime was the abolition of censorship in March 1848. This led to the foundation of new magazines and newspapers, making it possible for the Czech leaders to start a veritable avalanche of the printed word. On the eve of 1848 the Czechs had a total of 13 newspapers and periodicals; after March this number quadrupled, to 52.(48) Elsewhere, the expansion was more modest. In Croatia, the increase was from 5 in 184 7 to 8 in 1848(49) while the corresponding Slovak figures were 6 and 8.(50) The Slovenes, starting from a low base of 1 newspaper in 1847 brought the number up to 6 in 1848.(51) (After the return of the reaction in 1849 the number of newspapers began to drop again to pre1848 levels.) Calculated on a per capita basis, there was, in 1848, one newspaper or magazine for 77,000 Czechs, 167,000 Slovenes, 200,000 Croats and 213,000 Slovaks. Clearly, the Czech elite had at their disposal the most highly developed network of communications - an advantage heightened by the fact that some of their newspapers appeared daily (six times a week) whereas the frequency of the newspapers of the other nationalities was not more than three times a week. The strengths and the handicaps with which each Slavic group had entered upon the revolution became evident in the first days of freedom. The Czechs and the Croats promptly staged mass meetings , (in March in their capital cities) at which nationalist programs were adopted. (52) In the other two ethnic regions, the adoption of nationalist programs was accomplished with less mass support. The Slovenes formulated their nationalist programs in March without the benefit of a single mass meeting - the only Slav group to pass through the revolutionary year without mass demonstrations or rallies in support of nationalist objectives.(53) In Slovakia, the elite was slow in getting off the mark and encountered difficulties in mobilizing public opinion. A full-fledged nationalist program was not adopted until the beginning of May 1848 at a meeting in Liptovsky Svlity Mikulas, but the public presence at this meeting was modest and the program failed to acquire the legitimacy and force sufficient to compel the Magyar authorities to heed it.(54) The opening stages of the revolutionary period demonstrated the advantage of a people having a body of nationalists with organizational experience and mutual contact who would seize the initiatives, and �124 SLOVAKIA quickly and forcefully responded to the challenges of the moment. The pre-1848 patriotic societies consisted of such nationalists. However, accustomed as they had been to more genteel forms of struggle, these societies could not in themselves become the instruments of political activism at a time of revolutionary turbulence, and so new organizations were established to cope with new forms of struggle. The Czechs in Prague created in March a National Committee which served, until its dissolution after the June 1848 uprising in Prague, as a center of Czech nationalist activity throughout Bohemia. Many members of the Czech Foundation became active in the National Committee which counted over a hundred members. In the National Committee, the intelligentsia prevailed, as it had done in the Czech Foundation, with 44 percent of the members belonging to this stratum. However, the proportion of the clergy was drastically reduced in this elite group, to a mere 4 percent, as compared with 29 percent it had had in the Czech Foundation in the last year before the revolution. It appears that the revolution had pushed the clergy into the background. Its place was taken by the bourgeoisie (burghers, artisans, businessmen) whose share in the National Committee was 42 percent.(55) After June 1848 the vacuum created by the demise of the National Committee was filled by the newly founded Slavic Linden (Slovanska Lipa), a nationalist pressure group consciously seeking political change. The Slavic Linden was led by intellectuals and bourgeoisie, with some members of the National Committee passing into its ranks. (56) The clergy played no major role. Politically, the Slavic Linden was somewhat to the left of the National Committee and, unlike the latter, acquired some of the characteristics of a political party: it had its own newspaper, an elected executive, a headquarters (in Prague), and local branches. By the beginning of 1849 it counted 49 branches throughout Bohemia, forming a network reaching into all corners of the province, with a total estimated membership of 2,000.(57) Among rank and file members of the Slavic Linden were peasants and people of the humble stations in life. (58) The Slavic Linden was in fact the only non-elite stratum, showing a widening circle of nationalistically mobilized population. None of the other three nationalities could point to this level of national awakening, and none devised the kind of network through which the nationalists could communicate and operate in an organized fashion. The Croatian nationalist movement operated with instruments essentially different from those employed by the Czechs. The Croatian elite relied less on the spontaneous organs such as the Czech National Committee and more on Croatia's existing institutions of selfgovernment which it revived and re-shaped to suit the new post-March conditions. After March, the Croats acquired their provincial government, the Ban's Council, which managed the affairs of the country throughout 1848-1849. The Croats were the only Slavic group to �SLOVAKIA 125 become for the duration of the 1848-1849 revolutionary period , masters in their own house, recognizing the authority of none but the emperor. Their nobility continued to be active and influential in the existing arrangements. The only new non-governmental nationalist political or quasi-political organization to which the elite gave rise in the postMarch period was the Croatian version of the Slavic Linden. It was inspired by but independent of the Czech Slavic Linden. It was founded in Zagreb , was led by moderately left-oriented intellectuals, and acquired a newspaper of its own. However, it was never too active and never succeeded in building a network of branches throughout the Croatian regions. Only one major branch was set up outside of Zagreb.(59) The total membership of the two branches was no more than a few score and the organization never reached into the non-elite strata. (60) The effectiveness and power of the Croatian nationalist movement derived more from the existing institutional structure and the participation of the nobility than from the mobilization of the wider segments of the population. The Slovenes and the Slovaks could offer little to match the Czech and the Croatian examples. Among the Slovenes, the revolution gave rise to the Slovene Society of Ljubljana founded in April 1848 which became the largest and most influential body of Slovene patriots of the revolutionary period . Its slogan was "Everything for Religion, Emperor and Nationality" and doubtless expressed the influence of clergymen who, according to a police report, formed the largest social group within the 400-member society, with the intelligentsia accounting for the rest .(61) The slogan captures the spirit of the society sufficiently to contrast it with the Czech National Committee which was secular minded and in which the clergy had hardly any role to play. At the same time, it deserves to be noted that the thrust of the Society ' s efforts was cultural more than political. It did not become a center of political activity and did not regard itself as much more than a patriotic interest group. The position of the Slovaks was the least satisfactory. At no time after March 1848 did they form anything resembling the Czech National Committee or even the Slovene Society of Ljubljana. As a consequence, their movement was without an organized thrust and without a single direction. Only the political newspaper, the Slouenskje N<irodnjc Nouini continued to function as a voice of Slovak nationalism but it was compelled to suspend publication in June 1848 under Magyar pressure and with its passing, the last channel of communications through which the elite could address itself to the mass had been destroyed. The Slovak people were thus left without a political newspaper for the greater part of the revolutionary era - a handicap to which none of the other three nationalities was subjected. Furth ermore, in June 1848, Magyar authorities declared martial law over much of Slovak territory - charging the Slovak leaders with '' Pan- �126 SLOVAKIA Slavic" subversion and forcing many of them into exile - and this paralyzed the Slovak movement still further.(62) The clergy (Protestant) continued to dominate what was left of the life of the Slovak movement after June. (63 ) The organizational strength of the elites and the degree to which they were able to mobilize the wider segments of the populations were tested at the elections to the various representative assemblies that took place during 1848 - the first such modem elections to be held in the history of the Austrian Empire. Until 1848 , public life in the empire had borne a German or, in the eastern half, German-Magyar character and this was bound to favor German and Magyar candidates in the election contests even in the Slavic-speaking areas . Conversely, success at the polls of the Slavic candidates could be regarded as evidence of a relatively high degree of mobilization among the Slavic electorate. The right to vote was more liberal in the western than in the eastern half of the empire , and even in the former, segments of the lower social classes were excluded. Nevertheless , it must be acknowledged that everywhere a large number of " common" people enjoyed the right to vote and the election results can serve as a rough expression of popular sentiment vis-a-vis the nationalist movements . The elections yielded the following results. In Bohemia, they demonstrated a high degree of responsiveness of voters to the Czech nationalist movement. In the election of the Bohemian diet in J une 1848 the proportion of Czech deputies elected was just over 60 percent (the remainder were Germans) - a figure corresponding closely to the estimated proportion of the Czech population in the province. The election to the Imperial Parliament held in the same month brought similar results, with the Bohemian voters sending to Vienna 55 Czech as against 35 German deputies.(64) In Croatia, the elections to the diet (June 1848) were a clean sweep for the nationalist candidates. This was due , in part , to the militancy of the Croatian authorities who saw to it that only committed to the Croatian cause could stand as candidates. (65) Because of this, the election results are not very meaningful. In the Slovene regions, the electoral behavior of the voters was less affected by nationalist sentiment. The election of the diet of Carniola produced " numerous" Slovene deputies(66) but not nearly the decisive majority the size of the Slovene population of Camiola (90 percent) would warrant. Similarly, only about half of the deputies elected to the Imperial Parliament in ethnically Slovene territory were actually of Slovene orientation ; the other half were German or bilingual without specifically Slovene leanings.(67) Finally, the nationalists in the Slovak regions failed completely: the first modern Hungarian Parliament , elected in June 1848, did not have a single Slovak deputy. This was attributable, in part , to Magyar electoral pressures. But the principal reason was the underdeveloped nationalist sentiment of the Slovak mass . Slovak leaders were themselves not unaware of this and �SLOVAKIA 127 fielded only a few candidates . (68) The nationalist leaders realized that much of their effectiveness depended on the success with which they mobilized the support of the largest social group: the peasantry . To achieve this, they experimented with the publication of newspapers written and edited specifically for the peasantry. However, the results of this effort proved disappointing. The only peasant newspaper that proved successful was the Slovene Novice but even in this instance , no more than 15 percent of its subscribers belonged to the class for which it was primarily aimed.(69) Clearly, Novice could maintain itself only because of the support of non-peasant readers , particularly the clergy. Publication of peasant newspapers was tried also by Croatian (Summer 1848) and Czech (Spring 1849) leaders but both ventures failed for lack of reader support. (70) A more technically oriented newspaper was devised and launched for the Slovak peasants but it likewise proved short-lived (1848). (71) These failures have usually been attributed to a lack of national consciousness on the part of the peasantry, and doubtless there is more than a grain of truth in the observation. After all, the peasantry had only just emerged, in 1848, from the last vestiges of serfdom . A large number of peasants was still illiterate and could not be expected to display a degree of political and nationalist commitment of the kind evinced by the elites. Plainly, the peasant's most immediate and active concerns involved his own social problems rather than the problems of nationalism . At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the peasants were the authentic traditional bearers of the national cultures and folklore and it would be implausible to maintain that such traditions had failed to engender varying degrees of national consciousness or even of interest in the nationalist movement. There is, in fact , good evidence to show that although the peasants turned their back on peasant newspapers, many of them followed the great nationalist press, such as the Czech Narodni Noviny (successor, since April 1848 to Praiske Noviny) .(72) It is probable that such newspapers offered them a more direct opportunity of identifying with the nationalist leaders . The quality and intensity of the peasants' commitment to nationalism did not and could not equal that of the elites , but not a few of them were prepared to support the elites in the capacity of followers. However, this differed from one ethnic region to another. Peasant support for the nationalist elites was the most widespread in the Czech regions. The authorities in Bohemia were not oblivious to the support from the peasants the Czech leaders enjoyed; a confidential police report of May 1849 noted that Czech leaders could count on Czech peasants in resisting unpopular government measures.(73) In the other three ethnic regions, the peasantry seemed moblized to a lesser degree , the least , to judge from the election results, in Slovakia. The apathy of the Slovak peasant seemed more marked than that of his Czech, Slovene and Croatian counterparts. Indeed, the Slovak �128 SLOVAKIA movement as a whole was so weak that a brief digression concerning this weakness appears warranted. Certainly , a major weakening factor was religious discord. Although a majority of Slovaks were Roman Catholic, the Protestants occupied the highest rungs of power in the elite and were , for all practical purposes , the moving spirits of the revolution of 1848 in Slovakia - a situation calculated to displease the Roman Catholics. The great triad of the movement, tudovit Stur, M. M . Hodza and J.M. Hurban, were all Protestants , the latter two were practicing Lutheran clergymen. The group that adopted the nationalist program of May 1848 consisted almost entirely of Protestants.(74) At the grass roots, the climate was similar: the areas inhabited by Protestants manifested a more active nationalist sentiment during the revolution than those inhabited by Roman Catholics - hardly a favorable omen in a people that was in majority Roman Catholic. It is not surprising that some Roman Catholic Slovaks regarded the movement of 1848 as a Protestant plot.(75) Furthermore , the Slovaks lacked a major center of national culture and their geographic setting in general hindered rather than aided the growth of communications and the development of nationalism . The river valleys amid the high peaks of the Tatra Mountains had an isolating effect. " We are an unfortunate people," lamented one Slovak leader, ' ' in that we live only in our valleys - isolated from one another, ' ' and contrasted it with the advantage the Czechs possessed in having a centrally located city , Prague , which was " like the heart of the (Czech) body ." (76) The network of roads and postal services and transportation facilities was sparse, much sparser than, for instance , in the Czech regions. It took considerably less time to traverse a distance in Bohemia than it did to traverse the same distance in Slovakia. (77) Bratislava was in 1848 a predominantly German city, on the fringes of Slovak ethnic territory. Although Stur's Slovenske Narodnje No vini was published there, the city was far from dominant in Slovak national life . Of the 8 Slovak newspapers appearing in 1848, only 3 were published in Bratislava. (78) The cultural facilities of the Slovaks were dispersed, with no city standing above the others as undisputed national leader. When it came to a center of national culture, the other three peoples were in a better position. The Slovenes , it is true , faced a hostile geographic environment in their mountainous terrain, but had at least a reasonably active center in the city of Ljubljana, situated in the heart of the Slovene ethnic territory. Of the 6 Slovene newspapers appearing in 1848 , all but one originated in Ljubljana. (79) The position of the Croats and the Czechs was again superior to that of the Slovenes. The Croats had their undisputed capital and nationalist center in Zagreb, with 7 of the existing 8 Croatian newspapers published there , (80) and with all major cultural institutions located there. While the Czechs had the most vigorous national center of all, in Prague, to which not only the Czechs but also most other Austrian Slavs, looked �SLOVAKIA 129 for leadership . Of the 41 Czech newspapers published in Bohemia, 33 were appearing in Prague, and they were the ones with the nationwide circulation.(81) Prague was already then becoming the towering symbol of Czech nationalism. To sum up the strength of the Austrian Slavic nationalist movements: the Czechs and the Croats belonged in one category as the stronger pair, while the Slovenes and the Slovaks were the weaker. Within each pair, however, there were marked differences. The Czech movement derived its strength principally from a large popular base , created by more highly developed communications. The Croatian movement had a more restricted popular base but compensated for this by having at is disposal an administrative structure rooted in the traditions of self-government. This, combined with the foothold the movement had in the governing class, the nobility, gave it a readymade leverage of political influence which was denied to the other three nationalities. To formulate it in slightly different language: the strength of the Croatian movement was derived from the traditional social and political features; that of the Czech movement was more clearly associated with the features of modernization. The latter was born in a society that could be described as early industrial, the former in a society that was essentially pre-industrial. A few data will illustrate this. On the eve of 1848, Croatia was without a railroad and with only 4 steam engines operating on its territory.(82) Bohemia (with Moravia) had over 500 kilometers of railroads(83) and some 360 steam engines.(84) For the sake of comparison, it may be noted that at this same time Slovakia was, like Croatia, without a railroad and with only 3 steam engines(85) while Slovenia was more advanced, with 25 steam engines(86) and a stretch of railroad a little under 100 kilometers.(87) (The number of steam engines in Britain then was 30,000 and in France 5,000.(88) Britain had more than 4,000 kilometers of railroad.)(89) The Slovenes and the Slovaks were weaker on several counts . Their nationalist elites were less well organized. The Slovak elite was especially hampered by the Protestant-Catholic differences which constituted a unique element not present in the other three movements. Also, alone of the nationalities being surveyed here, the Slovaks had no institutional forms that would lend their ethnic territory a certain visibility and a possible leverage for political action; and, after June 1848, no political press. Furthermore, the Slovak mass appears to have been the least mobilized into the national movement: the Slovak elite had little impact on the rest of the population. In some of these respects, the Slovenes were in a better position than the Slovaks. They had at least the provincial institutions of Carniola which could be made to serve as an instrument with which to advance the nationalist cause. Their elite was not rent with religious discord. During the year 1848 it succeeded in producing at least a modicum of organizational life (Slovene Society of Ljubljana) and also a political or quasi-political �130 SLOVAKIA press that functioned throughout the 1848-1849 constitutional period. The circulation figures for the Slovene and Slovak newspapers offer unmistakable evidence that the Slovene nationalist movement was reaching a larger proportion of its constituency than the Slovak one.(90) The social and occupational groups that made up the preponderant strain in the nationalist elites were the intelligentsia and the clergy: the former was dominant in the Czech and the Croatian (here linked closely with the nobility) elites, the latter in the Slovene and the Slovak ones. The elites were the ideologues of the nationalist movements, disseminating their views chiefly through the press which they controlled. This suggests some possibilities for future research. It would be desirable to know in what ways the social structure of the elites was reflected in the political ideologies of the nationalist movements.(91) It would be also interesting to discover in what ways the elites helped shape the merging political cultures - the revolutions of 1848 constitute the beginning of modem political life among the peoples of the Austrian Empire - and to what extent this contributed to the enduring pattern of political culture as it crystallized in the coming generations. In our own century, down to the outbreak of World War II, the Czechs gained a reputation for supporting center and left-of-center political movements; the Croats displayed political vagaries but a certain centrist mixture of liberal and conservative seemed to hold the most sway: while among the Slovenes and the Slovaks militant right-wing clericalist movements proved the most dynamic. This pattern seems to mirror, to a considerable extent, the dominant social classes in the nationalist elites as they existed in the middle of the last century. With the present popularity of the study of political cultures, it should not be long before social scientists interested in the Austrian Slavs tum to the middle of the nineteenth century as the time ''when it all began.'' FOOTNOTES 1) W. H. STILLS, Austria in 1848-49 (New York: 1852), 388. ( 2) For the figures for Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes, see the tables in Fran ZWITTER et al., Nacionalni problemi v Habsbudki Monarhiji (Ljubljana: 1962) , 212-219. For Croats, see the article "Hrvati" in EnciklopedijaJugoslavije. Vol. 4, p. 58. ( 3) Uebersichts-Tafeln zur Statistik der oesterreichisechen Monarchie (Special Reprint of Fascicle X and XI of Statistische Mittheilungen, Vienna: 1850), 1. ( 4) ZWITTER, op. cit., 216, 219. ( 5) George FASEL, Europe in Upheaval: The Revolutions of 1848 (Chicago: 1970), 4. ( 6) Johann SPRINGER, Statistik des oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, Vol. 1 (Vienna: 1840), 98. ( 7) Slovenska jar: Slovenske povstanie 1848-49, ed. by Jan SLOBODA (Bratislava: 1971), 40 , estimates the Slovak Protestants at one third. ( 8) See the table in ZWITTER, op. cit., 215. �SLOVAKIA 131 ( 9) Bogo GRAFENAUER, Zgodovina slovenskega naroda, Vol. 5 (Ljubljana: 1962), 172. (10) I. KARAMAN, "Ekonomske prilike u vrijeme hrvatskog narodnog preporoda," Kolo, New Series, Vol. 4 (1966), Nos. 8-10, p. 181. (11) K. NOVOTNY and M. MYSKA, eds., Prvni kroky k vitezstvi (Prague: 1966), 10. (12) For the historical development of the ethnic regions of Bohemia, see the map in Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague: 1969), following p. 80. Compare with this the map depicting the industrial development of Bohemia before 1848, in Atlas ceskoslovenskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 17 a. (13) In Croatia as late as 1880 (the earliest year for which accurate statistics are available). 84.64 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture; see Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 4, article "Hrvatska," p. 196. For the Slovenes, the estimate for the middle of the nineteenth century is 89 percent; see article "Slovenija," EnciklopedijaJugoslavije, Vol. 7,353. Much the same picture emerges for the Slovaks, from Slovenskajar, op. cit. 34. (14) See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., 154. (15) Ibid. (16) J. GODECHOT, Les Revolutions de 1848 (Paris: 1971), 90. (17) L. KARNlKOVA, Vyvoj obyvatelstva v ceskych zemich 1754-1914 (Prague: 1965), 105. (18) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. (19) F. SISlC, HrvatskaPovijest, Vol. 3 (Zagreb: 1913), 7. (20) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. I. CHURKINA, "O nekotorykh osobennostiakh formirovaniia slovenskoi natsii, '' Sovetskoe slavianovedenie, No. 2, 1968, p . 16. (21) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3 Dejiny Slovenska, ed. by L. HOLOTIK, Vol. 1 (Bratislava: 1961), 435. - For the overall economic trends in Eastern Europe, see I. T. BEREND and G. RAN KI, Economic Development in East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries (translation from the Hungarian) (New York and London: 1974). (22) In 1850, the ethnic composition of the population of Bratislava was as follows: Germans 70.6 percent, Jews 12.9 percent, Slovaks 10.09 percent, Magyars 6.18 percent, others 0.23 percent. See I. HOUDEK, "Bratislava v revolucnych rokoch 1848-1849." Acta Musei Civitatis Bratislavensis: Bratislava, Vol. 5 (1969), 169. (23) No reliable ethnic statistics exist for these three cities for the middle of the nineteenth century and the available estimates differ so widely that it is unprofitable to reproduce them here. As a rule, German historians claim a larger share of German inhabitants for each city than do the Slavic historians. (24) KARNlKOVA, op. cit., 105. (25) J. JANACEK, ed., Dejiny Prahy (Prague: 1964), 432-433. (26) I. I. LESHCHILOVSKAIA, Illirizm (Moscow: 1968), 94. (27) Quoted in R. A. AVERBUKH, Revoliutsiia i natsionalno-osvoboditelnaia borba v Vengrii 1848-1849 (Moscow: 1965), 5. (28) "Social Movements," in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 14, p. 441. (29) Prehled ceskoslovenskych dejin, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1958), 688. (30) J. RAVLIC, Matica Hrvatska 1842-1962 (Zagreb: 1963), 40. (31) D. RAP ANT, Tatrin (Martin, 1950), 11-12. For the patriotic societies of the various Slavic groups, see S. B. KIMBALL, The Austro-Slav Revival: A Study of Nineteenth- �132 SLOVAKIA Century Literary Foundations, in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, LXIII, Part 4 (Philadelphia: 1973). (32) The number of members of the Czech Foundation grew from 35 in 1832 to over 500 in 1839, to 2329 in 1847; see Prehled teskoswvenskych dejin op. cit., 688. Tatrin expanded from 23 in 1844 to 80 in 1847; see RAPANT, op. cit., 12, who says that the membership lists were not always accurate. The Croatian Foundation expanded from 158 members in 1842 to 300 in 1844 (figures for the later pre-March years are not available): see RA VLlC, op. cit., 34, 40. (33) J. BLEIWEIS, Zgodovina C. K. krajnske kmetijske druibe (Ljubljana: 1855), 11. (34) M. HROCH, Die Vorkiimpfer der nationalen Bewegung bei den Kleinen Voelkem Europas (Prague: 1968), 44. The percentages refer to the situation as it was in 1847. (35) I have computed these percentages from a membership list containing occupational data, as reproduced in RA VLlC, op. cit., 260-263. The Croatian Foundation was a successor to the so-called Illyrian Reading Room and the above list gives the names of members, 217 in all, of that reading room, for the year 1838-1839. It is the only extant list that contains occupational data and can give us an indication of the social structure of the Croatian Foundation. (36) Computed from a list given in RAP ANT , op. cit., 12. (37) In 1847 the total number of subscribers was 1522 of whom 230 were peasants and 689 clergymen. See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., Vol. 5, 165. (38) J . APIH, "Die Slovenen und die Miirzbewegung von 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch , XIV (1890), 93. (39) See Notes 34, 35, 36. (40) On the role of the nobility in the Croatian nationalist movement, see LESHCHILOVSKAIA, op. cit., 72-75. (41) RAPANT, op. cit., 12. I have supplemented Rapant's data with those found M. SLAVIK, ed. , Swvenski narodovci do 30. okt6bra 1918 (Trencin: 1945), Ch. ill. For a basic monograph on the early stages of the Slovak nationalist movement, see J. BUTVIN, Slovenske narodno-zjednocovacie hnutie 1780-1848 (Bratislava, 1965). A new quantifying study of the Slovak pre-1848 patriotic intelligentsia is J. HUCKO Socialne sloienie a povod slovenskej obrodenskej inteligencie (Bratislava: 1974). This volume had not reached me at the time this study was completed. (42) A. D. SMITH, Theories of Nationalism (London: 1971), 87 . One of the most influential exponents of the communications theory of nationalism is K. W . DEUTSCH. Nationalism and Social Communication (second edition, Cambridge, Mass ., 1966) . Deutsch inspired the Czech historian HROCH whose work (Note 34) is an important study comparing the origin of certain West and East (including Czech and Slovak) European nationalist movements. (43) M. N. KUZMIN , Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekhoslovakii (Moscow: 1971), 89, 159. (44) One of the leading members of the Czech nationalist movement of the time says of Havlicek and several other Czech nationalists that they spoke Czech "extremely unclearly": quoted in E. BASS, Cteni o roce osmoctyricatem, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1940), 208. For a similar situation among the Slovenes , see F. GESTRIN and V. MELIK, Swvenska zgodovina od konca osemnajstego stoletja do 1918 (Ljubljana: 1968), 83, 88. (45) They were: the Czech Praiske Noviny which began to appear in 1825 but assumed a militant nationalist posture only under the editorship of Karel Havlicek who took it over in 1845-46; the Slovene Novice, founded in 1843; the Croatian Novine Hrvatske (1835); and the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini (1845). (46) The Slovak newspaper had a circulation of about 500 in the year in which it was launched: see Stur 's letter of September 6, 1845, as printed in Listy Eudovita Stura. Vol. II, ed. by J. AMBRUS (Bratislava: 1956), 94. Subsequent complaints by Stur �SLOVAKIA 133 about circulation indicate that it failed to grow; indeed, for a time at least, it appears to have slipped slightly; see Stur' s letter of August 3, 1846, in Listy, Vol. II, as cited, p. 143. (47) The circulation figures for the Czech newspaper are given by Havlicek in an article published by him on December 28, 1849, and reproduced in Z. V. TOBOLKA , ed. , Karel Havlitek Borovski; Politicke Spisy, Vol. II. Pt. 2 (Prague, 1902) , 875. For a recent article on Havlicek, see B. K. KIMMEL, "Karel Havlicek and the Czech Press before 1848," in P . BROCK and H . Gordon SKILIJNG, eds., The Czech Renascence of the Nineteenth Century (Toronto: 1970) . The Croatian newspaper was printed in 750 copies in the year of its first appearance (1835). This dipped to 400 in 1837 but then began to rise again steadily until the circulation reached 800 in 1848; see J. HORVAT, Povijest novinstva Hrvatske 17711939 (Zagreb : 1962), 123, 133 . The Slovene newspaper started with a run of 1,000 in 1843 and rose to 1,800 by 1848; see J . SLEBINGER, Slovenski tasniki i tasopisi: Bibliografski pregled od 1797-1936 (Ljubljana: 1937), 5. (48) M. LAISKE , Casopisectvi v Cechach 1650-1847 (Prague: 1959), 162, for the pre1848 figure . For the 1848 figure, see F. ROUBIK , Casopisectvo v Cechach v letech 1848-1862 (Prague, 1930). Appendix No . 9 (this for Bohemia) and M. WURMOVA, Soupis moravskych novin a tasopisu z let 1848-1918 (Brno: 1955), 4 (for Moravia) . (49) I. HERGESIC , Hrvatske novine i tasopisi do 1848 (Zagreb : 1936) , 102-103 . (50) M . POTEMRA , Bibliografia slovenskych novin a tasopisov do roku 1918 (Martin: 1958), 117. (51) SLEBINGER, op. cit., 5-7 . (52) For the meeting in Prague, see my Czech Revolution of 1848 (Chapel Hill: 1969), Chpt. 2. For the meeting in Zagreb, see R. HORVAT , Najnovije doba hrvatske povjesti (Zagreb : 1906), 112-113. (53) For the circumstances surrounding the formulation of the Slovene programs , see F. ZWITTER, "Slovenski politicni prerod XIX, stoletja v okviru evropske nacionalne problematike ," Zgodovinski Casopis, Vol. 18 (1964), 110-111. See also I. B. CHURKINA , " Politicheskaia programma Matii Maiara v 1848 godu," Sovetskoe Slavianovedenie 1969, No . 5. (54) J . BUTVIN and J . HA VRANEK, Dejiny Ceskoslovenska (Prague: 1968) , 220-221. (55) A list of members of the National Committee, with occupational data, is found Narodni Noviny, 14 April, 1848. The role of this committee is discussed in PECH, op. cit., 76-79, 115-121. (56) The Slavic Linden executive in Prague had 50 members. Their names, with incomplete occupational data, are printed in Noviny Lipy Slovanske , 11 April, 1849. I was able to identify the occupations of 42 of the members; of these 33 belonged to the inte lligentsia , 6 were merchants , 2 were liberal nobles, and one was a liberal Protestant clergyman . (57) See my "Czech Political Parties in 1848," Canadian Slavonic Papers-Revue canadiene des slavistes XV (1973) , 484-485 . For a map showing the geographic distribution of the branches, see Atlas teskoslovanskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 19j . (58) Thus , in one branch in a city , only one member out of 150 enjoyed the status of " burgher." In another, a majority were "poor artisans ," still another consisted largely of " cottagers and poor agricultural workers ." See Narodni Noviny 30 December , 1848 which contains an account of the congress of Slavic Linden branches held in Prague . This account offers some fragmentary data on the occupations of members of a few individual branches . (59) See " Slovenska Lipa ," Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, 220-221. �134 SLOVAKIA (60) The Slavic Linden in Zagreb had 80-90 members : Noviny Lipy Slo vans ke, 20 January , 1849. The other major branch, Zadar, is said to have had 200 members ; see V. ZACEK , " Ceske a jihoslovanske Slovanske lipy v roce 1848, " Lite r<irni Archiv Vl (1971) , 227 . (61) J. MAL, " Ljubljana in leto 1848 ," Glasnik Muzejskega Dru~tva za Slovenijo XIV (1933) , 123. See also, J . APIH , Slovenci in 1848 le to (Ljubljana: 1888), 133 . (62) BUTVIN-HAVRANEK , op. cit., 221. (63) Of the four Slovak members who sat on a special 7-man council formed in the fall of 1848 to conduct resistance to Magyar authorities on Slovak territory, 3 were Protestant clergymen ; F . BOKES, " Slovenska narodna rada z rokov 1848-1849," Historicky Casopis xm (1965) , 214 . (64) PECH , Czech Revolution, 104, 167. (65) J . HORVAT, Politii!ka povijest Hrvatske (Zagreb : 1936) , 176. (66) J. APIH, " Die slovenische Bewegung im Fruhjahr und Vorsommer 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch, XVI (1892); 201. (67) ZWITTER , " Slovenski politicni . .. " 128. (68) D. RAPANT, Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 1 Pt. 1 (Martin : 1937) , 212. (69) See Note 37 . (70) The Croatian one, entitled Prijatelj Puka, appeared in Zagreb as a weekly supplement of Slavenski Jug. from 9 August to 29 November, 1848 ; see ''Slavenski Jug,' ' Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, p. 221. The Czech one was Sedlsk e Noviny, published in Prague between 1 April, 1849 and 30 June, 1849. It is now available in J.J. TYi, Spisy, XIV, ed . by F. STREJCEK and H . HRZALOVA (Prague : 1953). (71) " Noviny pre hospodarstvo , remeslo a domaci zivot ," published from 5 April, 1848 to 27 September, 1848 ; see F . RUTTKAY, Daniel G. Lichard a slovenske novin<irstvo jeho doby (Martin : 1961) , 81 ff . (72) The influence of Havlicek on the peasants was striking. He advised them how to vote and what type of deputies to choose and they followed his advice quite readily; see PECH, Czech R evolution, 105, 284. (73) Ibid. , 258 . (74) L. VON GOGOLAK , Beitriige zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes , Vol. 2: Die slowakische nationale Fragen der Reformepoche Ungarns 1790-1848 (Munich: 1969) , 263. (75) D. RAP ANT , Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 11 Pt. 1 (Martin: 1950), 344 . According to Rapant, Slovak national consciousness was the most highly developed in the Turcian County; RAPANT , op. cit., Vol. ill, Pt. 1 (1956), 351. This was also a region in which the Protestants were especially strong. (76) N<irodni Noviny, 31 May, 1848, article by Hurban . (77) See the map in Atlas i!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague : 1965), No. 19f; this is an ingenious map comparing the speed of travel in the Czech and Slovak regions in the year 1827. (78) POTEMRA , op. cit., 117. (79) SLEBINGER , op. cit., 5-7 . (80) HERGESIC, op. cit., 102-103. (81) ROUBlK , op. cit., Appendix 6 and 9. (82) R. BICANIC , Doba manufakture u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji 1750-1860 (Zagreb, 1951), 344. �SLOVAKIA 135 (83) See the map in Skolni atlas t!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague, 1959), No. 25. (84) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague, 1969), 93. (85) Ibid., 104. The first railroad came to Slovakia in the latter part of 1848. (86) GESTRIN-MELIK, op. cit., 50. (87) R. PAVLOVCIC, Zgodovinski atlas Slovenije (Buenos Aires, 1960), No. 69. Also GESTRIN-MELIK , op. cit., 103. (88) GODECHOT . op. cit. , 103. (89) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, op. cit., 104. (90) The circulation of the Slovene Novice in 1848 was 1,800 copies which yields a ratio of one copy for 556 people . The circulation of the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini may be assumed to have been 500 copies in 1848 which yields a ratio of one copy for 3 ,400 people.For the circulation figures, see Notes 46 and 47. (91) I have attempted to compare the ideology of the press of the four nationalities in S. Z. PECH, " The Press of the Habsburg Slavs in 1848: Contribution to a Political Profile ," Canadian Journal of History-Anna/es canadiennes d'histoire, X (1975): 3549 . However, I did not attempt to relate the ideology to the social structure of the elites . � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 113 The Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile STANLEY Z. PECH The year 1848 was unlike any other in the long and arduous saga of the Austrian Slavs. It was a year when the Austrian Slavs, like the rest of Europe, passed through a major social and political upheaval. However, the year held for them a very special significance: in 1848 they first emerged as fledgling nations, from the backwater of Europe to stake out a claim for themselves as rightful members of the European family. As William H. Stiles, the United States charge d'affaires in Vienna at the time put it: " Previous to that period," the Austrian Slavs possessed "no proper individuality , their political nationality was unacknowledged, and for centuries, consequently, they exercised no influence in the political councils of Europe. The storms of 1848 and 1849 raised them to consideration, and even power. " (1) In recent years, Western historians have been diligent enough in providing the Western reader with the essential facts concerning the revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Slavic realm. There is indeed ample material for a good copy: the fever of the March Days, the clashes and recriminations between Germans and Slavs, the Magyars and Slavs; the fervent preachments of the highpriests of the various Slavic nationalisms; the Slavic Congress in Prague flaring up into an uprising and aborted by the artillery of General Windischgratz. These are the high points of the revolutions essential to an understanding of the events of that year. However, this understanding now needs to be broadened and refined in the light of new techniques and methodologies developed in the West. There is need for a structural analysis of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848. There is an added potential benefit to be derived from cross-national comparisons to which these movements lend themselves. The present account seeks to construct a social profile of the Slavic nationalist movements of 1848 and to analyze and compare their strength. I In the mid-nineteenth century, the Austrian Empire counted seven Slavic nationalities in its multi-ethnic structure: Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Poles, and Ukrainians. The last three will not Reprinted with permission from Histoire Sociale-Social History (Ottawa), Vol. 9, November 1976. 114 SLOVAKIA be treated here. For them the Austrian Empire was not the principal homeland: a majority of Ukrainians and Poles lived under Russia (a number of Poles also lived under Prussia), and a majority of Serbs under Turkey. This makes comparisons involving them problematical. Czechs , Slovaks , Slovenes , and Croats, on the other hand, were not so divided; they had no " home " other than the Austrian Empire. Their basic comparability derives from the following: 1) they experienced a revolution in 1848 ; 2) they lived under the same empire; 3) they were Slavic and shared the status of "subject" nationalities living under " alien " rule: the Czechs and the Slovenes under the Austro-Germans in the western half of the empire, and the Slovaks and the Croats under the Magyars in the eastern half of the empire; 4) they were passing through early stages of national awakening. The largest of the four national groups were the Czechs who numbered, in the middle of the nineteenth century, approximately 4 million. The number of Slovaks in the same period was 1. 7 million, that of the Croats 1.6 million, and that of the Slovenes a little over 1 million. (2) The total population of the Austrian Empire is estimated to have been 37 million ,(3) with the Austro-Germans the largest nationality (over 7 million) and the Magyars the second largest (4 .5 million) .(4) The revolutionary stresses that brought on the upheaval in 1848 had been accentuated by the demographic pressures of the halfcentury preceding the upheaval. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century , the population of the empire had been increasing steadily by 1850 the increase had amounted to one third as against the year 1800, a rate comparable to the other large states of Western Europe.(5) While it is difficult to separate the growth rates for the different peoples of the empire , this much can be hypothesized from the evidence: the rate of growth of the Slavs was greater than that of the non-Slavs.(6) In religious affiliation, Czechs , Slovenes, and Croats were at least 95 percent Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism was also dominant among the Slovaks but there it was confronted with a numerically strong Protestant population (between 25 percent and 30 percent) . (7) The fact that the four nationalities being surveyed here had evolved through centuries as "subject" nationalities imparted to their social structures certain distinctive features - features that set them apart from W estem Europe and left a special mark on their development as modernizing societies. The West European model, with France and Germany as a typical example, exhibited a social structure that was unencumbered (small exceptions aside) by the complicating presence of a different nationality: peasants, nobles, workers, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, priests, bishops, all spoke the same language and belonged to the same nationality. This comfortable ethnic homogeneity was lacking among most of the Austrian Slavs. To generalize: the four nationalities had an "incomplete" social structure; the lower portions SLOVAKIA 115 of their social pyramid were Slavic while the upper portions were filled with members of the ruling nationality . How did the socio-ethnic edifice look in the specific cases? In the western half of the empire, the Czechs and the Slovenes each had their own peasantry, working class, artisanate, shopkeeper class, intelligentsia, lower clergy and lower bureaucracy. At the same time, their complementing higher classes, the nobility, the entrepreneurs and the higher bureaucracy, were German. The one point of difference between the Czechs and the Slovenes concerned the ecclesiastical hierarchy: in the Czech regions the hierarchy was entirely German whereas in the Slovene regions an influential segment of it was Slovene . This difference explains , in part, the divergent religious attitudes of the two peoples during the next century: the Czechs tended to embrace religious scepticism whereas the Slovenes evinced a vigorous religious spirit and lent strong support to movements of political Catholicism. In the eastern half of the empire, the structure was more complicated. The Slovaks occupied the lower portions of the social pyramid, but the upper portions included, besides the Germans , also the Magyars. The Croats, on the other hand , held a position significantly different from the other three national groups . Of the four nationalities , they alone retained, in part, their own governing class: a segment of the nobility, of higher clergy and of higher bureaucracy in Croatia belonged to the Croatian nationality; the remaining segment was Magyar (or Magyar-oriented Croat) or German. The fact that the Croats retained a substantial foothold in the governing class gave them an advantage not enjoyed by the other three national groups: in the pre-industrial age when the nobility alone counted as a political class , they had at all times a political voice . They had never been reduced to a mere '' nation of peasants.' ' In that sense, they were the only one of the four groups that approximated the West European model of social development. The Austrian Empire was not only a labyrinth of seemingly disarrayed social and ethnic parts. It also was a bewildering conglomerate of provinces and administrative divisions that disarrayed the ethnic parts still further. The existing administrative system had taken shape during the pre-nationalist age and bore no relationship to ethnic boundaries. As a result, not only did some nationality sometimes inhabit two or more provinces but if often shared each such province with a different nationality. Little useful purpose would be served by listing all the administrative divisions with their particular ethnic mosaics. Suffice it to say that for each nationality, one province usually stood out as a core of nationalist activism and attention will be focused on these. For the Czechs, this was the province of Bohemia which the Czechs shared with the Germans, the Czech-German ethnic ratio being 60 percent to 40 percent.(8) For the Slovenes, it was Carniola which was over 90 percent _S lovene, the Germans making up the balance.(9) For 116 SLOVAKIA the Croats, it was Croatia (full name "Croatia-Slavonia") in which the Slavs comprised over 95 percent of the population (two thirds of which were Croats and one third Serbs) while the ruling Magyars and Germans together did not exceed 2 percent; certain other small groups accounted for the remainder. (10) Croatia, it should be stressed, possessed a number of self-governing institutions in which the Croatian nobility, clergy and bureaucracy wielded considerable influence which helped cushion the German-Magyar rule. It even had an army which though subordinated directly to the emperor, was nevertheless an important symbol of Croatian national identity. In short, these social and institutional paraphernalia provided the Croats with defenses and opportunities not available to the other Slavs. This made it possible for them, in the course of 1848, to wrest political control entirely from the Magyars and Germans and erect what amounted to their own state with its own government that recognized only the authority of the emperor in Vienna. None of the other three nationalities came close to generating this type of institutional power. In this connection, it may be noted that the people who exercised the least power from the institutional point of view were the Slovaks. They had been totally submerged through centuries in the existing Hungarian system of counties and no part of the Slovak territory enjoyed the status of a province. The Slovak territory was reasonably compact in ethnic terms but had no institutional support to lend it distinctiveness and distinguish it from the other areas of Hungary. This made the Slovaks the most vulnerable and the least visible of the four peoples. After the Congress of Vienna, the Austrian Empire entered upon the first stages of industrialization . There were, however, marked regional disparities in the tempo with which industrialization proceeded , with the western half of the monarchy moving ahead more rapidly than the eastern half. Among the Slavic peoples, by the middle of the nineteenth century, only the Czechs had made significant advances along the road of modernization . By 1857 , the agrarian sector in Bohemia had been reduced to the point where only some 55 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture .(11) The above figure applies to all of Bohemia (both to its Czech and Germanspeaking areas) ; and it is not possible to say exactly what it would be for the Czech inhabitants specifically. However, it is known that the German-speaking areas of Bohemia were by far the more industrialized( 12) and this would justify revising the figure, as applied to the Czechs, upward: 65 percent to 70 percent seems a more realistic estimate. At this same time, the agrarian sector in the three other Austro-Slavic regions continued to employ 90 percent or more of the economically active population.(13) The economic growth was reflected in the expansion of the urban population, with similar regional disparities prevailing in the degree or urbanization attained. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the proportion of the urban SLOVAKIA 117 population in Bohemia was just under 20 percent;(14) for the Czechspeaking population of Bohemia this figure would have to be revised downward to some extent, perhaps to 15 percent. The Slovenes had at this time an urban population of 4 percent(15) while for the Slovaks and the Croats the figure was even less. (France had then an urban population of 26 percent and Germany 35 percent.)(16) ThE: major cities were few and not even their rapid expansion during the first half of the nineteenth century - some cities doubled in size during this period had produced many large urban centers by West European standards. The largest one was Prague, the most populous Czech city and the capital of Bohemia. With a population of 118,000 in the middle of the nineteenth century (77 ,000 in 1800), (17) it was the only city in the four ethnic regions to attain the 100,000 mark, an achievement placing it in a class with the major cities of Western Europe. The largest Croatian city was Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, with a population of 15,000(18) (8,000 at the beginning of the century)(19) and the largest Slovene city was Ljubljana (Laibach), the capital of Carniola, with a population of 17,000 (it was half this size in 1817). (20) The biggest city in what is today the Slovak region was Bratislava (Pressburg) which had a population, in 1848, of 40,000 (in 1805 it had been just under 22,000).(21) However, Bratislava was then not a Slovak city in any meaningful sense of the term; the majority of its inhabitants were German and it was not the scene of any mass Slovak nationalist activity in 1848.(22) The case of Bratislava was far from unique: many cities and towns throughout the Slavic regions of the Austrian Empire contained a large number of Germans, and sizeable German minorities were to be found in Prague. Ljubljana and Zagreb.(23) Economic power in the cities and indeed throughout the monarchy was largely in the hands of Germans and German Jews. Germans typically constituted the urban elite which controlled municipal administrations and in general exercised a decisive influence over the Slavic substratum. The demographic development of Prague, as the largest metropolis, deserves a special comment. Although the city grew more or less steadily after the year 1800, the really important demographic transformation was not the growth itself, but the increasing proportion of newcomers who moved into the city from the surrounding countryside. In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the proportion of these newcomers remained relatively stable - hovering near 6 percent of the total population. A change set in during the 1820s: the proportion of newcomers began to increase markedly, from 6.3 percent in 1818, to 15 percent in 1826, to 36.3 percent in 1834, and finally to 48.9 percent in 1850.(24) This meant that by the middle of the century nearly one half of the Prague population consisted of people who had severed their previous roots and come to the city in search of a new life. The mass of newcomers was Czech. They found work in the new textile and machine industries founded during the 1830s and 118 SLOVAKIA 1840s, and in other forms of employment. Textile workers, about a thousand strong, became the largest distinctive group of the labor force in the capital city. Their rioting in 1844 announced the advent of an industrial age in Bohemia and attracted the attention of Europe, its effect reinforced by the rioting at almost the same time of Prague workers employed on the construction of a new railway.(25) One of the consequences of the influx of newcomers was to augment the Czechspeaking substratum in a city governed by the German elite. All this provided a setting calculated to raise the social and political fever of the capital city and goes far toward explaining the intensity of the upheaval that swept Prague during 1848. The other three cities mentioned above were drawn less precipitously into the vortex of social and economic change. Zagreb may serve as an example of a city standing at the opposite pole of the socio-economic spectrum from Prague. Although its size had almost doubled in the half-century before 1848, the city had not acquired an industrial face in the process. In 1808, nearly 40 percent of its population consisted of nobles and clergy (! ) and by 1848 these two groups, along with the intelligentsia, still accounted for one half of the total number of inhabitants.(26) City life in Zagreb, and in the eastern half of the empire as a whole, retained essentially a pre-industrial character as late as 1848. What passed for a town in the eastern half of the empire was different from what it was understood to be in the western half and in Western Europe. As one contemporary observer described the town scene in the eastern half of the empire just on the eve of 1848: not only the small towns but also the larger cities there '' consisted of nothing but settlements of ploughmen, vine growers, and shepherds in which respect they did not differ at all from the villages .'' (27) It is startling to realize that at the time of the outbreak of the 1848 revolution, Croatia - and also Slovakia - had not yet acquired a single mile of railroad. II How strong were the nationalist movements to which these structures gave rise and which broke into the open during the years 1848-1849, complete with leaders and programs? The nationalist movements of 1848 were the culminating point of the preceding halfcentury of "national awakening." This development had of course proceeded at a different pace in the case of the various peoples and by 1848 each movement ·had attained a different level of strength. How can this strength be measured? How did the movements compare in their ability to mobilize supporters? It is generally agreed that to be effective a movement requires '' some kind of organization that enables certain persons to act as authorized spokesmen and representatives. This can take the form of committees, clubs, labor unions, or political parties.'' (28) Such clubs consist of individuals with the highest degree SLOVAKIA 119 of commitment to a movement's objectives. In our context, organizations with such a commitment were the pre-March patriotic societies that had come into being during the 1830s and 1840s. The Czechs, the Croats and the Slovaks each had one such society: they were, respectively, the Czech Foundation (Ceska Matice, founded in 1832), the Croatian Foundation (Matica Hrvatska, 1842) and the Slovak Tatrin (1844). These were nationalist societies comprising the highest echelon of nationalist elites. Although independent of each other, they had similar organizational structures and pursued identical objectives: to promote the native language and culture, and to foster the publication of books and newspapers in that language . With this comparability in mind, we can use the numerical strength of these societies as a comparative index of the strength with which the three nationalist movements entered upon the year 1848. On the eve of 1848, the Czech Foundation had a membership of 2329 (for the year 1847),(29) the Croatian Foundation 300(30) (for 1844, the last pre-1848 year available) and Tatrin 80 (1847).(31) Measured against the total population of each nationality as given earlier, this yields the ratio of 5.8 per 10,000 for the Czech national movement, 1.9 per 10,000 for the Croatian, and a low 0.5 per 10,000 for the Slovak. It may be added that the membership in all three societies was growing.(32) Evidently, the nationalist movements had acquired a momentum of their own, adding their weight to the forces that precipitated the collapse of absolutism in March 1848. The revolutions of 1848 may not have been inevitable but the forces that produced them had been unmistakably at work. The Slovenes lacked a patriotic society before 1848 and consequently we cannot measure the strength of the Slovene movement on a basis strictly comparable with the other three. It may be assumed, however, that the absence of a patriotic society is itself evidence of a sort: it suggests the existence of a less developed nationalist movement. Nevertheless, the Slovenes were not without visible manifestations of progress on the nationalist front. Their patriots established a foothold in the Agricultural Society of Camiola, an organization of long standing. This was not a Slovene patriotic society for it counted both Germans and Slovenes among its members and its avowed purpose was improvement of agriculture, not promotion of Slovene nationalism. However, in 1842 the society appointed a moderate, Dr. Janez Bleiweis, as its new secretary, and under him Slovene nationalist forces found elbow room within the society's framework. The success of the first modem Slovene newspaper, Novice, which Bleiweis launched in 1843 under the auspices of the society, afforded proof that Slovene nationalism was on the rise. (33) Still, the absence of a genuine patriotic society was a serious drawback; it meant that the Slovene elite entered upon the year 1848 with little organizational contact, strength and experience. In this it resembled the Slovak elite whose Tatrin offered too feeble a basis when the need 120 SLOVAKIA for action arose . The Slovene and the Slovak elites were the weaker members in the group, the Czech and the Croatian ones the stronger. This distribution of pre-1848 strength corresponds, in fact, very closely to the performance of these nationalist movements during the year 1848. What about the social hue of the elites? The membership rosters of the three patriotic societies contain occupational data that permit us to make cross-national comparisons. For the Slovenes, we must again resort to substitute material which furnishes a basis for an informed estimate. Surveying all four elites, one can perceive two social groups playing a dominant role: the intelligentsia and the lower clergy. The intelligentsia, as defined here, includes teachers, officials, writers, students, and professionals. The term clergy refers to both Roman Catholic and Protestant clergymen. The latter were numerically strong only in the Slovak elite. In the other three elites, the clergy was, with few exceptions, Roman Catholic. While it is true that the intelligentsia and the clergy were prominent in all four elites, their weight varied from case to case. From the material at our disposal it is evident that the intelligentsia had a larger share in the Czech and Croatian elites, while the clergy had a larger share in the Slovene and Slovak elites. The proportion of the intelligentsia and the clergy in the three patriotic societies was, respectively: 54 percent and 29 percent in the Czech.(34) 52 percent and 20 percent in the Croatian(35) and 30 percent and 59 percent in the Slovak society.(36) It is noteworthy that businessmen and other groups ranked after the intelligentsia and the clergy. The peasants as might be expected were hardly significant. The dominant role of the clergy in the Slovene elite can be gleaned from the list of subscribers to the abovementioned newspaper Novice. Although Novice was intended to be a peasant newspaper, the peasants constituted only a small minority of its subscribers; nearly half of the subscribers (in 1847) were nationalist clergymen!(37) The influence of the clergy was noted by a Slovene historian of the last century; in relating the origins of the nationalist movement he observed that ''The number of conscious (Slovene) patriots outside the ranks of the clergy was small.'' (38) The role of the nobility was important only in the Croatian elite . Its proportion in the Croatian Foundation was 7 percent, as compared with 1.5 percent in the Czech Foundation and zero in the Slovak Tatrin. (39) There were, to be sure, influential individual nobles active also in the Czech nationalist movement in its earliest stages. However, they were, as a rule , German-speaking "Bohemian patriots" who sympathized with the Czech movement without identifying themselves with the Czech nationalism. They were friendly outsiders "looking in" and withdrew from the movement in proportion as that movement acquired a clearly Czech nationalist stamp. The role of the nobility in the Croatian movement was completely different. Far from being outsiders SLOVAKIA 121 looking in, they were anchored squarely in the very heart of the nationalist movement at all times, helping to give it shape and direction in a manner in which the Czech nobility never did. The Croatian elite , it should be pointed out, had an added feature all of its own; this consisted in a peculiar collaboration between the nobles and the intelligentsia. It was almost routine practice for the Croatian nobles who had the right to sit in pre-1848 county assemblies to allow themselves to be represented by members of the nationalist intelligentsia. (40) This gave the intelligentsia considerable influence over and above its numercial strength , but there was a reverse side to the coin: the intelligentsia fell into a state of dependence upon the nobles to some extent and acted as a conduit for noble influence. A particular reference should be made at this point to the Slovak elite and to the problem that bedeviled the relationship between its members: the religious problem. Perhaps half of the clergymen in the Slovak patriotic society were Protestant (Lutheran), the remainder were Roman Catholic.(41) Protestants, however, had acquired a commanding position during the years preceding 1848. Moreover, Protestants and Catholics were divided not only by religious convictions - which would have been serious enough to jeopardize the movement - but also by different attitudes regarding the conception of Slovak nationhood and literary language . The chasm separating the two religious groups proved difficult to bridge and Roman Catholics treated the Protestant initiatives with the greatest reserve. This was bound to have a damaging effect on Slovak efforts; how damaging, the events of 1848 were to bear out only too painfully. This added to the vulnerability of a nationalist movement that had already been rendered vulnerable on other counts. The Slovaks were the only one of the four nationalities that entered the year 1848 with a seriously disunited elite . The elites as organized in the patriotic societies comprised the most highly committed or mobilized members of the nationalist movements. How did the elites draw the broader strata of the populations into the movement? How did the wider process of social mobilization take place? It is now increasingly recognized that the development of nationalism is related to the role of communications. A group of sociological theories assigns communications a prime place in the process of national awakening. One communications model in fact considers ' 'the role of the intelligentsia ... to be a necessary condition of all nationalist movements, " (42) an observation which appears to receive support from the role the intelligentsia played in the four movements examined here. If one includes the clergy, as some historians do , in the concept of "intelligentsia" (" clerical intelligentsia'' ), then the importance of this social group in the genesis of Austro-Slavic nationalisms becomes overwhelming. In this context literacy was an essential factor contributing to the success of any mobilizing effort mounted by the elites. How did the four 122 SLOVAKIA nationalities rate on this count? Literacy statistics were not compiled in the Austrian Empire at the time we are discussing. In order to obtain a picture, we are obliged to rely on later census data that indicate the literacy of the generation that was born in the 1830s and was of school age in the 1840s. In this generation, the Czechs led the others . Their rate was 84. 75 percent which was nearly three times as much as that of the Slovaks (30.2 percent), the Slovenes (28.62 percent) and the Croats (26. 7 percent) . (43) It is necessary to add that the Slavic populations in general were at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the Austro-Germans when it came to the use of their languages as a medium of instruction in schools. Only in the lower schools was teaching conducted in the language appropriate to the ethnic region. The language of middle and higher schools was German in the western half of the empire and German, Latin or Magyar in the eastern half. In other words, attaining a higher level of education generally compelled the individual concerned to leave the cultural ambience of his native language . The results of this process were often bizarre. For example, the Czech Karel Havlicek and the Slovene Bleiwies, both leading nationalists, were, in the early stages of their nationalist activity, more fluent in German than in their own native language - a situation by no means untypical of Slavic national awakeners.(44) The elites were keenly aware of the efficacy of the printed word as a medium through which they could best transmit their ideas and mobilize the larger non-elite mass; hence the preoccupation of the patriotic societies with publishing. The printed word devised and disseminated nationalist symbols, awakened an interest in the past and created an awareness of shared leaders, thus ultimately engendering a sense of the community of language, culture and history. For maximum effectiveness, the printed word had to have periodicity and this pointed to the importance of the newspaper as a vehicle most suitable for communication. It was a portent of an approaching nationalist storm that the fifteen-year period preceding the revolutions of 1848 saw the foundation of the first modem national and nationalist newspapers in the case of all four nationalities . One such newspaper was founded in each case, under the auspices of or in association with, the patriotic societies.(45) Of the four, only one, the Slovak, remained stationary in circulation during the pre-March period(46) while the other three showed a circulation increase, with the Czech newspaper registering an increase that can only be described as extraordinary, from 200 in 1846 to 1,500 in 1848.(47) The editor of the Czech newspaper was Karel Havlicek , of the Croatian, Ljudevit Gaj, of the Slovak, I.:udovit Stur, and of the Slovene, Dr. Janez Bleiweis. It is interesting to note that the last three men were the principal nationalist leaders of their peoples at the time and are considered the ''fathers' ' of their particular nationalist movements. As for Havlicek, he shared this honor with the Czech historian Frantisek Palacky. Nothing illustrates more tellingly the SLOVAKIA 123 importance of communications to nationalism than the fact that the nationalist editors were the leaders of their national groups. ill In March 1848 absolutism in the Austrian Empire collapsed and this ushered in the "revolutions of 1848," a period of constitutional government that lasted for over a year, until the emperor began to reimpose absolutism in the spring and summer of 1849. Among the most important constitutional innovations introduced by the liberal regime was the abolition of censorship in March 1848. This led to the foundation of new magazines and newspapers, making it possible for the Czech leaders to start a veritable avalanche of the printed word. On the eve of 1848 the Czechs had a total of 13 newspapers and periodicals; after March this number quadrupled, to 52.(48) Elsewhere, the expansion was more modest. In Croatia, the increase was from 5 in 184 7 to 8 in 1848(49) while the corresponding Slovak figures were 6 and 8.(50) The Slovenes, starting from a low base of 1 newspaper in 1847 brought the number up to 6 in 1848.(51) (After the return of the reaction in 1849 the number of newspapers began to drop again to pre1848 levels.) Calculated on a per capita basis, there was, in 1848, one newspaper or magazine for 77,000 Czechs, 167,000 Slovenes, 200,000 Croats and 213,000 Slovaks. Clearly, the Czech elite had at their disposal the most highly developed network of communications - an advantage heightened by the fact that some of their newspapers appeared daily (six times a week) whereas the frequency of the newspapers of the other nationalities was not more than three times a week. The strengths and the handicaps with which each Slavic group had entered upon the revolution became evident in the first days of freedom. The Czechs and the Croats promptly staged mass meetings , (in March in their capital cities) at which nationalist programs were adopted. (52) In the other two ethnic regions, the adoption of nationalist programs was accomplished with less mass support. The Slovenes formulated their nationalist programs in March without the benefit of a single mass meeting - the only Slav group to pass through the revolutionary year without mass demonstrations or rallies in support of nationalist objectives.(53) In Slovakia, the elite was slow in getting off the mark and encountered difficulties in mobilizing public opinion. A full-fledged nationalist program was not adopted until the beginning of May 1848 at a meeting in Liptovsky Svlity Mikulas, but the public presence at this meeting was modest and the program failed to acquire the legitimacy and force sufficient to compel the Magyar authorities to heed it.(54) The opening stages of the revolutionary period demonstrated the advantage of a people having a body of nationalists with organizational experience and mutual contact who would seize the initiatives, and 124 SLOVAKIA quickly and forcefully responded to the challenges of the moment. The pre-1848 patriotic societies consisted of such nationalists. However, accustomed as they had been to more genteel forms of struggle, these societies could not in themselves become the instruments of political activism at a time of revolutionary turbulence, and so new organizations were established to cope with new forms of struggle. The Czechs in Prague created in March a National Committee which served, until its dissolution after the June 1848 uprising in Prague, as a center of Czech nationalist activity throughout Bohemia. Many members of the Czech Foundation became active in the National Committee which counted over a hundred members. In the National Committee, the intelligentsia prevailed, as it had done in the Czech Foundation, with 44 percent of the members belonging to this stratum. However, the proportion of the clergy was drastically reduced in this elite group, to a mere 4 percent, as compared with 29 percent it had had in the Czech Foundation in the last year before the revolution. It appears that the revolution had pushed the clergy into the background. Its place was taken by the bourgeoisie (burghers, artisans, businessmen) whose share in the National Committee was 42 percent.(55) After June 1848 the vacuum created by the demise of the National Committee was filled by the newly founded Slavic Linden (Slovanska Lipa), a nationalist pressure group consciously seeking political change. The Slavic Linden was led by intellectuals and bourgeoisie, with some members of the National Committee passing into its ranks. (56) The clergy played no major role. Politically, the Slavic Linden was somewhat to the left of the National Committee and, unlike the latter, acquired some of the characteristics of a political party: it had its own newspaper, an elected executive, a headquarters (in Prague), and local branches. By the beginning of 1849 it counted 49 branches throughout Bohemia, forming a network reaching into all corners of the province, with a total estimated membership of 2,000.(57) Among rank and file members of the Slavic Linden were peasants and people of the humble stations in life. (58) The Slavic Linden was in fact the only non-elite stratum, showing a widening circle of nationalistically mobilized population. None of the other three nationalities could point to this level of national awakening, and none devised the kind of network through which the nationalists could communicate and operate in an organized fashion. The Croatian nationalist movement operated with instruments essentially different from those employed by the Czechs. The Croatian elite relied less on the spontaneous organs such as the Czech National Committee and more on Croatia's existing institutions of selfgovernment which it revived and re-shaped to suit the new post-March conditions. After March, the Croats acquired their provincial government, the Ban's Council, which managed the affairs of the country throughout 1848-1849. The Croats were the only Slavic group to SLOVAKIA 125 become for the duration of the 1848-1849 revolutionary period , masters in their own house, recognizing the authority of none but the emperor. Their nobility continued to be active and influential in the existing arrangements. The only new non-governmental nationalist political or quasi-political organization to which the elite gave rise in the postMarch period was the Croatian version of the Slavic Linden. It was inspired by but independent of the Czech Slavic Linden. It was founded in Zagreb , was led by moderately left-oriented intellectuals, and acquired a newspaper of its own. However, it was never too active and never succeeded in building a network of branches throughout the Croatian regions. Only one major branch was set up outside of Zagreb.(59) The total membership of the two branches was no more than a few score and the organization never reached into the non-elite strata. (60) The effectiveness and power of the Croatian nationalist movement derived more from the existing institutional structure and the participation of the nobility than from the mobilization of the wider segments of the population. The Slovenes and the Slovaks could offer little to match the Czech and the Croatian examples. Among the Slovenes, the revolution gave rise to the Slovene Society of Ljubljana founded in April 1848 which became the largest and most influential body of Slovene patriots of the revolutionary period . Its slogan was "Everything for Religion, Emperor and Nationality" and doubtless expressed the influence of clergymen who, according to a police report, formed the largest social group within the 400-member society, with the intelligentsia accounting for the rest .(61) The slogan captures the spirit of the society sufficiently to contrast it with the Czech National Committee which was secular minded and in which the clergy had hardly any role to play. At the same time, it deserves to be noted that the thrust of the Society ' s efforts was cultural more than political. It did not become a center of political activity and did not regard itself as much more than a patriotic interest group. The position of the Slovaks was the least satisfactory. At no time after March 1848 did they form anything resembling the Czech National Committee or even the Slovene Society of Ljubljana. As a consequence, their movement was without an organized thrust and without a single direction. Only the political newspaper, the Slouenskje N<irodnjc Nouini continued to function as a voice of Slovak nationalism but it was compelled to suspend publication in June 1848 under Magyar pressure and with its passing, the last channel of communications through which the elite could address itself to the mass had been destroyed. The Slovak people were thus left without a political newspaper for the greater part of the revolutionary era - a handicap to which none of the other three nationalities was subjected. Furth ermore, in June 1848, Magyar authorities declared martial law over much of Slovak territory - charging the Slovak leaders with '' Pan- 126 SLOVAKIA Slavic" subversion and forcing many of them into exile - and this paralyzed the Slovak movement still further.(62) The clergy (Protestant) continued to dominate what was left of the life of the Slovak movement after June. (63 ) The organizational strength of the elites and the degree to which they were able to mobilize the wider segments of the populations were tested at the elections to the various representative assemblies that took place during 1848 - the first such modem elections to be held in the history of the Austrian Empire. Until 1848 , public life in the empire had borne a German or, in the eastern half, German-Magyar character and this was bound to favor German and Magyar candidates in the election contests even in the Slavic-speaking areas . Conversely, success at the polls of the Slavic candidates could be regarded as evidence of a relatively high degree of mobilization among the Slavic electorate. The right to vote was more liberal in the western than in the eastern half of the empire , and even in the former, segments of the lower social classes were excluded. Nevertheless , it must be acknowledged that everywhere a large number of " common" people enjoyed the right to vote and the election results can serve as a rough expression of popular sentiment vis-a-vis the nationalist movements . The elections yielded the following results. In Bohemia, they demonstrated a high degree of responsiveness of voters to the Czech nationalist movement. In the election of the Bohemian diet in J une 1848 the proportion of Czech deputies elected was just over 60 percent (the remainder were Germans) - a figure corresponding closely to the estimated proportion of the Czech population in the province. The election to the Imperial Parliament held in the same month brought similar results, with the Bohemian voters sending to Vienna 55 Czech as against 35 German deputies.(64) In Croatia, the elections to the diet (June 1848) were a clean sweep for the nationalist candidates. This was due , in part , to the militancy of the Croatian authorities who saw to it that only committed to the Croatian cause could stand as candidates. (65) Because of this, the election results are not very meaningful. In the Slovene regions, the electoral behavior of the voters was less affected by nationalist sentiment. The election of the diet of Carniola produced " numerous" Slovene deputies(66) but not nearly the decisive majority the size of the Slovene population of Camiola (90 percent) would warrant. Similarly, only about half of the deputies elected to the Imperial Parliament in ethnically Slovene territory were actually of Slovene orientation ; the other half were German or bilingual without specifically Slovene leanings.(67) Finally, the nationalists in the Slovak regions failed completely: the first modern Hungarian Parliament , elected in June 1848, did not have a single Slovak deputy. This was attributable, in part , to Magyar electoral pressures. But the principal reason was the underdeveloped nationalist sentiment of the Slovak mass . Slovak leaders were themselves not unaware of this and SLOVAKIA 127 fielded only a few candidates . (68) The nationalist leaders realized that much of their effectiveness depended on the success with which they mobilized the support of the largest social group: the peasantry . To achieve this, they experimented with the publication of newspapers written and edited specifically for the peasantry. However, the results of this effort proved disappointing. The only peasant newspaper that proved successful was the Slovene Novice but even in this instance , no more than 15 percent of its subscribers belonged to the class for which it was primarily aimed.(69) Clearly, Novice could maintain itself only because of the support of non-peasant readers , particularly the clergy. Publication of peasant newspapers was tried also by Croatian (Summer 1848) and Czech (Spring 1849) leaders but both ventures failed for lack of reader support. (70) A more technically oriented newspaper was devised and launched for the Slovak peasants but it likewise proved short-lived (1848). (71) These failures have usually been attributed to a lack of national consciousness on the part of the peasantry, and doubtless there is more than a grain of truth in the observation. After all, the peasantry had only just emerged, in 1848, from the last vestiges of serfdom . A large number of peasants was still illiterate and could not be expected to display a degree of political and nationalist commitment of the kind evinced by the elites. Plainly, the peasant's most immediate and active concerns involved his own social problems rather than the problems of nationalism . At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the peasants were the authentic traditional bearers of the national cultures and folklore and it would be implausible to maintain that such traditions had failed to engender varying degrees of national consciousness or even of interest in the nationalist movement. There is, in fact , good evidence to show that although the peasants turned their back on peasant newspapers, many of them followed the great nationalist press, such as the Czech Narodni Noviny (successor, since April 1848 to Praiske Noviny) .(72) It is probable that such newspapers offered them a more direct opportunity of identifying with the nationalist leaders . The quality and intensity of the peasants' commitment to nationalism did not and could not equal that of the elites , but not a few of them were prepared to support the elites in the capacity of followers. However, this differed from one ethnic region to another. Peasant support for the nationalist elites was the most widespread in the Czech regions. The authorities in Bohemia were not oblivious to the support from the peasants the Czech leaders enjoyed; a confidential police report of May 1849 noted that Czech leaders could count on Czech peasants in resisting unpopular government measures.(73) In the other three ethnic regions, the peasantry seemed moblized to a lesser degree , the least , to judge from the election results, in Slovakia. The apathy of the Slovak peasant seemed more marked than that of his Czech, Slovene and Croatian counterparts. Indeed, the Slovak 128 SLOVAKIA movement as a whole was so weak that a brief digression concerning this weakness appears warranted. Certainly , a major weakening factor was religious discord. Although a majority of Slovaks were Roman Catholic, the Protestants occupied the highest rungs of power in the elite and were , for all practical purposes , the moving spirits of the revolution of 1848 in Slovakia - a situation calculated to displease the Roman Catholics. The great triad of the movement, tudovit Stur, M. M . Hodza and J.M. Hurban, were all Protestants , the latter two were practicing Lutheran clergymen. The group that adopted the nationalist program of May 1848 consisted almost entirely of Protestants.(74) At the grass roots, the climate was similar: the areas inhabited by Protestants manifested a more active nationalist sentiment during the revolution than those inhabited by Roman Catholics - hardly a favorable omen in a people that was in majority Roman Catholic. It is not surprising that some Roman Catholic Slovaks regarded the movement of 1848 as a Protestant plot.(75) Furthermore , the Slovaks lacked a major center of national culture and their geographic setting in general hindered rather than aided the growth of communications and the development of nationalism . The river valleys amid the high peaks of the Tatra Mountains had an isolating effect. " We are an unfortunate people," lamented one Slovak leader, ' ' in that we live only in our valleys - isolated from one another, ' ' and contrasted it with the advantage the Czechs possessed in having a centrally located city , Prague , which was " like the heart of the (Czech) body ." (76) The network of roads and postal services and transportation facilities was sparse, much sparser than, for instance , in the Czech regions. It took considerably less time to traverse a distance in Bohemia than it did to traverse the same distance in Slovakia. (77) Bratislava was in 1848 a predominantly German city, on the fringes of Slovak ethnic territory. Although Stur's Slovenske Narodnje No vini was published there, the city was far from dominant in Slovak national life . Of the 8 Slovak newspapers appearing in 1848, only 3 were published in Bratislava. (78) The cultural facilities of the Slovaks were dispersed, with no city standing above the others as undisputed national leader. When it came to a center of national culture, the other three peoples were in a better position. The Slovenes , it is true , faced a hostile geographic environment in their mountainous terrain, but had at least a reasonably active center in the city of Ljubljana, situated in the heart of the Slovene ethnic territory. Of the 6 Slovene newspapers appearing in 1848 , all but one originated in Ljubljana. (79) The position of the Croats and the Czechs was again superior to that of the Slovenes. The Croats had their undisputed capital and nationalist center in Zagreb, with 7 of the existing 8 Croatian newspapers published there , (80) and with all major cultural institutions located there. While the Czechs had the most vigorous national center of all, in Prague, to which not only the Czechs but also most other Austrian Slavs, looked SLOVAKIA 129 for leadership . Of the 41 Czech newspapers published in Bohemia, 33 were appearing in Prague, and they were the ones with the nationwide circulation.(81) Prague was already then becoming the towering symbol of Czech nationalism. To sum up the strength of the Austrian Slavic nationalist movements: the Czechs and the Croats belonged in one category as the stronger pair, while the Slovenes and the Slovaks were the weaker. Within each pair, however, there were marked differences. The Czech movement derived its strength principally from a large popular base , created by more highly developed communications. The Croatian movement had a more restricted popular base but compensated for this by having at is disposal an administrative structure rooted in the traditions of self-government. This, combined with the foothold the movement had in the governing class, the nobility, gave it a readymade leverage of political influence which was denied to the other three nationalities. To formulate it in slightly different language: the strength of the Croatian movement was derived from the traditional social and political features; that of the Czech movement was more clearly associated with the features of modernization. The latter was born in a society that could be described as early industrial, the former in a society that was essentially pre-industrial. A few data will illustrate this. On the eve of 1848, Croatia was without a railroad and with only 4 steam engines operating on its territory.(82) Bohemia (with Moravia) had over 500 kilometers of railroads(83) and some 360 steam engines.(84) For the sake of comparison, it may be noted that at this same time Slovakia was, like Croatia, without a railroad and with only 3 steam engines(85) while Slovenia was more advanced, with 25 steam engines(86) and a stretch of railroad a little under 100 kilometers.(87) (The number of steam engines in Britain then was 30,000 and in France 5,000.(88) Britain had more than 4,000 kilometers of railroad.)(89) The Slovenes and the Slovaks were weaker on several counts . Their nationalist elites were less well organized. The Slovak elite was especially hampered by the Protestant-Catholic differences which constituted a unique element not present in the other three movements. Also, alone of the nationalities being surveyed here, the Slovaks had no institutional forms that would lend their ethnic territory a certain visibility and a possible leverage for political action; and, after June 1848, no political press. Furthermore, the Slovak mass appears to have been the least mobilized into the national movement: the Slovak elite had little impact on the rest of the population. In some of these respects, the Slovenes were in a better position than the Slovaks. They had at least the provincial institutions of Carniola which could be made to serve as an instrument with which to advance the nationalist cause. Their elite was not rent with religious discord. During the year 1848 it succeeded in producing at least a modicum of organizational life (Slovene Society of Ljubljana) and also a political or quasi-political 130 SLOVAKIA press that functioned throughout the 1848-1849 constitutional period. The circulation figures for the Slovene and Slovak newspapers offer unmistakable evidence that the Slovene nationalist movement was reaching a larger proportion of its constituency than the Slovak one.(90) The social and occupational groups that made up the preponderant strain in the nationalist elites were the intelligentsia and the clergy: the former was dominant in the Czech and the Croatian (here linked closely with the nobility) elites, the latter in the Slovene and the Slovak ones. The elites were the ideologues of the nationalist movements, disseminating their views chiefly through the press which they controlled. This suggests some possibilities for future research. It would be desirable to know in what ways the social structure of the elites was reflected in the political ideologies of the nationalist movements.(91) It would be also interesting to discover in what ways the elites helped shape the merging political cultures - the revolutions of 1848 constitute the beginning of modem political life among the peoples of the Austrian Empire - and to what extent this contributed to the enduring pattern of political culture as it crystallized in the coming generations. In our own century, down to the outbreak of World War II, the Czechs gained a reputation for supporting center and left-of-center political movements; the Croats displayed political vagaries but a certain centrist mixture of liberal and conservative seemed to hold the most sway: while among the Slovenes and the Slovaks militant right-wing clericalist movements proved the most dynamic. This pattern seems to mirror, to a considerable extent, the dominant social classes in the nationalist elites as they existed in the middle of the last century. With the present popularity of the study of political cultures, it should not be long before social scientists interested in the Austrian Slavs tum to the middle of the nineteenth century as the time ''when it all began.'' FOOTNOTES 1) W. H. STILLS, Austria in 1848-49 (New York: 1852), 388. ( 2) For the figures for Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes, see the tables in Fran ZWITTER et al., Nacionalni problemi v Habsbudki Monarhiji (Ljubljana: 1962) , 212-219. For Croats, see the article "Hrvati" in EnciklopedijaJugoslavije. Vol. 4, p. 58. ( 3) Uebersichts-Tafeln zur Statistik der oesterreichisechen Monarchie (Special Reprint of Fascicle X and XI of Statistische Mittheilungen, Vienna: 1850), 1. ( 4) ZWITTER, op. cit., 216, 219. ( 5) George FASEL, Europe in Upheaval: The Revolutions of 1848 (Chicago: 1970), 4. ( 6) Johann SPRINGER, Statistik des oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, Vol. 1 (Vienna: 1840), 98. ( 7) Slovenska jar: Slovenske povstanie 1848-49, ed. by Jan SLOBODA (Bratislava: 1971), 40 , estimates the Slovak Protestants at one third. ( 8) See the table in ZWITTER, op. cit., 215. SLOVAKIA 131 ( 9) Bogo GRAFENAUER, Zgodovina slovenskega naroda, Vol. 5 (Ljubljana: 1962), 172. (10) I. KARAMAN, "Ekonomske prilike u vrijeme hrvatskog narodnog preporoda," Kolo, New Series, Vol. 4 (1966), Nos. 8-10, p. 181. (11) K. NOVOTNY and M. MYSKA, eds., Prvni kroky k vitezstvi (Prague: 1966), 10. (12) For the historical development of the ethnic regions of Bohemia, see the map in Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague: 1969), following p. 80. Compare with this the map depicting the industrial development of Bohemia before 1848, in Atlas ceskoslovenskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 17 a. (13) In Croatia as late as 1880 (the earliest year for which accurate statistics are available). 84.64 percent of the population derived their livelihood from agriculture; see Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 4, article "Hrvatska," p. 196. For the Slovenes, the estimate for the middle of the nineteenth century is 89 percent; see article "Slovenija," EnciklopedijaJugoslavije, Vol. 7,353. Much the same picture emerges for the Slovaks, from Slovenskajar, op. cit. 34. (14) See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., 154. (15) Ibid. (16) J. GODECHOT, Les Revolutions de 1848 (Paris: 1971), 90. (17) L. KARNlKOVA, Vyvoj obyvatelstva v ceskych zemich 1754-1914 (Prague: 1965), 105. (18) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. (19) F. SISlC, HrvatskaPovijest, Vol. 3 (Zagreb: 1913), 7. (20) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3. I. CHURKINA, "O nekotorykh osobennostiakh formirovaniia slovenskoi natsii, '' Sovetskoe slavianovedenie, No. 2, 1968, p . 16. (21) Uebersichtstafeln zur Statistik, op. cit., 3 Dejiny Slovenska, ed. by L. HOLOTIK, Vol. 1 (Bratislava: 1961), 435. - For the overall economic trends in Eastern Europe, see I. T. BEREND and G. RAN KI, Economic Development in East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries (translation from the Hungarian) (New York and London: 1974). (22) In 1850, the ethnic composition of the population of Bratislava was as follows: Germans 70.6 percent, Jews 12.9 percent, Slovaks 10.09 percent, Magyars 6.18 percent, others 0.23 percent. See I. HOUDEK, "Bratislava v revolucnych rokoch 1848-1849." Acta Musei Civitatis Bratislavensis: Bratislava, Vol. 5 (1969), 169. (23) No reliable ethnic statistics exist for these three cities for the middle of the nineteenth century and the available estimates differ so widely that it is unprofitable to reproduce them here. As a rule, German historians claim a larger share of German inhabitants for each city than do the Slavic historians. (24) KARNlKOVA, op. cit., 105. (25) J. JANACEK, ed., Dejiny Prahy (Prague: 1964), 432-433. (26) I. I. LESHCHILOVSKAIA, Illirizm (Moscow: 1968), 94. (27) Quoted in R. A. AVERBUKH, Revoliutsiia i natsionalno-osvoboditelnaia borba v Vengrii 1848-1849 (Moscow: 1965), 5. (28) "Social Movements," in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 14, p. 441. (29) Prehled ceskoslovenskych dejin, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1958), 688. (30) J. RAVLIC, Matica Hrvatska 1842-1962 (Zagreb: 1963), 40. (31) D. RAP ANT, Tatrin (Martin, 1950), 11-12. For the patriotic societies of the various Slavic groups, see S. B. KIMBALL, The Austro-Slav Revival: A Study of Nineteenth- 132 SLOVAKIA Century Literary Foundations, in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, LXIII, Part 4 (Philadelphia: 1973). (32) The number of members of the Czech Foundation grew from 35 in 1832 to over 500 in 1839, to 2329 in 1847; see Prehled teskoswvenskych dejin op. cit., 688. Tatrin expanded from 23 in 1844 to 80 in 1847; see RAPANT, op. cit., 12, who says that the membership lists were not always accurate. The Croatian Foundation expanded from 158 members in 1842 to 300 in 1844 (figures for the later pre-March years are not available): see RA VLlC, op. cit., 34, 40. (33) J. BLEIWEIS, Zgodovina C. K. krajnske kmetijske druibe (Ljubljana: 1855), 11. (34) M. HROCH, Die Vorkiimpfer der nationalen Bewegung bei den Kleinen Voelkem Europas (Prague: 1968), 44. The percentages refer to the situation as it was in 1847. (35) I have computed these percentages from a membership list containing occupational data, as reproduced in RA VLlC, op. cit., 260-263. The Croatian Foundation was a successor to the so-called Illyrian Reading Room and the above list gives the names of members, 217 in all, of that reading room, for the year 1838-1839. It is the only extant list that contains occupational data and can give us an indication of the social structure of the Croatian Foundation. (36) Computed from a list given in RAP ANT , op. cit., 12. (37) In 1847 the total number of subscribers was 1522 of whom 230 were peasants and 689 clergymen. See GRAFENAUER, op. cit., Vol. 5, 165. (38) J . APIH, "Die Slovenen und die Miirzbewegung von 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch , XIV (1890), 93. (39) See Notes 34, 35, 36. (40) On the role of the nobility in the Croatian nationalist movement, see LESHCHILOVSKAIA, op. cit., 72-75. (41) RAPANT, op. cit., 12. I have supplemented Rapant's data with those found M. SLAVIK, ed. , Swvenski narodovci do 30. okt6bra 1918 (Trencin: 1945), Ch. ill. For a basic monograph on the early stages of the Slovak nationalist movement, see J. BUTVIN, Slovenske narodno-zjednocovacie hnutie 1780-1848 (Bratislava, 1965). A new quantifying study of the Slovak pre-1848 patriotic intelligentsia is J. HUCKO Socialne sloienie a povod slovenskej obrodenskej inteligencie (Bratislava: 1974). This volume had not reached me at the time this study was completed. (42) A. D. SMITH, Theories of Nationalism (London: 1971), 87 . One of the most influential exponents of the communications theory of nationalism is K. W . DEUTSCH. Nationalism and Social Communication (second edition, Cambridge, Mass ., 1966) . Deutsch inspired the Czech historian HROCH whose work (Note 34) is an important study comparing the origin of certain West and East (including Czech and Slovak) European nationalist movements. (43) M. N. KUZMIN , Shkola i obrazovanie v Chekhoslovakii (Moscow: 1971), 89, 159. (44) One of the leading members of the Czech nationalist movement of the time says of Havlicek and several other Czech nationalists that they spoke Czech "extremely unclearly": quoted in E. BASS, Cteni o roce osmoctyricatem, Vol. 1 (Prague: 1940), 208. For a similar situation among the Slovenes , see F. GESTRIN and V. MELIK, Swvenska zgodovina od konca osemnajstego stoletja do 1918 (Ljubljana: 1968), 83, 88. (45) They were: the Czech Praiske Noviny which began to appear in 1825 but assumed a militant nationalist posture only under the editorship of Karel Havlicek who took it over in 1845-46; the Slovene Novice, founded in 1843; the Croatian Novine Hrvatske (1835); and the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini (1845). (46) The Slovak newspaper had a circulation of about 500 in the year in which it was launched: see Stur 's letter of September 6, 1845, as printed in Listy Eudovita Stura. Vol. II, ed. by J. AMBRUS (Bratislava: 1956), 94. Subsequent complaints by Stur SLOVAKIA 133 about circulation indicate that it failed to grow; indeed, for a time at least, it appears to have slipped slightly; see Stur' s letter of August 3, 1846, in Listy, Vol. II, as cited, p. 143. (47) The circulation figures for the Czech newspaper are given by Havlicek in an article published by him on December 28, 1849, and reproduced in Z. V. TOBOLKA , ed. , Karel Havlitek Borovski; Politicke Spisy, Vol. II. Pt. 2 (Prague, 1902) , 875. For a recent article on Havlicek, see B. K. KIMMEL, "Karel Havlicek and the Czech Press before 1848," in P . BROCK and H . Gordon SKILIJNG, eds., The Czech Renascence of the Nineteenth Century (Toronto: 1970) . The Croatian newspaper was printed in 750 copies in the year of its first appearance (1835). This dipped to 400 in 1837 but then began to rise again steadily until the circulation reached 800 in 1848; see J. HORVAT, Povijest novinstva Hrvatske 17711939 (Zagreb : 1962), 123, 133 . The Slovene newspaper started with a run of 1,000 in 1843 and rose to 1,800 by 1848; see J . SLEBINGER, Slovenski tasniki i tasopisi: Bibliografski pregled od 1797-1936 (Ljubljana: 1937), 5. (48) M. LAISKE , Casopisectvi v Cechach 1650-1847 (Prague: 1959), 162, for the pre1848 figure . For the 1848 figure, see F. ROUBIK , Casopisectvo v Cechach v letech 1848-1862 (Prague, 1930). Appendix No . 9 (this for Bohemia) and M. WURMOVA, Soupis moravskych novin a tasopisu z let 1848-1918 (Brno: 1955), 4 (for Moravia) . (49) I. HERGESIC , Hrvatske novine i tasopisi do 1848 (Zagreb : 1936) , 102-103 . (50) M . POTEMRA , Bibliografia slovenskych novin a tasopisov do roku 1918 (Martin: 1958), 117. (51) SLEBINGER, op. cit., 5-7 . (52) For the meeting in Prague, see my Czech Revolution of 1848 (Chapel Hill: 1969), Chpt. 2. For the meeting in Zagreb, see R. HORVAT , Najnovije doba hrvatske povjesti (Zagreb : 1906), 112-113. (53) For the circumstances surrounding the formulation of the Slovene programs , see F. ZWITTER, "Slovenski politicni prerod XIX, stoletja v okviru evropske nacionalne problematike ," Zgodovinski Casopis, Vol. 18 (1964), 110-111. See also I. B. CHURKINA , " Politicheskaia programma Matii Maiara v 1848 godu," Sovetskoe Slavianovedenie 1969, No . 5. (54) J . BUTVIN and J . HA VRANEK, Dejiny Ceskoslovenska (Prague: 1968) , 220-221. (55) A list of members of the National Committee, with occupational data, is found Narodni Noviny, 14 April, 1848. The role of this committee is discussed in PECH, op. cit., 76-79, 115-121. (56) The Slavic Linden executive in Prague had 50 members. Their names, with incomplete occupational data, are printed in Noviny Lipy Slovanske , 11 April, 1849. I was able to identify the occupations of 42 of the members; of these 33 belonged to the inte lligentsia , 6 were merchants , 2 were liberal nobles, and one was a liberal Protestant clergyman . (57) See my "Czech Political Parties in 1848," Canadian Slavonic Papers-Revue canadiene des slavistes XV (1973) , 484-485 . For a map showing the geographic distribution of the branches, see Atlas teskoslovanskych dejin (Prague: 1965), No. 19j . (58) Thus , in one branch in a city , only one member out of 150 enjoyed the status of " burgher." In another, a majority were "poor artisans ," still another consisted largely of " cottagers and poor agricultural workers ." See Narodni Noviny 30 December , 1848 which contains an account of the congress of Slavic Linden branches held in Prague . This account offers some fragmentary data on the occupations of members of a few individual branches . (59) See " Slovenska Lipa ," Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, 220-221. 134 SLOVAKIA (60) The Slavic Linden in Zagreb had 80-90 members : Noviny Lipy Slo vans ke, 20 January , 1849. The other major branch, Zadar, is said to have had 200 members ; see V. ZACEK , " Ceske a jihoslovanske Slovanske lipy v roce 1848, " Lite r<irni Archiv Vl (1971) , 227 . (61) J. MAL, " Ljubljana in leto 1848 ," Glasnik Muzejskega Dru~tva za Slovenijo XIV (1933) , 123. See also, J . APIH , Slovenci in 1848 le to (Ljubljana: 1888), 133 . (62) BUTVIN-HAVRANEK , op. cit., 221. (63) Of the four Slovak members who sat on a special 7-man council formed in the fall of 1848 to conduct resistance to Magyar authorities on Slovak territory, 3 were Protestant clergymen ; F . BOKES, " Slovenska narodna rada z rokov 1848-1849," Historicky Casopis xm (1965) , 214 . (64) PECH , Czech Revolution, 104, 167. (65) J . HORVAT, Politii!ka povijest Hrvatske (Zagreb : 1936) , 176. (66) J. APIH, " Die slovenische Bewegung im Fruhjahr und Vorsommer 1848," Oesterreichisches Jahrbuch, XVI (1892); 201. (67) ZWITTER , " Slovenski politicni . .. " 128. (68) D. RAPANT, Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 1 Pt. 1 (Martin : 1937) , 212. (69) See Note 37 . (70) The Croatian one, entitled Prijatelj Puka, appeared in Zagreb as a weekly supplement of Slavenski Jug. from 9 August to 29 November, 1848 ; see ''Slavenski Jug,' ' Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, Vol. 7, p. 221. The Czech one was Sedlsk e Noviny, published in Prague between 1 April, 1849 and 30 June, 1849. It is now available in J.J. TYi, Spisy, XIV, ed . by F. STREJCEK and H . HRZALOVA (Prague : 1953). (71) " Noviny pre hospodarstvo , remeslo a domaci zivot ," published from 5 April, 1848 to 27 September, 1848 ; see F . RUTTKAY, Daniel G. Lichard a slovenske novin<irstvo jeho doby (Martin : 1961) , 81 ff . (72) The influence of Havlicek on the peasants was striking. He advised them how to vote and what type of deputies to choose and they followed his advice quite readily; see PECH, Czech R evolution, 105, 284. (73) Ibid. , 258 . (74) L. VON GOGOLAK , Beitriige zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes , Vol. 2: Die slowakische nationale Fragen der Reformepoche Ungarns 1790-1848 (Munich: 1969) , 263. (75) D. RAP ANT , Slovenske povstanie roku 1848-49, Vol. 11 Pt. 1 (Martin: 1950), 344 . According to Rapant, Slovak national consciousness was the most highly developed in the Turcian County; RAPANT , op. cit., Vol. ill, Pt. 1 (1956), 351. This was also a region in which the Protestants were especially strong. (76) N<irodni Noviny, 31 May, 1848, article by Hurban . (77) See the map in Atlas i!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague : 1965), No. 19f; this is an ingenious map comparing the speed of travel in the Czech and Slovak regions in the year 1827. (78) POTEMRA , op. cit., 117. (79) SLEBINGER , op. cit., 5-7 . (80) HERGESIC, op. cit., 102-103. (81) ROUBlK , op. cit., Appendix 6 and 9. (82) R. BICANIC , Doba manufakture u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji 1750-1860 (Zagreb, 1951), 344. SLOVAKIA 135 (83) See the map in Skolni atlas t!eskoslovenskych dejin (Prague, 1959), No. 25. (84) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, Part II, Dejiny, Vol. 2 (Prague, 1969), 93. (85) Ibid., 104. The first railroad came to Slovakia in the latter part of 1848. (86) GESTRIN-MELIK, op. cit., 50. (87) R. PAVLOVCIC, Zgodovinski atlas Slovenije (Buenos Aires, 1960), No. 69. Also GESTRIN-MELIK , op. cit., 103. (88) GODECHOT . op. cit. , 103. (89) Ceskoslovenska vlastiveda, op. cit., 104. (90) The circulation of the Slovene Novice in 1848 was 1,800 copies which yields a ratio of one copy for 556 people . The circulation of the Slovak Slovenskje Narodnje Novini may be assumed to have been 500 copies in 1848 which yields a ratio of one copy for 3 ,400 people.For the circulation figures, see Notes 46 and 47. (91) I have attempted to compare the ideology of the press of the four nationalities in S. Z. PECH, " The Press of the Habsburg Slavs in 1848: Contribution to a Political Profile ," Canadian Journal of History-Anna/es canadiennes d'histoire, X (1975): 3549 . However, I did not attempt to relate the ideology to the social structure of the elites .  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 Nationalist Movements of the Austrian Slavs in 1848: A Comparative Sociological Profile Description An account of the resource Stanley Z. Pech Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977 pp. 113-135 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pech, Stanley Z., 1924-1985 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d21a21880b64960b1f061fe54da171c4.pdf 2196332d20dd317fdc9f4385f9ae7d9c PDF Text Text 136 SLOVAKIA A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society ALEXANDER J. RUDINSKY It is important to talk of Slovakia within the context of the rest of the world and of changing events. As Slovak-Americans we face a complex series of events different from those either of the Slovak or the American people, and yet we experience familiar ties with both. The insights which come from having an affinity towards these two cultures provide a truer picture of our personal and social lives. I remember the halusky s bryndzou we ate on Sunday. I remember the chickens running around the yard. We weren't supposed to keep the gate open for fear they 'd run out. I remember the Kalvaria (Calvary) with medieval statues nestled in a pattern between the trees on the hill. I remember helping plant the garden and being scared by the geese. The buses went everywhere all the time. The cobblestone streets were always being repaired, as were the buildings. I remember much scaffolding on the church. Inside, the scaffolding hid the figures of painted cherubs high on the ceiling; sometimes they would peek out. When we sat in the dark wooden pews Mom would give us each a koruna to put in when the basket came around. In the little town of Banska Stiavnica my thoughts were dreamlike. How much of it was because I was twelve , or because I was in a new land with a new culture, I don't know. I do know, however, there is ·a definite change. I spent half of two years in Slovakia with my Slovak relatives. Life there was more tightly knit. I had a definite place in the public school I went to, in the community of neighbors, and of course, in the family. Since I was a foreigner, especially from America, the place I had in these groups was rather unique. I was looked upon as different and special. But also in many instances, I was looked upon as a member. This is what I cherished. One did not do things without the family, without the community, without loyalty towards those to whom one belonged. The four children in the house, from age twenty to eleven, slept in the same room. We ate together and spent most of our time with other members of the family. The primary social occasion was visiting our second cousins at the end of the street. Walking up the Sitno mountain reminded me of the story told about the Turks who almost conquered that area. Almost. During the seige, the Slovaks at the top of the hill were running drastically short of food. As a gesture to the Turks, they baked a huge loaf of bread and This paper won First Place in the scholarship competition of the Slovak League. �SLOVAKIA 137 rolled it down the mountain into their camp. The Turks were impressed by the pertinacity of the Slovaks, and their seeming store of extra provisions. Soon they abandoned their siege. Living in Czecho-Slovakia gives one a sense of tradition unfelt in America, and quite different from that of Western Europe; a rough and harsh beauty. It is evident in the Tatras and evident in the tale of Janosik. It is also evident on the faces and in the hearts of the people. People from all over talk of the Slovaks as being a "noble" and "exuberant" people. "The Slovaks are generally known as unadulterated peasants and shepherd people, settled in a land of considerable natural beauty. Observers have always known to appreciate their natural handsomeness and dignity as well as the incorruptible honesty of their character. "(l) American Culture The first two years and then later the two months I spent in Slovakia formed one of the most important experiences in my life and education. The rest of the time I have spent in America. The culture here is of a completely different nature. All the while I was growing up like my ·brothers and sisters, I had a room alone. Our society places more importance on the solitary individual as a center of responsibility, rather than on the family or neighborhood. The will of the solitary self which harbors loneliness goes well with the Protestant ethic so predominant in this country. It is difficult to say what American culture is. The facets of life in this country are many. The newly rich WASPS, the oilmen of Texas, the real estaters of Florida, are in direct contrast to the quiet, distinguished WASPS of New England. And the majority of America's people are descendants of recent immigrants who are in varying degrees of WASP assimilation. The constant change we have is a necessity. Whatever America is, it is different from what we or our Slovak predecessors came from. Big cars, large steaks, and mass consumption are in direct contrast with the small Skodas, potatoes, and folk art products. Conflicts For all the talk of truth in America there is a lot of falsehood here. All forms of mass media, especially television, block many realities out. This doesn't make people forget the realities, but they tend not to acknowledge them as much. In all the shows the "good guy" wins, and the ' 'bad guy' ' gets what he deserves, usually a bullet in the back of his head. An incredible amount of violence is just one way of distorting the facts and giving a view of the world that is totaly unrealistic. Possibly a less blatant distortion is the propagation of stereotyped roles. This is not only present in television's dream world, but also in our society. We are all too familiar with the jokes about the Polish, a fad that has �138 SLOVAKIA lowered many conversations. The portrayal of ethnics as being dumb flag-waving fascists is still quite prevalent. This is evident in such slang as " hunky " . Who wants to be associated with that? Rather let's try and match up to the cool American stereotype we always see on television. He is usually quiet and has everything under control. He is usually tough and individualistic. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it. As the saying goes , "He 's cool, calm and collected." These aren't bad traits to have! Women are also stereotyped in the media. She is self-assured and seductive. Her saying is " Clean is sexy. " Not bad traits to have either! The tendency to use these sterotyped roles is strong. And why not? These roles are quite socially acceptable, and immerse the owner in a charismatic light. Many other countries have worse distortions than these seemingly peripheral ones. As Slovaks, an oppressed people, we are quite, quite familiar with them. What the Slovaks are facing at present is degrading and very pressing. However, this does not negate the problem we have here , either . Our situation in life , especially when growing up, is filled with numerous differences in how we react to society . This becomes more complicated when society reacts to itself in more than one way. Since here in the United States the media portray a false world, many people bring some of these false perceptions into the "real world." This is again complicated by the differences in "real worlds" in our many cultures. It becomes important to look at some of these differences to understand the conflicts which Slovaks, as an ethnic group living in the United States , feel. Slovak-Americans must bear more of these conflicts than the typical WASP. Multi-cultural people bring into a culture many inherited differences of perception. Different cultural groups relate to anger, hatred, desire and pain in vastly different ways. Mark Zborowski in his book People and Pain, illustrates many differences in perception . Societal pressure to adhere to the societal norm is great. When deviation occurs, such as culture differences, much misunderstanding and stereotyping results. Another problem, that of self-misunderstanding, results. People try to be what they are not. They try to live up to a cultural type not their own. They go against their own instincts for the reward of societal acceptance. What do we have to give up for these constantly sought after types? Do not the majority of us have to give up some aspect of our heritage , our past? Have we always been the quintessential American , cool , calm , collected? Secretly we know we have not, and still, how many times do we cover it up to ourselves? The whole idea of an ethnic memory is not so much remembering a series of events, but rather it is the feeling, instincts , and expectations passed from generation to generation. It is the patterns of behavior and �SLOVAKIA 139 emotion for the individual and the people as a whole. Being ethnic requires us to understand that sense of reality. John Wayne vs Janosik The heroes of a culture reveal many peculiar insights to that culture's frame of reference. It is helpful to know a person's history and cultural background to understand his perceptions. Juro Janosik is certainly no less than the prototype of Slovak mentality. On the other hand, a perfect hero of America is John Wayne. I think the illustration of fundamental differences between these two can provide insight into the differences in the values of either society. On the one hand, the individualistic, cool oppressor type; John Wayne needs no justification for his actions. He can "do as he damn well pleases." Also the phrase "he calls 'em as he sees 'em" is characteristic of such an attitude. On the other hand, Janosik has qualities illustrating different aspects of personality. His whole life is centered around fighting against injustice. He harbors loyalty to his beloved ones and is sensitive and sentimental. Instead of being totally individualistic, he relies heavily on his mountain boys. The way the hero fits into his surrounding environment also influences the culture's frame of reference. Janosik dealt mostly with shepherds and poor folk, fighting against the established barons. He fought upwards against oppression. John Wayne fought the Indians; he drove them away . His was a different sense of justice (might makes right). Janosik's justice was closer to the word's true meaning. Which does one follow: John Wayne or Janosik? Much of this decision depends on to what extent the ethnic experience exists in us individually. Michael Novak gives an illuminating description of the crisis: The battle is partly in one's own soul. On the one hand American, enlightened, educated; on the other, stubbornly resistant, in love with values too dear to jettison, at home neither in the ethnic community nor in any intellectual group, neither with theorists nor with practical politicians, convinced of a certain rightness in one's soul and yet not confident that others will see, can see, the subtle links in a different way of life. It is the insecurity of certainty: the sense that something of value is not likely to be understood. (2) Cultural Multiplicity Within inheritors of more than one heritage there arise conflicts. However, this meeting of different ways of life many times is quite beneficial. Synergy, a word very few people use, means the behavior of whole systems unpredicted by its parts or any subassembly of its parts(3), i.e., the combination of various things may be stronger than the sum of its parts. One and one and one equals four. A three hundred pound man can sit on a bicycle with wheels that are supported by �140 SLOVAKIA spokes a child could bend. It is the arrangement of those spokes which makes it possible to withstand great pressure. The ignorance of such a concept creates misunderstandings in many areas of knowledge, not the least of which is relationships between people. Since this ignorance is widespread throughout society, people with a different cultural background are usually thought of for other reasons than for their own potential benefit. The misunderstanding results in such ideas as cultural inferiority, as if purity of heritage is a great virtue, and in such nick-names as ''half-breed,'' etc. Although our notion of equality has been around since the beginning of this country, so were Jefferson's slaves. Even though this concept has dropped from prominence, much of the idea of intellectual superiority remains. These notions are looked upon as ridiculous in present day science. The study of biology shows us the creatures which survive are the ones that are most suitable to the environment. When the environment changes, the animals must either adapt or perish. Humans are no different: the more variables - the more adaptive to change. L. S. Harms in his book Intercultural Communication also raises the concept of synergy: Synergy is a process that may operate in an organized system with a favorable structure. In the case of communication, in an authority structure in which messages are prepared and transmitted, there is little opportunity for synergy to operate. The interchange structure, however, is favorable to the process of synergy. (indeed) .. . high synergy may be expected. (4) A high number of various cultural influences is not unique to Slovak-Americans. It is inherent in all intercultural transactions. The advantages of a multi-heritage and especially a multi-lingual perception become clear in the ability to perceive below a superficial level of human understanding. One becomes able to see certain fundamental aspects. A tolerance arises for different attitudes, opinions, lifestyles and patterns of behavior. We become able to adapt ourselves to other peoples' mannerisms, symbolic meanings, gestures and etiquette. Indeed, the need to go beyond linguistic differences is essential in understanding our true thoughts, which abide in our subjective side, in our feelings and emotions. Humanity's creative geniuses, whether they be in art, science, philosophy or religion, speak of their understanding coming from a place deep within, usually beyond language. Today and Tomorrow: Toward a Preferred State Our world is changing at a shocking rate. In recent years, we have invented two new terms to describe that change: culture-shock and future-shock. Culture-shock describes the condition, the disease, experienced by a person suddenly transplanted into a foreign culture (Arensburg and Niehoff 1973). Future-shock describes the experience of the person who finds "things" in his community changing so fast he �SLOVAKIA 141 is no longer able to deal with them (Toffler 1971). Many large imbalances have resulted in the process of rapid growth. We have now a technological superiority and a moral inferiority. Our amount of information is doubling every ten years, yet we cling to many obsolete patterns of thought. Dichotomies such as rich and poor, educated and noneducated still exist, and we seem to be making little progress towards change . These problems need to be faced. In order to solve problems one must plan a preferred state. In order to design such a plan, one must have a variety of values. Values, in turn, come from individuals made up of different social, religious and ethnic backgrounds . We need a larger selection of values to work from, when confronting the large scale problems of today. This selection of values must be representative of our population, including more than the traditional WASP ethics we have now. There is a great need for people with multi-perspectives to help in world planning in all areas. It's high time for a new cultural pluralism and a politics that requires this pluralism - one that draws from resources other than Anglo-Saxon history and values. We have the responsibility of seeing that our Slovak culture does not die, but grows as we grow. This responsibility also entails quality. There must be a true pride in the heritage we come from. Paul Wilkes, a Slovak reporter, after an ethnic festival in New Jersey, wrote, "I didn't belong in East Hampton but I was going back there. It would be a place to recollect myself. Maybe next year at the festival I'll be able to walk up to a stranger and say: ''I'm a SlovakAmerican boy. And you?"(5) That was written in 1976. It is already ''next year''! But again, to isolate ourselves is to miss the point. The majority of Americans are minorities. When fighting individually we can't possibly match strength with many of the established ways which are oppressive. However, in combined numbers we are able to get rid of the antagonism that plagues us all. Novak, in his column "Illusions and Realities'' in the Jednota weekly, comments: Mathematics is on the side of stressing similarities. If we stress racial differences, we err in strategy. Isolated off by themselves, blacks are only nine percent of the nation. Linked to others who share analogous experiences, blacks stand with the large majority . . . I wish the Black Caucus in Congress would call into being a White Ethnic Caucus. These two together might forge a great new source of fresh social ideas and political power. ''A rising tide lifts every boat. ''(6) Much of what I've said has been said before. The awareness of injustice towards ethnic groups is high right now. This is ''The Decade of the Ethnics''. But, in order for those ideas to be meaningful, they have to be embraced on both an individual and community level. Personally, I think you will find it quite rewarding to go finding out your �142 SLOVAKIA " roots ". Discussing ethnic subjects brings the topic into general awareness, and it also clarifies certain issues previously left unsaid . I do sincerely hope that all those that are in similar positions can also incorporate the fact of being Slovak-Americans on a level that is more than just a slogan. Let it become a fact that determines much of what you say and do. Become aware of many of those unconscious traits which we all have passed down to us from our ancestors. As Michael Novak says: To learn the habits, instincts, and inspirations of a person 's grandparents is to discern the emotional and imaginal weight of much in that person's life that otherwise seems inexplicable. To see the patterns of life adopted by a person's grandchildren is to discern more clearly the organic implications of the choices and efforts launched two generations earlier. Emotions, instincts, memory, imagination, passions, and ways of perceiving are passed on to us in ways so thick with life that they lie far beyond the power of consciousness (let alone the analytic and verbal reason) thoroughly to master, totally to alter. We are, in a word, ineffebly ethnic in our values and our actions. (7) I haven't been to Slovakia for almost five years, yet I still have fond memories of the place. I remember Starky coming home from a long day of cutting grass, bringing some with him to feed the rabbits . I also remember him standing over the table at Stedry vecer (Christmas Eve) and quoting from the Bible before we could eat. He was eighty-five then and has worked every day of his life, except Sundays. My brother Mike just came back from a year in Slovakia and visited me for a few days. He said Starky is becoming senile. After this New Year was over Starky said to him - ' ' Miso , Christmas time should be coming up, shouldn't it? " I hope I will be able to see him once again, and learn more of those instincts and passions which have so richly contributed to what I and my family are, realizing how much we are all enriched by the vitality of our ancestral roots. FOOTNOTES (1) Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union Press , 1973) pp 100-101. (2) Michael Novak , The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, (New York : Macmillan Co., 1972) p 62. (3) R. Buckminster Fulle r , Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, (New York : Pocket Books, 1971) p 65. (4) L. S. Harms, lnte rcultural Communication, (New York: Harper and Row, 1973) p 53. (5) Paul Wilkes, " Rejoining the Slovak Community," (The New York Times, August 6, 1976). (6) Michael Novak, Illusions and Realities, Jednota , p. 1, February 24, 1977. (7) Michael Novak, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics p xvi . �SLOVAKIA 143 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Fuller, R. Buckminster, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, New York: Pocket Books , 1971. 2. Harms, L. S., /ntercultural Communication, New York: Harper and Row, 1973. 3. Mikus, Joseph A., Pride in Slovak Origin, Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973. 4. Novak, Michael, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, New York : Macmillan Co., 1972. 5. Segal, Bernard E., ed., Racial and Ethnic Relations New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1966. 6. Wilkes, Paul , Rejoining the Slovak Community, The New York Times, August 6, 1976, N.Y., N.Y. 7. Zborowski, Mark , People in Pain, San Francisco, Jossey Bass, Inc., 1966 . � 136 SLOVAKIA A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society ALEXANDER J. RUDINSKY It is important to talk of Slovakia within the context of the rest of the world and of changing events. As Slovak-Americans we face a complex series of events different from those either of the Slovak or the American people, and yet we experience familiar ties with both. The insights which come from having an affinity towards these two cultures provide a truer picture of our personal and social lives. I remember the halusky s bryndzou we ate on Sunday. I remember the chickens running around the yard. We weren't supposed to keep the gate open for fear they 'd run out. I remember the Kalvaria (Calvary) with medieval statues nestled in a pattern between the trees on the hill. I remember helping plant the garden and being scared by the geese. The buses went everywhere all the time. The cobblestone streets were always being repaired, as were the buildings. I remember much scaffolding on the church. Inside, the scaffolding hid the figures of painted cherubs high on the ceiling; sometimes they would peek out. When we sat in the dark wooden pews Mom would give us each a koruna to put in when the basket came around. In the little town of Banska Stiavnica my thoughts were dreamlike. How much of it was because I was twelve , or because I was in a new land with a new culture, I don't know. I do know, however, there is ·a definite change. I spent half of two years in Slovakia with my Slovak relatives. Life there was more tightly knit. I had a definite place in the public school I went to, in the community of neighbors, and of course, in the family. Since I was a foreigner, especially from America, the place I had in these groups was rather unique. I was looked upon as different and special. But also in many instances, I was looked upon as a member. This is what I cherished. One did not do things without the family, without the community, without loyalty towards those to whom one belonged. The four children in the house, from age twenty to eleven, slept in the same room. We ate together and spent most of our time with other members of the family. The primary social occasion was visiting our second cousins at the end of the street. Walking up the Sitno mountain reminded me of the story told about the Turks who almost conquered that area. Almost. During the seige, the Slovaks at the top of the hill were running drastically short of food. As a gesture to the Turks, they baked a huge loaf of bread and This paper won First Place in the scholarship competition of the Slovak League. �SLOVAKIA 137 rolled it down the mountain into their camp. The Turks were impressed by the pertinacity of the Slovaks, and their seeming store of extra provisions. Soon they abandoned their siege. Living in Czecho-Slovakia gives one a sense of tradition unfelt in America, and quite different from that of Western Europe; a rough and harsh beauty. It is evident in the Tatras and evident in the tale of Janosik. It is also evident on the faces and in the hearts of the people. People from all over talk of the Slovaks as being a "noble" and "exuberant" people. "The Slovaks are generally known as unadulterated peasants and shepherd people, settled in a land of considerable natural beauty. Observers have always known to appreciate their natural handsomeness and dignity as well as the incorruptible honesty of their character. "(l) American Culture The first two years and then later the two months I spent in Slovakia formed one of the most important experiences in my life and education. The rest of the time I have spent in America. The culture here is of a completely different nature. All the while I was growing up like my ·brothers and sisters, I had a room alone. Our society places more importance on the solitary individual as a center of responsibility, rather than on the family or neighborhood. The will of the solitary self which harbors loneliness goes well with the Protestant ethic so predominant in this country. It is difficult to say what American culture is. The facets of life in this country are many. The newly rich WASPS, the oilmen of Texas, the real estaters of Florida, are in direct contrast to the quiet, distinguished WASPS of New England. And the majority of America's people are descendants of recent immigrants who are in varying degrees of WASP assimilation. The constant change we have is a necessity. Whatever America is, it is different from what we or our Slovak predecessors came from. Big cars, large steaks, and mass consumption are in direct contrast with the small Skodas, potatoes, and folk art products. Conflicts For all the talk of truth in America there is a lot of falsehood here. All forms of mass media, especially television, block many realities out. This doesn't make people forget the realities, but they tend not to acknowledge them as much. In all the shows the "good guy" wins, and the ' 'bad guy' ' gets what he deserves, usually a bullet in the back of his head. An incredible amount of violence is just one way of distorting the facts and giving a view of the world that is totaly unrealistic. Possibly a less blatant distortion is the propagation of stereotyped roles. This is not only present in television's dream world, but also in our society. We are all too familiar with the jokes about the Polish, a fad that has �138 SLOVAKIA lowered many conversations. The portrayal of ethnics as being dumb flag-waving fascists is still quite prevalent. This is evident in such slang as " hunky " . Who wants to be associated with that? Rather let's try and match up to the cool American stereotype we always see on television. He is usually quiet and has everything under control. He is usually tough and individualistic. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it. As the saying goes , "He 's cool, calm and collected." These aren't bad traits to have! Women are also stereotyped in the media. She is self-assured and seductive. Her saying is " Clean is sexy. " Not bad traits to have either! The tendency to use these sterotyped roles is strong. And why not? These roles are quite socially acceptable, and immerse the owner in a charismatic light. Many other countries have worse distortions than these seemingly peripheral ones. As Slovaks, an oppressed people, we are quite, quite familiar with them. What the Slovaks are facing at present is degrading and very pressing. However, this does not negate the problem we have here , either . Our situation in life , especially when growing up, is filled with numerous differences in how we react to society . This becomes more complicated when society reacts to itself in more than one way. Since here in the United States the media portray a false world, many people bring some of these false perceptions into the "real world." This is again complicated by the differences in "real worlds" in our many cultures. It becomes important to look at some of these differences to understand the conflicts which Slovaks, as an ethnic group living in the United States , feel. Slovak-Americans must bear more of these conflicts than the typical WASP. Multi-cultural people bring into a culture many inherited differences of perception. Different cultural groups relate to anger, hatred, desire and pain in vastly different ways. Mark Zborowski in his book People and Pain, illustrates many differences in perception . Societal pressure to adhere to the societal norm is great. When deviation occurs, such as culture differences, much misunderstanding and stereotyping results. Another problem, that of self-misunderstanding, results. People try to be what they are not. They try to live up to a cultural type not their own. They go against their own instincts for the reward of societal acceptance. What do we have to give up for these constantly sought after types? Do not the majority of us have to give up some aspect of our heritage , our past? Have we always been the quintessential American , cool , calm , collected? Secretly we know we have not, and still, how many times do we cover it up to ourselves? The whole idea of an ethnic memory is not so much remembering a series of events, but rather it is the feeling, instincts , and expectations passed from generation to generation. It is the patterns of behavior and �SLOVAKIA 139 emotion for the individual and the people as a whole. Being ethnic requires us to understand that sense of reality. John Wayne vs Janosik The heroes of a culture reveal many peculiar insights to that culture's frame of reference. It is helpful to know a person's history and cultural background to understand his perceptions. Juro Janosik is certainly no less than the prototype of Slovak mentality. On the other hand, a perfect hero of America is John Wayne. I think the illustration of fundamental differences between these two can provide insight into the differences in the values of either society. On the one hand, the individualistic, cool oppressor type; John Wayne needs no justification for his actions. He can "do as he damn well pleases." Also the phrase "he calls 'em as he sees 'em" is characteristic of such an attitude. On the other hand, Janosik has qualities illustrating different aspects of personality. His whole life is centered around fighting against injustice. He harbors loyalty to his beloved ones and is sensitive and sentimental. Instead of being totally individualistic, he relies heavily on his mountain boys. The way the hero fits into his surrounding environment also influences the culture's frame of reference. Janosik dealt mostly with shepherds and poor folk, fighting against the established barons. He fought upwards against oppression. John Wayne fought the Indians; he drove them away . His was a different sense of justice (might makes right). Janosik's justice was closer to the word's true meaning. Which does one follow: John Wayne or Janosik? Much of this decision depends on to what extent the ethnic experience exists in us individually. Michael Novak gives an illuminating description of the crisis: The battle is partly in one's own soul. On the one hand American, enlightened, educated; on the other, stubbornly resistant, in love with values too dear to jettison, at home neither in the ethnic community nor in any intellectual group, neither with theorists nor with practical politicians, convinced of a certain rightness in one's soul and yet not confident that others will see, can see, the subtle links in a different way of life. It is the insecurity of certainty: the sense that something of value is not likely to be understood. (2) Cultural Multiplicity Within inheritors of more than one heritage there arise conflicts. However, this meeting of different ways of life many times is quite beneficial. Synergy, a word very few people use, means the behavior of whole systems unpredicted by its parts or any subassembly of its parts(3), i.e., the combination of various things may be stronger than the sum of its parts. One and one and one equals four. A three hundred pound man can sit on a bicycle with wheels that are supported by �140 SLOVAKIA spokes a child could bend. It is the arrangement of those spokes which makes it possible to withstand great pressure. The ignorance of such a concept creates misunderstandings in many areas of knowledge, not the least of which is relationships between people. Since this ignorance is widespread throughout society, people with a different cultural background are usually thought of for other reasons than for their own potential benefit. The misunderstanding results in such ideas as cultural inferiority, as if purity of heritage is a great virtue, and in such nick-names as ''half-breed,'' etc. Although our notion of equality has been around since the beginning of this country, so were Jefferson's slaves. Even though this concept has dropped from prominence, much of the idea of intellectual superiority remains. These notions are looked upon as ridiculous in present day science. The study of biology shows us the creatures which survive are the ones that are most suitable to the environment. When the environment changes, the animals must either adapt or perish. Humans are no different: the more variables - the more adaptive to change. L. S. Harms in his book Intercultural Communication also raises the concept of synergy: Synergy is a process that may operate in an organized system with a favorable structure. In the case of communication, in an authority structure in which messages are prepared and transmitted, there is little opportunity for synergy to operate. The interchange structure, however, is favorable to the process of synergy. (indeed) .. . high synergy may be expected. (4) A high number of various cultural influences is not unique to Slovak-Americans. It is inherent in all intercultural transactions. The advantages of a multi-heritage and especially a multi-lingual perception become clear in the ability to perceive below a superficial level of human understanding. One becomes able to see certain fundamental aspects. A tolerance arises for different attitudes, opinions, lifestyles and patterns of behavior. We become able to adapt ourselves to other peoples' mannerisms, symbolic meanings, gestures and etiquette. Indeed, the need to go beyond linguistic differences is essential in understanding our true thoughts, which abide in our subjective side, in our feelings and emotions. Humanity's creative geniuses, whether they be in art, science, philosophy or religion, speak of their understanding coming from a place deep within, usually beyond language. Today and Tomorrow: Toward a Preferred State Our world is changing at a shocking rate. In recent years, we have invented two new terms to describe that change: culture-shock and future-shock. Culture-shock describes the condition, the disease, experienced by a person suddenly transplanted into a foreign culture (Arensburg and Niehoff 1973). Future-shock describes the experience of the person who finds "things" in his community changing so fast he �SLOVAKIA 141 is no longer able to deal with them (Toffler 1971). Many large imbalances have resulted in the process of rapid growth. We have now a technological superiority and a moral inferiority. Our amount of information is doubling every ten years, yet we cling to many obsolete patterns of thought. Dichotomies such as rich and poor, educated and noneducated still exist, and we seem to be making little progress towards change . These problems need to be faced. In order to solve problems one must plan a preferred state. In order to design such a plan, one must have a variety of values. Values, in turn, come from individuals made up of different social, religious and ethnic backgrounds . We need a larger selection of values to work from, when confronting the large scale problems of today. This selection of values must be representative of our population, including more than the traditional WASP ethics we have now. There is a great need for people with multi-perspectives to help in world planning in all areas. It's high time for a new cultural pluralism and a politics that requires this pluralism - one that draws from resources other than Anglo-Saxon history and values. We have the responsibility of seeing that our Slovak culture does not die, but grows as we grow. This responsibility also entails quality. There must be a true pride in the heritage we come from. Paul Wilkes, a Slovak reporter, after an ethnic festival in New Jersey, wrote, "I didn't belong in East Hampton but I was going back there. It would be a place to recollect myself. Maybe next year at the festival I'll be able to walk up to a stranger and say: ''I'm a SlovakAmerican boy. And you?"(5) That was written in 1976. It is already ''next year''! But again, to isolate ourselves is to miss the point. The majority of Americans are minorities. When fighting individually we can't possibly match strength with many of the established ways which are oppressive. However, in combined numbers we are able to get rid of the antagonism that plagues us all. Novak, in his column "Illusions and Realities'' in the Jednota weekly, comments: Mathematics is on the side of stressing similarities. If we stress racial differences, we err in strategy. Isolated off by themselves, blacks are only nine percent of the nation. Linked to others who share analogous experiences, blacks stand with the large majority . . . I wish the Black Caucus in Congress would call into being a White Ethnic Caucus. These two together might forge a great new source of fresh social ideas and political power. ''A rising tide lifts every boat. ''(6) Much of what I've said has been said before. The awareness of injustice towards ethnic groups is high right now. This is ''The Decade of the Ethnics''. But, in order for those ideas to be meaningful, they have to be embraced on both an individual and community level. Personally, I think you will find it quite rewarding to go finding out your �142 SLOVAKIA " roots ". Discussing ethnic subjects brings the topic into general awareness, and it also clarifies certain issues previously left unsaid . I do sincerely hope that all those that are in similar positions can also incorporate the fact of being Slovak-Americans on a level that is more than just a slogan. Let it become a fact that determines much of what you say and do. Become aware of many of those unconscious traits which we all have passed down to us from our ancestors. As Michael Novak says: To learn the habits, instincts, and inspirations of a person 's grandparents is to discern the emotional and imaginal weight of much in that person's life that otherwise seems inexplicable. To see the patterns of life adopted by a person's grandchildren is to discern more clearly the organic implications of the choices and efforts launched two generations earlier. Emotions, instincts, memory, imagination, passions, and ways of perceiving are passed on to us in ways so thick with life that they lie far beyond the power of consciousness (let alone the analytic and verbal reason) thoroughly to master, totally to alter. We are, in a word, ineffebly ethnic in our values and our actions. (7) I haven't been to Slovakia for almost five years, yet I still have fond memories of the place. I remember Starky coming home from a long day of cutting grass, bringing some with him to feed the rabbits . I also remember him standing over the table at Stedry vecer (Christmas Eve) and quoting from the Bible before we could eat. He was eighty-five then and has worked every day of his life, except Sundays. My brother Mike just came back from a year in Slovakia and visited me for a few days. He said Starky is becoming senile. After this New Year was over Starky said to him - ' ' Miso , Christmas time should be coming up, shouldn't it? " I hope I will be able to see him once again, and learn more of those instincts and passions which have so richly contributed to what I and my family are, realizing how much we are all enriched by the vitality of our ancestral roots. FOOTNOTES (1) Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union Press , 1973) pp 100-101. (2) Michael Novak , The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, (New York : Macmillan Co., 1972) p 62. (3) R. Buckminster Fulle r , Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, (New York : Pocket Books, 1971) p 65. (4) L. S. Harms, lnte rcultural Communication, (New York: Harper and Row, 1973) p 53. (5) Paul Wilkes, " Rejoining the Slovak Community," (The New York Times, August 6, 1976). (6) Michael Novak, Illusions and Realities, Jednota , p. 1, February 24, 1977. (7) Michael Novak, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics p xvi . �SLOVAKIA 143 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Fuller, R. Buckminster, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, New York: Pocket Books , 1971. 2. Harms, L. S., /ntercultural Communication, New York: Harper and Row, 1973. 3. Mikus, Joseph A., Pride in Slovak Origin, Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973. 4. Novak, Michael, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, New York : Macmillan Co., 1972. 5. Segal, Bernard E., ed., Racial and Ethnic Relations New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1966. 6. Wilkes, Paul , Rejoining the Slovak Community, The New York Times, August 6, 1976, N.Y., N.Y. 7. Zborowski, Mark , People in Pain, San Francisco, Jossey Bass, Inc., 1966 . � 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 136 SLOVAKIA A Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society ALEXANDER J. RUDINSKY It is important to talk of Slovakia within the context of the rest of the world and of changing events. As Slovak-Americans we face a complex series of events different from those either of the Slovak or the American people, and yet we experience familiar ties with both. The insights which come from having an affinity towards these two cultures provide a truer picture of our personal and social lives. I remember the halusky s bryndzou we ate on Sunday. I remember the chickens running around the yard. We weren't supposed to keep the gate open for fear they 'd run out. I remember the Kalvaria (Calvary) with medieval statues nestled in a pattern between the trees on the hill. I remember helping plant the garden and being scared by the geese. The buses went everywhere all the time. The cobblestone streets were always being repaired, as were the buildings. I remember much scaffolding on the church. Inside, the scaffolding hid the figures of painted cherubs high on the ceiling; sometimes they would peek out. When we sat in the dark wooden pews Mom would give us each a koruna to put in when the basket came around. In the little town of Banska Stiavnica my thoughts were dreamlike. How much of it was because I was twelve , or because I was in a new land with a new culture, I don't know. I do know, however, there is ·a definite change. I spent half of two years in Slovakia with my Slovak relatives. Life there was more tightly knit. I had a definite place in the public school I went to, in the community of neighbors, and of course, in the family. Since I was a foreigner, especially from America, the place I had in these groups was rather unique. I was looked upon as different and special. But also in many instances, I was looked upon as a member. This is what I cherished. One did not do things without the family, without the community, without loyalty towards those to whom one belonged. The four children in the house, from age twenty to eleven, slept in the same room. We ate together and spent most of our time with other members of the family. The primary social occasion was visiting our second cousins at the end of the street. Walking up the Sitno mountain reminded me of the story told about the Turks who almost conquered that area. Almost. During the seige, the Slovaks at the top of the hill were running drastically short of food. As a gesture to the Turks, they baked a huge loaf of bread and This paper won First Place in the scholarship competition of the Slovak League. SLOVAKIA 137 rolled it down the mountain into their camp. The Turks were impressed by the pertinacity of the Slovaks, and their seeming store of extra provisions. Soon they abandoned their siege. Living in Czecho-Slovakia gives one a sense of tradition unfelt in America, and quite different from that of Western Europe; a rough and harsh beauty. It is evident in the Tatras and evident in the tale of Janosik. It is also evident on the faces and in the hearts of the people. People from all over talk of the Slovaks as being a "noble" and "exuberant" people. "The Slovaks are generally known as unadulterated peasants and shepherd people, settled in a land of considerable natural beauty. Observers have always known to appreciate their natural handsomeness and dignity as well as the incorruptible honesty of their character. "(l) American Culture The first two years and then later the two months I spent in Slovakia formed one of the most important experiences in my life and education. The rest of the time I have spent in America. The culture here is of a completely different nature. All the while I was growing up like my ·brothers and sisters, I had a room alone. Our society places more importance on the solitary individual as a center of responsibility, rather than on the family or neighborhood. The will of the solitary self which harbors loneliness goes well with the Protestant ethic so predominant in this country. It is difficult to say what American culture is. The facets of life in this country are many. The newly rich WASPS, the oilmen of Texas, the real estaters of Florida, are in direct contrast to the quiet, distinguished WASPS of New England. And the majority of America's people are descendants of recent immigrants who are in varying degrees of WASP assimilation. The constant change we have is a necessity. Whatever America is, it is different from what we or our Slovak predecessors came from. Big cars, large steaks, and mass consumption are in direct contrast with the small Skodas, potatoes, and folk art products. Conflicts For all the talk of truth in America there is a lot of falsehood here. All forms of mass media, especially television, block many realities out. This doesn't make people forget the realities, but they tend not to acknowledge them as much. In all the shows the "good guy" wins, and the ' 'bad guy' ' gets what he deserves, usually a bullet in the back of his head. An incredible amount of violence is just one way of distorting the facts and giving a view of the world that is totaly unrealistic. Possibly a less blatant distortion is the propagation of stereotyped roles. This is not only present in television's dream world, but also in our society. We are all too familiar with the jokes about the Polish, a fad that has 138 SLOVAKIA lowered many conversations. The portrayal of ethnics as being dumb flag-waving fascists is still quite prevalent. This is evident in such slang as " hunky " . Who wants to be associated with that? Rather let's try and match up to the cool American stereotype we always see on television. He is usually quiet and has everything under control. He is usually tough and individualistic. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it. As the saying goes , "He 's cool, calm and collected." These aren't bad traits to have! Women are also stereotyped in the media. She is self-assured and seductive. Her saying is " Clean is sexy. " Not bad traits to have either! The tendency to use these sterotyped roles is strong. And why not? These roles are quite socially acceptable, and immerse the owner in a charismatic light. Many other countries have worse distortions than these seemingly peripheral ones. As Slovaks, an oppressed people, we are quite, quite familiar with them. What the Slovaks are facing at present is degrading and very pressing. However, this does not negate the problem we have here , either . Our situation in life , especially when growing up, is filled with numerous differences in how we react to society . This becomes more complicated when society reacts to itself in more than one way. Since here in the United States the media portray a false world, many people bring some of these false perceptions into the "real world." This is again complicated by the differences in "real worlds" in our many cultures. It becomes important to look at some of these differences to understand the conflicts which Slovaks, as an ethnic group living in the United States , feel. Slovak-Americans must bear more of these conflicts than the typical WASP. Multi-cultural people bring into a culture many inherited differences of perception. Different cultural groups relate to anger, hatred, desire and pain in vastly different ways. Mark Zborowski in his book People and Pain, illustrates many differences in perception . Societal pressure to adhere to the societal norm is great. When deviation occurs, such as culture differences, much misunderstanding and stereotyping results. Another problem, that of self-misunderstanding, results. People try to be what they are not. They try to live up to a cultural type not their own. They go against their own instincts for the reward of societal acceptance. What do we have to give up for these constantly sought after types? Do not the majority of us have to give up some aspect of our heritage , our past? Have we always been the quintessential American , cool , calm , collected? Secretly we know we have not, and still, how many times do we cover it up to ourselves? The whole idea of an ethnic memory is not so much remembering a series of events, but rather it is the feeling, instincts , and expectations passed from generation to generation. It is the patterns of behavior and SLOVAKIA 139 emotion for the individual and the people as a whole. Being ethnic requires us to understand that sense of reality. John Wayne vs Janosik The heroes of a culture reveal many peculiar insights to that culture's frame of reference. It is helpful to know a person's history and cultural background to understand his perceptions. Juro Janosik is certainly no less than the prototype of Slovak mentality. On the other hand, a perfect hero of America is John Wayne. I think the illustration of fundamental differences between these two can provide insight into the differences in the values of either society. On the one hand, the individualistic, cool oppressor type; John Wayne needs no justification for his actions. He can "do as he damn well pleases." Also the phrase "he calls 'em as he sees 'em" is characteristic of such an attitude. On the other hand, Janosik has qualities illustrating different aspects of personality. His whole life is centered around fighting against injustice. He harbors loyalty to his beloved ones and is sensitive and sentimental. Instead of being totally individualistic, he relies heavily on his mountain boys. The way the hero fits into his surrounding environment also influences the culture's frame of reference. Janosik dealt mostly with shepherds and poor folk, fighting against the established barons. He fought upwards against oppression. John Wayne fought the Indians; he drove them away . His was a different sense of justice (might makes right). Janosik's justice was closer to the word's true meaning. Which does one follow: John Wayne or Janosik? Much of this decision depends on to what extent the ethnic experience exists in us individually. Michael Novak gives an illuminating description of the crisis: The battle is partly in one's own soul. On the one hand American, enlightened, educated; on the other, stubbornly resistant, in love with values too dear to jettison, at home neither in the ethnic community nor in any intellectual group, neither with theorists nor with practical politicians, convinced of a certain rightness in one's soul and yet not confident that others will see, can see, the subtle links in a different way of life. It is the insecurity of certainty: the sense that something of value is not likely to be understood. (2) Cultural Multiplicity Within inheritors of more than one heritage there arise conflicts. However, this meeting of different ways of life many times is quite beneficial. Synergy, a word very few people use, means the behavior of whole systems unpredicted by its parts or any subassembly of its parts(3), i.e., the combination of various things may be stronger than the sum of its parts. One and one and one equals four. A three hundred pound man can sit on a bicycle with wheels that are supported by 140 SLOVAKIA spokes a child could bend. It is the arrangement of those spokes which makes it possible to withstand great pressure. The ignorance of such a concept creates misunderstandings in many areas of knowledge, not the least of which is relationships between people. Since this ignorance is widespread throughout society, people with a different cultural background are usually thought of for other reasons than for their own potential benefit. The misunderstanding results in such ideas as cultural inferiority, as if purity of heritage is a great virtue, and in such nick-names as ''half-breed,'' etc. Although our notion of equality has been around since the beginning of this country, so were Jefferson's slaves. Even though this concept has dropped from prominence, much of the idea of intellectual superiority remains. These notions are looked upon as ridiculous in present day science. The study of biology shows us the creatures which survive are the ones that are most suitable to the environment. When the environment changes, the animals must either adapt or perish. Humans are no different: the more variables - the more adaptive to change. L. S. Harms in his book Intercultural Communication also raises the concept of synergy: Synergy is a process that may operate in an organized system with a favorable structure. In the case of communication, in an authority structure in which messages are prepared and transmitted, there is little opportunity for synergy to operate. The interchange structure, however, is favorable to the process of synergy. (indeed) .. . high synergy may be expected. (4) A high number of various cultural influences is not unique to Slovak-Americans. It is inherent in all intercultural transactions. The advantages of a multi-heritage and especially a multi-lingual perception become clear in the ability to perceive below a superficial level of human understanding. One becomes able to see certain fundamental aspects. A tolerance arises for different attitudes, opinions, lifestyles and patterns of behavior. We become able to adapt ourselves to other peoples' mannerisms, symbolic meanings, gestures and etiquette. Indeed, the need to go beyond linguistic differences is essential in understanding our true thoughts, which abide in our subjective side, in our feelings and emotions. Humanity's creative geniuses, whether they be in art, science, philosophy or religion, speak of their understanding coming from a place deep within, usually beyond language. Today and Tomorrow: Toward a Preferred State Our world is changing at a shocking rate. In recent years, we have invented two new terms to describe that change: culture-shock and future-shock. Culture-shock describes the condition, the disease, experienced by a person suddenly transplanted into a foreign culture (Arensburg and Niehoff 1973). Future-shock describes the experience of the person who finds "things" in his community changing so fast he SLOVAKIA 141 is no longer able to deal with them (Toffler 1971). Many large imbalances have resulted in the process of rapid growth. We have now a technological superiority and a moral inferiority. Our amount of information is doubling every ten years, yet we cling to many obsolete patterns of thought. Dichotomies such as rich and poor, educated and noneducated still exist, and we seem to be making little progress towards change . These problems need to be faced. In order to solve problems one must plan a preferred state. In order to design such a plan, one must have a variety of values. Values, in turn, come from individuals made up of different social, religious and ethnic backgrounds . We need a larger selection of values to work from, when confronting the large scale problems of today. This selection of values must be representative of our population, including more than the traditional WASP ethics we have now. There is a great need for people with multi-perspectives to help in world planning in all areas. It's high time for a new cultural pluralism and a politics that requires this pluralism - one that draws from resources other than Anglo-Saxon history and values. We have the responsibility of seeing that our Slovak culture does not die, but grows as we grow. This responsibility also entails quality. There must be a true pride in the heritage we come from. Paul Wilkes, a Slovak reporter, after an ethnic festival in New Jersey, wrote, "I didn't belong in East Hampton but I was going back there. It would be a place to recollect myself. Maybe next year at the festival I'll be able to walk up to a stranger and say: ''I'm a SlovakAmerican boy. And you?"(5) That was written in 1976. It is already ''next year''! But again, to isolate ourselves is to miss the point. The majority of Americans are minorities. When fighting individually we can't possibly match strength with many of the established ways which are oppressive. However, in combined numbers we are able to get rid of the antagonism that plagues us all. Novak, in his column "Illusions and Realities'' in the Jednota weekly, comments: Mathematics is on the side of stressing similarities. If we stress racial differences, we err in strategy. Isolated off by themselves, blacks are only nine percent of the nation. Linked to others who share analogous experiences, blacks stand with the large majority . . . I wish the Black Caucus in Congress would call into being a White Ethnic Caucus. These two together might forge a great new source of fresh social ideas and political power. ''A rising tide lifts every boat. ''(6) Much of what I've said has been said before. The awareness of injustice towards ethnic groups is high right now. This is ''The Decade of the Ethnics''. But, in order for those ideas to be meaningful, they have to be embraced on both an individual and community level. Personally, I think you will find it quite rewarding to go finding out your 142 SLOVAKIA " roots ". Discussing ethnic subjects brings the topic into general awareness, and it also clarifies certain issues previously left unsaid . I do sincerely hope that all those that are in similar positions can also incorporate the fact of being Slovak-Americans on a level that is more than just a slogan. Let it become a fact that determines much of what you say and do. Become aware of many of those unconscious traits which we all have passed down to us from our ancestors. As Michael Novak says: To learn the habits, instincts, and inspirations of a person 's grandparents is to discern the emotional and imaginal weight of much in that person's life that otherwise seems inexplicable. To see the patterns of life adopted by a person's grandchildren is to discern more clearly the organic implications of the choices and efforts launched two generations earlier. Emotions, instincts, memory, imagination, passions, and ways of perceiving are passed on to us in ways so thick with life that they lie far beyond the power of consciousness (let alone the analytic and verbal reason) thoroughly to master, totally to alter. We are, in a word, ineffebly ethnic in our values and our actions. (7) I haven't been to Slovakia for almost five years, yet I still have fond memories of the place. I remember Starky coming home from a long day of cutting grass, bringing some with him to feed the rabbits . I also remember him standing over the table at Stedry vecer (Christmas Eve) and quoting from the Bible before we could eat. He was eighty-five then and has worked every day of his life, except Sundays. My brother Mike just came back from a year in Slovakia and visited me for a few days. He said Starky is becoming senile. After this New Year was over Starky said to him - ' ' Miso , Christmas time should be coming up, shouldn't it? " I hope I will be able to see him once again, and learn more of those instincts and passions which have so richly contributed to what I and my family are, realizing how much we are all enriched by the vitality of our ancestral roots. FOOTNOTES (1) Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union Press , 1973) pp 100-101. (2) Michael Novak , The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, (New York : Macmillan Co., 1972) p 62. (3) R. Buckminster Fulle r , Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, (New York : Pocket Books, 1971) p 65. (4) L. S. Harms, lnte rcultural Communication, (New York: Harper and Row, 1973) p 53. (5) Paul Wilkes, " Rejoining the Slovak Community," (The New York Times, August 6, 1976). (6) Michael Novak, Illusions and Realities, Jednota , p. 1, February 24, 1977. (7) Michael Novak, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics p xvi . SLOVAKIA 143 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Fuller, R. Buckminster, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, New York: Pocket Books , 1971. 2. Harms, L. S., /ntercultural Communication, New York: Harper and Row, 1973. 3. Mikus, Joseph A., Pride in Slovak Origin, Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973. 4. Novak, Michael, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, New York : Macmillan Co., 1972. 5. Segal, Bernard E., ed., Racial and Ethnic Relations New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1966. 6. Wilkes, Paul , Rejoining the Slovak Community, The New York Times, August 6, 1976, N.Y., N.Y. 7. Zborowski, Mark , People in Pain, San Francisco, Jossey Bass, Inc., 1966 .  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 Slovak-American Perspective in a Changing Society Description An account of the resource Alexander J. Rudinsky Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977 pp. 136-143 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rudinsky, Alexander J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/894a29529d1ccedc4958ffe5adb07761.pdf b28eebfb81ec55f900de720ddd87dccd PDF Text Text 144 SLOVAKIA Book Reuiew Dr. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution, Princeton University Press (Princeton, 1976) XVI, 924 pp. $45.00. Among some one hundred books published on the events in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 which aimed at "socialism with a human face," Professor Skilling's extensive study is the best and most authoritative of them all. For nearly 40 years, Skilling has followed the political scene and in numerous articles and several books has presented them to Western readers. His knowledge of local languages, his frequent stays in Prague, and visits to Slovakia, enabled him to write more authoritatively and with deeper perception of the problems than many other specialists in Eastern Europe could do by observing the developments from afar or compiling their books from other writings. It is Skilling's "opus magnum," not only because of its size, but also due to his thorough knowledge of the historical background of Czechs and Slovaks, their mutual relations, tensions and clashes, and of the ideological forces and men belying the efforts to reform the social system imposed on peoples of East Central Europe by the Soviet Union. More than anybody else up to the present, the author used all accessible published and unpublished sources of information in the Czech and Slovak languages, including secret documents and extensive interviews with leading figures of the Government, the Party, and the reform movement. Some parts of the book sound familiar, for the author has written extensively on Czechoslovakia during the past 30 years. He now gives a global view and provides an analysis of the events he calls an ''interrupted revolution.'' He assesses their impact on Czechs and Slovaks, and on Soviet policy in general. It should also be said that his approach to the Slovak problem, and his assessment of the role of Slovaks in the reform movement headed by Alexander Dubcek (mistakenly presented in many other books as a Czech), is remarkably free of bias. He admits without reservation that the Communist Party, having reunited its Czech and Slovak branches in 1948, was predominantly Czech in membership and leadership. The campaign against Slovak nationalism in the fifties resulted in the execution of Vladimir Clementis, the imprisonment of Husak and others, and the subordination of the Slovak party to Prague. Czechoslovakia again became a state ruled by Czechs, but this time with even greater indifference to Slovak rights than before 1939. The 1960 Constitution openly articulated extreme centralism and reduced the forms of Slovak self-government to nil. After 1963 there was a resurgence of Slovak cultural nationalism and a certain advance in the political position of the Slovaks, but they continued to be minor partners in a predominantly Czech state and party. (p. 10) �SLOVAKIA 145 Skilling also admits, contrary to those who write only about the Slovak collaboration with Germans: ''During the years of war (in both World Wars) there was a readiness on the part of some Czechs (and Slovaks) to adapt themselves to the prevailing system and to collaborate with their German rulers.'' He adds that Svejk, ''the typical model of Czech behavior toward authority,'' relates '' only to the Czechs and not to the Slovaks, who possess, in their history, the figure of Janosik, a kind of Robin Hood of the 18th century, who became, in literature and folklore, a legendary symbol of Slovak nationalism and rebellion against social injustice." (p. 16-17) With objectivity uncommon in the West, Skilling also presents the divergence of opinions between Slovaks and Czechs during the period of Dubcek's regime, a period when "Slovak opinion crystallized rapidly in favor of federalism, and the Czech public evinced little or no interest in the matter" (p. 456). Earlier he notes, "In almost all institutions, for instance, the trade unions, the Academy of Sciences, the youth league, and the cultural associations, Slovaks were in a subordinate position, subject to bureaucratic rule from Prague" (p. 53). The role of Slovaks in the struggle for de-Stalinization and for liberalization also seems to be presented more objectively than in other books. After 1963, Slovak writers and journalists were either in the forefront of or kept pace with Czech intellectuals. The Slovak question played an important part from the beginning to the end of the revolution interrupted by Soviet tanks. The book is divided into six parts, and contains 22 chapters with an interesting epilogue on Dubcek's decline and fall. In the epilogue, Skilling deals with theoretical questions of the Dubcek era, and then adds useful appendixes and a bibliography. Throughout the book, Skilling maintains a high level of scholarship, amply documenting his presentation of events. The structure of the book is well planned. Its global view is not obscured by the author's richly detailed descriptions of the crisis and its final tragic end; the author's narrative skills are many. Skilling is too serious a scholar to look for slogans . From the Slovak side, at least one objection should be raised. Skilling writes that "Husak had come to resemble not so much President Hacha, a conservative but reluctant collaborator of Hitler, but rather Father Tiso, who ruled Slovakia, under Hitler's auspices, with a strong commitment to Nazi policy.'' Since I presume that Professor Skilling has read V. Nastny's book: The Czechs Under Nazi Rule and Hacha's telegrams and speeches therein, he seems to be too generous to Hacha and ill-informed about President Tiso. It is not true that Tiso "ruled with a strong commitment to Nazi policy." If a comparison is necessary, then Husak can be compared with Prime Minister Tuka, whom Husak put to the gallows because he trusted �146 SLOVAKIA Berlin and executed its orders - in the same way Husak now does with regard to Moscow. J . M . Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA 147 Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J .D., attorney; President, Slovak League of America; Stratford, Connecticut Konstantin Culen, author, historian Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL.D. , Ph.D. , historian , author; Toronto, Ontario, Canada Stanley Z. Pech Hana Ponicka Alexander J . Rudinsky, student M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian, professor; Cleveland, Ohio Harry B. Schooley, III, Buffalo, New York George A. Turner Theodoric J . Zubek , O.F.M., S.T.D., author, lecturer; Easton, Pennsylvania ���Plll NT ID IN U.S.A. JIO NO TA PIU NTI RY , MID DLi TO WN , PA. � 144 SLOVAKIA Book Reuiew Dr. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution, Princeton University Press (Princeton, 1976) XVI, 924 pp. $45.00. Among some one hundred books published on the events in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 which aimed at "socialism with a human face," Professor Skilling's extensive study is the best and most authoritative of them all. For nearly 40 years, Skilling has followed the political scene and in numerous articles and several books has presented them to Western readers. His knowledge of local languages, his frequent stays in Prague, and visits to Slovakia, enabled him to write more authoritatively and with deeper perception of the problems than many other specialists in Eastern Europe could do by observing the developments from afar or compiling their books from other writings. It is Skilling's "opus magnum," not only because of its size, but also due to his thorough knowledge of the historical background of Czechs and Slovaks, their mutual relations, tensions and clashes, and of the ideological forces and men belying the efforts to reform the social system imposed on peoples of East Central Europe by the Soviet Union. More than anybody else up to the present, the author used all accessible published and unpublished sources of information in the Czech and Slovak languages, including secret documents and extensive interviews with leading figures of the Government, the Party, and the reform movement. Some parts of the book sound familiar, for the author has written extensively on Czechoslovakia during the past 30 years. He now gives a global view and provides an analysis of the events he calls an ''interrupted revolution.'' He assesses their impact on Czechs and Slovaks, and on Soviet policy in general. It should also be said that his approach to the Slovak problem, and his assessment of the role of Slovaks in the reform movement headed by Alexander Dubcek (mistakenly presented in many other books as a Czech), is remarkably free of bias. He admits without reservation that the Communist Party, having reunited its Czech and Slovak branches in 1948, was predominantly Czech in membership and leadership. The campaign against Slovak nationalism in the fifties resulted in the execution of Vladimir Clementis, the imprisonment of Husak and others, and the subordination of the Slovak party to Prague. Czechoslovakia again became a state ruled by Czechs, but this time with even greater indifference to Slovak rights than before 1939. The 1960 Constitution openly articulated extreme centralism and reduced the forms of Slovak self-government to nil. After 1963 there was a resurgence of Slovak cultural nationalism and a certain advance in the political position of the Slovaks, but they continued to be minor partners in a predominantly Czech state and party. (p. 10) �SLOVAKIA 145 Skilling also admits, contrary to those who write only about the Slovak collaboration with Germans: ''During the years of war (in both World Wars) there was a readiness on the part of some Czechs (and Slovaks) to adapt themselves to the prevailing system and to collaborate with their German rulers.'' He adds that Svejk, ''the typical model of Czech behavior toward authority,'' relates '' only to the Czechs and not to the Slovaks, who possess, in their history, the figure of Janosik, a kind of Robin Hood of the 18th century, who became, in literature and folklore, a legendary symbol of Slovak nationalism and rebellion against social injustice." (p. 16-17) With objectivity uncommon in the West, Skilling also presents the divergence of opinions between Slovaks and Czechs during the period of Dubcek's regime, a period when "Slovak opinion crystallized rapidly in favor of federalism, and the Czech public evinced little or no interest in the matter" (p. 456). Earlier he notes, "In almost all institutions, for instance, the trade unions, the Academy of Sciences, the youth league, and the cultural associations, Slovaks were in a subordinate position, subject to bureaucratic rule from Prague" (p. 53). The role of Slovaks in the struggle for de-Stalinization and for liberalization also seems to be presented more objectively than in other books. After 1963, Slovak writers and journalists were either in the forefront of or kept pace with Czech intellectuals. The Slovak question played an important part from the beginning to the end of the revolution interrupted by Soviet tanks. The book is divided into six parts, and contains 22 chapters with an interesting epilogue on Dubcek's decline and fall. In the epilogue, Skilling deals with theoretical questions of the Dubcek era, and then adds useful appendixes and a bibliography. Throughout the book, Skilling maintains a high level of scholarship, amply documenting his presentation of events. The structure of the book is well planned. Its global view is not obscured by the author's richly detailed descriptions of the crisis and its final tragic end; the author's narrative skills are many. Skilling is too serious a scholar to look for slogans . From the Slovak side, at least one objection should be raised. Skilling writes that "Husak had come to resemble not so much President Hacha, a conservative but reluctant collaborator of Hitler, but rather Father Tiso, who ruled Slovakia, under Hitler's auspices, with a strong commitment to Nazi policy.'' Since I presume that Professor Skilling has read V. Nastny's book: The Czechs Under Nazi Rule and Hacha's telegrams and speeches therein, he seems to be too generous to Hacha and ill-informed about President Tiso. It is not true that Tiso "ruled with a strong commitment to Nazi policy." If a comparison is necessary, then Husak can be compared with Prime Minister Tuka, whom Husak put to the gallows because he trusted �146 SLOVAKIA Berlin and executed its orders - in the same way Husak now does with regard to Moscow. J . M . Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA 147 Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J .D., attorney; President, Slovak League of America; Stratford, Connecticut Konstantin Culen, author, historian Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL.D. , Ph.D. , historian , author; Toronto, Ontario, Canada Stanley Z. Pech Hana Ponicka Alexander J . Rudinsky, student M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian, professor; Cleveland, Ohio Harry B. Schooley, III, Buffalo, New York George A. Turner Theodoric J . Zubek , O.F.M., S.T.D., author, lecturer; Easton, Pennsylvania ���Plll NT ID IN U.S.A. JIO NO TA PIU NTI RY , MID DLi TO WN , 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 1977, Vol. 27 Description An account of the resource Vol. 27 (No. 50), 1977. 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 1977 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 144 SLOVAKIA Book Reuiew Dr. Gordon Skilling, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution, Princeton University Press (Princeton, 1976) XVI, 924 pp. $45.00. Among some one hundred books published on the events in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968 which aimed at "socialism with a human face," Professor Skilling's extensive study is the best and most authoritative of them all. For nearly 40 years, Skilling has followed the political scene and in numerous articles and several books has presented them to Western readers. His knowledge of local languages, his frequent stays in Prague, and visits to Slovakia, enabled him to write more authoritatively and with deeper perception of the problems than many other specialists in Eastern Europe could do by observing the developments from afar or compiling their books from other writings. It is Skilling's "opus magnum," not only because of its size, but also due to his thorough knowledge of the historical background of Czechs and Slovaks, their mutual relations, tensions and clashes, and of the ideological forces and men belying the efforts to reform the social system imposed on peoples of East Central Europe by the Soviet Union. More than anybody else up to the present, the author used all accessible published and unpublished sources of information in the Czech and Slovak languages, including secret documents and extensive interviews with leading figures of the Government, the Party, and the reform movement. Some parts of the book sound familiar, for the author has written extensively on Czechoslovakia during the past 30 years. He now gives a global view and provides an analysis of the events he calls an ''interrupted revolution.'' He assesses their impact on Czechs and Slovaks, and on Soviet policy in general. It should also be said that his approach to the Slovak problem, and his assessment of the role of Slovaks in the reform movement headed by Alexander Dubcek (mistakenly presented in many other books as a Czech), is remarkably free of bias. He admits without reservation that the Communist Party, having reunited its Czech and Slovak branches in 1948, was predominantly Czech in membership and leadership. The campaign against Slovak nationalism in the fifties resulted in the execution of Vladimir Clementis, the imprisonment of Husak and others, and the subordination of the Slovak party to Prague. Czechoslovakia again became a state ruled by Czechs, but this time with even greater indifference to Slovak rights than before 1939. The 1960 Constitution openly articulated extreme centralism and reduced the forms of Slovak self-government to nil. After 1963 there was a resurgence of Slovak cultural nationalism and a certain advance in the political position of the Slovaks, but they continued to be minor partners in a predominantly Czech state and party. (p. 10) SLOVAKIA 145 Skilling also admits, contrary to those who write only about the Slovak collaboration with Germans: ''During the years of war (in both World Wars) there was a readiness on the part of some Czechs (and Slovaks) to adapt themselves to the prevailing system and to collaborate with their German rulers.'' He adds that Svejk, ''the typical model of Czech behavior toward authority,'' relates '' only to the Czechs and not to the Slovaks, who possess, in their history, the figure of Janosik, a kind of Robin Hood of the 18th century, who became, in literature and folklore, a legendary symbol of Slovak nationalism and rebellion against social injustice." (p. 16-17) With objectivity uncommon in the West, Skilling also presents the divergence of opinions between Slovaks and Czechs during the period of Dubcek's regime, a period when "Slovak opinion crystallized rapidly in favor of federalism, and the Czech public evinced little or no interest in the matter" (p. 456). Earlier he notes, "In almost all institutions, for instance, the trade unions, the Academy of Sciences, the youth league, and the cultural associations, Slovaks were in a subordinate position, subject to bureaucratic rule from Prague" (p. 53). The role of Slovaks in the struggle for de-Stalinization and for liberalization also seems to be presented more objectively than in other books. After 1963, Slovak writers and journalists were either in the forefront of or kept pace with Czech intellectuals. The Slovak question played an important part from the beginning to the end of the revolution interrupted by Soviet tanks. The book is divided into six parts, and contains 22 chapters with an interesting epilogue on Dubcek's decline and fall. In the epilogue, Skilling deals with theoretical questions of the Dubcek era, and then adds useful appendixes and a bibliography. Throughout the book, Skilling maintains a high level of scholarship, amply documenting his presentation of events. The structure of the book is well planned. Its global view is not obscured by the author's richly detailed descriptions of the crisis and its final tragic end; the author's narrative skills are many. Skilling is too serious a scholar to look for slogans . From the Slovak side, at least one objection should be raised. Skilling writes that "Husak had come to resemble not so much President Hacha, a conservative but reluctant collaborator of Hitler, but rather Father Tiso, who ruled Slovakia, under Hitler's auspices, with a strong commitment to Nazi policy.'' Since I presume that Professor Skilling has read V. Nastny's book: The Czechs Under Nazi Rule and Hacha's telegrams and speeches therein, he seems to be too generous to Hacha and ill-informed about President Tiso. It is not true that Tiso "ruled with a strong commitment to Nazi policy." If a comparison is necessary, then Husak can be compared with Prime Minister Tuka, whom Husak put to the gallows because he trusted 146 SLOVAKIA Berlin and executed its orders - in the same way Husak now does with regard to Moscow. J . M . Kirschbaum SLOVAKIA 147 Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J .D., attorney; President, Slovak League of America; Stratford, Connecticut Konstantin Culen, author, historian Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LL.D. , Ph.D. , historian , author; Toronto, Ontario, Canada Stanley Z. Pech Hana Ponicka Alexander J . Rudinsky, student M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian, professor; Cleveland, Ohio Harry B. Schooley, III, Buffalo, New York George A. Turner Theodoric J . Zubek , O.F.M., S.T.D., author, lecturer; Easton, Pennsylvania Plll NT ID IN U.S.A. JIO NO TA PIU NTI RY , MID DLi TO WN , PA.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 27 (No. 50) Description An account of the resource includes Book Reviews; Our Contributors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/45659504571e73709d3af12ade8f38d4.pdf aa5bcb2f509bdab5c3ada93a826da2b6 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 1976 �(il( ill! l!E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E fl" !B IIIIII IIIIII N at io na l 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3!B r.h Cz e~ & Sl ov ak . b ra ry M us eu m & Li Ce da r Ra p id s, III III III Io wa Pr es en te d by : ~ fflW IIIIII IIIIII III III III A~A- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ID ID ID ID D at e: ~ ~ /9 9 ~ LI IIE 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E ~ 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 31 l~ the nia l Me da l sponsored by vak Am eri ca n Bic en ten lic Slo tho Ca R st VE Fir CO T the ON (FR ission ffJnded by mm Co l nia ten en Bic n Slovak Am eri ca tio n.) Slovak Ladies As so cia �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVI 1976 MICHAEL NOVAK Editor DANIEL F. TANZONE Associate Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Reverend Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 17 Porach Street Yonkers, New York 10701 N0.49 �Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylva11_ia 17057 �SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents In Memoriam - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Pauco - F. Vnuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Foreword - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Editor's Note - Dr. Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Resolution by the Bicentennial Conference of the Slovak League of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M . Mark Stolarik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-American Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 - John Bodnar ...... .. . . .... .. . 21 Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs - Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . 40 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot - DanielF. Tanzone ... .... . 69 The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement - Anthony X. Sutherland 76 Selections from An Anthology of Slovak Literature Introductory Remarks by Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Slovakia on My Map - Margaret Matus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Book Reviews Prof. Joseph M. Kirschbaum ............................ Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B . ................................. Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Owen V. Johnson . . ....... . ................. . .... . . . . .. 111 117 122 126 Our Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover ��SLOVAKIA 5 Jn McmPriam .i. (1914-1975) This Bicentennial issue of Slovakia marks the first time since 1964 that its editor is not Dr. Joseph Pauco. Our late dedicated and devoted Secretary-Treasurer of the Slovak League of America, Dr. Pauco took over the editorship of Slovakia upon the death of our former League President, Philip A. Hrobak. Having served his people and his generation with unusual dedication, Dr. Pauco laid down his pen on November 18, 1975 at a time when we thought he was in the full tide of a buoyant, very active life, holding much promise and hope of continued fruitful service. His is a rare example of a life truly lived for God and country - ZA BOHA A NAROD!! Steadfast in his beliefs , he was ever the uncompromising opponent of injustice and tyranny, especially the atheistic tyranny of Communism - with an unusual wrath against those whom he deemed godless invaders and oppressors. An unshrinking patriot, the success of his efforts can, to a large extent, be measured by the slanderous attacks he suffered at times from diverse national and international sources. But always maintaining his hold on the ideal, he continued by his spoken, and more significantly by his written , word to give of his many talents to both his native and adopted countries and to Slovaks everywhere. His many published works relating to Slovak history and particularly Slovak American history have earned him a place of distinction among Slovakia's many gifted writers and authors. The pledge made at his graveside bears reaffirmation: ' ' Dear Doctor, we, whom you left behind, pledge to carry on ... ZA BOHA A NAROD ." EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President, Slovak League of America �SLOVAKIA 6 ln iMemPriam . V DR. JOZEF PAUCO Editor of Slovakia from 1964 to 1975 After eleven years the masthead of Slovakia no longer bears the name of Dr. Jozef Pauco as its editor. He died on November 18th, 1975 after a short illness. Everybody who knew him - either personally or through his literary, journalistic and editorial work - would agree that the Slovak cause lost in him its most worthy defender. Dr. Jozef Pauco will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of Slovak journalism. He selflessly dedicated the great talent of his pen to the services of his nation. From the earliest writing of his student days to the last series of his articles, studies , commentaries and editorials he faithfully followed a firm and unchanging line: to win for his nation those rights and liberties which were its due. During the years of Slovak independence (1939-45) Dr. Pauco was the Editor-in-Chief of the largest Slovak daily, Slovak. With the fall of the Slovak Republic he went into exile in order to fight for the restoration of Slovak independence. His skillful journalistic pen proved to be an effective weapon in this struggle. In 1950 he emigrated to the U.S.A. where he became the Assistant Editor of Jednota, the official organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. But Dr. Pauco's energy and enthusiasm could not be exhausted in one job. Soon he was putting into action new plans and ideas. He was acutely aware that the Slovak cause needed patient explanation and elucidation in the political, academic and opinion-making circles of the Western World, particularly in the U.S. The enemies of the Slovak nation systematically - and regrettably with great measure of success - presented the Slovak struggle for independence as something subversive, dishonest and outr~eous. Dr. Jozef Pauco was one of those Slovak patriots who took upon themselves the task of changing this unsatisfactory state of affairs . They set out to expose falsehood , to defend the truth, to convince people that there was nothing subversive or unnatural in a nation's struggle for its independence . To promote and disseminate these ideas Dr. Pauco and his circle of friends launched a number of journals in the English language in which they tried to represent the political situation of Slovakia in its proper �SLOVAKIA 7 context and in its true light. Dr. Pauco, as the Secretary-General of the Slovak National Council Abroad, was the editor of the monthly, Bulletin of the Slovak National Council (appeared in 1953-58), and at the same time assisted P. A. Hrobak in editing another informative journal in the English language, Slovak Newsletter. The revue Slovakia "<as a far more ambitious and more durable project. It started its existence in 1950 when the Slovak League of America - prompted by its Secretary, Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky decided to publish an English magazine dealing with Slovak cultural, political, historical and social affairs. The objectives of this magazine were stated thus: ''The chief purpose of Slovakia is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence.'' Initially the magazine was published quarterly but in the past 15 years it has been appearing as an annual publication. The first editor of Slovakia was Phillip A. Hrobak. Pauco's collaboration with this magazine started from the beginning. He provided not only editorial help but was also one of the most regular contributors. From 1964 (after the death of P. A. Hrobak) Dr. Jozef Pauco who in the meantime had been elected the Secretary of the Slovak League of America - took over the editorship. In the following eleven years he carried out this function expertly and efficiently. He tried hard and successfully to make Slovakia into a respected and representative revue. He gave Slovakia a new, more contemporary style. Prior to his editorship the content of Slovakia was largely made up of articles published originally in Slovak and intended primarily for the Slovak public. Dr. Pauco gradually changed that. He used to approach Slovak men of letters, Slovak historians and politicians with requests for specially written contributions. In this way there appeared in Slovakia many valuable essays and reviews in which various aspects of Slovak history, culture, politics, emigration, etc. were presented in an informative manner with the emphasis on those essentials in which a non-Slovak reader would be and should be interested. The imprint left by Pauco's dedicated and professional work is indelible and lasting. In compiling each issue of Slovakia Dr. Pauco tried to maintain an even balance. The variety of topics and the wide range of contributors from every corner of the world are an eloquent testimony to these efforts. No aspect of Slovak life, both past and present, was left untouched. From the study of the past issues of Slovakia the reader can obtain an undistorted picture of Slovaks, their country and their aspirations. In presenting this picture Dr. Pauco wanted to show to the free and freedom-loving people in the West the eventful history, the cultural riches and the political maturity of the Slovak nation. And in all this there was an implicit plea not so much for sympathy as for understanding. As an exiled son of a nation forcibly deprived of its in- �8 SLOVAKIA dependence, Dr. Jozef Pauco was valiantly striving to procure justice for his enslaved countrymen. The whole nation will gratefully remember his sacrifice and his devoted service. May he rest in peace! F. VNUK Australia �SLOVAKIA 9 Foreword As part of the Bicentennial programs of the Slovak League of America, we are happy to publish this special issue of our annual publication. After we suffered the loss of our long time editor, Dr. Joseph Pauco, who died on November 18, 1975, we fortunately obtained the services of Michael Novak, Slovak American author and lay theologian, as acting editor-in-chief. Into new hands is now committed the guidance and issuance of our Slovakia with all its heritage of things attained, with all its hopes of things to come. The hands of our current generation of Slovak Americans are new but they are firm and strong. Michael Novak brings to his task an equipment rare in fullness and rich in promise. The elders of our Slovak ethnics are cognizant that we are the passing instruments of a process that transcends our fleeting hour. We know that on each new generation this duty to take over the torch rests afresh. I am confident that the works compiled herein will mark the 1976 issue of Slovakia as an outstanding contribution by youthful Slovak Americans to the ethnic bicentennial and to the growing influence of the Slovak League and our affiliated organizations in the expended ethnic identification in America's pluralistic society. Accordingly, I am delighted, as President of the Slovak League, to express my official as well as personal gratitude to Dr. Novak and to the contributors whose works appear herein. To all to whom these lines appear, I wish you many moments of joyous, serious and rewarding reading and contemplative cogitation. EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President �10 SLOVAKIA Editor's Note The untimely death of Joseph Pauco left a vacancy, hard to fill , in the editorship of Slovakia. After his arrival in America, Pauco served the aspirations of the Slovak people long and well. We stand in his debt, dedicating this issue to him. Yet, characteristically, life springs from death. In the vacuum he left, while the present editor stood confused and in need of help, younger talents sprang up to offer their assistance. Mark Stolarik and John Bodnar bring to Slovakia a taste of the new scholarship, which is slowly but deeply revising the picture of immigration held by American historians. Other young colleagues of theirs will, we hope, join us in the future and make of Slovakia one of the best outlets of the new scholarship . Andrew Cincura and Owen V. Johnson add depth and balance to this volume. The new anthology by Cincura will be a major event in Slovak life in English-speaking lands, an indispensable and herculean effort; we are pleased to offer the readers of Slovakia a foretaste of his large new book. Professor Johnson ' s cool, objective tone witnesses to a new level of maturity and frank, open disagreement proper to the world of high scholarship. In 1976, the United States is 200 years old. But the great migration from Eastern Slovakia to the U.S. is barely 100 years old. One hundred years! It is time, now, for a new chapter to be opened in SlovakAmerican life - a new level of scholarship, a new tone of voice, a new depth and energy, a new generation to pick up the long struggle of the brave, suffering peoples of the past. Slovaks do not stand alone at the present moment. On all sides , many other ethnic peoples - and all those millions of Americans of mixed ethnic ancestry - are struggling to gain a clearer idea of their own identity and of America's . Scholarship is desperately needed, as are repositories of letters, diaries, legal records, old newspapers, and material of all sorts that scholars might study. And we need writers, novelists, poets, dramatists, moviemakers, song-writers, reporters, journalists of all sorts . And political sophistication and clout. Who were our grandparents? Why did tn(!y come to America - or, for later migrants, why did they stay longer in Slovakia? In order to enter our future intelligently, we need · to understand our special history . This issue, then, having anchored itself in a remembrance of things past , looks toward the future. MICHAEL NOV AK May 28, 1976 �SLOVAKIA 11 RESOLUTION UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BYTHE BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION CONFERENCE OFTHE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA MARCH 27, 1976 On the occasion of the annual conference of the Slovak League of America held in the historic City of Philadelphia during this last weekend of March in our nation's bicentennial year, the officers and delegates lawfully assembled in the shadows of Independence Hall solemnly and unanimously reiterate our unswerving, permanent and loyal commitment and dedication to the basic moral and ethical principles herein enumerated: 1. Preservation and expansion of the moral truths enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States and in the Charter of the United Nations. 2. Condemnation of all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems , especially the atheistic philosophy of materialistic communism. 3. Conviction that the peaceful cooperation between countries based upon the principles enunciated in the Charter of the United Nations is in harmony with the aspirations and hopes of all peace-loving peoples and the basis of international peace . 4. Conviction that peace in Europe - and thus peace in the world - can never be complete until everywhere in Europe men can choose, in peace and freedom, how their countries will be governed. 5. Reaffirmation of our faith in fundamental human rights , in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the rights of men and women and of nations , large and small, to enjoy free government of the people , by the people and for the people. In accordance with the above as well as with the principles set forth in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Slovak League of America, we declare that: A. We, Slovak Americans of second, third and fourth United States generations , seek and will continue to seek our equitable share in the fruits and advantages which belong to us as much as they belong �12 SLOVAKIA to any other ethnic group making up the great mosaic which is these United States of America. B. We will continue to make our special contributions to these United States of America as our native or adopted country goes forward in its third century of growth and progress. C. We will continue to cherish our eleven hundred year old Christian tradition with our own Slovak language, songs, dances, arts and cultural specialties which set us apart as a special unit of the great Slav family of peoples. D. We will, by exercising our ethnic qualities, emulate our Slovak forbear Major Polerecky who, on behalf of the General of the Armies, George Washington, accepted the sword of surrender from General Cornwallis at Yorktown and our contemporary Slovak American, Captain Eugene Ceman, one of the first humans to land on and explore the moon. E. The eventual liberation of our brethren and kinsfolk in subjugated Slovakia, and, in the ecumenical spirit of the day, all mankind, from the tyranny and yoke of atheistic materialism of godless communism must and will be our continuous goal. NOW, THEREFORE, to give action to our hopes and aspirations, we respectfully submit that to effectuate the above declared ideals, we must, individually and collectively, through our chosen authorities of state and nation, seek assistance in remaking this world in which we live - now - today - this day and this week. We agree to continue to be inspired by our prayers and deliberations here at historic independence Hall being cognizant and especially appreciative of the great rights and privileges we enjoy as citizens of the greatest democracy in the history of mankind. Further, we authorize our League president and executive secretary to take such other action as they believe will be in the best interests and of assistance in bringing the above sentiments to the attention of such authorities and officials as they believe will bring to fruition our aspirations herein set forth. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, these resolutions have been unanimously adopted at our Bicentennial Conference here at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 27th day of March, 1976. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Edward J. Behuncik, President John A. Holy, Executive Secretary \ � SLOVAKIA 1976 �(il( ill! l!E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E fl" !B IIIIII IIIIII N at io na l 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3!B r.h Cz e~ & Sl ov ak . b ra ry M us eu m & Li Ce da r Ra p id s, III III III Io wa Pr es en te d by : ~ fflW IIIIII IIIIII III III III A~A- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ID ID ID ID D at e: ~ ~ /9 9 ~ LI IIE 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E ~ 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 31 l~ the nia l Me da l sponsored by vak Am eri ca n Bic en ten lic Slo tho Ca R st VE Fir CO T the ON (FR ission ffJnded by mm Co l nia ten en Bic n Slovak Am eri ca tio n.) Slovak Ladies As so cia �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVI 1976 MICHAEL NOVAK Editor DANIEL F. TANZONE Associate Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Reverend Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 17 Porach Street Yonkers, New York 10701 N0.49 �Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylva11_ia 17057 �SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents In Memoriam - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Pauco - F. Vnuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Foreword - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Editor's Note - Dr. Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Resolution by the Bicentennial Conference of the Slovak League of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M . Mark Stolarik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-American Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 - John Bodnar ...... .. . . .... .. . 21 Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs - Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . 40 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot - DanielF. Tanzone ... .... . 69 The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement - Anthony X. Sutherland 76 Selections from An Anthology of Slovak Literature Introductory Remarks by Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Slovakia on My Map - Margaret Matus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Book Reviews Prof. Joseph M. Kirschbaum ............................ Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B . ................................. Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Owen V. Johnson . . ....... . ................. . .... . . . . .. 111 117 122 126 Our Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover ��SLOVAKIA 5 Jn McmPriam .i. (1914-1975) This Bicentennial issue of Slovakia marks the first time since 1964 that its editor is not Dr. Joseph Pauco. Our late dedicated and devoted Secretary-Treasurer of the Slovak League of America, Dr. Pauco took over the editorship of Slovakia upon the death of our former League President, Philip A. Hrobak. Having served his people and his generation with unusual dedication, Dr. Pauco laid down his pen on November 18, 1975 at a time when we thought he was in the full tide of a buoyant, very active life, holding much promise and hope of continued fruitful service. His is a rare example of a life truly lived for God and country - ZA BOHA A NAROD!! Steadfast in his beliefs , he was ever the uncompromising opponent of injustice and tyranny, especially the atheistic tyranny of Communism - with an unusual wrath against those whom he deemed godless invaders and oppressors. An unshrinking patriot, the success of his efforts can, to a large extent, be measured by the slanderous attacks he suffered at times from diverse national and international sources. But always maintaining his hold on the ideal, he continued by his spoken, and more significantly by his written , word to give of his many talents to both his native and adopted countries and to Slovaks everywhere. His many published works relating to Slovak history and particularly Slovak American history have earned him a place of distinction among Slovakia's many gifted writers and authors. The pledge made at his graveside bears reaffirmation: ' ' Dear Doctor, we, whom you left behind, pledge to carry on ... ZA BOHA A NAROD ." EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President, Slovak League of America �SLOVAKIA 6 ln iMemPriam . V DR. JOZEF PAUCO Editor of Slovakia from 1964 to 1975 After eleven years the masthead of Slovakia no longer bears the name of Dr. Jozef Pauco as its editor. He died on November 18th, 1975 after a short illness. Everybody who knew him - either personally or through his literary, journalistic and editorial work - would agree that the Slovak cause lost in him its most worthy defender. Dr. Jozef Pauco will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of Slovak journalism. He selflessly dedicated the great talent of his pen to the services of his nation. From the earliest writing of his student days to the last series of his articles, studies , commentaries and editorials he faithfully followed a firm and unchanging line: to win for his nation those rights and liberties which were its due. During the years of Slovak independence (1939-45) Dr. Pauco was the Editor-in-Chief of the largest Slovak daily, Slovak. With the fall of the Slovak Republic he went into exile in order to fight for the restoration of Slovak independence. His skillful journalistic pen proved to be an effective weapon in this struggle. In 1950 he emigrated to the U.S.A. where he became the Assistant Editor of Jednota, the official organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. But Dr. Pauco's energy and enthusiasm could not be exhausted in one job. Soon he was putting into action new plans and ideas. He was acutely aware that the Slovak cause needed patient explanation and elucidation in the political, academic and opinion-making circles of the Western World, particularly in the U.S. The enemies of the Slovak nation systematically - and regrettably with great measure of success - presented the Slovak struggle for independence as something subversive, dishonest and outr~eous. Dr. Jozef Pauco was one of those Slovak patriots who took upon themselves the task of changing this unsatisfactory state of affairs . They set out to expose falsehood , to defend the truth, to convince people that there was nothing subversive or unnatural in a nation's struggle for its independence . To promote and disseminate these ideas Dr. Pauco and his circle of friends launched a number of journals in the English language in which they tried to represent the political situation of Slovakia in its proper �SLOVAKIA 7 context and in its true light. Dr. Pauco, as the Secretary-General of the Slovak National Council Abroad, was the editor of the monthly, Bulletin of the Slovak National Council (appeared in 1953-58), and at the same time assisted P. A. Hrobak in editing another informative journal in the English language, Slovak Newsletter. The revue Slovakia "<as a far more ambitious and more durable project. It started its existence in 1950 when the Slovak League of America - prompted by its Secretary, Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky decided to publish an English magazine dealing with Slovak cultural, political, historical and social affairs. The objectives of this magazine were stated thus: ''The chief purpose of Slovakia is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence.'' Initially the magazine was published quarterly but in the past 15 years it has been appearing as an annual publication. The first editor of Slovakia was Phillip A. Hrobak. Pauco's collaboration with this magazine started from the beginning. He provided not only editorial help but was also one of the most regular contributors. From 1964 (after the death of P. A. Hrobak) Dr. Jozef Pauco who in the meantime had been elected the Secretary of the Slovak League of America - took over the editorship. In the following eleven years he carried out this function expertly and efficiently. He tried hard and successfully to make Slovakia into a respected and representative revue. He gave Slovakia a new, more contemporary style. Prior to his editorship the content of Slovakia was largely made up of articles published originally in Slovak and intended primarily for the Slovak public. Dr. Pauco gradually changed that. He used to approach Slovak men of letters, Slovak historians and politicians with requests for specially written contributions. In this way there appeared in Slovakia many valuable essays and reviews in which various aspects of Slovak history, culture, politics, emigration, etc. were presented in an informative manner with the emphasis on those essentials in which a non-Slovak reader would be and should be interested. The imprint left by Pauco's dedicated and professional work is indelible and lasting. In compiling each issue of Slovakia Dr. Pauco tried to maintain an even balance. The variety of topics and the wide range of contributors from every corner of the world are an eloquent testimony to these efforts. No aspect of Slovak life, both past and present, was left untouched. From the study of the past issues of Slovakia the reader can obtain an undistorted picture of Slovaks, their country and their aspirations. In presenting this picture Dr. Pauco wanted to show to the free and freedom-loving people in the West the eventful history, the cultural riches and the political maturity of the Slovak nation. And in all this there was an implicit plea not so much for sympathy as for understanding. As an exiled son of a nation forcibly deprived of its in- �8 SLOVAKIA dependence, Dr. Jozef Pauco was valiantly striving to procure justice for his enslaved countrymen. The whole nation will gratefully remember his sacrifice and his devoted service. May he rest in peace! F. VNUK Australia �SLOVAKIA 9 Foreword As part of the Bicentennial programs of the Slovak League of America, we are happy to publish this special issue of our annual publication. After we suffered the loss of our long time editor, Dr. Joseph Pauco, who died on November 18, 1975, we fortunately obtained the services of Michael Novak, Slovak American author and lay theologian, as acting editor-in-chief. Into new hands is now committed the guidance and issuance of our Slovakia with all its heritage of things attained, with all its hopes of things to come. The hands of our current generation of Slovak Americans are new but they are firm and strong. Michael Novak brings to his task an equipment rare in fullness and rich in promise. The elders of our Slovak ethnics are cognizant that we are the passing instruments of a process that transcends our fleeting hour. We know that on each new generation this duty to take over the torch rests afresh. I am confident that the works compiled herein will mark the 1976 issue of Slovakia as an outstanding contribution by youthful Slovak Americans to the ethnic bicentennial and to the growing influence of the Slovak League and our affiliated organizations in the expended ethnic identification in America's pluralistic society. Accordingly, I am delighted, as President of the Slovak League, to express my official as well as personal gratitude to Dr. Novak and to the contributors whose works appear herein. To all to whom these lines appear, I wish you many moments of joyous, serious and rewarding reading and contemplative cogitation. EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President �10 SLOVAKIA Editor's Note The untimely death of Joseph Pauco left a vacancy, hard to fill , in the editorship of Slovakia. After his arrival in America, Pauco served the aspirations of the Slovak people long and well. We stand in his debt, dedicating this issue to him. Yet, characteristically, life springs from death. In the vacuum he left, while the present editor stood confused and in need of help, younger talents sprang up to offer their assistance. Mark Stolarik and John Bodnar bring to Slovakia a taste of the new scholarship, which is slowly but deeply revising the picture of immigration held by American historians. Other young colleagues of theirs will, we hope, join us in the future and make of Slovakia one of the best outlets of the new scholarship . Andrew Cincura and Owen V. Johnson add depth and balance to this volume. The new anthology by Cincura will be a major event in Slovak life in English-speaking lands, an indispensable and herculean effort; we are pleased to offer the readers of Slovakia a foretaste of his large new book. Professor Johnson ' s cool, objective tone witnesses to a new level of maturity and frank, open disagreement proper to the world of high scholarship. In 1976, the United States is 200 years old. But the great migration from Eastern Slovakia to the U.S. is barely 100 years old. One hundred years! It is time, now, for a new chapter to be opened in SlovakAmerican life - a new level of scholarship, a new tone of voice, a new depth and energy, a new generation to pick up the long struggle of the brave, suffering peoples of the past. Slovaks do not stand alone at the present moment. On all sides , many other ethnic peoples - and all those millions of Americans of mixed ethnic ancestry - are struggling to gain a clearer idea of their own identity and of America's . Scholarship is desperately needed, as are repositories of letters, diaries, legal records, old newspapers, and material of all sorts that scholars might study. And we need writers, novelists, poets, dramatists, moviemakers, song-writers, reporters, journalists of all sorts . And political sophistication and clout. Who were our grandparents? Why did tn(!y come to America - or, for later migrants, why did they stay longer in Slovakia? In order to enter our future intelligently, we need · to understand our special history . This issue, then, having anchored itself in a remembrance of things past , looks toward the future. MICHAEL NOV AK May 28, 1976 �SLOVAKIA 11 RESOLUTION UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BYTHE BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION CONFERENCE OFTHE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA MARCH 27, 1976 On the occasion of the annual conference of the Slovak League of America held in the historic City of Philadelphia during this last weekend of March in our nation's bicentennial year, the officers and delegates lawfully assembled in the shadows of Independence Hall solemnly and unanimously reiterate our unswerving, permanent and loyal commitment and dedication to the basic moral and ethical principles herein enumerated: 1. Preservation and expansion of the moral truths enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States and in the Charter of the United Nations. 2. Condemnation of all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems , especially the atheistic philosophy of materialistic communism. 3. Conviction that the peaceful cooperation between countries based upon the principles enunciated in the Charter of the United Nations is in harmony with the aspirations and hopes of all peace-loving peoples and the basis of international peace . 4. Conviction that peace in Europe - and thus peace in the world - can never be complete until everywhere in Europe men can choose, in peace and freedom, how their countries will be governed. 5. Reaffirmation of our faith in fundamental human rights , in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the rights of men and women and of nations , large and small, to enjoy free government of the people , by the people and for the people. In accordance with the above as well as with the principles set forth in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Slovak League of America, we declare that: A. We, Slovak Americans of second, third and fourth United States generations , seek and will continue to seek our equitable share in the fruits and advantages which belong to us as much as they belong �12 SLOVAKIA to any other ethnic group making up the great mosaic which is these United States of America. B. We will continue to make our special contributions to these United States of America as our native or adopted country goes forward in its third century of growth and progress. C. We will continue to cherish our eleven hundred year old Christian tradition with our own Slovak language, songs, dances, arts and cultural specialties which set us apart as a special unit of the great Slav family of peoples. D. We will, by exercising our ethnic qualities, emulate our Slovak forbear Major Polerecky who, on behalf of the General of the Armies, George Washington, accepted the sword of surrender from General Cornwallis at Yorktown and our contemporary Slovak American, Captain Eugene Ceman, one of the first humans to land on and explore the moon. E. The eventual liberation of our brethren and kinsfolk in subjugated Slovakia, and, in the ecumenical spirit of the day, all mankind, from the tyranny and yoke of atheistic materialism of godless communism must and will be our continuous goal. NOW, THEREFORE, to give action to our hopes and aspirations, we respectfully submit that to effectuate the above declared ideals, we must, individually and collectively, through our chosen authorities of state and nation, seek assistance in remaking this world in which we live - now - today - this day and this week. We agree to continue to be inspired by our prayers and deliberations here at historic independence Hall being cognizant and especially appreciative of the great rights and privileges we enjoy as citizens of the greatest democracy in the history of mankind. Further, we authorize our League president and executive secretary to take such other action as they believe will be in the best interests and of assistance in bringing the above sentiments to the attention of such authorities and officials as they believe will bring to fruition our aspirations herein set forth. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, these resolutions have been unanimously adopted at our Bicentennial Conference here at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 27th day of March, 1976. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Edward J. Behuncik, President John A. Holy, Executive Secretary \ � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 1976 (il( ill! l!E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E fl" !B IIIIII IIIIII N at io na l 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3!B r.h Cz e~ & Sl ov ak . b ra ry M us eu m & Li Ce da r Ra p id s, III III III Io wa Pr es en te d by : ~ fflW IIIIII IIIIII III III III A~A- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ID ID ID ID D at e: ~ ~ /9 9 ~ LI IIE 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E ~ 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 3E 31 l~ the nia l Me da l sponsored by vak Am eri ca n Bic en ten lic Slo tho Ca R st VE Fir CO T the ON (FR ission ffJnded by mm Co l nia ten en Bic n Slovak Am eri ca tio n.) Slovak Ladies As so cia SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXVI 1976 MICHAEL NOVAK Editor DANIEL F. TANZONE Associate Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Draga Divinska Joseph M. Kirschbaum Joseph C. Krajsa Susan Mikula Joseph A. Mikus Reverend Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Mark Stolarik Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. A Political Science and Historical Annual Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Mailing Address: SLOVAKIA 17 Porach Street Yonkers, New York 10701 N0.49 Printed By JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylva11_ia 17057 SLOVAKIA 3 Table of Contents In Memoriam - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Pauco - F. Vnuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Foreword - Edward J. Behuncik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Editor's Note - Dr. Michael Novak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Resolution by the Bicentennial Conference of the Slovak League of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M . Mark Stolarik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-American Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 - John Bodnar ...... .. . . .... .. . 21 Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs - Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . 40 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot - DanielF. Tanzone ... .... . 69 The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement - Anthony X. Sutherland 76 Selections from An Anthology of Slovak Literature Introductory Remarks by Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Slovakia on My Map - Margaret Matus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Book Reviews Prof. Joseph M. Kirschbaum ............................ Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B . ................................. Andrew Cincura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Owen V. Johnson . . ....... . ................. . .... . . . . .. 111 117 122 126 Our Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover SLOVAKIA 5 Jn McmPriam .i. (1914-1975) This Bicentennial issue of Slovakia marks the first time since 1964 that its editor is not Dr. Joseph Pauco. Our late dedicated and devoted Secretary-Treasurer of the Slovak League of America, Dr. Pauco took over the editorship of Slovakia upon the death of our former League President, Philip A. Hrobak. Having served his people and his generation with unusual dedication, Dr. Pauco laid down his pen on November 18, 1975 at a time when we thought he was in the full tide of a buoyant, very active life, holding much promise and hope of continued fruitful service. His is a rare example of a life truly lived for God and country - ZA BOHA A NAROD!! Steadfast in his beliefs , he was ever the uncompromising opponent of injustice and tyranny, especially the atheistic tyranny of Communism - with an unusual wrath against those whom he deemed godless invaders and oppressors. An unshrinking patriot, the success of his efforts can, to a large extent, be measured by the slanderous attacks he suffered at times from diverse national and international sources. But always maintaining his hold on the ideal, he continued by his spoken, and more significantly by his written , word to give of his many talents to both his native and adopted countries and to Slovaks everywhere. His many published works relating to Slovak history and particularly Slovak American history have earned him a place of distinction among Slovakia's many gifted writers and authors. The pledge made at his graveside bears reaffirmation: ' ' Dear Doctor, we, whom you left behind, pledge to carry on ... ZA BOHA A NAROD ." EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President, Slovak League of America SLOVAKIA 6 ln iMemPriam . V DR. JOZEF PAUCO Editor of Slovakia from 1964 to 1975 After eleven years the masthead of Slovakia no longer bears the name of Dr. Jozef Pauco as its editor. He died on November 18th, 1975 after a short illness. Everybody who knew him - either personally or through his literary, journalistic and editorial work - would agree that the Slovak cause lost in him its most worthy defender. Dr. Jozef Pauco will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest names in the history of Slovak journalism. He selflessly dedicated the great talent of his pen to the services of his nation. From the earliest writing of his student days to the last series of his articles, studies , commentaries and editorials he faithfully followed a firm and unchanging line: to win for his nation those rights and liberties which were its due. During the years of Slovak independence (1939-45) Dr. Pauco was the Editor-in-Chief of the largest Slovak daily, Slovak. With the fall of the Slovak Republic he went into exile in order to fight for the restoration of Slovak independence. His skillful journalistic pen proved to be an effective weapon in this struggle. In 1950 he emigrated to the U.S.A. where he became the Assistant Editor of Jednota, the official organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. But Dr. Pauco's energy and enthusiasm could not be exhausted in one job. Soon he was putting into action new plans and ideas. He was acutely aware that the Slovak cause needed patient explanation and elucidation in the political, academic and opinion-making circles of the Western World, particularly in the U.S. The enemies of the Slovak nation systematically - and regrettably with great measure of success - presented the Slovak struggle for independence as something subversive, dishonest and outr~eous. Dr. Jozef Pauco was one of those Slovak patriots who took upon themselves the task of changing this unsatisfactory state of affairs . They set out to expose falsehood , to defend the truth, to convince people that there was nothing subversive or unnatural in a nation's struggle for its independence . To promote and disseminate these ideas Dr. Pauco and his circle of friends launched a number of journals in the English language in which they tried to represent the political situation of Slovakia in its proper SLOVAKIA 7 context and in its true light. Dr. Pauco, as the Secretary-General of the Slovak National Council Abroad, was the editor of the monthly, Bulletin of the Slovak National Council (appeared in 1953-58), and at the same time assisted P. A. Hrobak in editing another informative journal in the English language, Slovak Newsletter. The revue Slovakia "<as a far more ambitious and more durable project. It started its existence in 1950 when the Slovak League of America - prompted by its Secretary, Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky decided to publish an English magazine dealing with Slovak cultural, political, historical and social affairs. The objectives of this magazine were stated thus: ''The chief purpose of Slovakia is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long struggle for freedom and independence.'' Initially the magazine was published quarterly but in the past 15 years it has been appearing as an annual publication. The first editor of Slovakia was Phillip A. Hrobak. Pauco's collaboration with this magazine started from the beginning. He provided not only editorial help but was also one of the most regular contributors. From 1964 (after the death of P. A. Hrobak) Dr. Jozef Pauco who in the meantime had been elected the Secretary of the Slovak League of America - took over the editorship. In the following eleven years he carried out this function expertly and efficiently. He tried hard and successfully to make Slovakia into a respected and representative revue. He gave Slovakia a new, more contemporary style. Prior to his editorship the content of Slovakia was largely made up of articles published originally in Slovak and intended primarily for the Slovak public. Dr. Pauco gradually changed that. He used to approach Slovak men of letters, Slovak historians and politicians with requests for specially written contributions. In this way there appeared in Slovakia many valuable essays and reviews in which various aspects of Slovak history, culture, politics, emigration, etc. were presented in an informative manner with the emphasis on those essentials in which a non-Slovak reader would be and should be interested. The imprint left by Pauco's dedicated and professional work is indelible and lasting. In compiling each issue of Slovakia Dr. Pauco tried to maintain an even balance. The variety of topics and the wide range of contributors from every corner of the world are an eloquent testimony to these efforts. No aspect of Slovak life, both past and present, was left untouched. From the study of the past issues of Slovakia the reader can obtain an undistorted picture of Slovaks, their country and their aspirations. In presenting this picture Dr. Pauco wanted to show to the free and freedom-loving people in the West the eventful history, the cultural riches and the political maturity of the Slovak nation. And in all this there was an implicit plea not so much for sympathy as for understanding. As an exiled son of a nation forcibly deprived of its in- 8 SLOVAKIA dependence, Dr. Jozef Pauco was valiantly striving to procure justice for his enslaved countrymen. The whole nation will gratefully remember his sacrifice and his devoted service. May he rest in peace! F. VNUK Australia SLOVAKIA 9 Foreword As part of the Bicentennial programs of the Slovak League of America, we are happy to publish this special issue of our annual publication. After we suffered the loss of our long time editor, Dr. Joseph Pauco, who died on November 18, 1975, we fortunately obtained the services of Michael Novak, Slovak American author and lay theologian, as acting editor-in-chief. Into new hands is now committed the guidance and issuance of our Slovakia with all its heritage of things attained, with all its hopes of things to come. The hands of our current generation of Slovak Americans are new but they are firm and strong. Michael Novak brings to his task an equipment rare in fullness and rich in promise. The elders of our Slovak ethnics are cognizant that we are the passing instruments of a process that transcends our fleeting hour. We know that on each new generation this duty to take over the torch rests afresh. I am confident that the works compiled herein will mark the 1976 issue of Slovakia as an outstanding contribution by youthful Slovak Americans to the ethnic bicentennial and to the growing influence of the Slovak League and our affiliated organizations in the expended ethnic identification in America's pluralistic society. Accordingly, I am delighted, as President of the Slovak League, to express my official as well as personal gratitude to Dr. Novak and to the contributors whose works appear herein. To all to whom these lines appear, I wish you many moments of joyous, serious and rewarding reading and contemplative cogitation. EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President 10 SLOVAKIA Editor's Note The untimely death of Joseph Pauco left a vacancy, hard to fill , in the editorship of Slovakia. After his arrival in America, Pauco served the aspirations of the Slovak people long and well. We stand in his debt, dedicating this issue to him. Yet, characteristically, life springs from death. In the vacuum he left, while the present editor stood confused and in need of help, younger talents sprang up to offer their assistance. Mark Stolarik and John Bodnar bring to Slovakia a taste of the new scholarship, which is slowly but deeply revising the picture of immigration held by American historians. Other young colleagues of theirs will, we hope, join us in the future and make of Slovakia one of the best outlets of the new scholarship . Andrew Cincura and Owen V. Johnson add depth and balance to this volume. The new anthology by Cincura will be a major event in Slovak life in English-speaking lands, an indispensable and herculean effort; we are pleased to offer the readers of Slovakia a foretaste of his large new book. Professor Johnson ' s cool, objective tone witnesses to a new level of maturity and frank, open disagreement proper to the world of high scholarship. In 1976, the United States is 200 years old. But the great migration from Eastern Slovakia to the U.S. is barely 100 years old. One hundred years! It is time, now, for a new chapter to be opened in SlovakAmerican life - a new level of scholarship, a new tone of voice, a new depth and energy, a new generation to pick up the long struggle of the brave, suffering peoples of the past. Slovaks do not stand alone at the present moment. On all sides , many other ethnic peoples - and all those millions of Americans of mixed ethnic ancestry - are struggling to gain a clearer idea of their own identity and of America's . Scholarship is desperately needed, as are repositories of letters, diaries, legal records, old newspapers, and material of all sorts that scholars might study. And we need writers, novelists, poets, dramatists, moviemakers, song-writers, reporters, journalists of all sorts . And political sophistication and clout. Who were our grandparents? Why did tn(!y come to America - or, for later migrants, why did they stay longer in Slovakia? In order to enter our future intelligently, we need · to understand our special history . This issue, then, having anchored itself in a remembrance of things past , looks toward the future. MICHAEL NOV AK May 28, 1976 SLOVAKIA 11 RESOLUTION UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BYTHE BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION CONFERENCE OFTHE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA MARCH 27, 1976 On the occasion of the annual conference of the Slovak League of America held in the historic City of Philadelphia during this last weekend of March in our nation's bicentennial year, the officers and delegates lawfully assembled in the shadows of Independence Hall solemnly and unanimously reiterate our unswerving, permanent and loyal commitment and dedication to the basic moral and ethical principles herein enumerated: 1. Preservation and expansion of the moral truths enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States and in the Charter of the United Nations. 2. Condemnation of all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems , especially the atheistic philosophy of materialistic communism. 3. Conviction that the peaceful cooperation between countries based upon the principles enunciated in the Charter of the United Nations is in harmony with the aspirations and hopes of all peace-loving peoples and the basis of international peace . 4. Conviction that peace in Europe - and thus peace in the world - can never be complete until everywhere in Europe men can choose, in peace and freedom, how their countries will be governed. 5. Reaffirmation of our faith in fundamental human rights , in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the rights of men and women and of nations , large and small, to enjoy free government of the people , by the people and for the people. In accordance with the above as well as with the principles set forth in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Slovak League of America, we declare that: A. We, Slovak Americans of second, third and fourth United States generations , seek and will continue to seek our equitable share in the fruits and advantages which belong to us as much as they belong 12 SLOVAKIA to any other ethnic group making up the great mosaic which is these United States of America. B. We will continue to make our special contributions to these United States of America as our native or adopted country goes forward in its third century of growth and progress. C. We will continue to cherish our eleven hundred year old Christian tradition with our own Slovak language, songs, dances, arts and cultural specialties which set us apart as a special unit of the great Slav family of peoples. D. We will, by exercising our ethnic qualities, emulate our Slovak forbear Major Polerecky who, on behalf of the General of the Armies, George Washington, accepted the sword of surrender from General Cornwallis at Yorktown and our contemporary Slovak American, Captain Eugene Ceman, one of the first humans to land on and explore the moon. E. The eventual liberation of our brethren and kinsfolk in subjugated Slovakia, and, in the ecumenical spirit of the day, all mankind, from the tyranny and yoke of atheistic materialism of godless communism must and will be our continuous goal. NOW, THEREFORE, to give action to our hopes and aspirations, we respectfully submit that to effectuate the above declared ideals, we must, individually and collectively, through our chosen authorities of state and nation, seek assistance in remaking this world in which we live - now - today - this day and this week. We agree to continue to be inspired by our prayers and deliberations here at historic independence Hall being cognizant and especially appreciative of the great rights and privileges we enjoy as citizens of the greatest democracy in the history of mankind. Further, we authorize our League president and executive secretary to take such other action as they believe will be in the best interests and of assistance in bringing the above sentiments to the attention of such authorities and officials as they believe will bring to fruition our aspirations herein set forth. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, these resolutions have been unanimously adopted at our Bicentennial Conference here at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 27th day of March, 1976. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Edward J. Behuncik, President John A. Holy, Executive Secretary \  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. 26 (No. 49) Description An account of the resource includes In Memoriam (Edward J. Behuncik); In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Paučo (F. Vnuk); Foreword (Edward J. Behuncik); Editor's Note (Michael Novak), Resolution by the Bicentennial Conference of the Slovak League of America Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vnuk, František, 1926- Behuncik, Edward J. Novak, Michael, 1933-2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF+dates name SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/675915bc9f7c8105845af9639076bf73.pdf 344aedb74161c78ddb173dbcaacff698 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 13 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M. MARK STOLARIK The Cleve/,a,nd State University Nineteenth century nationalism affected Slovaks both in Europe and in the United States. In its early stages this movement gripped people in all parts of northern Hungary. Later, the center of gravity shifted to central Slovakia while the east seemed doomed to Magyarization. Many eastern Slovaks who had moved to America, however, rediscovered their ethnic identity here and joined the struggle for national survival. European nationalism, which had its roots in the early Romantic period of the late eighteenth century, received a tremendous, if unexpected, boost from the reforms of Emperor Joseph II of Austria. Joseph, "that Convention in a single man" (1) who ruled the empire from 1780 to 1790, tried to modernize his realm with various reforms, including one that established German as the sole administrative language in his lands . This reform, among others, aroused the Magyar element of the nobility of Hungary, over which Joseph ruled, and set them on the road to national revival. They rejected German as the administrative language of Hungary and, starting in 1791, enacted through their Diet a series of laws which, by 1843, made Magyar the official language of their part of the empire. (2) This ethno-centrism destroyed the "a-national" (3) Hungarian kingdom which had previously employed Latin as the official language and turned it into a Magyar state that began to wage war upon all non-Magyar nationalities. Slovaks resisted attempts to assimilate them from the start. Even before the Magyars started fostering their own language, the Reverend Anton Bernolak codified the Slovak language and urged his countrymen to use it . His codification, which first appeared in print in 1787, utilized the western Slovak dialect and won wide acceptance among Catholics for the next fifty years. (4) Not only did western and central Slovak Catholics adopt Bernolak's codification, but their eastern counterparts accepted it as well. As Imrich Sedlak has recently shown, a group of Bernolak's fellow-priests in 1789 sent out an appeal from the Bratislava seminary to all Slovak nationalists to unite in a " Slovenske ucene tovarysstvo" (Slovak Literary Guild) which would promote Bernolak's reforms . Western, central and eastern Slovaks joined in this movement. Main branches of this learned society, which had its headquarters in the western city of Trnava, sprang up immediately in eastern communities such as Solivar, �14 SLOVAKIA Saris, and in central communities such as Roznava, Gerner, and Jager, now in Hungary. (5) In the 1820s other branches appeared in the eastern cities of Spisske Podhradie, Spis and Kosice, Abauj. (6) In the 1830s, student societies for the promotion of Slovak nationalism appeared also at the gymnasiums of Levoca and Kezmarok, Spis and Presov, and Saris. (7) While Bernolak' s codification did help to promote nationalism among Catholic Slovaks, it did not win wide acceptance among the Lutheran minority, nor among easterners. Lutherans continued using Old Czech, as found in their Bible, throughout the Bernolak era. Eastern Slovaks, when confronted with the choice between the western and central dialects, preferred central because they could better comprehend it. Perceiving this linguistic disunity, I.:udovit Stur, a Lutheran minister and professor at the Bratislava lyceum, decided to re-codify Slovak using the central dialect. He completed his work in 1846 and the students at the Levoca gymnasium immediately accepted it. Other eastern Slovak centers soon followed suit, as did most central and western ones, including those run by Catholics and Lutherans. (8) Therefore, by the middle of the nineteenth century, most Slovak intellectuals, whether from the east, west or center, were united in their support of the central dialect as the literary language of all the people. Slovak nationalism suffered its first setback in the 1848 revolution and continued to lose ground thereafter. As Julius Mesaros has pointed out, the followers of Stur participated in the 1848 revolution by fighting on the side of Vienna against Hungary, but certain rivals of Stur, led by the poet Jan Kollar, managed to win the approval of Vienna for their own cause, which was the use of Czech by the Slovaks. Vienna sanctioned the use of Czech in Slovak districts but only as a second language because the repressive regime of Alexander Bach, which lasted from 1849 to 1859, preferred to use German on all occasions. As a result, all nine gymnasiums in Hungary which had used Slovak as the language of instruction were Germanized by 1857. (9) From 1859 to 1867, while Vienna negotiated with Budapest about a possible accord between the Habsburgs and the Magyars, Slovak leaders took advantage of the relative freedom that prevailed and demanded recognition as a nation. In 1861, over 5,000 nationalists from all parts of the country met in Turciansky Sviity Martin in central Slovakia and drafted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" to the Budapest Parliament. Besides demanding certain civil rights, they asked for home rule in the region called "Upper Hungary" . However, nobles who had promised to present this Memorandum to the Parliament backed down when they realized that its acceptance would mean a loss of their special privileges . The Magyars then merely denounced the Memorandum as "separatism" and ignored it. The only tangible achievement during this period of calm was the founding in �SLOVAKIA 15 1863 of the 'Matica Slovenska', a literary and cultural society with headquarters in Martin. For the next decade, it published hundreds of books and periodicals and became the coordinator and center of national life. (10) \ Slovak leaders next took advantage of a new order which prevailed between 1867 and 1872. In 1867 the Habsburgs and Magyars reached the famous 'Ausgleich' (Compromise) which divided the empire between them and left the Magyars supreme in Hungary. Under the relatively enlightened leadership of Francis Deak and Joseph Eotvos, the Hungarian Parliament in 1868 passed a "Law of Nationalities" which permitted, among other things, that the citizenry in all nonMagyar districts might use their mother tongue. Slovak Catholics immediately built a new gymnasium in Klastor pod Znievom and Lutherans built one in Turciansky Svaty Martin and enlarged one in Revuca. In 1869 Catholic Slovaks also established, after ten years of effort, the Society of St. Vojtech in Trnava, dedicated to publishing Catholic books and periodicals in the national language. (11) In 1873, after a change of leadership, the Magyars began to persecute the Slovaks. Bela Grunwald, vice-governor of the county of Zvolen, helped set up a "Magyar szovetseg" (Magyar Union) to Magyarize the nationalities. In addition, Grunwald petitioned Budapest "on behalfof the Slovak people" to close the three Slovak gymnasiums because they were "bastions of pan-Slavism". Led by Prime Minister Koloman Tisza, who declared in 1875 that ''there is no Slovak nation'', the Hungarian government seized the three new gymnasiums in 18741875 and had the 'Matica Slovenska' sacked in 1874. (12) Using the control of county governments which the 1867 Compromise had guaranteed them, the Magyars next attacked nationalist students and tried to disrupt the unity of the Slovak nation. In the 1880s county governments expelled fifty Slovaks from their gymnasiums, including seven from the Levoca and seven from the Presov institutions. In 1881, the government of Saris decided to test Bela Grunwald's Magyarization plans on the people of that country. And, as Ladislav Tajtak has shown, county officials began publishing books in the Saris dialect in the hope that this act would break eastern Slovaks off from the rest of their nation and make them easier to Magyarize. The plan seemed to be working in the 1880s; western and central Slovaks could find few nationalist leaders, books or newspapers in the eastern counties. (13) While the future of Slovak identity and unity seemed thus in jeopardy in Hungary, nationalist leaders took heart from events in America. In 1886, they learned from an American Magyar publication that Slovaks in Pittsburgh had begun to publish a newspaper. (14) It catered to eastern Slovaks from Saris and Zemplin, who had not one single periodical of their own in the Old Country. (15) Nationalists in Martin were delighted to learn that Slovaks in �16 SLOVAKIA America had begun " to read and like newspapers ." (16) This good news was followed by more. In 1890 a Magyarone priest in the United States indignantly wrote to a Budapest newspaper that American Slovaks were turning into ' 'Pan-Slavs'', and that they were not heeding the call to stay loyal to Hungary which he expounded in his newspaper. (17) Eastern Slovaks in America became nationalists largely through the efforts of one man, Peter V. Rovnianek, a native of Trencin county, central Slovakia, who had studied theology at the Budapest Roman Catholic seminary before being expelled in 1887 for "Pan-Slavism". After having visited with national leaders in Turciansky Svaty Martin, Rovnianek made his way to America in response to a call by the Bishop of Cleveland for a priest for the local Slovak community. (18) Shortly after his acceptance into the Cleveland seminary in September of 1888, Rovnianek began to contribute articles to Nova Vlast' (New Homeland), a weekly publication in the central dialect by Edo Schwarz-Markovic, a former police captain of Levoca, who had become a nationalist in America. (19) Markovic, however, had strong competition from the much larger weekly Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News). Rovnianek realized that if he was to convert eastern Slovaks to nationalism, then he would have to do it in the larger and more popular newspaper. (20) The publishers of Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, the first Slovak newspaper in America, did not start out as nationalists. Jan Slovensky and Julius Wolf, cousins of mixed German-Slovak parentage from the county of Spis in the eastern region, came to America as loyal citizens of Hungary. They had both studied at the Magyarized teachers' college at Klastor pod Znievom in central Slovakia and, upon graduation in 1879, decided to go lion-hunting in Africa. Unscrupulous immigration agents placed them, instead, on a ship bound for New York and soon both men found themselves working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Very shortly thereafter Slovensky took a job as ''information officer'' at the Austro-Hungarian consulate in Pittsburgh while Julius Wolf worked in a grocery store. (21) At the consulate Slovensky came into daily contact with eastern Slovaks seeking news from the Old Country. He tired of answering their many questions and decided to post a weekly Bulletin of all the information that he had from home. So popular did this publication become that he began distributing it in the local saloons in order to keep Slovaks from swamping the consulate every week. Perceiving the possibility of financial rewards, Slovensky then joined Wolf in establishing in the fall of 1886 AmerikanskoSlovenske Noviny . The paper employed the eas'tern Slovak dialect and Magyar orthography because the editors had never studied central Slovak and they were not nationalists . (22) Ladislav Tajtak speculated that had Slovensky and Wolf not met P . V. Rovnianek and come into · financial difficulty in 1889, the newspaper might very well have �SLOVAKIA 17 retained its eastern dialect and its pro-Hungarian stance. (23) Rovnianek converted the publishers of Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the Slovak national cause. He began by contributing articles in central Slovak, and, despite some protests in letters to the editor, Slovensky published the~ as submitted. Rovnianek then urged the editors to publish the entire newspaper in the literary language for the sake of national unity. Slovensky and Wolf remained unconvinced until 1889. That year their printery burned down and they needed a large sum of money to rebuild it. Rovnianek then left the seminary, contributed some money to the building fund and entered into partnership with Slovensky and Wolf. Finally, Rovnianek persuaded them to make him editor. From then on all articles in the newspaper appeared in central Slovak and the editorials persistently decried Magyar oppression in the homeland. (24) Hungarian government officials subsequently labeled him a "pernicious and dangerous Pan-Slav agitator". (25) After Rovnianek succeeded in converting Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the literary language, most other Slovak newspapers in America followed suit. Leaders in the Old Country proudly observed in 1896 that American Slovaks, who had come from the most Magyarized counties of Hungary (eastern Slovakia), supported thirteen newspapers and not one appeared in the eastern dialect. (26) Certain American Slovak leaders, however, remained unconvinced and tried to foster the use of the outmoded dialect. The Magyarone priest Jozef Kossalko, for instance, published a weekly Zcistava (Flag) in eastern Slovakia in 1889 in order to combat the influence of Rovnianek' s paper. (27) Since he found very few subscribers, his paper folded after nine months. A group of Slovak socialists in Jersey City tried in 1892 to establish a weekly Robotnik (Worker) using the eastern dialect but it survived for only a few months. (28) The weekly Slebodni Orel (Free Eagle) of New York, published with the support of Father Imrich Haitinger of Passaic, a Magyarone colleague of Jozef Kossalko, also utilized the Saris dialect and had a shaky run of four years. It ceased publication in 1904. (29) Even Father Matus Jankola, president in 1900 of the First Catholic Slovak Union, and Albert Mamatey, president in 1918 of the Slovak League of America (both central Slovak nationalists), mistakenly believed that eastern Slovaks would rather read newspapers in their own dialect. (30) P. V. Rovnianek fought all such attempts, believing it would destroy the unity of the Slovak nation to publish in any other but the literary language. Rovnianek also opposed attempts at codifying eastern Slovak. (31) More importantly, eastern Slovak laymen in America also opposed writing in their own dialect . A certain "Malcicky from Zemplin" explained to his intellectual superiors that ''Germans have a large number of dialects and yet use only one literary form to preserve their unity;" therefore, "American editors are wrong in trying to publish in �18 SLOVAKIA eastern Slovak dialects." (32) Another even denounced his former schoolteacher in the village of Budimir, Saris, who had arrogantly written in eastern Slovak to accuse him of being a ''Pan-Slav scoundrel. '' Matik replied in central Slovak that his friends in Budimir would fight the Magyars and Magyarones to the bitter end and he bitingly asked this teacher how he could have forgotten his origins so quickly. (33) Besides affirming their nationalism, many from the eastern counties also acted it out. An immigrant from Liptov, one of the most nationalist of Slovak counties, reported that in 1890, three years after his arrival in America, a group of Saris natives persuaded him to join the National Slovak Society. (34) A little later a group of easterners in Passaic wrote a letter in their native dialect to the nationalists in Turciansky Svaty Martin and asked for central Slovak books and hymnals for their newly-established library. (35) Even more surprisingly, two lodges of Rockland Lake, New York, resolved to foster the literary form and sent money to N<irodne noviny (National News) in Martin to help their brethren do the same. And yet the officers communicated this information in eastern Slovak because they had not learned the dialect which had become the national symbol, but they promised to do so. (36) American-Slovak priests as well as the Hungarian government recognized the triumph of nationalism among eastern Slovaks in the United States. In 1903, at a meeting of the "Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests," in Philadelphia, delegates resolved to preach henceforth in the central dialect in order to keep the nation united. Such a resolution, passed in the presence of the Magyarone priest Imrich Haitinger, could never have succeeded had not the overwhelming number of eastern Slovak laymen supported it. (37) The Hungarian government concurred and unwittingly complimented easterners in the United States by declaring that "one stream of PanSlavism comes from Turciansky Svaty Martin and the other from America." (38) Slovak nationalism manifested itself, then, not only in Hungary but also in America; and it affected not only central and western but also eastern Slovaks. In the early stages of-its growth, leaders in all sections of northern Hungary presented a united front. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the Magyars concentrated upon splitting off eastern Slovakia from the movement and by the 1880's appeared to be winning .that objective, partly by publishing books in the regional dialect. However, eastern Slovaks who had migrated to America accepted P. V. Rovnianek's urgings to use central Slovak as their literary language. After 1890 they rejected Magyarone and even some misguided central Slovak suggestions to codify the eastern dialect and to publish in it. Therefore, while central Slovaks �SLOVAKIA 19 formed the bulwark against Magyarization in the Old Country, eastern Slovaks did so in America. FOOTNOTES \ (1) A. J . P . Taylor, The Habsburg Mnnarchy, 1809-1918 (New York, 1948), 19. (2) R. W. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks (London, 1943), 257-60. (3) George Barany, "Hoping against Hope: The Enlightened Age in Hungary," American Historical Review, 76 (April, 1971), 347. (4) Jan Tibensky, "Fonnovanie sa ideol6gie slovenskej feudalnej narodnosti a burzoazneho naroda " (The Forming of the Ideology of the Slovak Feudal Nation and of the Bougeois Nation), Historicky tasopis, XIX (No. 4, 1971), 585. (5) Imrich Sedlak, Strieborny uek: narodno-kulturny a literarny pohyb na u-jchodnom Slouensku u obdobi ntirodneho obrodenia (The Silver Age : The National Cultural and Literary Movement in Eastern Slovakia During the National Awakening), (2 Vols., Kosice, 1970) I, 33-46. (6) Ibid., 91-104. (7) Ibid., 135-51. (8) Ibid., 177-88 and 224-33; see also Seton-Watson, History of the Czechs and Slovaks, 259-61. (9) Julius Mesaros et. al., Dejiny Slouenska II: od roku 1848 do roku 1900 (A History of Slovakia, II: From 1848 to 1900) , (Bratislava, 1968) 102-112. (10) " Memorandum naroda slovenskeho k vysokemu snemu krajiny uhorskej ... " (Memorandum of the Slovak Nation to the High Parliament of Hungary .. . ), in Dr. Vacovsky (Milan Ivanka), Slouaci a Macfari: politicko-historicka uuaha (The Slovaks and the Magyars: A Politico-Historical Dissertation) , (Pittsburgh, 1914) 113-23; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 179-200. (11) Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson) , Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908), 136-56; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 264; and Jan Poestenyi, Dejiny Spolku su. Vojtecha (History of the Society of St. Vojtech) , (Trnava, 1930) 5-17. (12) Scotus Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, 167; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 27281. (13) Narodnie nouiny (Martin), September 30, 1882, p . l; Ladislav Tajtak, "K otazke vydavania ucebnic vo vychodoslovenskom nareci" (Concerning the Question of the Publication of Textbooks in the Eastern Slovak Dialect), Noue Obzory, VI (1964), 4364; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 289-93. (14) Amerikai Nemzetoei, as quoted in Narodnie nouiny, October 26, 1886, p. 3. (15) Ntirodnie nouiny, November 3, 1886, p. 1. (16) Ibid., August 27, 1887, pp. 1-2 . (17) Jozef Kossalko in Budapesti Hirlap as reprinted in Narodnie nouiny, April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (18) P. V. Rovnianek, Zapisky za iiua pochouaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive), (Pittsburgh, 1924) 14-51. (19) J . A. Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Literature in America) , Sbornik Narodneho Slouenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 22. (20) Ibid., 22 and 24; and Konstantin Culen, J. Slouensk-j: Ziuotopis zakladatefapru-jch slouensk-jch nouin u Amerike (J. Slovensky: A Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America), (Winnipeg, 1954) 105, 116-117. �20 SLOVAKIA (21) Culen, J. Slovensky, 16-88; and Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo," 21-22. (22) Culen, J . Slovensky, 91-96; and Feriencik, ''Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo,'' 22. (23) Ladislav Tajtak , "K zaciatkom Amerik<insko-Slovenskych Navin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny), in Josef Polisensky, ed . , Zai!iatky i!eskej a slovenskej emigr<icie do USA (The beginnings of Czech and Slovak Emigration to the U.S .A.), (Bratislava, 1970) 189. (24) Ibid., 191; and Culen, J. Slovensky, 123-126. (25) Prime Minister of Hungary to the governor of Spis, August 28, 1902, Slovak State Archives , Levoca, hlavny zupan (governor), 43, 1902. (26) N<irodnie noviny, 1896, No. 25, p . 3. (27) Ibid., April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (28) Mesaros, Dejiny Slovenska II, p. 539. (29) Konstantin Culen , Slovenske i!asopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America), (Cleveland, 1970) 167. (30) Stefan Furdek to Frantisek Sasinek, December 11, 1900, Literary Archives of the Matica Slovenska in Martin (hereafter LAMS), 37-045; and Obrana (Cleveland), November 27, 1918, pp. 6-7. (31) Obrana, November 27, 1918, p. 7; and Rovnianek, Z<ipisky, 111. (32) Slovak vAmerike (New York), June 14, 1907, p. 3. (33) Jednota (Middletown, Pa.), July 22, 1914, p . 2; and Kritika (Cleveland), May 6, 1914, p. 5. (34) Pavel Svihra, " Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers), N<irodny Kalend<ir, 1930, 169. (35) Jan Nemetz to N<irodnie noviny, May 17 and June 20, 1897, LAMS, 37-054 and 37056. (36) Slovaks of Rockland Lake, N.Y. to N<irodnie noviny, May 5, 1898, LAMS, 37-056. (37) Ms. Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests Under the Protection of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Minutes (in Slovak), September 1, 1903, Society of St. Vojtech, Trnava, fasc . 299, C, No . 14 (on microfilm also at the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota). (38) Governor of Abauj County to all his subordinates, notice on Pan-Slavism, Slovak State Archives, Kosice, podfopan (vice-governor), X, 13051, 1905. � SLOVAKIA 13 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M. MARK STOLARIK The Cleve/,a,nd State University Nineteenth century nationalism affected Slovaks both in Europe and in the United States. In its early stages this movement gripped people in all parts of northern Hungary. Later, the center of gravity shifted to central Slovakia while the east seemed doomed to Magyarization. Many eastern Slovaks who had moved to America, however, rediscovered their ethnic identity here and joined the struggle for national survival. European nationalism, which had its roots in the early Romantic period of the late eighteenth century, received a tremendous, if unexpected, boost from the reforms of Emperor Joseph II of Austria. Joseph, "that Convention in a single man" (1) who ruled the empire from 1780 to 1790, tried to modernize his realm with various reforms, including one that established German as the sole administrative language in his lands . This reform, among others, aroused the Magyar element of the nobility of Hungary, over which Joseph ruled, and set them on the road to national revival. They rejected German as the administrative language of Hungary and, starting in 1791, enacted through their Diet a series of laws which, by 1843, made Magyar the official language of their part of the empire. (2) This ethno-centrism destroyed the "a-national" (3) Hungarian kingdom which had previously employed Latin as the official language and turned it into a Magyar state that began to wage war upon all non-Magyar nationalities. Slovaks resisted attempts to assimilate them from the start. Even before the Magyars started fostering their own language, the Reverend Anton Bernolak codified the Slovak language and urged his countrymen to use it . His codification, which first appeared in print in 1787, utilized the western Slovak dialect and won wide acceptance among Catholics for the next fifty years. (4) Not only did western and central Slovak Catholics adopt Bernolak's codification, but their eastern counterparts accepted it as well. As Imrich Sedlak has recently shown, a group of Bernolak's fellow-priests in 1789 sent out an appeal from the Bratislava seminary to all Slovak nationalists to unite in a " Slovenske ucene tovarysstvo" (Slovak Literary Guild) which would promote Bernolak's reforms . Western, central and eastern Slovaks joined in this movement. Main branches of this learned society, which had its headquarters in the western city of Trnava, sprang up immediately in eastern communities such as Solivar, �14 SLOVAKIA Saris, and in central communities such as Roznava, Gerner, and Jager, now in Hungary. (5) In the 1820s other branches appeared in the eastern cities of Spisske Podhradie, Spis and Kosice, Abauj. (6) In the 1830s, student societies for the promotion of Slovak nationalism appeared also at the gymnasiums of Levoca and Kezmarok, Spis and Presov, and Saris. (7) While Bernolak' s codification did help to promote nationalism among Catholic Slovaks, it did not win wide acceptance among the Lutheran minority, nor among easterners. Lutherans continued using Old Czech, as found in their Bible, throughout the Bernolak era. Eastern Slovaks, when confronted with the choice between the western and central dialects, preferred central because they could better comprehend it. Perceiving this linguistic disunity, I.:udovit Stur, a Lutheran minister and professor at the Bratislava lyceum, decided to re-codify Slovak using the central dialect. He completed his work in 1846 and the students at the Levoca gymnasium immediately accepted it. Other eastern Slovak centers soon followed suit, as did most central and western ones, including those run by Catholics and Lutherans. (8) Therefore, by the middle of the nineteenth century, most Slovak intellectuals, whether from the east, west or center, were united in their support of the central dialect as the literary language of all the people. Slovak nationalism suffered its first setback in the 1848 revolution and continued to lose ground thereafter. As Julius Mesaros has pointed out, the followers of Stur participated in the 1848 revolution by fighting on the side of Vienna against Hungary, but certain rivals of Stur, led by the poet Jan Kollar, managed to win the approval of Vienna for their own cause, which was the use of Czech by the Slovaks. Vienna sanctioned the use of Czech in Slovak districts but only as a second language because the repressive regime of Alexander Bach, which lasted from 1849 to 1859, preferred to use German on all occasions. As a result, all nine gymnasiums in Hungary which had used Slovak as the language of instruction were Germanized by 1857. (9) From 1859 to 1867, while Vienna negotiated with Budapest about a possible accord between the Habsburgs and the Magyars, Slovak leaders took advantage of the relative freedom that prevailed and demanded recognition as a nation. In 1861, over 5,000 nationalists from all parts of the country met in Turciansky Sviity Martin in central Slovakia and drafted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" to the Budapest Parliament. Besides demanding certain civil rights, they asked for home rule in the region called "Upper Hungary" . However, nobles who had promised to present this Memorandum to the Parliament backed down when they realized that its acceptance would mean a loss of their special privileges . The Magyars then merely denounced the Memorandum as "separatism" and ignored it. The only tangible achievement during this period of calm was the founding in �SLOVAKIA 15 1863 of the 'Matica Slovenska', a literary and cultural society with headquarters in Martin. For the next decade, it published hundreds of books and periodicals and became the coordinator and center of national life. (10) \ Slovak leaders next took advantage of a new order which prevailed between 1867 and 1872. In 1867 the Habsburgs and Magyars reached the famous 'Ausgleich' (Compromise) which divided the empire between them and left the Magyars supreme in Hungary. Under the relatively enlightened leadership of Francis Deak and Joseph Eotvos, the Hungarian Parliament in 1868 passed a "Law of Nationalities" which permitted, among other things, that the citizenry in all nonMagyar districts might use their mother tongue. Slovak Catholics immediately built a new gymnasium in Klastor pod Znievom and Lutherans built one in Turciansky Svaty Martin and enlarged one in Revuca. In 1869 Catholic Slovaks also established, after ten years of effort, the Society of St. Vojtech in Trnava, dedicated to publishing Catholic books and periodicals in the national language. (11) In 1873, after a change of leadership, the Magyars began to persecute the Slovaks. Bela Grunwald, vice-governor of the county of Zvolen, helped set up a "Magyar szovetseg" (Magyar Union) to Magyarize the nationalities. In addition, Grunwald petitioned Budapest "on behalfof the Slovak people" to close the three Slovak gymnasiums because they were "bastions of pan-Slavism". Led by Prime Minister Koloman Tisza, who declared in 1875 that ''there is no Slovak nation'', the Hungarian government seized the three new gymnasiums in 18741875 and had the 'Matica Slovenska' sacked in 1874. (12) Using the control of county governments which the 1867 Compromise had guaranteed them, the Magyars next attacked nationalist students and tried to disrupt the unity of the Slovak nation. In the 1880s county governments expelled fifty Slovaks from their gymnasiums, including seven from the Levoca and seven from the Presov institutions. In 1881, the government of Saris decided to test Bela Grunwald's Magyarization plans on the people of that country. And, as Ladislav Tajtak has shown, county officials began publishing books in the Saris dialect in the hope that this act would break eastern Slovaks off from the rest of their nation and make them easier to Magyarize. The plan seemed to be working in the 1880s; western and central Slovaks could find few nationalist leaders, books or newspapers in the eastern counties. (13) While the future of Slovak identity and unity seemed thus in jeopardy in Hungary, nationalist leaders took heart from events in America. In 1886, they learned from an American Magyar publication that Slovaks in Pittsburgh had begun to publish a newspaper. (14) It catered to eastern Slovaks from Saris and Zemplin, who had not one single periodical of their own in the Old Country. (15) Nationalists in Martin were delighted to learn that Slovaks in �16 SLOVAKIA America had begun " to read and like newspapers ." (16) This good news was followed by more. In 1890 a Magyarone priest in the United States indignantly wrote to a Budapest newspaper that American Slovaks were turning into ' 'Pan-Slavs'', and that they were not heeding the call to stay loyal to Hungary which he expounded in his newspaper. (17) Eastern Slovaks in America became nationalists largely through the efforts of one man, Peter V. Rovnianek, a native of Trencin county, central Slovakia, who had studied theology at the Budapest Roman Catholic seminary before being expelled in 1887 for "Pan-Slavism". After having visited with national leaders in Turciansky Svaty Martin, Rovnianek made his way to America in response to a call by the Bishop of Cleveland for a priest for the local Slovak community. (18) Shortly after his acceptance into the Cleveland seminary in September of 1888, Rovnianek began to contribute articles to Nova Vlast' (New Homeland), a weekly publication in the central dialect by Edo Schwarz-Markovic, a former police captain of Levoca, who had become a nationalist in America. (19) Markovic, however, had strong competition from the much larger weekly Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News). Rovnianek realized that if he was to convert eastern Slovaks to nationalism, then he would have to do it in the larger and more popular newspaper. (20) The publishers of Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, the first Slovak newspaper in America, did not start out as nationalists. Jan Slovensky and Julius Wolf, cousins of mixed German-Slovak parentage from the county of Spis in the eastern region, came to America as loyal citizens of Hungary. They had both studied at the Magyarized teachers' college at Klastor pod Znievom in central Slovakia and, upon graduation in 1879, decided to go lion-hunting in Africa. Unscrupulous immigration agents placed them, instead, on a ship bound for New York and soon both men found themselves working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Very shortly thereafter Slovensky took a job as ''information officer'' at the Austro-Hungarian consulate in Pittsburgh while Julius Wolf worked in a grocery store. (21) At the consulate Slovensky came into daily contact with eastern Slovaks seeking news from the Old Country. He tired of answering their many questions and decided to post a weekly Bulletin of all the information that he had from home. So popular did this publication become that he began distributing it in the local saloons in order to keep Slovaks from swamping the consulate every week. Perceiving the possibility of financial rewards, Slovensky then joined Wolf in establishing in the fall of 1886 AmerikanskoSlovenske Noviny . The paper employed the eas'tern Slovak dialect and Magyar orthography because the editors had never studied central Slovak and they were not nationalists . (22) Ladislav Tajtak speculated that had Slovensky and Wolf not met P . V. Rovnianek and come into · financial difficulty in 1889, the newspaper might very well have �SLOVAKIA 17 retained its eastern dialect and its pro-Hungarian stance. (23) Rovnianek converted the publishers of Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the Slovak national cause. He began by contributing articles in central Slovak, and, despite some protests in letters to the editor, Slovensky published the~ as submitted. Rovnianek then urged the editors to publish the entire newspaper in the literary language for the sake of national unity. Slovensky and Wolf remained unconvinced until 1889. That year their printery burned down and they needed a large sum of money to rebuild it. Rovnianek then left the seminary, contributed some money to the building fund and entered into partnership with Slovensky and Wolf. Finally, Rovnianek persuaded them to make him editor. From then on all articles in the newspaper appeared in central Slovak and the editorials persistently decried Magyar oppression in the homeland. (24) Hungarian government officials subsequently labeled him a "pernicious and dangerous Pan-Slav agitator". (25) After Rovnianek succeeded in converting Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the literary language, most other Slovak newspapers in America followed suit. Leaders in the Old Country proudly observed in 1896 that American Slovaks, who had come from the most Magyarized counties of Hungary (eastern Slovakia), supported thirteen newspapers and not one appeared in the eastern dialect. (26) Certain American Slovak leaders, however, remained unconvinced and tried to foster the use of the outmoded dialect. The Magyarone priest Jozef Kossalko, for instance, published a weekly Zcistava (Flag) in eastern Slovakia in 1889 in order to combat the influence of Rovnianek' s paper. (27) Since he found very few subscribers, his paper folded after nine months. A group of Slovak socialists in Jersey City tried in 1892 to establish a weekly Robotnik (Worker) using the eastern dialect but it survived for only a few months. (28) The weekly Slebodni Orel (Free Eagle) of New York, published with the support of Father Imrich Haitinger of Passaic, a Magyarone colleague of Jozef Kossalko, also utilized the Saris dialect and had a shaky run of four years. It ceased publication in 1904. (29) Even Father Matus Jankola, president in 1900 of the First Catholic Slovak Union, and Albert Mamatey, president in 1918 of the Slovak League of America (both central Slovak nationalists), mistakenly believed that eastern Slovaks would rather read newspapers in their own dialect. (30) P. V. Rovnianek fought all such attempts, believing it would destroy the unity of the Slovak nation to publish in any other but the literary language. Rovnianek also opposed attempts at codifying eastern Slovak. (31) More importantly, eastern Slovak laymen in America also opposed writing in their own dialect . A certain "Malcicky from Zemplin" explained to his intellectual superiors that ''Germans have a large number of dialects and yet use only one literary form to preserve their unity;" therefore, "American editors are wrong in trying to publish in �18 SLOVAKIA eastern Slovak dialects." (32) Another even denounced his former schoolteacher in the village of Budimir, Saris, who had arrogantly written in eastern Slovak to accuse him of being a ''Pan-Slav scoundrel. '' Matik replied in central Slovak that his friends in Budimir would fight the Magyars and Magyarones to the bitter end and he bitingly asked this teacher how he could have forgotten his origins so quickly. (33) Besides affirming their nationalism, many from the eastern counties also acted it out. An immigrant from Liptov, one of the most nationalist of Slovak counties, reported that in 1890, three years after his arrival in America, a group of Saris natives persuaded him to join the National Slovak Society. (34) A little later a group of easterners in Passaic wrote a letter in their native dialect to the nationalists in Turciansky Svaty Martin and asked for central Slovak books and hymnals for their newly-established library. (35) Even more surprisingly, two lodges of Rockland Lake, New York, resolved to foster the literary form and sent money to N<irodne noviny (National News) in Martin to help their brethren do the same. And yet the officers communicated this information in eastern Slovak because they had not learned the dialect which had become the national symbol, but they promised to do so. (36) American-Slovak priests as well as the Hungarian government recognized the triumph of nationalism among eastern Slovaks in the United States. In 1903, at a meeting of the "Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests," in Philadelphia, delegates resolved to preach henceforth in the central dialect in order to keep the nation united. Such a resolution, passed in the presence of the Magyarone priest Imrich Haitinger, could never have succeeded had not the overwhelming number of eastern Slovak laymen supported it. (37) The Hungarian government concurred and unwittingly complimented easterners in the United States by declaring that "one stream of PanSlavism comes from Turciansky Svaty Martin and the other from America." (38) Slovak nationalism manifested itself, then, not only in Hungary but also in America; and it affected not only central and western but also eastern Slovaks. In the early stages of-its growth, leaders in all sections of northern Hungary presented a united front. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the Magyars concentrated upon splitting off eastern Slovakia from the movement and by the 1880's appeared to be winning .that objective, partly by publishing books in the regional dialect. However, eastern Slovaks who had migrated to America accepted P. V. Rovnianek's urgings to use central Slovak as their literary language. After 1890 they rejected Magyarone and even some misguided central Slovak suggestions to codify the eastern dialect and to publish in it. Therefore, while central Slovaks �SLOVAKIA 19 formed the bulwark against Magyarization in the Old Country, eastern Slovaks did so in America. FOOTNOTES \ (1) A. J . P . Taylor, The Habsburg Mnnarchy, 1809-1918 (New York, 1948), 19. (2) R. W. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks (London, 1943), 257-60. (3) George Barany, "Hoping against Hope: The Enlightened Age in Hungary," American Historical Review, 76 (April, 1971), 347. (4) Jan Tibensky, "Fonnovanie sa ideol6gie slovenskej feudalnej narodnosti a burzoazneho naroda " (The Forming of the Ideology of the Slovak Feudal Nation and of the Bougeois Nation), Historicky tasopis, XIX (No. 4, 1971), 585. (5) Imrich Sedlak, Strieborny uek: narodno-kulturny a literarny pohyb na u-jchodnom Slouensku u obdobi ntirodneho obrodenia (The Silver Age : The National Cultural and Literary Movement in Eastern Slovakia During the National Awakening), (2 Vols., Kosice, 1970) I, 33-46. (6) Ibid., 91-104. (7) Ibid., 135-51. (8) Ibid., 177-88 and 224-33; see also Seton-Watson, History of the Czechs and Slovaks, 259-61. (9) Julius Mesaros et. al., Dejiny Slouenska II: od roku 1848 do roku 1900 (A History of Slovakia, II: From 1848 to 1900) , (Bratislava, 1968) 102-112. (10) " Memorandum naroda slovenskeho k vysokemu snemu krajiny uhorskej ... " (Memorandum of the Slovak Nation to the High Parliament of Hungary .. . ), in Dr. Vacovsky (Milan Ivanka), Slouaci a Macfari: politicko-historicka uuaha (The Slovaks and the Magyars: A Politico-Historical Dissertation) , (Pittsburgh, 1914) 113-23; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 179-200. (11) Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson) , Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908), 136-56; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 264; and Jan Poestenyi, Dejiny Spolku su. Vojtecha (History of the Society of St. Vojtech) , (Trnava, 1930) 5-17. (12) Scotus Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, 167; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 27281. (13) Narodnie nouiny (Martin), September 30, 1882, p . l; Ladislav Tajtak, "K otazke vydavania ucebnic vo vychodoslovenskom nareci" (Concerning the Question of the Publication of Textbooks in the Eastern Slovak Dialect), Noue Obzory, VI (1964), 4364; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 289-93. (14) Amerikai Nemzetoei, as quoted in Narodnie nouiny, October 26, 1886, p. 3. (15) Ntirodnie nouiny, November 3, 1886, p. 1. (16) Ibid., August 27, 1887, pp. 1-2 . (17) Jozef Kossalko in Budapesti Hirlap as reprinted in Narodnie nouiny, April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (18) P. V. Rovnianek, Zapisky za iiua pochouaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive), (Pittsburgh, 1924) 14-51. (19) J . A. Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Literature in America) , Sbornik Narodneho Slouenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 22. (20) Ibid., 22 and 24; and Konstantin Culen, J. Slouensk-j: Ziuotopis zakladatefapru-jch slouensk-jch nouin u Amerike (J. Slovensky: A Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America), (Winnipeg, 1954) 105, 116-117. �20 SLOVAKIA (21) Culen, J. Slovensky, 16-88; and Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo," 21-22. (22) Culen, J . Slovensky, 91-96; and Feriencik, ''Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo,'' 22. (23) Ladislav Tajtak , "K zaciatkom Amerik<insko-Slovenskych Navin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny), in Josef Polisensky, ed . , Zai!iatky i!eskej a slovenskej emigr<icie do USA (The beginnings of Czech and Slovak Emigration to the U.S .A.), (Bratislava, 1970) 189. (24) Ibid., 191; and Culen, J. Slovensky, 123-126. (25) Prime Minister of Hungary to the governor of Spis, August 28, 1902, Slovak State Archives , Levoca, hlavny zupan (governor), 43, 1902. (26) N<irodnie noviny, 1896, No. 25, p . 3. (27) Ibid., April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (28) Mesaros, Dejiny Slovenska II, p. 539. (29) Konstantin Culen , Slovenske i!asopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America), (Cleveland, 1970) 167. (30) Stefan Furdek to Frantisek Sasinek, December 11, 1900, Literary Archives of the Matica Slovenska in Martin (hereafter LAMS), 37-045; and Obrana (Cleveland), November 27, 1918, pp. 6-7. (31) Obrana, November 27, 1918, p. 7; and Rovnianek, Z<ipisky, 111. (32) Slovak vAmerike (New York), June 14, 1907, p. 3. (33) Jednota (Middletown, Pa.), July 22, 1914, p . 2; and Kritika (Cleveland), May 6, 1914, p. 5. (34) Pavel Svihra, " Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers), N<irodny Kalend<ir, 1930, 169. (35) Jan Nemetz to N<irodnie noviny, May 17 and June 20, 1897, LAMS, 37-054 and 37056. (36) Slovaks of Rockland Lake, N.Y. to N<irodnie noviny, May 5, 1898, LAMS, 37-056. (37) Ms. Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests Under the Protection of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Minutes (in Slovak), September 1, 1903, Society of St. Vojtech, Trnava, fasc . 299, C, No . 14 (on microfilm also at the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota). (38) Governor of Abauj County to all his subordinates, notice on Pan-Slavism, Slovak State Archives, Kosice, podfopan (vice-governor), X, 13051, 1905. � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism M. MARK STOLARIK The Cleve/,a,nd State University Nineteenth century nationalism affected Slovaks both in Europe and in the United States. In its early stages this movement gripped people in all parts of northern Hungary. Later, the center of gravity shifted to central Slovakia while the east seemed doomed to Magyarization. Many eastern Slovaks who had moved to America, however, rediscovered their ethnic identity here and joined the struggle for national survival. European nationalism, which had its roots in the early Romantic period of the late eighteenth century, received a tremendous, if unexpected, boost from the reforms of Emperor Joseph II of Austria. Joseph, "that Convention in a single man" (1) who ruled the empire from 1780 to 1790, tried to modernize his realm with various reforms, including one that established German as the sole administrative language in his lands . This reform, among others, aroused the Magyar element of the nobility of Hungary, over which Joseph ruled, and set them on the road to national revival. They rejected German as the administrative language of Hungary and, starting in 1791, enacted through their Diet a series of laws which, by 1843, made Magyar the official language of their part of the empire. (2) This ethno-centrism destroyed the "a-national" (3) Hungarian kingdom which had previously employed Latin as the official language and turned it into a Magyar state that began to wage war upon all non-Magyar nationalities. Slovaks resisted attempts to assimilate them from the start. Even before the Magyars started fostering their own language, the Reverend Anton Bernolak codified the Slovak language and urged his countrymen to use it . His codification, which first appeared in print in 1787, utilized the western Slovak dialect and won wide acceptance among Catholics for the next fifty years. (4) Not only did western and central Slovak Catholics adopt Bernolak's codification, but their eastern counterparts accepted it as well. As Imrich Sedlak has recently shown, a group of Bernolak's fellow-priests in 1789 sent out an appeal from the Bratislava seminary to all Slovak nationalists to unite in a " Slovenske ucene tovarysstvo" (Slovak Literary Guild) which would promote Bernolak's reforms . Western, central and eastern Slovaks joined in this movement. Main branches of this learned society, which had its headquarters in the western city of Trnava, sprang up immediately in eastern communities such as Solivar, 14 SLOVAKIA Saris, and in central communities such as Roznava, Gerner, and Jager, now in Hungary. (5) In the 1820s other branches appeared in the eastern cities of Spisske Podhradie, Spis and Kosice, Abauj. (6) In the 1830s, student societies for the promotion of Slovak nationalism appeared also at the gymnasiums of Levoca and Kezmarok, Spis and Presov, and Saris. (7) While Bernolak' s codification did help to promote nationalism among Catholic Slovaks, it did not win wide acceptance among the Lutheran minority, nor among easterners. Lutherans continued using Old Czech, as found in their Bible, throughout the Bernolak era. Eastern Slovaks, when confronted with the choice between the western and central dialects, preferred central because they could better comprehend it. Perceiving this linguistic disunity, I.:udovit Stur, a Lutheran minister and professor at the Bratislava lyceum, decided to re-codify Slovak using the central dialect. He completed his work in 1846 and the students at the Levoca gymnasium immediately accepted it. Other eastern Slovak centers soon followed suit, as did most central and western ones, including those run by Catholics and Lutherans. (8) Therefore, by the middle of the nineteenth century, most Slovak intellectuals, whether from the east, west or center, were united in their support of the central dialect as the literary language of all the people. Slovak nationalism suffered its first setback in the 1848 revolution and continued to lose ground thereafter. As Julius Mesaros has pointed out, the followers of Stur participated in the 1848 revolution by fighting on the side of Vienna against Hungary, but certain rivals of Stur, led by the poet Jan Kollar, managed to win the approval of Vienna for their own cause, which was the use of Czech by the Slovaks. Vienna sanctioned the use of Czech in Slovak districts but only as a second language because the repressive regime of Alexander Bach, which lasted from 1849 to 1859, preferred to use German on all occasions. As a result, all nine gymnasiums in Hungary which had used Slovak as the language of instruction were Germanized by 1857. (9) From 1859 to 1867, while Vienna negotiated with Budapest about a possible accord between the Habsburgs and the Magyars, Slovak leaders took advantage of the relative freedom that prevailed and demanded recognition as a nation. In 1861, over 5,000 nationalists from all parts of the country met in Turciansky Sviity Martin in central Slovakia and drafted a "Memorandum of the Slovak Nation" to the Budapest Parliament. Besides demanding certain civil rights, they asked for home rule in the region called "Upper Hungary" . However, nobles who had promised to present this Memorandum to the Parliament backed down when they realized that its acceptance would mean a loss of their special privileges . The Magyars then merely denounced the Memorandum as "separatism" and ignored it. The only tangible achievement during this period of calm was the founding in SLOVAKIA 15 1863 of the 'Matica Slovenska', a literary and cultural society with headquarters in Martin. For the next decade, it published hundreds of books and periodicals and became the coordinator and center of national life. (10) \ Slovak leaders next took advantage of a new order which prevailed between 1867 and 1872. In 1867 the Habsburgs and Magyars reached the famous 'Ausgleich' (Compromise) which divided the empire between them and left the Magyars supreme in Hungary. Under the relatively enlightened leadership of Francis Deak and Joseph Eotvos, the Hungarian Parliament in 1868 passed a "Law of Nationalities" which permitted, among other things, that the citizenry in all nonMagyar districts might use their mother tongue. Slovak Catholics immediately built a new gymnasium in Klastor pod Znievom and Lutherans built one in Turciansky Svaty Martin and enlarged one in Revuca. In 1869 Catholic Slovaks also established, after ten years of effort, the Society of St. Vojtech in Trnava, dedicated to publishing Catholic books and periodicals in the national language. (11) In 1873, after a change of leadership, the Magyars began to persecute the Slovaks. Bela Grunwald, vice-governor of the county of Zvolen, helped set up a "Magyar szovetseg" (Magyar Union) to Magyarize the nationalities. In addition, Grunwald petitioned Budapest "on behalfof the Slovak people" to close the three Slovak gymnasiums because they were "bastions of pan-Slavism". Led by Prime Minister Koloman Tisza, who declared in 1875 that ''there is no Slovak nation'', the Hungarian government seized the three new gymnasiums in 18741875 and had the 'Matica Slovenska' sacked in 1874. (12) Using the control of county governments which the 1867 Compromise had guaranteed them, the Magyars next attacked nationalist students and tried to disrupt the unity of the Slovak nation. In the 1880s county governments expelled fifty Slovaks from their gymnasiums, including seven from the Levoca and seven from the Presov institutions. In 1881, the government of Saris decided to test Bela Grunwald's Magyarization plans on the people of that country. And, as Ladislav Tajtak has shown, county officials began publishing books in the Saris dialect in the hope that this act would break eastern Slovaks off from the rest of their nation and make them easier to Magyarize. The plan seemed to be working in the 1880s; western and central Slovaks could find few nationalist leaders, books or newspapers in the eastern counties. (13) While the future of Slovak identity and unity seemed thus in jeopardy in Hungary, nationalist leaders took heart from events in America. In 1886, they learned from an American Magyar publication that Slovaks in Pittsburgh had begun to publish a newspaper. (14) It catered to eastern Slovaks from Saris and Zemplin, who had not one single periodical of their own in the Old Country. (15) Nationalists in Martin were delighted to learn that Slovaks in 16 SLOVAKIA America had begun " to read and like newspapers ." (16) This good news was followed by more. In 1890 a Magyarone priest in the United States indignantly wrote to a Budapest newspaper that American Slovaks were turning into ' 'Pan-Slavs'', and that they were not heeding the call to stay loyal to Hungary which he expounded in his newspaper. (17) Eastern Slovaks in America became nationalists largely through the efforts of one man, Peter V. Rovnianek, a native of Trencin county, central Slovakia, who had studied theology at the Budapest Roman Catholic seminary before being expelled in 1887 for "Pan-Slavism". After having visited with national leaders in Turciansky Svaty Martin, Rovnianek made his way to America in response to a call by the Bishop of Cleveland for a priest for the local Slovak community. (18) Shortly after his acceptance into the Cleveland seminary in September of 1888, Rovnianek began to contribute articles to Nova Vlast' (New Homeland), a weekly publication in the central dialect by Edo Schwarz-Markovic, a former police captain of Levoca, who had become a nationalist in America. (19) Markovic, however, had strong competition from the much larger weekly Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny (American Slovak News). Rovnianek realized that if he was to convert eastern Slovaks to nationalism, then he would have to do it in the larger and more popular newspaper. (20) The publishers of Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, the first Slovak newspaper in America, did not start out as nationalists. Jan Slovensky and Julius Wolf, cousins of mixed German-Slovak parentage from the county of Spis in the eastern region, came to America as loyal citizens of Hungary. They had both studied at the Magyarized teachers' college at Klastor pod Znievom in central Slovakia and, upon graduation in 1879, decided to go lion-hunting in Africa. Unscrupulous immigration agents placed them, instead, on a ship bound for New York and soon both men found themselves working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Very shortly thereafter Slovensky took a job as ''information officer'' at the Austro-Hungarian consulate in Pittsburgh while Julius Wolf worked in a grocery store. (21) At the consulate Slovensky came into daily contact with eastern Slovaks seeking news from the Old Country. He tired of answering their many questions and decided to post a weekly Bulletin of all the information that he had from home. So popular did this publication become that he began distributing it in the local saloons in order to keep Slovaks from swamping the consulate every week. Perceiving the possibility of financial rewards, Slovensky then joined Wolf in establishing in the fall of 1886 AmerikanskoSlovenske Noviny . The paper employed the eas'tern Slovak dialect and Magyar orthography because the editors had never studied central Slovak and they were not nationalists . (22) Ladislav Tajtak speculated that had Slovensky and Wolf not met P . V. Rovnianek and come into · financial difficulty in 1889, the newspaper might very well have SLOVAKIA 17 retained its eastern dialect and its pro-Hungarian stance. (23) Rovnianek converted the publishers of Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the Slovak national cause. He began by contributing articles in central Slovak, and, despite some protests in letters to the editor, Slovensky published the~ as submitted. Rovnianek then urged the editors to publish the entire newspaper in the literary language for the sake of national unity. Slovensky and Wolf remained unconvinced until 1889. That year their printery burned down and they needed a large sum of money to rebuild it. Rovnianek then left the seminary, contributed some money to the building fund and entered into partnership with Slovensky and Wolf. Finally, Rovnianek persuaded them to make him editor. From then on all articles in the newspaper appeared in central Slovak and the editorials persistently decried Magyar oppression in the homeland. (24) Hungarian government officials subsequently labeled him a "pernicious and dangerous Pan-Slav agitator". (25) After Rovnianek succeeded in converting Amerikcinsko-Slovenske Noviny to the literary language, most other Slovak newspapers in America followed suit. Leaders in the Old Country proudly observed in 1896 that American Slovaks, who had come from the most Magyarized counties of Hungary (eastern Slovakia), supported thirteen newspapers and not one appeared in the eastern dialect. (26) Certain American Slovak leaders, however, remained unconvinced and tried to foster the use of the outmoded dialect. The Magyarone priest Jozef Kossalko, for instance, published a weekly Zcistava (Flag) in eastern Slovakia in 1889 in order to combat the influence of Rovnianek' s paper. (27) Since he found very few subscribers, his paper folded after nine months. A group of Slovak socialists in Jersey City tried in 1892 to establish a weekly Robotnik (Worker) using the eastern dialect but it survived for only a few months. (28) The weekly Slebodni Orel (Free Eagle) of New York, published with the support of Father Imrich Haitinger of Passaic, a Magyarone colleague of Jozef Kossalko, also utilized the Saris dialect and had a shaky run of four years. It ceased publication in 1904. (29) Even Father Matus Jankola, president in 1900 of the First Catholic Slovak Union, and Albert Mamatey, president in 1918 of the Slovak League of America (both central Slovak nationalists), mistakenly believed that eastern Slovaks would rather read newspapers in their own dialect. (30) P. V. Rovnianek fought all such attempts, believing it would destroy the unity of the Slovak nation to publish in any other but the literary language. Rovnianek also opposed attempts at codifying eastern Slovak. (31) More importantly, eastern Slovak laymen in America also opposed writing in their own dialect . A certain "Malcicky from Zemplin" explained to his intellectual superiors that ''Germans have a large number of dialects and yet use only one literary form to preserve their unity;" therefore, "American editors are wrong in trying to publish in 18 SLOVAKIA eastern Slovak dialects." (32) Another even denounced his former schoolteacher in the village of Budimir, Saris, who had arrogantly written in eastern Slovak to accuse him of being a ''Pan-Slav scoundrel. '' Matik replied in central Slovak that his friends in Budimir would fight the Magyars and Magyarones to the bitter end and he bitingly asked this teacher how he could have forgotten his origins so quickly. (33) Besides affirming their nationalism, many from the eastern counties also acted it out. An immigrant from Liptov, one of the most nationalist of Slovak counties, reported that in 1890, three years after his arrival in America, a group of Saris natives persuaded him to join the National Slovak Society. (34) A little later a group of easterners in Passaic wrote a letter in their native dialect to the nationalists in Turciansky Svaty Martin and asked for central Slovak books and hymnals for their newly-established library. (35) Even more surprisingly, two lodges of Rockland Lake, New York, resolved to foster the literary form and sent money to N<irodne noviny (National News) in Martin to help their brethren do the same. And yet the officers communicated this information in eastern Slovak because they had not learned the dialect which had become the national symbol, but they promised to do so. (36) American-Slovak priests as well as the Hungarian government recognized the triumph of nationalism among eastern Slovaks in the United States. In 1903, at a meeting of the "Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests," in Philadelphia, delegates resolved to preach henceforth in the central dialect in order to keep the nation united. Such a resolution, passed in the presence of the Magyarone priest Imrich Haitinger, could never have succeeded had not the overwhelming number of eastern Slovak laymen supported it. (37) The Hungarian government concurred and unwittingly complimented easterners in the United States by declaring that "one stream of PanSlavism comes from Turciansky Svaty Martin and the other from America." (38) Slovak nationalism manifested itself, then, not only in Hungary but also in America; and it affected not only central and western but also eastern Slovaks. In the early stages of-its growth, leaders in all sections of northern Hungary presented a united front. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the Magyars concentrated upon splitting off eastern Slovakia from the movement and by the 1880's appeared to be winning .that objective, partly by publishing books in the regional dialect. However, eastern Slovaks who had migrated to America accepted P. V. Rovnianek's urgings to use central Slovak as their literary language. After 1890 they rejected Magyarone and even some misguided central Slovak suggestions to codify the eastern dialect and to publish in it. Therefore, while central Slovaks SLOVAKIA 19 formed the bulwark against Magyarization in the Old Country, eastern Slovaks did so in America. FOOTNOTES \ (1) A. J . P . Taylor, The Habsburg Mnnarchy, 1809-1918 (New York, 1948), 19. (2) R. W. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks (London, 1943), 257-60. (3) George Barany, "Hoping against Hope: The Enlightened Age in Hungary," American Historical Review, 76 (April, 1971), 347. (4) Jan Tibensky, "Fonnovanie sa ideol6gie slovenskej feudalnej narodnosti a burzoazneho naroda " (The Forming of the Ideology of the Slovak Feudal Nation and of the Bougeois Nation), Historicky tasopis, XIX (No. 4, 1971), 585. (5) Imrich Sedlak, Strieborny uek: narodno-kulturny a literarny pohyb na u-jchodnom Slouensku u obdobi ntirodneho obrodenia (The Silver Age : The National Cultural and Literary Movement in Eastern Slovakia During the National Awakening), (2 Vols., Kosice, 1970) I, 33-46. (6) Ibid., 91-104. (7) Ibid., 135-51. (8) Ibid., 177-88 and 224-33; see also Seton-Watson, History of the Czechs and Slovaks, 259-61. (9) Julius Mesaros et. al., Dejiny Slouenska II: od roku 1848 do roku 1900 (A History of Slovakia, II: From 1848 to 1900) , (Bratislava, 1968) 102-112. (10) " Memorandum naroda slovenskeho k vysokemu snemu krajiny uhorskej ... " (Memorandum of the Slovak Nation to the High Parliament of Hungary .. . ), in Dr. Vacovsky (Milan Ivanka), Slouaci a Macfari: politicko-historicka uuaha (The Slovaks and the Magyars: A Politico-Historical Dissertation) , (Pittsburgh, 1914) 113-23; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 179-200. (11) Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson) , Racial Problems in Hungary (London, 1908), 136-56; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 264; and Jan Poestenyi, Dejiny Spolku su. Vojtecha (History of the Society of St. Vojtech) , (Trnava, 1930) 5-17. (12) Scotus Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, 167; Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 27281. (13) Narodnie nouiny (Martin), September 30, 1882, p . l; Ladislav Tajtak, "K otazke vydavania ucebnic vo vychodoslovenskom nareci" (Concerning the Question of the Publication of Textbooks in the Eastern Slovak Dialect), Noue Obzory, VI (1964), 4364; and Mesaros, Dejiny Slouenska II, 289-93. (14) Amerikai Nemzetoei, as quoted in Narodnie nouiny, October 26, 1886, p. 3. (15) Ntirodnie nouiny, November 3, 1886, p. 1. (16) Ibid., August 27, 1887, pp. 1-2 . (17) Jozef Kossalko in Budapesti Hirlap as reprinted in Narodnie nouiny, April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (18) P. V. Rovnianek, Zapisky za iiua pochouaneho (Notes of One Buried Alive), (Pittsburgh, 1924) 14-51. (19) J . A. Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo a slovenska spisba v Amerike" (Slovak Immigration and Slovak Literature in America) , Sbornik Narodneho Slouenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 22. (20) Ibid., 22 and 24; and Konstantin Culen, J. Slouensk-j: Ziuotopis zakladatefapru-jch slouensk-jch nouin u Amerike (J. Slovensky: A Biography of the Founder of the First Slovak Newspaper in America), (Winnipeg, 1954) 105, 116-117. 20 SLOVAKIA (21) Culen, J. Slovensky, 16-88; and Feriencik, "Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo," 21-22. (22) Culen, J . Slovensky, 91-96; and Feriencik, ''Slovenske prist'ahovalectvo,'' 22. (23) Ladislav Tajtak , "K zaciatkom Amerik<insko-Slovenskych Navin" (Concerning the Beginnings of Amerik<insko-Slovenske Noviny), in Josef Polisensky, ed . , Zai!iatky i!eskej a slovenskej emigr<icie do USA (The beginnings of Czech and Slovak Emigration to the U.S .A.), (Bratislava, 1970) 189. (24) Ibid., 191; and Culen, J. Slovensky, 123-126. (25) Prime Minister of Hungary to the governor of Spis, August 28, 1902, Slovak State Archives , Levoca, hlavny zupan (governor), 43, 1902. (26) N<irodnie noviny, 1896, No. 25, p . 3. (27) Ibid., April 19, 1890, pp. 1-2. (28) Mesaros, Dejiny Slovenska II, p. 539. (29) Konstantin Culen , Slovenske i!asopisy v Amerike (Slovak Newspapers in America), (Cleveland, 1970) 167. (30) Stefan Furdek to Frantisek Sasinek, December 11, 1900, Literary Archives of the Matica Slovenska in Martin (hereafter LAMS), 37-045; and Obrana (Cleveland), November 27, 1918, pp. 6-7. (31) Obrana, November 27, 1918, p. 7; and Rovnianek, Z<ipisky, 111. (32) Slovak vAmerike (New York), June 14, 1907, p. 3. (33) Jednota (Middletown, Pa.), July 22, 1914, p . 2; and Kritika (Cleveland), May 6, 1914, p. 5. (34) Pavel Svihra, " Nasi pionieri" (Our Pioneers), N<irodny Kalend<ir, 1930, 169. (35) Jan Nemetz to N<irodnie noviny, May 17 and June 20, 1897, LAMS, 37-054 and 37056. (36) Slovaks of Rockland Lake, N.Y. to N<irodnie noviny, May 5, 1898, LAMS, 37-056. (37) Ms. Society of Slovak Roman Catholic Priests Under the Protection of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Minutes (in Slovak), September 1, 1903, Society of St. Vojtech, Trnava, fasc . 299, C, No . 14 (on microfilm also at the Immigrant Archives of the University of Minnesota). (38) Governor of Abauj County to all his subordinates, notice on Pan-Slavism, Slovak State Archives, Kosice, podfopan (vice-governor), X, 13051, 1905.  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 Immigration and Eastern Slovak Nationalism Description An account of the resource M . Mark Stolarik Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 13-20 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stolarik, M. Mark, 1943- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6ecb9a8a1a3ae244eaea5fd8670bbade.pdf 60b590a5785e269d2a32bdb8fb90bda1 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian �22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish �SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to �24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of �SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) �26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American �SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) �28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice �30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) �SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: �32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . �33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak �SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an �SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. �36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. �' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, �38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, �SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52. � SLOVAKIA 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian �22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish �SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to �24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of �SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) �26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American �SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) �28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice �30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) �SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: �32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . �33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak �SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an �SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. �36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. �' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, �38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, �SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52. � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian 22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to 24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) 26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) 28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice 30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: 32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . 33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. 36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. ' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, 38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52.  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 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-American Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 Description An account of the resource John Bodnar Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 21-39 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bodnar, John E., 1944- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/57bf29eb8ae2c1109d7aff74ead3bb38.pdf aa5c41e6906ac3a8d5a85674ddfd8255 PDF Text Text 40 SLOVAKIA Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs in America: The Impact of Culture Contact on Immigrant Art and Custom ANDREW CINCURA University of California Decoration of Easter eggs, one of the most ancient calendar customs of the general Slavic area, (1) is still alive among the Slavic ethnic groups in Europe and America. Though there have been changes in the decoration of Easter eggs and in customs related to this form of folk art, Easter eggs are even now cherished by these groups as important and unaltered landmarks of the past. (2) The importance of Easter eggs has also been recognized in folkloristics. Although several Slavic and non-Slavic scholars have studied Easter eggs, either in connection with other disciplines, (3) or as part of a study of Slavic culture, (4) to my knowledge no scholar has studied the transmission of Slavic Easter egg decorative traditions from Europe to America. In this article, I want to briefly outline continuity and change of this transmission in connection with the Slavic and Ruthenian Easter eggs. (5) This is a pilot study based upon fieldwork among the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio, (6) and will examine and interpret the data collected in the field in the terms of (a) implements and materials used in decoration of Easter eggs; (b) designs; (c) techniques of Easter egg manufacture; (d) customs involving decorated eggs. To begin with, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is concerned with technology and etymology. The implements employed in egg decoration belong basically to three groups. First, there are household implements, such as sharp-pointed knives, tin cooking utensils, dishes, glasses, spoons, glass jars, tin lids, electric heating plates, needles, brushes, pencils, awls, and baskets. Removed temporarily from their everyday use, these implements serve folk artists in egg decoration, usually without any special change as to the appearance and function of the implement in question. The second group of implements are represented by slightly modified household tools as, for example, needles and pins puslied lengthwise into large kitchen matches or into chopsticks (Figs. 1,4), sewing awls with attached thread, or thin wire (7), or rubberbands. (8). The third group consists of items bought or manufactured exclusively for egg decoration. This group is represented by three tools, oko, skrabacka, andpierko. The first of them, oko, (literally, "eye"), is an implement used either for immersion of eggs in, or for their removal out of, jars or glasses filled with water colors. The oko, consisting of two basic parts, �SLOVAKIA 41 ring and handle, is made of one piece of relatively solid wire. The ring, as the first part of the implement, is made by the bending of wire into the form of a circle of a slightly smaller diameter than the maximal width of the egg. The handle, on the other hand, is formed by a sharp bend of wire at the point qf the completed circle and in about 120 degree slant to the plane rep'resented by the ring (Fig. 7). The oko was manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak in order "to prevent scratches on the surfaces of freshly batiked eggs whenever the eggs were immersed into containers or removed with a spoon.'' The second tool, skrabacka ("scraper"), is either a commercially-acquired or a homemade awl with a thin pencil-like wooden or metallic handle . The skrabacka, being alternately used with sharp-pointed knives, is the most important tool in the so-called "scratch-carving" technique. (9) The third tool used exclusively in egg decoration, pierko ("pen"), is called also brko (''quillpen'') in Slovakia. A modern variant of pierko is the voskovacka (literally, "waxing fountain-pen"). Basically an implement consisting of a pencil-like wooden handle and a tiny funnel-like metallic cup attached diagonally to the end of the handle, the voskovacka is the most important tool in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. Its more or less archaic specimens were described by Cenek Zibrt, (10) while the modern equivalents of voskovacka were briefly treated by A. Vaclavik. (11) With the exception of Mrs. Jane Mad'ar (shown in Fig. 10), all my informants in Cleveland used the most modern variant of voskovacka when decorating with the batik technique. (12) The tools of the first and second groups are used in decoration either without any change or with slight modification, and as such they are mentioned by most of the sources consulted for this paper both in the terms of technology and terminology. In Cleveland I observed that all implements belonging to these two groups are generally used in a fashion similar to their use in Europe. One may say that an extensive give-and-take exchange exists between the uses of these tools for everyday needs in the household and in egg decoration. In view of this, the tools of these two groups may be considered the most evident instances of continuity in transmission of this form of folk art from Europe to America. (13) As to etymology, the implements described in connection with the third group above (i.e., oko, skrabacka, and voskovacka) are important items in the tracing of historic-ethnic proveniences and the links in material aspects of Easter customs. The usefulness of these terms is evident if one accepts the thesis that there is no term in folk art for something that actually does not exist. (14) Thus, if Slovak terms skrabacka, pierko, and voskovacka have equivalents in all other Slavic languages, this is also a proof of antiquity and popularity of this special group of implements. (15) If, on the contrary, the term oko does not exist in its specific meaning, for example, in Slovak, this might suggest �42 SLOVAKIA that the implement itself does not exist materially in the Slovak ethnic territory either. If in spite of this , however, both the term and implement are present among the Slovaks in America, this is either because of borrowing from another ethnic group in America, or because of an individual's invention . Either way, it is rather convincing evidence of change that took place between the points of origin and American use of this tool. Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian ancestry , told me that he had seen a similar implement "somewhere in Cleveland.'' This information, linked together with the fact that Mr. Molchak did not know the Ukrainian name of this tool, hints that the implement is of Ukrainian origin, but Mrs. Molchak, an American of Slovak ancestry, gave it a Slovak name. The household implements mentioned in connection with groups one and two above are , on the contrary, of no value for a study along ethnic-comparative lines. Although also known in all Slavic languages, these implements are of interchangeable use, and as such they may be present in the cultures unfamiliar with egg decoration. Examined in connection with the informants in Cleveland , the tools of all three groups are relevant for the study of Slavic-English aspects concerning their terminology. In general, a shift to favor English terminology was observable among all my informants without regard to ethnic or sex group or age. Persistence in usage of traditional Slavic terms was still visible in connection with the most recent immigrants. The American-born Slovak and Ruthenian informants, on the contrary, have shown a tendency to favor Slavic terms only in the cases when the implements were of frequent use at home and infrequently mentioned at school. For example, the childen of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak were well acquainted with the terms of pentlicka ("ribbon" in Slovak dialectical usage) or kistka ("waxing pen" in Ruthenian and Eastern Slovak usage) while the Anglo-American terms were consistently favored whenever the children spoke about knives, spoons, or canples. In essence, one can say that the Old World terms were dropped whenever their specific equivalents existed in English. On the other' hand, the Slavic terms were retained even by the American-born informants whenever neither objects nor terms were present in American culture. The second aspect of this study concerns the examination of materials used in egg decoration. Closely related to the study of implements, these materials are used for preparation of colors and the materials employed in the so-called ''relief techniques.'' Since the materials used in the relief techniques will be treated extensively later in this article, only the materials used in preparation of colors will be considered at this point. These materials, at any rate, are of utmost importance for the study of transmission of Easter eggs in its corollary aspect of change . Considered at the point of departure from Europe, these materials represent a medley of knowledge and notions · concerning chemistry, botany, and physics, at a folklife level. In America, �SLOVAKIA 43 on the contrary, all coloring substances are commercially acquired in the form of "new coloring kits, easy to use" either in the so-called "Chick-chick plastic bag" or "Paint me" paper box varieties. In order to understand better the nature and extent of this change, let us examine the materials used for coloring and tinting of eggs first in their European form and then in connection with their American counterpart. According to the majority of my informants, "onions and tea leaves cooked together with eggs were used most often for coloring and tinting by our mothers in Europe , but also some 'other things ' may be used for this work." (16) Although unspecific as to the rest of tinting substances, the informants in Cleveland still gave me enough clues in order to continue with the study of this aspect in connection with the written sources. Thus, the "other things" mentioned by informants may have been: the overcooked "Spring rye, hay and coffee; clover leaves (tied to the eggs and cooked in the) extract of ... young grass (and) parsley" (17) for regular tinting, and "the cabbage 'acid' " (18) for 'etching' of parts of eggs not covered by wax. ( 19) In America, as stated, the tinting and coloring kits are bought. These kits, costing ''only a few dollars,'' (20) contain all basic colors in powder form. The coloring fluid is prepared ''by the mixing of the powder with hot water and vinegar," (21) according to specific directions for use. I have not seen any of my informants work with the etching technique; therefore, I mention it here only in order to stress its relative importance in Europe and its absence among my informants in Ohio. The linguistic aspect concerning the materials used for tinting and coloring is, in my opinion, important only in its European version. The terms used in identification of various tinting and coloring substances or materials are either well-known throughout the Slavic area or restricted to some small regions. The widely spread terms are, again like the terms denoting certain tools, an indication of popularity and presence of these materials and substances in the individual Slavic countries. On the other hand, the terms restricted to certain small regions are undeniable proof that the particular material was used only locally or regionally. This conclusion is based upon the fact that these terms are ''tinted'' with dialecticism to such an extent that they cannot be found in average dictionaries nor identified by those of my informants possessing rather advanced formal education in art history or folk art technology. So, for example, neither Dr. Cincik and Miss Petrushka nor Mrs. Osadca were able to give me any information on the terms of pryzyly or kampeska. (22) The commercially acquired American kits are of no value in the study of folk terminology in connection with materials used for tinting and coloring. As products of mass oriented manufacture, these kits reflect primarily an artificial interference with folk tradition. �44 SLOVAKIA What conclusions could be drawn from this short study of implements and materials used in egg decoration? The frequent use of household tools in egg decoration, to start with, suggests that decorated eggs have roots in a self-sustaining economy. Analyzed with respect to the European tradition, this hypothesis is indirectly supported by many statements of the authors consulted for this paper. Thus, according to Vaclavik, "a laid-away razor knife" (23) was frequently reshaped into a pin-pointed tool and used in the scratchcarving technique, (24) and "a pocket knife with a broken point" (25) was employed for the same purpose by Zibrt's informants. However, "an old spoon (with handle) thrust into the side of a beet-made candlestick" (26) is, perhaps, the most characteristic example of the selfsustaining character of tools in Easter eggs manufacture. This character is, nevertheless, still more pronounced in connection with materials used in egg tinting and coloring. There is almost no limit to the range of plants, materials, and techniques employed in traditional preparation of various colors and tints, as seen in the brief summary of the materials above. Examined in the terms of the American tradition, the hypothesis of a sustentacular relationship of economy and egg decoration still holds in connection with the frequent use of household implements in egg decoration in the United States. There is, however, a marked tendency to acquire more and more tools commercially and exclusively for egg decoration here. One can observe this trend, for example, in connection with the commercially-acquired specimens of voskovacka (waxing pen) or skrabacka (scraper), and in connection with the homemade oko (lit., "eye") manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. On the other hand, a drift against the traditional self-sustaining ch'aracter of egg decoration is visible in the fact that all colors and tints are bought. The household implements and materials used in tinting and coloring, to continue, are often referred to in connection with the history of technology in general, and as such they may be relatively good timing and placing devices in establishing historicity and ethnicity of certain aspects in egg decoration custom. Among devices usable for this kind of study are almost all modern inventions, whether of general or restricted use, such as electric heating plates and the voskovacka (waxing pen in its most modem variant). In this connection, however, it is necessary to point out that only presence of modern implements is of value for an investigation along historical lines. Their absence, whether in pictorial representations or in written documents, is worthless, as one could easily see by a comparison of the photographs taken during the interview with Mrs. Molchak (an electric heating plate used for wax melting) and of Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic (burning candles used as sources of melted wax). (27) The aspect o~ ethnicity, touched briefly in connection with the dialectical names of materials used in egg decoration, may be considered as a relatively safe testing device of �SLOVAKIA 45 regional-ethnic provenience of certain terms and materials. As a corollary of technology; the inventiveness was indirectly implied in connection witp. the "beet-made candlestick," (28) with the multifold use of household implements, and with the intelligent handling of materials useJ traditionally for manufacture of colors and tints. In its traditional aspect, this inventiveness was brought about primarily by economic considerations. In its new American setting, it is perhaps, owing more to an "aesthetic" feeling of the folk artist. One can see this in two specific cases, such as the above mentioned oko by means of which my informants tried ''to avoid scratches'' on the freshly batiked eggs, (See Figs. 2,3, and 5) and in the concern of another informant "for the shameful results of her work with yellow color." (29) In the first case, Mr. and Mrs. Molchak made the oko; in the second instance, the informant decided "to search for the roots of trouble in order to heighten the quality of her work.'' However, this economic"aesthetic" difference between European and American tradition is a matter of interpretation. There is not a rigid dichotomy between "aesthetics" and economy either in Europe or in America, and there is no dichotomy between the Old World and New World inventiveness either. In summary, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is, at its descriptive level, concerned with technology and etymology. At an analytical level, this study may explain some aspects related to economy, inventiveness, historicity, ethnicity, and ''aesthetics.'' Nevertheless, the most important aspect of this study, I think, is in its investigation into continuity and change. As stated above, there is a partial continuity in the tools used in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. However, there is a complete change between the materials used traditionally in Europe and recently in America. The study of designs in folk art concerns primarily an investigation into the types and motifs. Both the types and motifs of folk art are often interchangeable with each other, as in folk narratives, and as such they resist any ready-made definitions. In general, the type may be thought of as the term denoting resemblances in combinations of symbols, signs, motifs, ornaments, and kinds of craftsmanship over a large area to such an extent that these resemblances cannot be ascribed to polygenesis. The motif, on the other hand, is "a graphically complete representation of a given fundamental form that manifests certain content.'' (30) Designs in decoration of Slavic Easter eggs belong to two fundamental types, the western and the eastern. The western type, comprising Poland, Bohemia and Moravia, the easternmost part of Slovakia, and Slovenia, is generally seen as a phenomenon limited in range of motifs, but possessing an exquisite craftsmanship. (31) This type of egg decoration is characterized, according to A. Vaclavik, "by �46 SLOVAKIA star motifs on both ends of egg(s) and by free setting of motifs on sides of egg.'' (32) The specimens of this type are obtained either by tear-like lines and dots (33) or by embossed ornamentation with wax or other suitable material. (34) The most frequent motifs connected with the western type are chains, sinuous lines, trees and branches, garlands, squares, hearts, birds, and rosettes. (35) The eastern type, on the other hand, is geographically restricted to the Ukraine, western Russia, the Sub-Carpathian Ukraine, and the parts of eastern Moravia and westernmost Slovakia. (36) Rich in color as well as in the number of subtypes, this type is characterized by linear ornamentation running over the egg surface vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. (37) The basic traits of the eastern type are traceable to Byzantine art and related to, and influenced by, the grass weaving, (38) embroidery, (39) and wood carving. (40) Because of this relationship, the eastern type is influenced by materials used. Its most frequent motifs seem to be cross, swastika, triangle, pentagram, hexagram, and various highly schematized ribbonlike motifs of lighting, thorns, ''ant and bee paths,'' "bird path," and fork and comb-like motifs. (41) My study in Cleveland showed that Vaclavik's conclusions concerning geographical distribution of these two basic types (i.e., the western and the eastern) are generally valid also in connection with the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants in Ohio. Already by a cursory observation of the eggs collected or photographed in Cleveland for this project, one can see a remarkable difference between the eggs decorated by Mrs. Molchak, on the one hand, and Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic, on the other. While Mrs. Molchak has an overall predilection for the western tear-like motifs, she is also fond of the embossed subtypes in egg decoration. Mrs. Pap, an adherent of the eastern types, decorates eggs characterized by balanced composition of geometrical elements, and by a wide range of colors. With the exception of an egg showing Christ risen from the dead, there is no egg decorated by Mrs. Pap that would suggest design influence from other ethnic groups in America. Mrs. Korlatovic, as another folk artist working with the eastern typological sphere df egg decoration, is also very conservative in approach to design change. Working to the minutest detail in a geometrical partition of the egg surface, Mrs. Korlatovic has attained what many folk artists would consider ''an ideal of perfection." Because of emphasis on mosaicity, the color aspects of her design are subordinated. Eggs decorated by Mrs. Korlatovic are beautiful seen close up; their colors and designs merge in an indefinite brownish hue when the eggs are seen, say, at a distance of 3 or 4 feet. The other informants are more or less an amorphous group as to their relationship to the western or eastern type of design. This group is primarily represented by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar. Mrs. Tanya Osadca, Miss Petrushka, Dr. Joseph Cincik, Mr. Vladimir Ozabal and three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. With the exception of the last �SLOVAKIA 47 mentioned three girls, who show a definite pro-western typological inclination (Note Fig. 6) , the other informants mentioned in this paragraph are " individuals " resisting any general classification as to typology in design. Some hints as to the preferences of this group may be traced from the study of motifs in the works and collection of this group . So, at any rate, sinuous lines are the favored motif of Mrs . Mad'ar both according to her own words as well as in accordance with her decoration (Fig. 10) . The motifs of tulips, hearts , roses , and birds evident in western Slovak wall-paintings are on the favored list of Dr. Cincik, of Mrs . Ozabal, and, to certain extent, also of Miss Petrushka. But both Miss Petrushka and Dr. Cincik prefer in their professional work a somewhat schematized design of '' pastoral culture,'' as does Mrs. Osadca in her hobby-oriented egg decoration . (42) On the whole, this group of folk artists is an excellent example of the mixed influences that characterize Slovak ethnic territory as to typology in egg decoration designs. All members of the group have roots in their native or ancestral cultures. With the exception of Mrs. Osadca , this group draws basically from the Western Slovak " fireplace decorating sub-type." But designs of this group merge to the central Slovak sub-types of wood carving and embroidery which, in tum , already shows some traces of the linear-geometrical character present in the eastern type of egg decoration. With a view to the types and motifs examined briefly above, the general concepts of designs in folk art may be analyzed in connection with the study of form and content elements as well. The corollaries of form and content, symbol, sign, and ornament, are mutually substitutive, according to one's point of view. Thus, let us say, an ornament considered under strictly formal attributes may be simply a decoration or embellishment. In its content evaluation, however, an ornament could have " an ideological meaning (issuing) from aesthetic concept(s) " (43) either as a sign representing a conventional idea or as a symbol expressing a basic (and) striking ... idea." (44) Let us now examine the most frequent and self-evident symbols, the cross, heart, briar, wild rose, thorn crown, rose, and grapevine in connection with sources I was able to consult and with the Slovak and Ruthenian folk artists in Cleveland whom I interviewed. The cross, both the symbol and sign expressing the traditional concepts of Christ's death and resurrection, was the most frequent ornament used in the decoration by my informants. Its twelve variants, (45) representing the full range of cultural and ethnic connotations, were intentionally used by the majority of my informants in order either to express their religious affiliation or to stress their ethnic backgrounds. Thus , the Latin cross was consistently used by the informants of the Roman Catholic religion while the members of the Byzantine Catholic Rite expressed their religious beliefs with the Byzantine Catholic Cross and with the words "Christos Voskres" (i.e., �48 SLOVAKIA "Christ is risen"). The Greek Cross, with its vertical and horizontal beams of equal length , was used very often interchangeably with the crosses of St. Andrew (i.e., an "X" or " Y" cross) "because all three crosses are easy to draw in any direction and combination with other ornaments. " In a like manner, the Cross of St. Anthony (i.e. , a cross in the form of a "T") and the Maltese Cross were employed primarily for their formal-decorative aspects. The so-called Apostolic Cross, represented by a long vertical beam and by two horizontal beams placed in the upper half of the cross, brought about some implications of ethnic-cultural symbology. While this cross is an official religious symbol of the Byzantine Catholic Church, it is at the same time also partly related to the Slovak national emblem (i.e. , an Apostolic Cross upon the " peak" of a threesome " mountain range " ). This, at any rate interesting aspect, presented no problems in connection with my informants of the Byzantine Rite faith and eastern Slovak background. For them, the cross was both " Slovak " and also " Byzantine"; however, for my informants of western Slovak ancestry or origin, the cross was always of " Slovak " connotation. The informants of Ruthenian provenience stressed that ''the cross was an emblem of their religion" and asked me " to state this clearly when I write about 'their Easter eggs'.'' This , on first sight trivial emphasis upon ethnic or cultural aspects, may not be easily understood by citizens of a large country like the United States. Had one, however, studied the history of the Slovaks , Sub-Carpathians , Huculs , Lemkos, and other small ethnic groups of central Europe , he would see why there is a strong emphasis on esoteric elements in the folklore of these groups. The heart, a universal symbol of love, is prominent in central and western Slovakia. Used frequently both in folk art designs and in Christian symbology as well, the symbol and ornament of the heart developed, in my opinion , from two different traditions . The first tradition of heart symbols has roots in the so-called " spiritual love ," while the second tradition is linked with the so-called " erotic love." Spiritual love is represented in Christian symbols either by a heart with a burning flame on its top and a crown of thorns placed about it or by the so-called "Lumen Christi" (i.e ., Paschal candle) with fire burning "upwards" or "spiritually." The second tradition of love symbolism , " erotic love ," is more evident in folk art and customs . The aspect of erotic love permeates several customs of the S~avic and Balkan areas, among them especially the customs of " Kore ," " Kostrubonko," and " Morena" in which, usually , an effigy of straw is set afire and thrown into the river . These customs , in essence animistic equations of Notteuer , represent fire as a male element moving downwards toward water or the female element. (46) In folk art, both "spiritual" and " erotic" fire s are frequently connected with the symbols of "suffering love " (i.e ., the thorn crown in its spiritual aspect; rose-and-briar in the " worldly" aspect of love). (4 7) After an examination of the literary �SLOVAKIA 49 sources with the evidence from Cleveland, I came to the conclusion that the "heart-rose-briar" composition ("heart-tulip " version in Slovakia) symbolizes among the Slovaks only "spiritual love." This interpretation is self-evictent in connection with the wood-carved cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, with the fireplace paintings in western Slovakia, and with the works of some of my informants in Cleveland. An investigation into the relative directions in the "movement" of individual ornaments reveals that the elements of "twisting" and "knots" are symbolically opposing the "branching" or "open structures" in every vertical composition. The verticallyoriented "twisting," especially when terminated with a "love knot," symbolizes in folk tradition a "suffering kind of erotic love" while the "branching" or "open structure" is a sign symbol of parent-to-child love. In an examination of forty illustrative plates in the work Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat (Decorated Fireplaces in the Little Capathian Region) by Rudolf Bednarik I found no single instance of the so-called "twisting" or " knots " in connection with the western Slovak "fireplace sub-culture." In a like manner, only "open branching" is evident on the cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, shown in the book Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku. (48) The carving upon the crosses, in addition, shows also genetic and historical development in the ornament-to-symbols direction. The date carved directly on the vertical beam of a cross indicates the year of 188(-), with the last digit illegible because of decay. This cross has no symbolic connotation as yet. Its tulips grow up out of a flower pot rather naturally, and as such they are only an ornament. (49) Another cross at the same cemetery, dated 1928, is evidently an advanced version of the older cross in its ornament-symbol relationship. (50) Its symbolism is expressed in the form of tulips branching upwards from a heart . The "spiritual character" of love is here symbolized, in my opinion, by the "open branching" of the tulip, and, I think, the entire arrangement can be interpreted as suggesting the everlasting love of the deceased toward his living relatives. Now, how does this spiritual and wordly love relationship score with the other folk art products in Europe and in America? Is there any evidence of an ornament-to-symbol orientation among folk artists in more recent times? A little wooden shovel, to start with, was decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland. This shovel may be considered as an intermediary stage between the ornaments symbolizing spiritual and erotic love. Representing the so-called ''medovnikove srdce'' (i.e., " marzipan heart") flanked by two schematized roosters, the ornamental arrangement on the little shovel still preserves some traces of spiritual love (i.e. , the two tulips branching from the heart), but the presence of the roosters suggests already "another aspect" of love. This aspect, I think, is stressed even more by the traditional meaning of the marzipan heart in Slovakia since such a heart was given by a boy �50 SLOVAKIA only to the girl whom he intended to marry. In like manner, the egg made by Mrs. J . B. also shows an intermediary character, this time in connection with the genetic flower pot-to-heart development (i.e., from naturalism to symbolism). There is a remarkable likeness between this egg and an egg shown by A. Vaclavik. (51) This likeness suggests that the polygenetic trend in motifs is not restricted to folk narratives only. Two eggs decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland belong also to the intermediary zone between spiritual and wordly love. One of the eggs , a vertical rendition of "twisting" and "open branching," looks almost like a combination of the rose-and-briar motif of AngloAmerican traditional balladry and of tulip-branching of western Slovak wall-painting. The other egg, elaborated horizontally with only one garland of roses and green leaves slightly above the middle of eggshell, already suggests a higher spiritualization, but this is only an impression. It seems that the most recent ornaments whether created by my informants or by folk artists in Slovakia remained only ornaments. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols like the cross, the heart, and the thorn crown, one of my informants did not know why he put together, for example, the horizontally-arranged grapevine motif with wild roses superimposed upon the grapevine branches. Except the swastika and "sun circles," the other ornaments also described in connection with the types and motifs above are taken by the majority of my informants for face value only. So, for example, Mrs. Korlatovic considered the cobweb, the sieve, and the rake only as a cobweb, a sieve, or a rake, and nothing else. The swastika, treated extensively by M. Gavazzi, (52) was for my informants either "an emblem of the Nazis" or "a garden sprinkler" whenever presented in the "round form.'' Only the informants with formal art training were able to recognize the ' 'ancient symbol of a moving sun'' (53) behind the forms of "windmill wings or clover leaves" of the swastika. The "sun circles," (54) used by my informants in one form or another, were recognized by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar "as a Slovak ceiling decoration," but only Dr. Cincik was familiar with the ancient meaning of this ornament. Theory of design in folk art, like its counterpart in fine arts, is a matter of interpretation in the first place. yonsidered with general concepts of art, designs in folk art may be examined in the terms of form and content, as stated above. Linked to the diachronic study, these designs may reveal some social, economic, cultural, or psychological conditions. Folk art, when contrasted with fine arts, shows a high occurrence of borrowing, repetition, use of conventional themes, plagiarism, and disregard for spontaneity and originality. In the past, folk art was thought to be linked to the preservation and reproduction of life by magical and natural means. At present, folk art seems to lose more and more of its magic character. Hand in hand with the new and more realistic approaches to the problems of life, folk art tends today to emphasize stylistic and formal elements, such as or- �SLOVAKIA 51 nament and decoration attained by mere technical means (i.e., relief techniques). Generally, it seems that folk art design moved originally away from naturalism tow~rd schematization. Its present tendency is toward self-explanatory and self-evident symbolism (i.e., a flower pot exchanged by a heart). When, however, certain general symbols were removed out of anunstressed situation, they became localized within a new and stronger situation and acquired a new meaning (i.e., the Apostolic Cross became the Slovak or Eastern Byzantine Cross). According to conventional aesthetics, symbolism giving content to the form should be thought of as a ''higher level'' in the understanding of artistic creations. In folk art, on the contrary, symbolism was more evident in the ancient and relatively more primitive cultures. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols of the cross and heart, symbolism is almost absent from the recent folk creations. Is this a paradox? No, it is only a fact which suggests that sophisticated and folk culture are two different entities, and so also are conventional aesthetics and folk art ''aesthetics.'' Techniques of egg decoration play an important part in the diachronic-synchronic study of folklore transmission. Thought of in the terms of materials and tools used, these techniques are identified as painting, batiking, scratch-carving, embossing, (with related techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), and tying. (55) Considered in their relationship to the predetermined use of eggs, these techniques are primarily of a conservational character. There are, however, some techniques of preparatory character which are either considered as preliminary steps for proper decoration of eggs or thought of as techniques in their own right. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, I want first to consider the preparatoryconservational egg decoration · techniques. To start with, painting or coloring of eggs requires "completely clean hands (and) implements." (56) According to Zibrt, the egg must be "at least three days old in order to 'catch' color, (and it should be) slightly heated in order to retain wax. (57) Several informants, quoted by Zibrt and Vaclavik, stress that "lukewarm rain water" (58) is the best for the cleaning of eggs. Then the eggs are either blown out of the eggshells, or cooked in clean water or with any coloring substance whenever they should be decorated later and used as decorative articles at home or as presents for the others. On the other hand, the eggs are either cooked together with onion skin, tea leaves, or other food coloring substances whenever they should be consumed during Easter holidays, or else "scratched-carved" after cooking. These preparatory techniques are gen·e rally known all over the Slavic area. There is, however, a rather restricted technique of a conservational character employed consistently by Mrs. Korlatovic. According to this technique, raw eggs are decorated with batik, and when dry, the eggs are covered with a thin layer of special shellac. This prevents spoilage, adding a bit �52 SLOVAKIA of mirrorlike gloss. Let us now describe and examine the decorative techniques. The first technique of painting is, in essence, the simple application of the technique employed in other forms of folk art, such as wall painting, pottery and ceramics, painting of household implements, and painting on glass. The technique, "gaining momentum recently especially in northern Slovakia," (59) consists of direct application of oil or water paints on eggs. Although mentioned by Zibrt and Vaclavik, this technique is not very important in over all transmission of Easter customs from Europe to America, and only one of my informants in Cleveland used it extensively. Batik technique, on the other hand, is the most important and widespread technique in egg decoration. Mentioned often by several Slavic and non-Slavic authors, (60) this technique is of an ancient origin. Its existence is known all over the Slavic area, and its popularity is unquestioned also among my informants in Cleveland (See Figs. 1,2,3,5, and 6). The technique itself is based fundamentally on a principle similar to offset printing. Decoration by means of this technique is, therefore, attained in such a way that the parts of the eggshell are covered with wax heated in the tiny cup of voskovacka (i.e., waxing pen), and the egg is then immersed and tinted in a light water color. After removal of the egg from the first color, and when the egg is dry enough, the wax is wiped off thoroughly with a warm rag. (61) Then the egg is, again, "painted" with wax, "bathed" in another somewhat darker color, removed, dried and wiped. These steps are repeated until the egg attains the desired design composition (See Fig. 9) Scratch-carving, after batik the most popular technique in Slovakia, is known also among my informants. Related and similar to woodcarving, this technique is generally linked with the eastern type egg design in general and with the so-called "salasnicka kultura" (i.e. pastoral culture) in particular. According to Vaclavik, the drawback of this technique ' 'is hard work, more time-c~nsuming than with wax(batiked) eggs." (62) Only well-seasoned artists are able to work with this technique successfully. As mentioned above, all my informants are familiar with this technique, but only Mrs . Molchak was willing to scratch carve eggs during my stay in Ohio. Folk artists in Europe use for scratch carving "file or awl, knife, (but) most frequently the point of laid-away razor blades." (63) In America, on the contrary, the most popullar implement for this technique is the so-called "skrabacka" (lit., scraper), an awl made of hard steel and having a pencil-like wooden or metallic handle. The egg, decorated in this technique by Mrs. Molchak was made with the skrabacka. Embossing, inlaying, ribboning, hammering, and tying are basically complementary techniques. Linked with each other both in Europe and in America, these techniques are employed in order to �SLOVAKIA 53 variegate the relief of egg's surface by raising the parts of eggshell. In my opinion, however, only embossing and tying are techniques in their own right. Techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering, on the contrary, are mere adaptations of each other as to the material used. Embossing is a technique ih which the egg's surface is raised by permanent application of heavy coat of wax. This technique , in spite of how effective it looks, is not widespread because, in addition to being hard to work the ''relief peels off easily and melts away in warm weather." (64) Traditional specimens with this technique were made with an application of ''red or blue wax'' upon eggshell, or of '' black wax" upon a red-tinted egg. Embossing of eggs is, according to Vaclavik, "known in Moravia, in westernmost Bohemia, and in Bulgaria.'' (65) Only one of my informants in Cleveland (Mrs. Molchak) works with this traditional technique to any great extent. Inlaying, as the first of the three techniques (consisting of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), is relatively restricted because it depends very much on the skill of a folk artist. In its European version, this technique is represented by two major variants, the so-called "pasted eggs" and "straw eggs." The "pasted eggs," known both in western Slovakia and in Moravia under the names of "birds" and "doves ," are decorated with paper of different colors and shapes . The results of such activity are "birds" with the body made of the egg, and with the head, feet, tail, and wings made of paper. (66) The "straw eggs, '' on the other hand, are manufactured with a technique in which pieces of colored straw are pasted directly upon the eggshell. This mosaic-like work requires great skill and patience. It is fundamentally a variant of a cabinet making technique in which pieces of straw are also used in decoration of furniture'.s frontispieces. (67) Inlaying, of course, can be carried out in a wide range of combination and of materials used. This aspect, however, will be referred to later in connection with the American counterparts of this technique. Ribboning is, according to Vaclavik, "a further (and) more recent variant (of) sitinovani.' ' (68) Widespread in northern Slovakia, ribboning consists of pasting little garlands on both ends of the egg, and tying the ribbons of different colors and widths around the middle. (69) Among my informants, only Miss Petrushka uses this technique in a form described by Vaclavik, while Mrs. Mad'ar uses this technique in its simpler variant of "string-lacing." Hammering, .the last close relative of inlaying and ribboning, is a very old technique. According to Cesky casopis historicky, (70) hammering is documented as early as 1415. Folk artists working with this technique use most "often blown out goose eggs (and embellish) them with metallic rings, flower and animal motifs. (71) With the exception of Miss Petrushka, none of my informants in Cleveland worked with this technique. Tying of eggs, as a technique in its own right, is now restricted to �54 SLOVAKIA the vicinity of Mikulov in Moravia. (72) However, owing to evidence from Cleveland, I will examine this technique in somewhat more detail than the others. According to the data gathered from other studies and from my informants, the egg is decorated with this technique when it is immersed into strong vinegar in order to soften it and then it is tied about the middle in order to acquire a shape of a written number 8. From a practical viewpoint, this technique seems merely to complement the other seven techniques mentioned before. But as mentioned above, tying becomes a technique in its own right for technological and other reasons. First of all, no attempts were made in other techniques to change the chemical composition of the eggshell to such an extent that it would become pliable. Then, in its interpretative aspect, I think that this technique also suggests another important point. As mentioned before, economic factors play a part in the work of folk artists in Europe and in America as well. One can see this in connection with the multifold use of tools both for general household chores and in the use of the terms with which folk artists unequivocally stress how carefully one should work, for example, with razor blade ''in order to prevent breaking of the eggshell." (73) Now, let us consider this project in the situation of which I was an eyewitness during an exposition of the art work of Miss Petrushka. At this exposition, Miss Petrushka startled the attending public when she let fall a jewelled egg as if accidentally, but the egg bounced up without damage. At my question of how this elasticity of the eggshell was attained, Miss Petrushka answered only in part. She told me that she learned this secret from her father, a folk artist also, but otherwise declined to elaborate on or describe the procedure or the chemical reaction by which the elasticity of egg was brought about. I am no chemist, but in view of Vaclavik' s investigation of the "tying egg technique," I think that the process by which Vaclavik's informants brought about the softening of eggs and the process by means of which miss Petrushka was able to induce elasticity to jewelled eggs\are at least partly related to each other. As to the other side of this problem, there is no doubt that her polite refusal to answer my question was motivated by economic reasons, a sort of private patent protection. With respect to the other techniques, I have observed that my informants combine the relief techniques into one. Conversely, embossing in this "modern" version is carried out in connection with inlaying, ribboning, hammering, painting, batiking, and scratch carving. My informants used for this "new technique," in addition to wax, also dough, cultured pearls, wire of various thicknesses, aluminum foil cut in the form of small leaves and flowers, silk and samite, tiny sequins and beads, marzipan, and confetti in baking and regular varieties. This range of materials used is still not a complete one. And this technique, whether considered as one or separately in agreement with its more traditional counterparts, shows that the �SLOVAKIA 55 variety in products manufactured by my Slovak and Ruthenian informants in Cleveland is very wide. At its specific plane, this variety moves from the work of humble folk artists up almost to Faberge's level. (74) The Americanized technique, which includes a number of European traditional techniques , supports the hypothesis of a forwardreverse relationship beh,xeen techniques and implements used in egg decoration . While the number of tools in Europe shrinks , and the implements are frequently interchanged for economic reasons with those in overall household use , the techniques in Europe were held as separate entities in rather restricted areas, again, I believe, mainly to lower cost and to use only locally available materials . In America the situation seems to be reversed. The implements used exclusively for egg decoration here seem to gain ground . The techniques, as seen above , tend to lose individuality and become more and more incorporated into a larger whole. This again, in my opinion , is because of economic reasons . Ame rican folk artists have no difficulty in obtaining locally everything needed for egg decoration. The choice of products in America permits American folk artists to follow their interests to a greater degree than their European counterparts in the past. No matter whether these interests are of an aesthetic nature or whether they are conditioned by profession , economic aspects of buying and selling as well as of the conditions underlying the choice of raw materials and tools are ever present and important. The custom involving Easter eggs consisted in Slovakia of two basic parts: decoration of the eggs carried out in individual families, and use of eggs as presents for the young men performing showers and whippings. Both the showering and whipping as well as the egg decoration were historically documented , according to Cenek Zibrt, as early as the 14th century. (75) The decoration of Easter eggs , as the first part of this custom , has continued for over six hundred years, and no wonder that the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants brought this custom also to the United States. According to my investigation in Cleveland, it was carried on by the first generation of Slovak immigrants in America. Only single young men used to perform showers and whippings in Slovakia. The first Slovak immigrants in America, to begin with , were in most cases married men who came to the United States to earn money and either to return home or to bring their families here at a later date. The way of life in the United States, to continue, was conditioned by an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and as such it had no ready-made accommodations for such strange customs as whipping and showering. This custom was practiced in Slovakia on Easter Monday and Tuesday , both days being either a religious (i.e., Easter Monday) or traditional (i.e., Easter Tuesday) holiday. Linked together, these three aspects support the thesis that the no-holiday character of these two post-Easter days was the primary cause that brought about disappearance of showering and whipping in the United �56 SLOVAKIA States. The secondary cause for this disappearance was the fact that the Slovak immigrants were unwilling to continue with a custom that might have brought about ridicule from the more sophisticated segments of the American population. (76) The third cause might have been owing to changed environmental conditions. While rural life in Slovakia posed no difficulties to young men performing showers or whipping, urban life in America brought about some restrictions as to where, for example, the custom of showering could have taken place. In Slovakia this custom was usually performed either in the backyard or in the garden. In America, there were in most cases no places to perform the custom without damage to the interior of the house or, if the showering were performed in the street, without interference with law and order. The second part of the custom, involving the Easter eggs as presents in exchange for showering and whipping, had therefore either to disappear completely or to acquire a new meaning. Because of contact with other ethnic and cultural groups, this part of the custom took the road of incorporation within another cultural context. (77) Thus the Roman Catholic Slovak immigrants retained the custom of egg decoration as practiced in Slovakia; however, the second part of this custom involving Easter eggs as presents for the young men performing the whipping and showering either disappeared completely or was adjusted in order to suit the new situation. On the other hand, the Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, (78) together with the Ruthenians and Ukrainians proper, did not change the first part of the custom (i.e., decoration of eggs) at all. But a slight change took place among them in the exchange of eggs as compared with eastern Slovakia and Ruthenia. While, according to Greek Catholic usage, a simple form of exchange among the relatives and neighbors used to take place in Europe, eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in America decorate eggs now either for sale or for exchange with the other church members. The sale itself could be of two kinds: a simple sale for personal profit and a sale to fellow church members with the proceeds donated to the church. The second and third generations of thf Slovak Roman Catholic immigrants in Cleveland retained the "new approach" of the first generation regarding the revision of the custom involving Easter showers and whipping. Together with the eastern Slovaks and Ukrainians, the Roman Catholic Slovaks also adopted the changes of basic techniques, tools, terminology, and economy with respect to Easter customs and decorated eggs in particular. But this is, again, a matter concerning the other aspects of egg decoration, and as such it was either treated in connection with the individual aspects of egg decoration or it will be touched upon in the last part of this article. In the final analysis, one could see that change manifested itself in the various aspects of egg decoration more frequently than its corollary or continuity. With the exception of designs and tools of general use �SLOVAKIA 57 (both of which remained almost unaltered), changes occurred in coloring substances, techniques, customs involving decorated eggs, and in the tools used exclusively in egg decoration. However, as shown above in connection with individual aspects of egg decoration, these changes were always of different character and extent, and were brought about for different reasons. Thus, there was, on the one hand, a complete change from the.traditional home-made coloring substances (79) to the commercially available coloring kits in America. (80) There were, on the other hand, less evident, but still important, changes in techniques, customs, and tools of specific character. Placed side by side, both techniques and special tools show trends of adding and subtracting in a folktale-like manner. As in the study of folktales, one could observe that "two or more tales (are stringed) together," (81) the techniques which existed in Slovakia and in the Ukraine as separate entities were brought together by the folk artists in America and incorporated into one general technique. The opposite trend, again as in folktales, was evident in connection with the tools used exclusively in egg decoration when the "adding of detail(s)" occurred in the New World either owing to modernization of older tools or because of the introduction of new implements. The two-fold change took place, according to my observation, in customs involving Easter eggs. As mentioned, the custom of whipping and showering disappeared in America. The custom of giving Easter eggs as presents to the others was, on the contrary, retained, but its complete change was evident among the western and central Slovak immigrants while only a slight change as to its practical application was recorded among the eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland. (82) What were 1:he reasons behind these changes and why were certain aspects of egg decoration more amenable for alteration than others? As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, the motives for changes in various aspects of egg decoration can be attributed to folk "aesthetics," economy, and to the impact of culture contact with the other ethnic groups in America. Since no fingerprint evidence exists as to the cross-influence between "aesthetics," economy, and impact of culture contact, on the one hand, and the aspects of egg decoration, on the other, my interpretation of the motives leading to the changes in egg decoration is only a tentative one. I believe that the formation of concepts concerning ''aesthetics'' in the European version of egg decoration was brought about by the availability of materials and tools, in the first place. Artistic endeavors of European egg decorators were, in my opinion, conditioned by the initial cost of egg decoration. European folk artists, therefore, either manufactured the tools and coloring substances at their homes or used only locally available materials in order to save on transportation costs. American folk artists, on the other hand, seem to be concerned more with the sale of finished products, and make every effort to sell their products either for �58 SLOVAKIA money or for recognition ; hence, in order to do so, they are forced "to make saleable products" and "to protect their inventions." The worries about qualitative expression compel American egg decorators to buy new tools and to adapt traditional techniques to new needs . Even the custom involving decorated eggs, as an aspect of Easter eggs, was influenced to the greatest extent by culture contact with the other ethnic groups , is currently conditioned by economic artistic considerations . (83) Continuity, holding opposite side to the change in transmission, is evident in the use of general household implements and in designs. As to the tools, this rule of continuity is caused by the fact that knives, spoons, and needles, to mention just some of these items, are bought or used in Europe and in America along similar lines. Designs, in my opinion, seem to be stable elements in egg decoration because they have the most striking visual impact and are also formulaically and repetitively-oriented to a high degree. Seen altogether, both change and continuity exist side by side in the aspects of egg decoration as they exist both in folk art and in culture itself. This fact, being undeniable proof that egg decoration represents a part of the overall culture, is also testimony that the decoration of eggs as a form of folk art is governed by the laws governing culture itself. Easter eggs, therefore , like culture, are a unique human phenomenon, socially shared and transmitted, (84) this time by the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio. Reprinted from Journal of Popular Culture (Summer 1970) IV:l, pp. 155-193, with permission of Dr. Ray B. Browne. FOOTNOTES (1) Cf. Cenek Zibrt, Vesele chvile v iivote lidu ceskeho. Prague : Vysehrad, 1950, p. 251. According to Zibrt, the term 'Easter eggs' was known already in the 14th century, but originated long before that time . (2) Cf. Antonin Vaclavik, Vyrocni obyceje a lidove umeni. Prague : Ceskoslovenska akademie ved, 1959, p . 261. Vaclavik's informants in Moravia think that Easter eggs exist "from the very beginning " and several of his informants " maintain that the decoration of eggs started in Slovakia." (p . 262). In Vaclavik ' s opinion , the term " Slovakia" should be applied to the region alongside the Slovak-Moravian border only . (3) Cf. Kazimierz Moszyiiski, Kultura Ludowa Slowian. Cracow, 1939. CF . also Rudolf Bednarik , Duchovna kultura slovenskeho l'udu. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1941 . (4) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 259-580 ; cf. Zibrt, passim. (5) Cf. Note No. 6 below. (6) This fi eldwork was carried out by the author between March 18 and April 2, 1969. Thirty informants of Slovak and Ruthenian descent were interviewed. In addition to extensive tape-recordings and note-taking, the author took photographs tracing the individual steps of egg decoration (black and white as well as color slides) . Most of this material, containing also 17 actual eggs, is stored and available for consultation in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology at the University of California , Los Angeles. �SLOVAKIA 59 (7) Used as holders of blown-out eggs or as devises for the lengthwise partitioning of , such eggs . (8) Rubber bands may belong to either of the two groups. Used at times only for partitioning of egg surfaces, rubber bands may be stretched lengthwise diagonally, or latitudinally , and reused as any implement of the group one . At other times , rubber bands can be pasted around the eggs in order either to obtain embossing or to hold other items used in egg decoration , such as ribbons , colored sections of straw, or aluminum foil. Used this way, rubber bands belong to group two . For the specimens made either with ~krabai!ka or with sharp-pointed knife, see R. Bednarik, pp. 95-6. A dark-green egg, made by Mrs . Molchak and donated to this collection at U.C .L.A ., was decorated with ~krabai!ka. For an English treatment of eggs made with egg-carving technique, see Alfred L. Shoemaker, Eastertide in Pennsylvania, pp. 50-62. (9) (10) Cf. Zibrt, p. 257. (11) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 267-8. (12) The most modern specimen of uoskouai!ka is now available commercially. I bought one in the store of Mr. Rudenskij, 5432 State Road, Parma, Ohio, for $1.00. This specimen is now stored in the Archive F.M .G. at U.C.L.A. (13) As to the specific tools used exclusively for egg decoration, it is ahnost certain that some changes may have occurred in the Old World owing to new developments in culture and technology. This aspect, however, cannot be treated here because my evidence is fragmentary about it. (14) Cf. Zibrt, p . 251. (15) Cf. Ibid ., p. 255 . Cf. also Vaclavik, pp . 267-8. (16) Interview with Mrs . Mad'ar (17) Zibrt , p . 253 . (18) Ibid. (19) For description of etching, see Vaclavik , pp . 268, 275 . (20) Interview with Mrs. Molchak . (21) Interview with Mrs. Pap. (22) " Pryzyly " is a sort of reddish substance used for tinting (Cf. Zibrt, p . 252). "Kampeska" is a commercially-acquired " wood chip" coloring (Zibrt, p. 253). (23) Vaclavik, p . 269 . (24) Cf. Ibid. For a description of scratch carving, see Shoemaker, p. 51. (25) Zibrt, p . 255. (26) Vaclavik, p. 267. (27) Note Fig. No . 1, 2, 3, and 5. The photographs mentioned are on file in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology, U .C.L.A. (28) Vaclavik, p . 267 . (29) Interview with Mr~. Molchak . (30) Vaclavik, p . 376. (31) Cf. Ibid ., pp . 338-9. For a summary concerning the western type of egg decoration, see Ibid . , p . 523 . (32) Ibid ., p. 338 . (33) Cf. Ibid ., p. 287 and Plate LXXVII (upper part) . (34) Cf. Ibid ., p . 338 and Plate LV . �60 SLOVAKIA (35) Cf. Ibid., p. 338. (36) Cf. Ibid . (37) Cf. Ibid., p. 339. (38) Cf. Bednarik, pp. 206-208. (39) Cf. Ibid., Plate 75. Cf. also Moszyiiski, p. 916. (40) Cf. R. Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim., but especially Plates No. 55, 79, 142, 149, and 158. (41) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 389 , 391, 393, and 395. (42) For prominent motifs in wall painting in western Slovakia, see R. Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, passim. For ''pastoral culture'' in central Slovakia , see Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim. (43) Vaclavik, p . 376 . (44) Ibid ., 375. (45) R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, 57. (46) Cf. J. E. Cir lot, A Dictionary of Symbols, passim. (47) Cf. E. Haig, Floral Symbolism of the Great Masters, pp. 127-8. (48) Cf. R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p . 73. Cf. also Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, plates 1-40. (49) Cf. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p. 91. (50) Cf. Ibid ., p. 73. (51) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 346 (left side) . (52) Cf. M. Gavazzi, "Svastika i njezin ornamentalni razoj na uskrsnim jajima sa Balkana,'' Zbornik za narodni Zivot i obyc:aje juinih Slavena, XXVII, 1-24. (53) Cf. Gavazzi, Op. Cit., passim. (54) Cf. Alan Dundes, ed., The Study of Folklore, p. 387. (55) For a detailed description of these techniques, see Vaclavik, pp. 267-72. (56) Ibid., p. 267. (57) Zibrt, pp. 252-3. (58) Vaclavik, p. 267; also Zibrt, op. cit., passim. (59) Interview with Mrs. Mad'ar. (60) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 268; Zibrt, op. cit., passim., but especially 251 ff. (61) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 267. (62) Vaclavik, p. 269. (63) Vaclavik, p. 269. (64) Ibid. (65) Ibid. (66) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 269, and Plate XLV. (67) Cf. Ibid., pp. 269-70. Modern specimens made with this technique are shown on Plates XLIX and LXXV; furniture, Pl. LXIV. (68) Ibid ., p. 270. Sitinovani is a technique in which the core of Juncus is pasted upon the eggshell. (Juncus is the Latin term for a genus of olderly tree.) (69) Cf. Ibid . , p. 271. For specimens, see Ibid., p. 351. (70) Czech Historical Review , XXXIII, p. 278 . Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 271, 275. (71) Vaclavik, p. 271. �SLOVAKIA 61 (72) Cf. Ibid., pp. 271-2. (73) Ibid., p. 269. (74) For a treatment of Faberge,. work, see Venetia Newall, "Easter Eggs," Journal of American Folklore, LXXX (1967), 17 ff. (75) Cf. Note No. 1 above. (76) In connection with this point, I tried to elicit the opinions of my informants as to their feeling about whipping and showering. Only Mrs. Mad'ar, a recent immigrant from Slovakia, "hopes that her husband and sons will shower her, but with perfume only." Mrs. Molchak, on the other hand, is against any sort of showering in spite of the fact that the "young boys used to shower her in Pennsylvania." The boys, according to Mrs. Molchak, refused to take any eggs as presents for showering; if they did so, the others "would laugh." Mrs. Pap, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, considered the custom "without any religious significance." (77) Both the showering and whipping are basically western Slovak customs. In eastern Slovakia, these customs were almost unknown because the majority of the Eastern Slovak population is Greek Catholic. (78) Byzantine Rite Slovaks are in the majority in Cleveland, in comparison with the Roman Catholic Slovaks. In Slovakia, the situation is reversed: Roman Catholics form the majority of the population. (79) I.e., cooked spring rye, hay, coffee, clover leaves, parsley, tea, etc. Cf. also Notes 17 and 22 above. (80) According to Mrs. Mad'ar, coloring substances are now also available commercially in Slovakia; however, they are not used frequently, and they are not packed in exclusive egg decoration kits either. (81) According to Stith Thompson, folktales change by "adding a detail (and by) stringing two or more tales together." The Folktale, p. 436. (82) Because of the disappearance of showering and whipping, again as in folktales, ''one change (brings about others) to maintain consistency," Ibid. (83) I.e., eggs are now sold publicly in front of the church while in the past they were given for showering and whipping or in exchange for other eggs. (84) Cf. the works of Ruth Benedict, Franz Boas, and A. L. Kroeber, passim. INFORMANTS MRS. KORLATOVIC, an American of Ukrainian ethnic ancestry, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rudenskij, owners and operators of an export-import store in Parma, Ohio. Mrs. Korlatovic, the mother of two children and a teacher in a kindergarten near Parma, decorates Easter eggs mainly for sale in her parent's store; she also decorates ceramics. MRS. JANA MADAR, a recent immigrant to the United States, arrived in Cleveland on November 30, 1968. A native of Ruzomberok, central Slovakia, Mrs. Mad'ar is the mother l)f two sons, ages 21 and 20. Mrs. Mad'ar decorated several eggs for this project in the so-called ''painting'' and ''string-lacing'' techniques. MRS. SOPHIE MOLCHAK, an American of Slovak descent, was born in Regenstown, Pennsylvania. She is married to an American of Ukrainian origin and is the mother of six children. Three of her daughters, ages 18, 12, and 9, took an active part in egg decoration during the interviews. MRS. TANYA OSADCA, an Ukrainian by ethnic descent, immigrated to America after World War II. Living now with her family in Peninsula, Ohio, she started egg decorating and collecting in 1952, and at present she owns over 500 specimens. She also �SLOVAKIA 62 studies and collects material published on Easter eggs. Her husband, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Hospital, is also a collector and folk artist specializing in ceramics and pottery. MRS. ANNA PAP, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, was born in Roztok near the present CSSR-USSR border. Married to Dr. M. S. Pap and the mother of four children ages 17, 14, 11, and 5, Mrs. Pap arrived in the United States in 1933. In addition to her household duties, she is also director of the choir at the St. Mary' s Ukrainian Catholic Church. MISS PETRUSHKA is an American of Slovak descent and a native of Cleveland. An admirer of Slovak folk traditions and a student of Slovak ethnography, Miss Petrushka is the owner of an art studio on Shaker Boulevard, Cleveland. Her collages, collage boxes, and jewelled eggs are well-known all over the United States. During my stay in Cleveland, she held two successful expositions of her creations. DR. JOSEPH CINClK, 65, a Slovak immigrant, arrived in the United States in 1948. An ex-professor at the University of Bratislava and at present an art bibliographer in Cleveland, Dr. Cincik is the foremost expert on Slovak folk art. MR. VLADIMIR OZABAL, 60 , a native of western Slovakia and an ex-officer of the Slovak Army, immigrated to America after World War II . Now the supervisor of a division of the City Water Department in Cleveland , Mr. Ozabal is still working at various projects related to Slovak folk art . .,• "'~ ~:: '~ ., ' Fig. 1 - A typical arrangement of eggs , implements, and coloring substances used by Mrs. Zofia Molchak, an American-born Slovak folk artist working with batik technique in the western-type design. Note the heating plate used for wax melting, rubber bands employed for partitioning of eggs, and the glasses with coloring substances. �SLOVAKIA ~ .,. 63 .. ~ Mrs. Ann Pap, an American of Ruthenian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern-type design. Note: a candle is used as a source of melted wax and the most modern specimen of voskovacka, or kistka (" waxing pen") , is employed by Mrs. Pap in batiking of eggs . Fig. 2 - ( Fig. 3 - Mrs. Korlatovic, an American-born folk artist of Ukrainian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern style and batik technique for sale in her parents' store. �64 SLOVAKIA Partition of eggshells is carried out with stretched rubber bands. Note the modified " implements" (i .e., needles and pins pushed lengthwise into large kitchen matches, chopsticks, or wooden pencil handles) used in batiking and embossing. Fig. 4 - Fig. 5 - A candle as a source of wax in the batik technique. �SLOVAKIA 65 Fig. 6 - A typical instance of batik-embossing technique and of western-type design. Note the tear-like dots and lines , and the star motifs on both ends of the egg. Miss Sue Molchak, 18 , shown in this picture, decorates eggs every year together with her mother and two of her sisters. The daughter of Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian descent, and of Mrs. Molchak, an American-born Slovak, Miss Molchak is typical of young folk artists who help old traditions permeate a new environment. �SLOVAKIA 66 Fig. 7 - Immersing of a freshly-batiked egg into coloring substance with the so-called " oko " (" eye" ). Fig. 8 - A spoon used for immersing and removal of eggs. �SLOVAKIA Fig. 9 - A typical egg batiked in the eastern-type design . Fig. 10 - Eggs painted and ' ·string-laced" by Mrs . Mad'ar. 67 �68 SLOVAKIA Miss Petrushka , an American-born Slovak, started egg decorating as a folk artist and continued egg decoration on a professional level. The egg shown in this picture is one of her jewelled creations presented at an exposition in Lakewood, Ohio . Fig. 11 - ... Examples of the so-called "Gesunkenes Kulturgut" in folk art - conventional art relationship. The jewelled eggs, shown in this picture, were decorated by Miss Petrushka who, according to her own words, learned "secrets" of egg decoration from her father, a Slovak folk artist . Fig. 12 - � 40 SLOVAKIA Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs in America: The Impact of Culture Contact on Immigrant Art and Custom ANDREW CINCURA University of California Decoration of Easter eggs, one of the most ancient calendar customs of the general Slavic area, (1) is still alive among the Slavic ethnic groups in Europe and America. Though there have been changes in the decoration of Easter eggs and in customs related to this form of folk art, Easter eggs are even now cherished by these groups as important and unaltered landmarks of the past. (2) The importance of Easter eggs has also been recognized in folkloristics. Although several Slavic and non-Slavic scholars have studied Easter eggs, either in connection with other disciplines, (3) or as part of a study of Slavic culture, (4) to my knowledge no scholar has studied the transmission of Slavic Easter egg decorative traditions from Europe to America. In this article, I want to briefly outline continuity and change of this transmission in connection with the Slavic and Ruthenian Easter eggs. (5) This is a pilot study based upon fieldwork among the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio, (6) and will examine and interpret the data collected in the field in the terms of (a) implements and materials used in decoration of Easter eggs; (b) designs; (c) techniques of Easter egg manufacture; (d) customs involving decorated eggs. To begin with, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is concerned with technology and etymology. The implements employed in egg decoration belong basically to three groups. First, there are household implements, such as sharp-pointed knives, tin cooking utensils, dishes, glasses, spoons, glass jars, tin lids, electric heating plates, needles, brushes, pencils, awls, and baskets. Removed temporarily from their everyday use, these implements serve folk artists in egg decoration, usually without any special change as to the appearance and function of the implement in question. The second group of implements are represented by slightly modified household tools as, for example, needles and pins puslied lengthwise into large kitchen matches or into chopsticks (Figs. 1,4), sewing awls with attached thread, or thin wire (7), or rubberbands. (8). The third group consists of items bought or manufactured exclusively for egg decoration. This group is represented by three tools, oko, skrabacka, andpierko. The first of them, oko, (literally, "eye"), is an implement used either for immersion of eggs in, or for their removal out of, jars or glasses filled with water colors. The oko, consisting of two basic parts, �SLOVAKIA 41 ring and handle, is made of one piece of relatively solid wire. The ring, as the first part of the implement, is made by the bending of wire into the form of a circle of a slightly smaller diameter than the maximal width of the egg. The handle, on the other hand, is formed by a sharp bend of wire at the point qf the completed circle and in about 120 degree slant to the plane rep'resented by the ring (Fig. 7). The oko was manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak in order "to prevent scratches on the surfaces of freshly batiked eggs whenever the eggs were immersed into containers or removed with a spoon.'' The second tool, skrabacka ("scraper"), is either a commercially-acquired or a homemade awl with a thin pencil-like wooden or metallic handle . The skrabacka, being alternately used with sharp-pointed knives, is the most important tool in the so-called "scratch-carving" technique. (9) The third tool used exclusively in egg decoration, pierko ("pen"), is called also brko (''quillpen'') in Slovakia. A modern variant of pierko is the voskovacka (literally, "waxing fountain-pen"). Basically an implement consisting of a pencil-like wooden handle and a tiny funnel-like metallic cup attached diagonally to the end of the handle, the voskovacka is the most important tool in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. Its more or less archaic specimens were described by Cenek Zibrt, (10) while the modern equivalents of voskovacka were briefly treated by A. Vaclavik. (11) With the exception of Mrs. Jane Mad'ar (shown in Fig. 10), all my informants in Cleveland used the most modern variant of voskovacka when decorating with the batik technique. (12) The tools of the first and second groups are used in decoration either without any change or with slight modification, and as such they are mentioned by most of the sources consulted for this paper both in the terms of technology and terminology. In Cleveland I observed that all implements belonging to these two groups are generally used in a fashion similar to their use in Europe. One may say that an extensive give-and-take exchange exists between the uses of these tools for everyday needs in the household and in egg decoration. In view of this, the tools of these two groups may be considered the most evident instances of continuity in transmission of this form of folk art from Europe to America. (13) As to etymology, the implements described in connection with the third group above (i.e., oko, skrabacka, and voskovacka) are important items in the tracing of historic-ethnic proveniences and the links in material aspects of Easter customs. The usefulness of these terms is evident if one accepts the thesis that there is no term in folk art for something that actually does not exist. (14) Thus, if Slovak terms skrabacka, pierko, and voskovacka have equivalents in all other Slavic languages, this is also a proof of antiquity and popularity of this special group of implements. (15) If, on the contrary, the term oko does not exist in its specific meaning, for example, in Slovak, this might suggest �42 SLOVAKIA that the implement itself does not exist materially in the Slovak ethnic territory either. If in spite of this , however, both the term and implement are present among the Slovaks in America, this is either because of borrowing from another ethnic group in America, or because of an individual's invention . Either way, it is rather convincing evidence of change that took place between the points of origin and American use of this tool. Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian ancestry , told me that he had seen a similar implement "somewhere in Cleveland.'' This information, linked together with the fact that Mr. Molchak did not know the Ukrainian name of this tool, hints that the implement is of Ukrainian origin, but Mrs. Molchak, an American of Slovak ancestry, gave it a Slovak name. The household implements mentioned in connection with groups one and two above are , on the contrary, of no value for a study along ethnic-comparative lines. Although also known in all Slavic languages, these implements are of interchangeable use, and as such they may be present in the cultures unfamiliar with egg decoration. Examined in connection with the informants in Cleveland , the tools of all three groups are relevant for the study of Slavic-English aspects concerning their terminology. In general, a shift to favor English terminology was observable among all my informants without regard to ethnic or sex group or age. Persistence in usage of traditional Slavic terms was still visible in connection with the most recent immigrants. The American-born Slovak and Ruthenian informants, on the contrary, have shown a tendency to favor Slavic terms only in the cases when the implements were of frequent use at home and infrequently mentioned at school. For example, the childen of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak were well acquainted with the terms of pentlicka ("ribbon" in Slovak dialectical usage) or kistka ("waxing pen" in Ruthenian and Eastern Slovak usage) while the Anglo-American terms were consistently favored whenever the children spoke about knives, spoons, or canples. In essence, one can say that the Old World terms were dropped whenever their specific equivalents existed in English. On the other' hand, the Slavic terms were retained even by the American-born informants whenever neither objects nor terms were present in American culture. The second aspect of this study concerns the examination of materials used in egg decoration. Closely related to the study of implements, these materials are used for preparation of colors and the materials employed in the so-called ''relief techniques.'' Since the materials used in the relief techniques will be treated extensively later in this article, only the materials used in preparation of colors will be considered at this point. These materials, at any rate, are of utmost importance for the study of transmission of Easter eggs in its corollary aspect of change . Considered at the point of departure from Europe, these materials represent a medley of knowledge and notions · concerning chemistry, botany, and physics, at a folklife level. In America, �SLOVAKIA 43 on the contrary, all coloring substances are commercially acquired in the form of "new coloring kits, easy to use" either in the so-called "Chick-chick plastic bag" or "Paint me" paper box varieties. In order to understand better the nature and extent of this change, let us examine the materials used for coloring and tinting of eggs first in their European form and then in connection with their American counterpart. According to the majority of my informants, "onions and tea leaves cooked together with eggs were used most often for coloring and tinting by our mothers in Europe , but also some 'other things ' may be used for this work." (16) Although unspecific as to the rest of tinting substances, the informants in Cleveland still gave me enough clues in order to continue with the study of this aspect in connection with the written sources. Thus, the "other things" mentioned by informants may have been: the overcooked "Spring rye, hay and coffee; clover leaves (tied to the eggs and cooked in the) extract of ... young grass (and) parsley" (17) for regular tinting, and "the cabbage 'acid' " (18) for 'etching' of parts of eggs not covered by wax. ( 19) In America, as stated, the tinting and coloring kits are bought. These kits, costing ''only a few dollars,'' (20) contain all basic colors in powder form. The coloring fluid is prepared ''by the mixing of the powder with hot water and vinegar," (21) according to specific directions for use. I have not seen any of my informants work with the etching technique; therefore, I mention it here only in order to stress its relative importance in Europe and its absence among my informants in Ohio. The linguistic aspect concerning the materials used for tinting and coloring is, in my opinion, important only in its European version. The terms used in identification of various tinting and coloring substances or materials are either well-known throughout the Slavic area or restricted to some small regions. The widely spread terms are, again like the terms denoting certain tools, an indication of popularity and presence of these materials and substances in the individual Slavic countries. On the other hand, the terms restricted to certain small regions are undeniable proof that the particular material was used only locally or regionally. This conclusion is based upon the fact that these terms are ''tinted'' with dialecticism to such an extent that they cannot be found in average dictionaries nor identified by those of my informants possessing rather advanced formal education in art history or folk art technology. So, for example, neither Dr. Cincik and Miss Petrushka nor Mrs. Osadca were able to give me any information on the terms of pryzyly or kampeska. (22) The commercially acquired American kits are of no value in the study of folk terminology in connection with materials used for tinting and coloring. As products of mass oriented manufacture, these kits reflect primarily an artificial interference with folk tradition. �44 SLOVAKIA What conclusions could be drawn from this short study of implements and materials used in egg decoration? The frequent use of household tools in egg decoration, to start with, suggests that decorated eggs have roots in a self-sustaining economy. Analyzed with respect to the European tradition, this hypothesis is indirectly supported by many statements of the authors consulted for this paper. Thus, according to Vaclavik, "a laid-away razor knife" (23) was frequently reshaped into a pin-pointed tool and used in the scratchcarving technique, (24) and "a pocket knife with a broken point" (25) was employed for the same purpose by Zibrt's informants. However, "an old spoon (with handle) thrust into the side of a beet-made candlestick" (26) is, perhaps, the most characteristic example of the selfsustaining character of tools in Easter eggs manufacture. This character is, nevertheless, still more pronounced in connection with materials used in egg tinting and coloring. There is almost no limit to the range of plants, materials, and techniques employed in traditional preparation of various colors and tints, as seen in the brief summary of the materials above. Examined in the terms of the American tradition, the hypothesis of a sustentacular relationship of economy and egg decoration still holds in connection with the frequent use of household implements in egg decoration in the United States. There is, however, a marked tendency to acquire more and more tools commercially and exclusively for egg decoration here. One can observe this trend, for example, in connection with the commercially-acquired specimens of voskovacka (waxing pen) or skrabacka (scraper), and in connection with the homemade oko (lit., "eye") manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. On the other hand, a drift against the traditional self-sustaining ch'aracter of egg decoration is visible in the fact that all colors and tints are bought. The household implements and materials used in tinting and coloring, to continue, are often referred to in connection with the history of technology in general, and as such they may be relatively good timing and placing devices in establishing historicity and ethnicity of certain aspects in egg decoration custom. Among devices usable for this kind of study are almost all modern inventions, whether of general or restricted use, such as electric heating plates and the voskovacka (waxing pen in its most modem variant). In this connection, however, it is necessary to point out that only presence of modern implements is of value for an investigation along historical lines. Their absence, whether in pictorial representations or in written documents, is worthless, as one could easily see by a comparison of the photographs taken during the interview with Mrs. Molchak (an electric heating plate used for wax melting) and of Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic (burning candles used as sources of melted wax). (27) The aspect o~ ethnicity, touched briefly in connection with the dialectical names of materials used in egg decoration, may be considered as a relatively safe testing device of �SLOVAKIA 45 regional-ethnic provenience of certain terms and materials. As a corollary of technology; the inventiveness was indirectly implied in connection witp. the "beet-made candlestick," (28) with the multifold use of household implements, and with the intelligent handling of materials useJ traditionally for manufacture of colors and tints. In its traditional aspect, this inventiveness was brought about primarily by economic considerations. In its new American setting, it is perhaps, owing more to an "aesthetic" feeling of the folk artist. One can see this in two specific cases, such as the above mentioned oko by means of which my informants tried ''to avoid scratches'' on the freshly batiked eggs, (See Figs. 2,3, and 5) and in the concern of another informant "for the shameful results of her work with yellow color." (29) In the first case, Mr. and Mrs. Molchak made the oko; in the second instance, the informant decided "to search for the roots of trouble in order to heighten the quality of her work.'' However, this economic"aesthetic" difference between European and American tradition is a matter of interpretation. There is not a rigid dichotomy between "aesthetics" and economy either in Europe or in America, and there is no dichotomy between the Old World and New World inventiveness either. In summary, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is, at its descriptive level, concerned with technology and etymology. At an analytical level, this study may explain some aspects related to economy, inventiveness, historicity, ethnicity, and ''aesthetics.'' Nevertheless, the most important aspect of this study, I think, is in its investigation into continuity and change. As stated above, there is a partial continuity in the tools used in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. However, there is a complete change between the materials used traditionally in Europe and recently in America. The study of designs in folk art concerns primarily an investigation into the types and motifs. Both the types and motifs of folk art are often interchangeable with each other, as in folk narratives, and as such they resist any ready-made definitions. In general, the type may be thought of as the term denoting resemblances in combinations of symbols, signs, motifs, ornaments, and kinds of craftsmanship over a large area to such an extent that these resemblances cannot be ascribed to polygenesis. The motif, on the other hand, is "a graphically complete representation of a given fundamental form that manifests certain content.'' (30) Designs in decoration of Slavic Easter eggs belong to two fundamental types, the western and the eastern. The western type, comprising Poland, Bohemia and Moravia, the easternmost part of Slovakia, and Slovenia, is generally seen as a phenomenon limited in range of motifs, but possessing an exquisite craftsmanship. (31) This type of egg decoration is characterized, according to A. Vaclavik, "by �46 SLOVAKIA star motifs on both ends of egg(s) and by free setting of motifs on sides of egg.'' (32) The specimens of this type are obtained either by tear-like lines and dots (33) or by embossed ornamentation with wax or other suitable material. (34) The most frequent motifs connected with the western type are chains, sinuous lines, trees and branches, garlands, squares, hearts, birds, and rosettes. (35) The eastern type, on the other hand, is geographically restricted to the Ukraine, western Russia, the Sub-Carpathian Ukraine, and the parts of eastern Moravia and westernmost Slovakia. (36) Rich in color as well as in the number of subtypes, this type is characterized by linear ornamentation running over the egg surface vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. (37) The basic traits of the eastern type are traceable to Byzantine art and related to, and influenced by, the grass weaving, (38) embroidery, (39) and wood carving. (40) Because of this relationship, the eastern type is influenced by materials used. Its most frequent motifs seem to be cross, swastika, triangle, pentagram, hexagram, and various highly schematized ribbonlike motifs of lighting, thorns, ''ant and bee paths,'' "bird path," and fork and comb-like motifs. (41) My study in Cleveland showed that Vaclavik's conclusions concerning geographical distribution of these two basic types (i.e., the western and the eastern) are generally valid also in connection with the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants in Ohio. Already by a cursory observation of the eggs collected or photographed in Cleveland for this project, one can see a remarkable difference between the eggs decorated by Mrs. Molchak, on the one hand, and Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic, on the other. While Mrs. Molchak has an overall predilection for the western tear-like motifs, she is also fond of the embossed subtypes in egg decoration. Mrs. Pap, an adherent of the eastern types, decorates eggs characterized by balanced composition of geometrical elements, and by a wide range of colors. With the exception of an egg showing Christ risen from the dead, there is no egg decorated by Mrs. Pap that would suggest design influence from other ethnic groups in America. Mrs. Korlatovic, as another folk artist working with the eastern typological sphere df egg decoration, is also very conservative in approach to design change. Working to the minutest detail in a geometrical partition of the egg surface, Mrs. Korlatovic has attained what many folk artists would consider ''an ideal of perfection." Because of emphasis on mosaicity, the color aspects of her design are subordinated. Eggs decorated by Mrs. Korlatovic are beautiful seen close up; their colors and designs merge in an indefinite brownish hue when the eggs are seen, say, at a distance of 3 or 4 feet. The other informants are more or less an amorphous group as to their relationship to the western or eastern type of design. This group is primarily represented by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar. Mrs. Tanya Osadca, Miss Petrushka, Dr. Joseph Cincik, Mr. Vladimir Ozabal and three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. With the exception of the last �SLOVAKIA 47 mentioned three girls, who show a definite pro-western typological inclination (Note Fig. 6) , the other informants mentioned in this paragraph are " individuals " resisting any general classification as to typology in design. Some hints as to the preferences of this group may be traced from the study of motifs in the works and collection of this group . So, at any rate, sinuous lines are the favored motif of Mrs . Mad'ar both according to her own words as well as in accordance with her decoration (Fig. 10) . The motifs of tulips, hearts , roses , and birds evident in western Slovak wall-paintings are on the favored list of Dr. Cincik, of Mrs . Ozabal, and, to certain extent, also of Miss Petrushka. But both Miss Petrushka and Dr. Cincik prefer in their professional work a somewhat schematized design of '' pastoral culture,'' as does Mrs. Osadca in her hobby-oriented egg decoration . (42) On the whole, this group of folk artists is an excellent example of the mixed influences that characterize Slovak ethnic territory as to typology in egg decoration designs. All members of the group have roots in their native or ancestral cultures. With the exception of Mrs. Osadca , this group draws basically from the Western Slovak " fireplace decorating sub-type." But designs of this group merge to the central Slovak sub-types of wood carving and embroidery which, in tum , already shows some traces of the linear-geometrical character present in the eastern type of egg decoration. With a view to the types and motifs examined briefly above, the general concepts of designs in folk art may be analyzed in connection with the study of form and content elements as well. The corollaries of form and content, symbol, sign, and ornament, are mutually substitutive, according to one's point of view. Thus, let us say, an ornament considered under strictly formal attributes may be simply a decoration or embellishment. In its content evaluation, however, an ornament could have " an ideological meaning (issuing) from aesthetic concept(s) " (43) either as a sign representing a conventional idea or as a symbol expressing a basic (and) striking ... idea." (44) Let us now examine the most frequent and self-evident symbols, the cross, heart, briar, wild rose, thorn crown, rose, and grapevine in connection with sources I was able to consult and with the Slovak and Ruthenian folk artists in Cleveland whom I interviewed. The cross, both the symbol and sign expressing the traditional concepts of Christ's death and resurrection, was the most frequent ornament used in the decoration by my informants. Its twelve variants, (45) representing the full range of cultural and ethnic connotations, were intentionally used by the majority of my informants in order either to express their religious affiliation or to stress their ethnic backgrounds. Thus , the Latin cross was consistently used by the informants of the Roman Catholic religion while the members of the Byzantine Catholic Rite expressed their religious beliefs with the Byzantine Catholic Cross and with the words "Christos Voskres" (i.e., �48 SLOVAKIA "Christ is risen"). The Greek Cross, with its vertical and horizontal beams of equal length , was used very often interchangeably with the crosses of St. Andrew (i.e., an "X" or " Y" cross) "because all three crosses are easy to draw in any direction and combination with other ornaments. " In a like manner, the Cross of St. Anthony (i.e. , a cross in the form of a "T") and the Maltese Cross were employed primarily for their formal-decorative aspects. The so-called Apostolic Cross, represented by a long vertical beam and by two horizontal beams placed in the upper half of the cross, brought about some implications of ethnic-cultural symbology. While this cross is an official religious symbol of the Byzantine Catholic Church, it is at the same time also partly related to the Slovak national emblem (i.e. , an Apostolic Cross upon the " peak" of a threesome " mountain range " ). This, at any rate interesting aspect, presented no problems in connection with my informants of the Byzantine Rite faith and eastern Slovak background. For them, the cross was both " Slovak " and also " Byzantine"; however, for my informants of western Slovak ancestry or origin, the cross was always of " Slovak " connotation. The informants of Ruthenian provenience stressed that ''the cross was an emblem of their religion" and asked me " to state this clearly when I write about 'their Easter eggs'.'' This , on first sight trivial emphasis upon ethnic or cultural aspects, may not be easily understood by citizens of a large country like the United States. Had one, however, studied the history of the Slovaks , Sub-Carpathians , Huculs , Lemkos, and other small ethnic groups of central Europe , he would see why there is a strong emphasis on esoteric elements in the folklore of these groups. The heart, a universal symbol of love, is prominent in central and western Slovakia. Used frequently both in folk art designs and in Christian symbology as well, the symbol and ornament of the heart developed, in my opinion , from two different traditions . The first tradition of heart symbols has roots in the so-called " spiritual love ," while the second tradition is linked with the so-called " erotic love." Spiritual love is represented in Christian symbols either by a heart with a burning flame on its top and a crown of thorns placed about it or by the so-called "Lumen Christi" (i.e ., Paschal candle) with fire burning "upwards" or "spiritually." The second tradition of love symbolism , " erotic love ," is more evident in folk art and customs . The aspect of erotic love permeates several customs of the S~avic and Balkan areas, among them especially the customs of " Kore ," " Kostrubonko," and " Morena" in which, usually , an effigy of straw is set afire and thrown into the river . These customs , in essence animistic equations of Notteuer , represent fire as a male element moving downwards toward water or the female element. (46) In folk art, both "spiritual" and " erotic" fire s are frequently connected with the symbols of "suffering love " (i.e ., the thorn crown in its spiritual aspect; rose-and-briar in the " worldly" aspect of love). (4 7) After an examination of the literary �SLOVAKIA 49 sources with the evidence from Cleveland, I came to the conclusion that the "heart-rose-briar" composition ("heart-tulip " version in Slovakia) symbolizes among the Slovaks only "spiritual love." This interpretation is self-evictent in connection with the wood-carved cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, with the fireplace paintings in western Slovakia, and with the works of some of my informants in Cleveland. An investigation into the relative directions in the "movement" of individual ornaments reveals that the elements of "twisting" and "knots" are symbolically opposing the "branching" or "open structures" in every vertical composition. The verticallyoriented "twisting," especially when terminated with a "love knot," symbolizes in folk tradition a "suffering kind of erotic love" while the "branching" or "open structure" is a sign symbol of parent-to-child love. In an examination of forty illustrative plates in the work Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat (Decorated Fireplaces in the Little Capathian Region) by Rudolf Bednarik I found no single instance of the so-called "twisting" or " knots " in connection with the western Slovak "fireplace sub-culture." In a like manner, only "open branching" is evident on the cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, shown in the book Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku. (48) The carving upon the crosses, in addition, shows also genetic and historical development in the ornament-to-symbols direction. The date carved directly on the vertical beam of a cross indicates the year of 188(-), with the last digit illegible because of decay. This cross has no symbolic connotation as yet. Its tulips grow up out of a flower pot rather naturally, and as such they are only an ornament. (49) Another cross at the same cemetery, dated 1928, is evidently an advanced version of the older cross in its ornament-symbol relationship. (50) Its symbolism is expressed in the form of tulips branching upwards from a heart . The "spiritual character" of love is here symbolized, in my opinion, by the "open branching" of the tulip, and, I think, the entire arrangement can be interpreted as suggesting the everlasting love of the deceased toward his living relatives. Now, how does this spiritual and wordly love relationship score with the other folk art products in Europe and in America? Is there any evidence of an ornament-to-symbol orientation among folk artists in more recent times? A little wooden shovel, to start with, was decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland. This shovel may be considered as an intermediary stage between the ornaments symbolizing spiritual and erotic love. Representing the so-called ''medovnikove srdce'' (i.e., " marzipan heart") flanked by two schematized roosters, the ornamental arrangement on the little shovel still preserves some traces of spiritual love (i.e. , the two tulips branching from the heart), but the presence of the roosters suggests already "another aspect" of love. This aspect, I think, is stressed even more by the traditional meaning of the marzipan heart in Slovakia since such a heart was given by a boy �50 SLOVAKIA only to the girl whom he intended to marry. In like manner, the egg made by Mrs. J . B. also shows an intermediary character, this time in connection with the genetic flower pot-to-heart development (i.e., from naturalism to symbolism). There is a remarkable likeness between this egg and an egg shown by A. Vaclavik. (51) This likeness suggests that the polygenetic trend in motifs is not restricted to folk narratives only. Two eggs decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland belong also to the intermediary zone between spiritual and wordly love. One of the eggs , a vertical rendition of "twisting" and "open branching," looks almost like a combination of the rose-and-briar motif of AngloAmerican traditional balladry and of tulip-branching of western Slovak wall-painting. The other egg, elaborated horizontally with only one garland of roses and green leaves slightly above the middle of eggshell, already suggests a higher spiritualization, but this is only an impression. It seems that the most recent ornaments whether created by my informants or by folk artists in Slovakia remained only ornaments. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols like the cross, the heart, and the thorn crown, one of my informants did not know why he put together, for example, the horizontally-arranged grapevine motif with wild roses superimposed upon the grapevine branches. Except the swastika and "sun circles," the other ornaments also described in connection with the types and motifs above are taken by the majority of my informants for face value only. So, for example, Mrs. Korlatovic considered the cobweb, the sieve, and the rake only as a cobweb, a sieve, or a rake, and nothing else. The swastika, treated extensively by M. Gavazzi, (52) was for my informants either "an emblem of the Nazis" or "a garden sprinkler" whenever presented in the "round form.'' Only the informants with formal art training were able to recognize the ' 'ancient symbol of a moving sun'' (53) behind the forms of "windmill wings or clover leaves" of the swastika. The "sun circles," (54) used by my informants in one form or another, were recognized by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar "as a Slovak ceiling decoration," but only Dr. Cincik was familiar with the ancient meaning of this ornament. Theory of design in folk art, like its counterpart in fine arts, is a matter of interpretation in the first place. yonsidered with general concepts of art, designs in folk art may be examined in the terms of form and content, as stated above. Linked to the diachronic study, these designs may reveal some social, economic, cultural, or psychological conditions. Folk art, when contrasted with fine arts, shows a high occurrence of borrowing, repetition, use of conventional themes, plagiarism, and disregard for spontaneity and originality. In the past, folk art was thought to be linked to the preservation and reproduction of life by magical and natural means. At present, folk art seems to lose more and more of its magic character. Hand in hand with the new and more realistic approaches to the problems of life, folk art tends today to emphasize stylistic and formal elements, such as or- �SLOVAKIA 51 nament and decoration attained by mere technical means (i.e., relief techniques). Generally, it seems that folk art design moved originally away from naturalism tow~rd schematization. Its present tendency is toward self-explanatory and self-evident symbolism (i.e., a flower pot exchanged by a heart). When, however, certain general symbols were removed out of anunstressed situation, they became localized within a new and stronger situation and acquired a new meaning (i.e., the Apostolic Cross became the Slovak or Eastern Byzantine Cross). According to conventional aesthetics, symbolism giving content to the form should be thought of as a ''higher level'' in the understanding of artistic creations. In folk art, on the contrary, symbolism was more evident in the ancient and relatively more primitive cultures. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols of the cross and heart, symbolism is almost absent from the recent folk creations. Is this a paradox? No, it is only a fact which suggests that sophisticated and folk culture are two different entities, and so also are conventional aesthetics and folk art ''aesthetics.'' Techniques of egg decoration play an important part in the diachronic-synchronic study of folklore transmission. Thought of in the terms of materials and tools used, these techniques are identified as painting, batiking, scratch-carving, embossing, (with related techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), and tying. (55) Considered in their relationship to the predetermined use of eggs, these techniques are primarily of a conservational character. There are, however, some techniques of preparatory character which are either considered as preliminary steps for proper decoration of eggs or thought of as techniques in their own right. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, I want first to consider the preparatoryconservational egg decoration · techniques. To start with, painting or coloring of eggs requires "completely clean hands (and) implements." (56) According to Zibrt, the egg must be "at least three days old in order to 'catch' color, (and it should be) slightly heated in order to retain wax. (57) Several informants, quoted by Zibrt and Vaclavik, stress that "lukewarm rain water" (58) is the best for the cleaning of eggs. Then the eggs are either blown out of the eggshells, or cooked in clean water or with any coloring substance whenever they should be decorated later and used as decorative articles at home or as presents for the others. On the other hand, the eggs are either cooked together with onion skin, tea leaves, or other food coloring substances whenever they should be consumed during Easter holidays, or else "scratched-carved" after cooking. These preparatory techniques are gen·e rally known all over the Slavic area. There is, however, a rather restricted technique of a conservational character employed consistently by Mrs. Korlatovic. According to this technique, raw eggs are decorated with batik, and when dry, the eggs are covered with a thin layer of special shellac. This prevents spoilage, adding a bit �52 SLOVAKIA of mirrorlike gloss. Let us now describe and examine the decorative techniques. The first technique of painting is, in essence, the simple application of the technique employed in other forms of folk art, such as wall painting, pottery and ceramics, painting of household implements, and painting on glass. The technique, "gaining momentum recently especially in northern Slovakia," (59) consists of direct application of oil or water paints on eggs. Although mentioned by Zibrt and Vaclavik, this technique is not very important in over all transmission of Easter customs from Europe to America, and only one of my informants in Cleveland used it extensively. Batik technique, on the other hand, is the most important and widespread technique in egg decoration. Mentioned often by several Slavic and non-Slavic authors, (60) this technique is of an ancient origin. Its existence is known all over the Slavic area, and its popularity is unquestioned also among my informants in Cleveland (See Figs. 1,2,3,5, and 6). The technique itself is based fundamentally on a principle similar to offset printing. Decoration by means of this technique is, therefore, attained in such a way that the parts of the eggshell are covered with wax heated in the tiny cup of voskovacka (i.e., waxing pen), and the egg is then immersed and tinted in a light water color. After removal of the egg from the first color, and when the egg is dry enough, the wax is wiped off thoroughly with a warm rag. (61) Then the egg is, again, "painted" with wax, "bathed" in another somewhat darker color, removed, dried and wiped. These steps are repeated until the egg attains the desired design composition (See Fig. 9) Scratch-carving, after batik the most popular technique in Slovakia, is known also among my informants. Related and similar to woodcarving, this technique is generally linked with the eastern type egg design in general and with the so-called "salasnicka kultura" (i.e. pastoral culture) in particular. According to Vaclavik, the drawback of this technique ' 'is hard work, more time-c~nsuming than with wax(batiked) eggs." (62) Only well-seasoned artists are able to work with this technique successfully. As mentioned above, all my informants are familiar with this technique, but only Mrs . Molchak was willing to scratch carve eggs during my stay in Ohio. Folk artists in Europe use for scratch carving "file or awl, knife, (but) most frequently the point of laid-away razor blades." (63) In America, on the contrary, the most popullar implement for this technique is the so-called "skrabacka" (lit., scraper), an awl made of hard steel and having a pencil-like wooden or metallic handle. The egg, decorated in this technique by Mrs. Molchak was made with the skrabacka. Embossing, inlaying, ribboning, hammering, and tying are basically complementary techniques. Linked with each other both in Europe and in America, these techniques are employed in order to �SLOVAKIA 53 variegate the relief of egg's surface by raising the parts of eggshell. In my opinion, however, only embossing and tying are techniques in their own right. Techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering, on the contrary, are mere adaptations of each other as to the material used. Embossing is a technique ih which the egg's surface is raised by permanent application of heavy coat of wax. This technique , in spite of how effective it looks, is not widespread because, in addition to being hard to work the ''relief peels off easily and melts away in warm weather." (64) Traditional specimens with this technique were made with an application of ''red or blue wax'' upon eggshell, or of '' black wax" upon a red-tinted egg. Embossing of eggs is, according to Vaclavik, "known in Moravia, in westernmost Bohemia, and in Bulgaria.'' (65) Only one of my informants in Cleveland (Mrs. Molchak) works with this traditional technique to any great extent. Inlaying, as the first of the three techniques (consisting of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), is relatively restricted because it depends very much on the skill of a folk artist. In its European version, this technique is represented by two major variants, the so-called "pasted eggs" and "straw eggs." The "pasted eggs," known both in western Slovakia and in Moravia under the names of "birds" and "doves ," are decorated with paper of different colors and shapes . The results of such activity are "birds" with the body made of the egg, and with the head, feet, tail, and wings made of paper. (66) The "straw eggs, '' on the other hand, are manufactured with a technique in which pieces of colored straw are pasted directly upon the eggshell. This mosaic-like work requires great skill and patience. It is fundamentally a variant of a cabinet making technique in which pieces of straw are also used in decoration of furniture'.s frontispieces. (67) Inlaying, of course, can be carried out in a wide range of combination and of materials used. This aspect, however, will be referred to later in connection with the American counterparts of this technique. Ribboning is, according to Vaclavik, "a further (and) more recent variant (of) sitinovani.' ' (68) Widespread in northern Slovakia, ribboning consists of pasting little garlands on both ends of the egg, and tying the ribbons of different colors and widths around the middle. (69) Among my informants, only Miss Petrushka uses this technique in a form described by Vaclavik, while Mrs. Mad'ar uses this technique in its simpler variant of "string-lacing." Hammering, .the last close relative of inlaying and ribboning, is a very old technique. According to Cesky casopis historicky, (70) hammering is documented as early as 1415. Folk artists working with this technique use most "often blown out goose eggs (and embellish) them with metallic rings, flower and animal motifs. (71) With the exception of Miss Petrushka, none of my informants in Cleveland worked with this technique. Tying of eggs, as a technique in its own right, is now restricted to �54 SLOVAKIA the vicinity of Mikulov in Moravia. (72) However, owing to evidence from Cleveland, I will examine this technique in somewhat more detail than the others. According to the data gathered from other studies and from my informants, the egg is decorated with this technique when it is immersed into strong vinegar in order to soften it and then it is tied about the middle in order to acquire a shape of a written number 8. From a practical viewpoint, this technique seems merely to complement the other seven techniques mentioned before. But as mentioned above, tying becomes a technique in its own right for technological and other reasons. First of all, no attempts were made in other techniques to change the chemical composition of the eggshell to such an extent that it would become pliable. Then, in its interpretative aspect, I think that this technique also suggests another important point. As mentioned before, economic factors play a part in the work of folk artists in Europe and in America as well. One can see this in connection with the multifold use of tools both for general household chores and in the use of the terms with which folk artists unequivocally stress how carefully one should work, for example, with razor blade ''in order to prevent breaking of the eggshell." (73) Now, let us consider this project in the situation of which I was an eyewitness during an exposition of the art work of Miss Petrushka. At this exposition, Miss Petrushka startled the attending public when she let fall a jewelled egg as if accidentally, but the egg bounced up without damage. At my question of how this elasticity of the eggshell was attained, Miss Petrushka answered only in part. She told me that she learned this secret from her father, a folk artist also, but otherwise declined to elaborate on or describe the procedure or the chemical reaction by which the elasticity of egg was brought about. I am no chemist, but in view of Vaclavik' s investigation of the "tying egg technique," I think that the process by which Vaclavik's informants brought about the softening of eggs and the process by means of which miss Petrushka was able to induce elasticity to jewelled eggs\are at least partly related to each other. As to the other side of this problem, there is no doubt that her polite refusal to answer my question was motivated by economic reasons, a sort of private patent protection. With respect to the other techniques, I have observed that my informants combine the relief techniques into one. Conversely, embossing in this "modern" version is carried out in connection with inlaying, ribboning, hammering, painting, batiking, and scratch carving. My informants used for this "new technique," in addition to wax, also dough, cultured pearls, wire of various thicknesses, aluminum foil cut in the form of small leaves and flowers, silk and samite, tiny sequins and beads, marzipan, and confetti in baking and regular varieties. This range of materials used is still not a complete one. And this technique, whether considered as one or separately in agreement with its more traditional counterparts, shows that the �SLOVAKIA 55 variety in products manufactured by my Slovak and Ruthenian informants in Cleveland is very wide. At its specific plane, this variety moves from the work of humble folk artists up almost to Faberge's level. (74) The Americanized technique, which includes a number of European traditional techniques , supports the hypothesis of a forwardreverse relationship beh,xeen techniques and implements used in egg decoration . While the number of tools in Europe shrinks , and the implements are frequently interchanged for economic reasons with those in overall household use , the techniques in Europe were held as separate entities in rather restricted areas, again, I believe, mainly to lower cost and to use only locally available materials . In America the situation seems to be reversed. The implements used exclusively for egg decoration here seem to gain ground . The techniques, as seen above , tend to lose individuality and become more and more incorporated into a larger whole. This again, in my opinion , is because of economic reasons . Ame rican folk artists have no difficulty in obtaining locally everything needed for egg decoration. The choice of products in America permits American folk artists to follow their interests to a greater degree than their European counterparts in the past. No matter whether these interests are of an aesthetic nature or whether they are conditioned by profession , economic aspects of buying and selling as well as of the conditions underlying the choice of raw materials and tools are ever present and important. The custom involving Easter eggs consisted in Slovakia of two basic parts: decoration of the eggs carried out in individual families, and use of eggs as presents for the young men performing showers and whippings. Both the showering and whipping as well as the egg decoration were historically documented , according to Cenek Zibrt, as early as the 14th century. (75) The decoration of Easter eggs , as the first part of this custom , has continued for over six hundred years, and no wonder that the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants brought this custom also to the United States. According to my investigation in Cleveland, it was carried on by the first generation of Slovak immigrants in America. Only single young men used to perform showers and whippings in Slovakia. The first Slovak immigrants in America, to begin with , were in most cases married men who came to the United States to earn money and either to return home or to bring their families here at a later date. The way of life in the United States, to continue, was conditioned by an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and as such it had no ready-made accommodations for such strange customs as whipping and showering. This custom was practiced in Slovakia on Easter Monday and Tuesday , both days being either a religious (i.e., Easter Monday) or traditional (i.e., Easter Tuesday) holiday. Linked together, these three aspects support the thesis that the no-holiday character of these two post-Easter days was the primary cause that brought about disappearance of showering and whipping in the United �56 SLOVAKIA States. The secondary cause for this disappearance was the fact that the Slovak immigrants were unwilling to continue with a custom that might have brought about ridicule from the more sophisticated segments of the American population. (76) The third cause might have been owing to changed environmental conditions. While rural life in Slovakia posed no difficulties to young men performing showers or whipping, urban life in America brought about some restrictions as to where, for example, the custom of showering could have taken place. In Slovakia this custom was usually performed either in the backyard or in the garden. In America, there were in most cases no places to perform the custom without damage to the interior of the house or, if the showering were performed in the street, without interference with law and order. The second part of the custom, involving the Easter eggs as presents in exchange for showering and whipping, had therefore either to disappear completely or to acquire a new meaning. Because of contact with other ethnic and cultural groups, this part of the custom took the road of incorporation within another cultural context. (77) Thus the Roman Catholic Slovak immigrants retained the custom of egg decoration as practiced in Slovakia; however, the second part of this custom involving Easter eggs as presents for the young men performing the whipping and showering either disappeared completely or was adjusted in order to suit the new situation. On the other hand, the Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, (78) together with the Ruthenians and Ukrainians proper, did not change the first part of the custom (i.e., decoration of eggs) at all. But a slight change took place among them in the exchange of eggs as compared with eastern Slovakia and Ruthenia. While, according to Greek Catholic usage, a simple form of exchange among the relatives and neighbors used to take place in Europe, eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in America decorate eggs now either for sale or for exchange with the other church members. The sale itself could be of two kinds: a simple sale for personal profit and a sale to fellow church members with the proceeds donated to the church. The second and third generations of thf Slovak Roman Catholic immigrants in Cleveland retained the "new approach" of the first generation regarding the revision of the custom involving Easter showers and whipping. Together with the eastern Slovaks and Ukrainians, the Roman Catholic Slovaks also adopted the changes of basic techniques, tools, terminology, and economy with respect to Easter customs and decorated eggs in particular. But this is, again, a matter concerning the other aspects of egg decoration, and as such it was either treated in connection with the individual aspects of egg decoration or it will be touched upon in the last part of this article. In the final analysis, one could see that change manifested itself in the various aspects of egg decoration more frequently than its corollary or continuity. With the exception of designs and tools of general use �SLOVAKIA 57 (both of which remained almost unaltered), changes occurred in coloring substances, techniques, customs involving decorated eggs, and in the tools used exclusively in egg decoration. However, as shown above in connection with individual aspects of egg decoration, these changes were always of different character and extent, and were brought about for different reasons. Thus, there was, on the one hand, a complete change from the.traditional home-made coloring substances (79) to the commercially available coloring kits in America. (80) There were, on the other hand, less evident, but still important, changes in techniques, customs, and tools of specific character. Placed side by side, both techniques and special tools show trends of adding and subtracting in a folktale-like manner. As in the study of folktales, one could observe that "two or more tales (are stringed) together," (81) the techniques which existed in Slovakia and in the Ukraine as separate entities were brought together by the folk artists in America and incorporated into one general technique. The opposite trend, again as in folktales, was evident in connection with the tools used exclusively in egg decoration when the "adding of detail(s)" occurred in the New World either owing to modernization of older tools or because of the introduction of new implements. The two-fold change took place, according to my observation, in customs involving Easter eggs. As mentioned, the custom of whipping and showering disappeared in America. The custom of giving Easter eggs as presents to the others was, on the contrary, retained, but its complete change was evident among the western and central Slovak immigrants while only a slight change as to its practical application was recorded among the eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland. (82) What were 1:he reasons behind these changes and why were certain aspects of egg decoration more amenable for alteration than others? As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, the motives for changes in various aspects of egg decoration can be attributed to folk "aesthetics," economy, and to the impact of culture contact with the other ethnic groups in America. Since no fingerprint evidence exists as to the cross-influence between "aesthetics," economy, and impact of culture contact, on the one hand, and the aspects of egg decoration, on the other, my interpretation of the motives leading to the changes in egg decoration is only a tentative one. I believe that the formation of concepts concerning ''aesthetics'' in the European version of egg decoration was brought about by the availability of materials and tools, in the first place. Artistic endeavors of European egg decorators were, in my opinion, conditioned by the initial cost of egg decoration. European folk artists, therefore, either manufactured the tools and coloring substances at their homes or used only locally available materials in order to save on transportation costs. American folk artists, on the other hand, seem to be concerned more with the sale of finished products, and make every effort to sell their products either for �58 SLOVAKIA money or for recognition ; hence, in order to do so, they are forced "to make saleable products" and "to protect their inventions." The worries about qualitative expression compel American egg decorators to buy new tools and to adapt traditional techniques to new needs . Even the custom involving decorated eggs, as an aspect of Easter eggs, was influenced to the greatest extent by culture contact with the other ethnic groups , is currently conditioned by economic artistic considerations . (83) Continuity, holding opposite side to the change in transmission, is evident in the use of general household implements and in designs. As to the tools, this rule of continuity is caused by the fact that knives, spoons, and needles, to mention just some of these items, are bought or used in Europe and in America along similar lines. Designs, in my opinion, seem to be stable elements in egg decoration because they have the most striking visual impact and are also formulaically and repetitively-oriented to a high degree. Seen altogether, both change and continuity exist side by side in the aspects of egg decoration as they exist both in folk art and in culture itself. This fact, being undeniable proof that egg decoration represents a part of the overall culture, is also testimony that the decoration of eggs as a form of folk art is governed by the laws governing culture itself. Easter eggs, therefore , like culture, are a unique human phenomenon, socially shared and transmitted, (84) this time by the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio. Reprinted from Journal of Popular Culture (Summer 1970) IV:l, pp. 155-193, with permission of Dr. Ray B. Browne. FOOTNOTES (1) Cf. Cenek Zibrt, Vesele chvile v iivote lidu ceskeho. Prague : Vysehrad, 1950, p. 251. According to Zibrt, the term 'Easter eggs' was known already in the 14th century, but originated long before that time . (2) Cf. Antonin Vaclavik, Vyrocni obyceje a lidove umeni. Prague : Ceskoslovenska akademie ved, 1959, p . 261. Vaclavik's informants in Moravia think that Easter eggs exist "from the very beginning " and several of his informants " maintain that the decoration of eggs started in Slovakia." (p . 262). In Vaclavik ' s opinion , the term " Slovakia" should be applied to the region alongside the Slovak-Moravian border only . (3) Cf. Kazimierz Moszyiiski, Kultura Ludowa Slowian. Cracow, 1939. CF . also Rudolf Bednarik , Duchovna kultura slovenskeho l'udu. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1941 . (4) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 259-580 ; cf. Zibrt, passim. (5) Cf. Note No. 6 below. (6) This fi eldwork was carried out by the author between March 18 and April 2, 1969. Thirty informants of Slovak and Ruthenian descent were interviewed. In addition to extensive tape-recordings and note-taking, the author took photographs tracing the individual steps of egg decoration (black and white as well as color slides) . Most of this material, containing also 17 actual eggs, is stored and available for consultation in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology at the University of California , Los Angeles. �SLOVAKIA 59 (7) Used as holders of blown-out eggs or as devises for the lengthwise partitioning of , such eggs . (8) Rubber bands may belong to either of the two groups. Used at times only for partitioning of egg surfaces, rubber bands may be stretched lengthwise diagonally, or latitudinally , and reused as any implement of the group one . At other times , rubber bands can be pasted around the eggs in order either to obtain embossing or to hold other items used in egg decoration , such as ribbons , colored sections of straw, or aluminum foil. Used this way, rubber bands belong to group two . For the specimens made either with ~krabai!ka or with sharp-pointed knife, see R. Bednarik, pp. 95-6. A dark-green egg, made by Mrs . Molchak and donated to this collection at U.C .L.A ., was decorated with ~krabai!ka. For an English treatment of eggs made with egg-carving technique, see Alfred L. Shoemaker, Eastertide in Pennsylvania, pp. 50-62. (9) (10) Cf. Zibrt, p. 257. (11) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 267-8. (12) The most modern specimen of uoskouai!ka is now available commercially. I bought one in the store of Mr. Rudenskij, 5432 State Road, Parma, Ohio, for $1.00. This specimen is now stored in the Archive F.M .G. at U.C.L.A. (13) As to the specific tools used exclusively for egg decoration, it is ahnost certain that some changes may have occurred in the Old World owing to new developments in culture and technology. This aspect, however, cannot be treated here because my evidence is fragmentary about it. (14) Cf. Zibrt, p . 251. (15) Cf. Ibid ., p. 255 . Cf. also Vaclavik, pp . 267-8. (16) Interview with Mrs . Mad'ar (17) Zibrt , p . 253 . (18) Ibid. (19) For description of etching, see Vaclavik , pp . 268, 275 . (20) Interview with Mrs. Molchak . (21) Interview with Mrs. Pap. (22) " Pryzyly " is a sort of reddish substance used for tinting (Cf. Zibrt, p . 252). "Kampeska" is a commercially-acquired " wood chip" coloring (Zibrt, p. 253). (23) Vaclavik, p . 269 . (24) Cf. Ibid. For a description of scratch carving, see Shoemaker, p. 51. (25) Zibrt, p . 255. (26) Vaclavik, p. 267. (27) Note Fig. No . 1, 2, 3, and 5. The photographs mentioned are on file in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology, U .C.L.A. (28) Vaclavik, p . 267 . (29) Interview with Mr~. Molchak . (30) Vaclavik, p . 376. (31) Cf. Ibid ., pp . 338-9. For a summary concerning the western type of egg decoration, see Ibid . , p . 523 . (32) Ibid ., p. 338 . (33) Cf. Ibid ., p. 287 and Plate LXXVII (upper part) . (34) Cf. Ibid ., p . 338 and Plate LV . �60 SLOVAKIA (35) Cf. Ibid., p. 338. (36) Cf. Ibid . (37) Cf. Ibid., p. 339. (38) Cf. Bednarik, pp. 206-208. (39) Cf. Ibid., Plate 75. Cf. also Moszyiiski, p. 916. (40) Cf. R. Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim., but especially Plates No. 55, 79, 142, 149, and 158. (41) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 389 , 391, 393, and 395. (42) For prominent motifs in wall painting in western Slovakia, see R. Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, passim. For ''pastoral culture'' in central Slovakia , see Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim. (43) Vaclavik, p . 376 . (44) Ibid ., 375. (45) R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, 57. (46) Cf. J. E. Cir lot, A Dictionary of Symbols, passim. (47) Cf. E. Haig, Floral Symbolism of the Great Masters, pp. 127-8. (48) Cf. R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p . 73. Cf. also Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, plates 1-40. (49) Cf. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p. 91. (50) Cf. Ibid ., p. 73. (51) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 346 (left side) . (52) Cf. M. Gavazzi, "Svastika i njezin ornamentalni razoj na uskrsnim jajima sa Balkana,'' Zbornik za narodni Zivot i obyc:aje juinih Slavena, XXVII, 1-24. (53) Cf. Gavazzi, Op. Cit., passim. (54) Cf. Alan Dundes, ed., The Study of Folklore, p. 387. (55) For a detailed description of these techniques, see Vaclavik, pp. 267-72. (56) Ibid., p. 267. (57) Zibrt, pp. 252-3. (58) Vaclavik, p. 267; also Zibrt, op. cit., passim. (59) Interview with Mrs. Mad'ar. (60) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 268; Zibrt, op. cit., passim., but especially 251 ff. (61) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 267. (62) Vaclavik, p. 269. (63) Vaclavik, p. 269. (64) Ibid. (65) Ibid. (66) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 269, and Plate XLV. (67) Cf. Ibid., pp. 269-70. Modern specimens made with this technique are shown on Plates XLIX and LXXV; furniture, Pl. LXIV. (68) Ibid ., p. 270. Sitinovani is a technique in which the core of Juncus is pasted upon the eggshell. (Juncus is the Latin term for a genus of olderly tree.) (69) Cf. Ibid . , p. 271. For specimens, see Ibid., p. 351. (70) Czech Historical Review , XXXIII, p. 278 . Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 271, 275. (71) Vaclavik, p. 271. �SLOVAKIA 61 (72) Cf. Ibid., pp. 271-2. (73) Ibid., p. 269. (74) For a treatment of Faberge,. work, see Venetia Newall, "Easter Eggs," Journal of American Folklore, LXXX (1967), 17 ff. (75) Cf. Note No. 1 above. (76) In connection with this point, I tried to elicit the opinions of my informants as to their feeling about whipping and showering. Only Mrs. Mad'ar, a recent immigrant from Slovakia, "hopes that her husband and sons will shower her, but with perfume only." Mrs. Molchak, on the other hand, is against any sort of showering in spite of the fact that the "young boys used to shower her in Pennsylvania." The boys, according to Mrs. Molchak, refused to take any eggs as presents for showering; if they did so, the others "would laugh." Mrs. Pap, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, considered the custom "without any religious significance." (77) Both the showering and whipping are basically western Slovak customs. In eastern Slovakia, these customs were almost unknown because the majority of the Eastern Slovak population is Greek Catholic. (78) Byzantine Rite Slovaks are in the majority in Cleveland, in comparison with the Roman Catholic Slovaks. In Slovakia, the situation is reversed: Roman Catholics form the majority of the population. (79) I.e., cooked spring rye, hay, coffee, clover leaves, parsley, tea, etc. Cf. also Notes 17 and 22 above. (80) According to Mrs. Mad'ar, coloring substances are now also available commercially in Slovakia; however, they are not used frequently, and they are not packed in exclusive egg decoration kits either. (81) According to Stith Thompson, folktales change by "adding a detail (and by) stringing two or more tales together." The Folktale, p. 436. (82) Because of the disappearance of showering and whipping, again as in folktales, ''one change (brings about others) to maintain consistency," Ibid. (83) I.e., eggs are now sold publicly in front of the church while in the past they were given for showering and whipping or in exchange for other eggs. (84) Cf. the works of Ruth Benedict, Franz Boas, and A. L. Kroeber, passim. INFORMANTS MRS. KORLATOVIC, an American of Ukrainian ethnic ancestry, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rudenskij, owners and operators of an export-import store in Parma, Ohio. Mrs. Korlatovic, the mother of two children and a teacher in a kindergarten near Parma, decorates Easter eggs mainly for sale in her parent's store; she also decorates ceramics. MRS. JANA MADAR, a recent immigrant to the United States, arrived in Cleveland on November 30, 1968. A native of Ruzomberok, central Slovakia, Mrs. Mad'ar is the mother l)f two sons, ages 21 and 20. Mrs. Mad'ar decorated several eggs for this project in the so-called ''painting'' and ''string-lacing'' techniques. MRS. SOPHIE MOLCHAK, an American of Slovak descent, was born in Regenstown, Pennsylvania. She is married to an American of Ukrainian origin and is the mother of six children. Three of her daughters, ages 18, 12, and 9, took an active part in egg decoration during the interviews. MRS. TANYA OSADCA, an Ukrainian by ethnic descent, immigrated to America after World War II. Living now with her family in Peninsula, Ohio, she started egg decorating and collecting in 1952, and at present she owns over 500 specimens. She also �SLOVAKIA 62 studies and collects material published on Easter eggs. Her husband, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Hospital, is also a collector and folk artist specializing in ceramics and pottery. MRS. ANNA PAP, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, was born in Roztok near the present CSSR-USSR border. Married to Dr. M. S. Pap and the mother of four children ages 17, 14, 11, and 5, Mrs. Pap arrived in the United States in 1933. In addition to her household duties, she is also director of the choir at the St. Mary' s Ukrainian Catholic Church. MISS PETRUSHKA is an American of Slovak descent and a native of Cleveland. An admirer of Slovak folk traditions and a student of Slovak ethnography, Miss Petrushka is the owner of an art studio on Shaker Boulevard, Cleveland. Her collages, collage boxes, and jewelled eggs are well-known all over the United States. During my stay in Cleveland, she held two successful expositions of her creations. DR. JOSEPH CINClK, 65, a Slovak immigrant, arrived in the United States in 1948. An ex-professor at the University of Bratislava and at present an art bibliographer in Cleveland, Dr. Cincik is the foremost expert on Slovak folk art. MR. VLADIMIR OZABAL, 60 , a native of western Slovakia and an ex-officer of the Slovak Army, immigrated to America after World War II . Now the supervisor of a division of the City Water Department in Cleveland , Mr. Ozabal is still working at various projects related to Slovak folk art . .,• "'~ ~:: '~ ., ' Fig. 1 - A typical arrangement of eggs , implements, and coloring substances used by Mrs. Zofia Molchak, an American-born Slovak folk artist working with batik technique in the western-type design. Note the heating plate used for wax melting, rubber bands employed for partitioning of eggs, and the glasses with coloring substances. �SLOVAKIA ~ .,. 63 .. ~ Mrs. Ann Pap, an American of Ruthenian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern-type design. Note: a candle is used as a source of melted wax and the most modern specimen of voskovacka, or kistka (" waxing pen") , is employed by Mrs. Pap in batiking of eggs . Fig. 2 - ( Fig. 3 - Mrs. Korlatovic, an American-born folk artist of Ukrainian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern style and batik technique for sale in her parents' store. �64 SLOVAKIA Partition of eggshells is carried out with stretched rubber bands. Note the modified " implements" (i .e., needles and pins pushed lengthwise into large kitchen matches, chopsticks, or wooden pencil handles) used in batiking and embossing. Fig. 4 - Fig. 5 - A candle as a source of wax in the batik technique. �SLOVAKIA 65 Fig. 6 - A typical instance of batik-embossing technique and of western-type design. Note the tear-like dots and lines , and the star motifs on both ends of the egg. Miss Sue Molchak, 18 , shown in this picture, decorates eggs every year together with her mother and two of her sisters. The daughter of Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian descent, and of Mrs. Molchak, an American-born Slovak, Miss Molchak is typical of young folk artists who help old traditions permeate a new environment. �SLOVAKIA 66 Fig. 7 - Immersing of a freshly-batiked egg into coloring substance with the so-called " oko " (" eye" ). Fig. 8 - A spoon used for immersing and removal of eggs. �SLOVAKIA Fig. 9 - A typical egg batiked in the eastern-type design . Fig. 10 - Eggs painted and ' ·string-laced" by Mrs . Mad'ar. 67 �68 SLOVAKIA Miss Petrushka , an American-born Slovak, started egg decorating as a folk artist and continued egg decoration on a professional level. The egg shown in this picture is one of her jewelled creations presented at an exposition in Lakewood, Ohio . Fig. 11 - ... Examples of the so-called "Gesunkenes Kulturgut" in folk art - conventional art relationship. The jewelled eggs, shown in this picture, were decorated by Miss Petrushka who, according to her own words, learned "secrets" of egg decoration from her father, a Slovak folk artist . Fig. 12 - � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 40 SLOVAKIA Slovak and Ruthenian Easter Eggs in America: The Impact of Culture Contact on Immigrant Art and Custom ANDREW CINCURA University of California Decoration of Easter eggs, one of the most ancient calendar customs of the general Slavic area, (1) is still alive among the Slavic ethnic groups in Europe and America. Though there have been changes in the decoration of Easter eggs and in customs related to this form of folk art, Easter eggs are even now cherished by these groups as important and unaltered landmarks of the past. (2) The importance of Easter eggs has also been recognized in folkloristics. Although several Slavic and non-Slavic scholars have studied Easter eggs, either in connection with other disciplines, (3) or as part of a study of Slavic culture, (4) to my knowledge no scholar has studied the transmission of Slavic Easter egg decorative traditions from Europe to America. In this article, I want to briefly outline continuity and change of this transmission in connection with the Slavic and Ruthenian Easter eggs. (5) This is a pilot study based upon fieldwork among the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio, (6) and will examine and interpret the data collected in the field in the terms of (a) implements and materials used in decoration of Easter eggs; (b) designs; (c) techniques of Easter egg manufacture; (d) customs involving decorated eggs. To begin with, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is concerned with technology and etymology. The implements employed in egg decoration belong basically to three groups. First, there are household implements, such as sharp-pointed knives, tin cooking utensils, dishes, glasses, spoons, glass jars, tin lids, electric heating plates, needles, brushes, pencils, awls, and baskets. Removed temporarily from their everyday use, these implements serve folk artists in egg decoration, usually without any special change as to the appearance and function of the implement in question. The second group of implements are represented by slightly modified household tools as, for example, needles and pins puslied lengthwise into large kitchen matches or into chopsticks (Figs. 1,4), sewing awls with attached thread, or thin wire (7), or rubberbands. (8). The third group consists of items bought or manufactured exclusively for egg decoration. This group is represented by three tools, oko, skrabacka, andpierko. The first of them, oko, (literally, "eye"), is an implement used either for immersion of eggs in, or for their removal out of, jars or glasses filled with water colors. The oko, consisting of two basic parts, SLOVAKIA 41 ring and handle, is made of one piece of relatively solid wire. The ring, as the first part of the implement, is made by the bending of wire into the form of a circle of a slightly smaller diameter than the maximal width of the egg. The handle, on the other hand, is formed by a sharp bend of wire at the point qf the completed circle and in about 120 degree slant to the plane rep'resented by the ring (Fig. 7). The oko was manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak in order "to prevent scratches on the surfaces of freshly batiked eggs whenever the eggs were immersed into containers or removed with a spoon.'' The second tool, skrabacka ("scraper"), is either a commercially-acquired or a homemade awl with a thin pencil-like wooden or metallic handle . The skrabacka, being alternately used with sharp-pointed knives, is the most important tool in the so-called "scratch-carving" technique. (9) The third tool used exclusively in egg decoration, pierko ("pen"), is called also brko (''quillpen'') in Slovakia. A modern variant of pierko is the voskovacka (literally, "waxing fountain-pen"). Basically an implement consisting of a pencil-like wooden handle and a tiny funnel-like metallic cup attached diagonally to the end of the handle, the voskovacka is the most important tool in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. Its more or less archaic specimens were described by Cenek Zibrt, (10) while the modern equivalents of voskovacka were briefly treated by A. Vaclavik. (11) With the exception of Mrs. Jane Mad'ar (shown in Fig. 10), all my informants in Cleveland used the most modern variant of voskovacka when decorating with the batik technique. (12) The tools of the first and second groups are used in decoration either without any change or with slight modification, and as such they are mentioned by most of the sources consulted for this paper both in the terms of technology and terminology. In Cleveland I observed that all implements belonging to these two groups are generally used in a fashion similar to their use in Europe. One may say that an extensive give-and-take exchange exists between the uses of these tools for everyday needs in the household and in egg decoration. In view of this, the tools of these two groups may be considered the most evident instances of continuity in transmission of this form of folk art from Europe to America. (13) As to etymology, the implements described in connection with the third group above (i.e., oko, skrabacka, and voskovacka) are important items in the tracing of historic-ethnic proveniences and the links in material aspects of Easter customs. The usefulness of these terms is evident if one accepts the thesis that there is no term in folk art for something that actually does not exist. (14) Thus, if Slovak terms skrabacka, pierko, and voskovacka have equivalents in all other Slavic languages, this is also a proof of antiquity and popularity of this special group of implements. (15) If, on the contrary, the term oko does not exist in its specific meaning, for example, in Slovak, this might suggest 42 SLOVAKIA that the implement itself does not exist materially in the Slovak ethnic territory either. If in spite of this , however, both the term and implement are present among the Slovaks in America, this is either because of borrowing from another ethnic group in America, or because of an individual's invention . Either way, it is rather convincing evidence of change that took place between the points of origin and American use of this tool. Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian ancestry , told me that he had seen a similar implement "somewhere in Cleveland.'' This information, linked together with the fact that Mr. Molchak did not know the Ukrainian name of this tool, hints that the implement is of Ukrainian origin, but Mrs. Molchak, an American of Slovak ancestry, gave it a Slovak name. The household implements mentioned in connection with groups one and two above are , on the contrary, of no value for a study along ethnic-comparative lines. Although also known in all Slavic languages, these implements are of interchangeable use, and as such they may be present in the cultures unfamiliar with egg decoration. Examined in connection with the informants in Cleveland , the tools of all three groups are relevant for the study of Slavic-English aspects concerning their terminology. In general, a shift to favor English terminology was observable among all my informants without regard to ethnic or sex group or age. Persistence in usage of traditional Slavic terms was still visible in connection with the most recent immigrants. The American-born Slovak and Ruthenian informants, on the contrary, have shown a tendency to favor Slavic terms only in the cases when the implements were of frequent use at home and infrequently mentioned at school. For example, the childen of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak were well acquainted with the terms of pentlicka ("ribbon" in Slovak dialectical usage) or kistka ("waxing pen" in Ruthenian and Eastern Slovak usage) while the Anglo-American terms were consistently favored whenever the children spoke about knives, spoons, or canples. In essence, one can say that the Old World terms were dropped whenever their specific equivalents existed in English. On the other' hand, the Slavic terms were retained even by the American-born informants whenever neither objects nor terms were present in American culture. The second aspect of this study concerns the examination of materials used in egg decoration. Closely related to the study of implements, these materials are used for preparation of colors and the materials employed in the so-called ''relief techniques.'' Since the materials used in the relief techniques will be treated extensively later in this article, only the materials used in preparation of colors will be considered at this point. These materials, at any rate, are of utmost importance for the study of transmission of Easter eggs in its corollary aspect of change . Considered at the point of departure from Europe, these materials represent a medley of knowledge and notions · concerning chemistry, botany, and physics, at a folklife level. In America, SLOVAKIA 43 on the contrary, all coloring substances are commercially acquired in the form of "new coloring kits, easy to use" either in the so-called "Chick-chick plastic bag" or "Paint me" paper box varieties. In order to understand better the nature and extent of this change, let us examine the materials used for coloring and tinting of eggs first in their European form and then in connection with their American counterpart. According to the majority of my informants, "onions and tea leaves cooked together with eggs were used most often for coloring and tinting by our mothers in Europe , but also some 'other things ' may be used for this work." (16) Although unspecific as to the rest of tinting substances, the informants in Cleveland still gave me enough clues in order to continue with the study of this aspect in connection with the written sources. Thus, the "other things" mentioned by informants may have been: the overcooked "Spring rye, hay and coffee; clover leaves (tied to the eggs and cooked in the) extract of ... young grass (and) parsley" (17) for regular tinting, and "the cabbage 'acid' " (18) for 'etching' of parts of eggs not covered by wax. ( 19) In America, as stated, the tinting and coloring kits are bought. These kits, costing ''only a few dollars,'' (20) contain all basic colors in powder form. The coloring fluid is prepared ''by the mixing of the powder with hot water and vinegar," (21) according to specific directions for use. I have not seen any of my informants work with the etching technique; therefore, I mention it here only in order to stress its relative importance in Europe and its absence among my informants in Ohio. The linguistic aspect concerning the materials used for tinting and coloring is, in my opinion, important only in its European version. The terms used in identification of various tinting and coloring substances or materials are either well-known throughout the Slavic area or restricted to some small regions. The widely spread terms are, again like the terms denoting certain tools, an indication of popularity and presence of these materials and substances in the individual Slavic countries. On the other hand, the terms restricted to certain small regions are undeniable proof that the particular material was used only locally or regionally. This conclusion is based upon the fact that these terms are ''tinted'' with dialecticism to such an extent that they cannot be found in average dictionaries nor identified by those of my informants possessing rather advanced formal education in art history or folk art technology. So, for example, neither Dr. Cincik and Miss Petrushka nor Mrs. Osadca were able to give me any information on the terms of pryzyly or kampeska. (22) The commercially acquired American kits are of no value in the study of folk terminology in connection with materials used for tinting and coloring. As products of mass oriented manufacture, these kits reflect primarily an artificial interference with folk tradition. 44 SLOVAKIA What conclusions could be drawn from this short study of implements and materials used in egg decoration? The frequent use of household tools in egg decoration, to start with, suggests that decorated eggs have roots in a self-sustaining economy. Analyzed with respect to the European tradition, this hypothesis is indirectly supported by many statements of the authors consulted for this paper. Thus, according to Vaclavik, "a laid-away razor knife" (23) was frequently reshaped into a pin-pointed tool and used in the scratchcarving technique, (24) and "a pocket knife with a broken point" (25) was employed for the same purpose by Zibrt's informants. However, "an old spoon (with handle) thrust into the side of a beet-made candlestick" (26) is, perhaps, the most characteristic example of the selfsustaining character of tools in Easter eggs manufacture. This character is, nevertheless, still more pronounced in connection with materials used in egg tinting and coloring. There is almost no limit to the range of plants, materials, and techniques employed in traditional preparation of various colors and tints, as seen in the brief summary of the materials above. Examined in the terms of the American tradition, the hypothesis of a sustentacular relationship of economy and egg decoration still holds in connection with the frequent use of household implements in egg decoration in the United States. There is, however, a marked tendency to acquire more and more tools commercially and exclusively for egg decoration here. One can observe this trend, for example, in connection with the commercially-acquired specimens of voskovacka (waxing pen) or skrabacka (scraper), and in connection with the homemade oko (lit., "eye") manufactured by Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. On the other hand, a drift against the traditional self-sustaining ch'aracter of egg decoration is visible in the fact that all colors and tints are bought. The household implements and materials used in tinting and coloring, to continue, are often referred to in connection with the history of technology in general, and as such they may be relatively good timing and placing devices in establishing historicity and ethnicity of certain aspects in egg decoration custom. Among devices usable for this kind of study are almost all modern inventions, whether of general or restricted use, such as electric heating plates and the voskovacka (waxing pen in its most modem variant). In this connection, however, it is necessary to point out that only presence of modern implements is of value for an investigation along historical lines. Their absence, whether in pictorial representations or in written documents, is worthless, as one could easily see by a comparison of the photographs taken during the interview with Mrs. Molchak (an electric heating plate used for wax melting) and of Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic (burning candles used as sources of melted wax). (27) The aspect o~ ethnicity, touched briefly in connection with the dialectical names of materials used in egg decoration, may be considered as a relatively safe testing device of SLOVAKIA 45 regional-ethnic provenience of certain terms and materials. As a corollary of technology; the inventiveness was indirectly implied in connection witp. the "beet-made candlestick," (28) with the multifold use of household implements, and with the intelligent handling of materials useJ traditionally for manufacture of colors and tints. In its traditional aspect, this inventiveness was brought about primarily by economic considerations. In its new American setting, it is perhaps, owing more to an "aesthetic" feeling of the folk artist. One can see this in two specific cases, such as the above mentioned oko by means of which my informants tried ''to avoid scratches'' on the freshly batiked eggs, (See Figs. 2,3, and 5) and in the concern of another informant "for the shameful results of her work with yellow color." (29) In the first case, Mr. and Mrs. Molchak made the oko; in the second instance, the informant decided "to search for the roots of trouble in order to heighten the quality of her work.'' However, this economic"aesthetic" difference between European and American tradition is a matter of interpretation. There is not a rigid dichotomy between "aesthetics" and economy either in Europe or in America, and there is no dichotomy between the Old World and New World inventiveness either. In summary, the study of implements and materials used in egg decoration is, at its descriptive level, concerned with technology and etymology. At an analytical level, this study may explain some aspects related to economy, inventiveness, historicity, ethnicity, and ''aesthetics.'' Nevertheless, the most important aspect of this study, I think, is in its investigation into continuity and change. As stated above, there is a partial continuity in the tools used in egg decoration both in Europe and in America. However, there is a complete change between the materials used traditionally in Europe and recently in America. The study of designs in folk art concerns primarily an investigation into the types and motifs. Both the types and motifs of folk art are often interchangeable with each other, as in folk narratives, and as such they resist any ready-made definitions. In general, the type may be thought of as the term denoting resemblances in combinations of symbols, signs, motifs, ornaments, and kinds of craftsmanship over a large area to such an extent that these resemblances cannot be ascribed to polygenesis. The motif, on the other hand, is "a graphically complete representation of a given fundamental form that manifests certain content.'' (30) Designs in decoration of Slavic Easter eggs belong to two fundamental types, the western and the eastern. The western type, comprising Poland, Bohemia and Moravia, the easternmost part of Slovakia, and Slovenia, is generally seen as a phenomenon limited in range of motifs, but possessing an exquisite craftsmanship. (31) This type of egg decoration is characterized, according to A. Vaclavik, "by 46 SLOVAKIA star motifs on both ends of egg(s) and by free setting of motifs on sides of egg.'' (32) The specimens of this type are obtained either by tear-like lines and dots (33) or by embossed ornamentation with wax or other suitable material. (34) The most frequent motifs connected with the western type are chains, sinuous lines, trees and branches, garlands, squares, hearts, birds, and rosettes. (35) The eastern type, on the other hand, is geographically restricted to the Ukraine, western Russia, the Sub-Carpathian Ukraine, and the parts of eastern Moravia and westernmost Slovakia. (36) Rich in color as well as in the number of subtypes, this type is characterized by linear ornamentation running over the egg surface vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. (37) The basic traits of the eastern type are traceable to Byzantine art and related to, and influenced by, the grass weaving, (38) embroidery, (39) and wood carving. (40) Because of this relationship, the eastern type is influenced by materials used. Its most frequent motifs seem to be cross, swastika, triangle, pentagram, hexagram, and various highly schematized ribbonlike motifs of lighting, thorns, ''ant and bee paths,'' "bird path," and fork and comb-like motifs. (41) My study in Cleveland showed that Vaclavik's conclusions concerning geographical distribution of these two basic types (i.e., the western and the eastern) are generally valid also in connection with the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants in Ohio. Already by a cursory observation of the eggs collected or photographed in Cleveland for this project, one can see a remarkable difference between the eggs decorated by Mrs. Molchak, on the one hand, and Mrs. Pap and Mrs. Korlatovic, on the other. While Mrs. Molchak has an overall predilection for the western tear-like motifs, she is also fond of the embossed subtypes in egg decoration. Mrs. Pap, an adherent of the eastern types, decorates eggs characterized by balanced composition of geometrical elements, and by a wide range of colors. With the exception of an egg showing Christ risen from the dead, there is no egg decorated by Mrs. Pap that would suggest design influence from other ethnic groups in America. Mrs. Korlatovic, as another folk artist working with the eastern typological sphere df egg decoration, is also very conservative in approach to design change. Working to the minutest detail in a geometrical partition of the egg surface, Mrs. Korlatovic has attained what many folk artists would consider ''an ideal of perfection." Because of emphasis on mosaicity, the color aspects of her design are subordinated. Eggs decorated by Mrs. Korlatovic are beautiful seen close up; their colors and designs merge in an indefinite brownish hue when the eggs are seen, say, at a distance of 3 or 4 feet. The other informants are more or less an amorphous group as to their relationship to the western or eastern type of design. This group is primarily represented by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar. Mrs. Tanya Osadca, Miss Petrushka, Dr. Joseph Cincik, Mr. Vladimir Ozabal and three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Molchak. With the exception of the last SLOVAKIA 47 mentioned three girls, who show a definite pro-western typological inclination (Note Fig. 6) , the other informants mentioned in this paragraph are " individuals " resisting any general classification as to typology in design. Some hints as to the preferences of this group may be traced from the study of motifs in the works and collection of this group . So, at any rate, sinuous lines are the favored motif of Mrs . Mad'ar both according to her own words as well as in accordance with her decoration (Fig. 10) . The motifs of tulips, hearts , roses , and birds evident in western Slovak wall-paintings are on the favored list of Dr. Cincik, of Mrs . Ozabal, and, to certain extent, also of Miss Petrushka. But both Miss Petrushka and Dr. Cincik prefer in their professional work a somewhat schematized design of '' pastoral culture,'' as does Mrs. Osadca in her hobby-oriented egg decoration . (42) On the whole, this group of folk artists is an excellent example of the mixed influences that characterize Slovak ethnic territory as to typology in egg decoration designs. All members of the group have roots in their native or ancestral cultures. With the exception of Mrs. Osadca , this group draws basically from the Western Slovak " fireplace decorating sub-type." But designs of this group merge to the central Slovak sub-types of wood carving and embroidery which, in tum , already shows some traces of the linear-geometrical character present in the eastern type of egg decoration. With a view to the types and motifs examined briefly above, the general concepts of designs in folk art may be analyzed in connection with the study of form and content elements as well. The corollaries of form and content, symbol, sign, and ornament, are mutually substitutive, according to one's point of view. Thus, let us say, an ornament considered under strictly formal attributes may be simply a decoration or embellishment. In its content evaluation, however, an ornament could have " an ideological meaning (issuing) from aesthetic concept(s) " (43) either as a sign representing a conventional idea or as a symbol expressing a basic (and) striking ... idea." (44) Let us now examine the most frequent and self-evident symbols, the cross, heart, briar, wild rose, thorn crown, rose, and grapevine in connection with sources I was able to consult and with the Slovak and Ruthenian folk artists in Cleveland whom I interviewed. The cross, both the symbol and sign expressing the traditional concepts of Christ's death and resurrection, was the most frequent ornament used in the decoration by my informants. Its twelve variants, (45) representing the full range of cultural and ethnic connotations, were intentionally used by the majority of my informants in order either to express their religious affiliation or to stress their ethnic backgrounds. Thus , the Latin cross was consistently used by the informants of the Roman Catholic religion while the members of the Byzantine Catholic Rite expressed their religious beliefs with the Byzantine Catholic Cross and with the words "Christos Voskres" (i.e., 48 SLOVAKIA "Christ is risen"). The Greek Cross, with its vertical and horizontal beams of equal length , was used very often interchangeably with the crosses of St. Andrew (i.e., an "X" or " Y" cross) "because all three crosses are easy to draw in any direction and combination with other ornaments. " In a like manner, the Cross of St. Anthony (i.e. , a cross in the form of a "T") and the Maltese Cross were employed primarily for their formal-decorative aspects. The so-called Apostolic Cross, represented by a long vertical beam and by two horizontal beams placed in the upper half of the cross, brought about some implications of ethnic-cultural symbology. While this cross is an official religious symbol of the Byzantine Catholic Church, it is at the same time also partly related to the Slovak national emblem (i.e. , an Apostolic Cross upon the " peak" of a threesome " mountain range " ). This, at any rate interesting aspect, presented no problems in connection with my informants of the Byzantine Rite faith and eastern Slovak background. For them, the cross was both " Slovak " and also " Byzantine"; however, for my informants of western Slovak ancestry or origin, the cross was always of " Slovak " connotation. The informants of Ruthenian provenience stressed that ''the cross was an emblem of their religion" and asked me " to state this clearly when I write about 'their Easter eggs'.'' This , on first sight trivial emphasis upon ethnic or cultural aspects, may not be easily understood by citizens of a large country like the United States. Had one, however, studied the history of the Slovaks , Sub-Carpathians , Huculs , Lemkos, and other small ethnic groups of central Europe , he would see why there is a strong emphasis on esoteric elements in the folklore of these groups. The heart, a universal symbol of love, is prominent in central and western Slovakia. Used frequently both in folk art designs and in Christian symbology as well, the symbol and ornament of the heart developed, in my opinion , from two different traditions . The first tradition of heart symbols has roots in the so-called " spiritual love ," while the second tradition is linked with the so-called " erotic love." Spiritual love is represented in Christian symbols either by a heart with a burning flame on its top and a crown of thorns placed about it or by the so-called "Lumen Christi" (i.e ., Paschal candle) with fire burning "upwards" or "spiritually." The second tradition of love symbolism , " erotic love ," is more evident in folk art and customs . The aspect of erotic love permeates several customs of the S~avic and Balkan areas, among them especially the customs of " Kore ," " Kostrubonko," and " Morena" in which, usually , an effigy of straw is set afire and thrown into the river . These customs , in essence animistic equations of Notteuer , represent fire as a male element moving downwards toward water or the female element. (46) In folk art, both "spiritual" and " erotic" fire s are frequently connected with the symbols of "suffering love " (i.e ., the thorn crown in its spiritual aspect; rose-and-briar in the " worldly" aspect of love). (4 7) After an examination of the literary SLOVAKIA 49 sources with the evidence from Cleveland, I came to the conclusion that the "heart-rose-briar" composition ("heart-tulip " version in Slovakia) symbolizes among the Slovaks only "spiritual love." This interpretation is self-evictent in connection with the wood-carved cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, with the fireplace paintings in western Slovakia, and with the works of some of my informants in Cleveland. An investigation into the relative directions in the "movement" of individual ornaments reveals that the elements of "twisting" and "knots" are symbolically opposing the "branching" or "open structures" in every vertical composition. The verticallyoriented "twisting," especially when terminated with a "love knot," symbolizes in folk tradition a "suffering kind of erotic love" while the "branching" or "open structure" is a sign symbol of parent-to-child love. In an examination of forty illustrative plates in the work Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat (Decorated Fireplaces in the Little Capathian Region) by Rudolf Bednarik I found no single instance of the so-called "twisting" or " knots " in connection with the western Slovak "fireplace sub-culture." In a like manner, only "open branching" is evident on the cemetery crosses in central Slovakia, shown in the book Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku. (48) The carving upon the crosses, in addition, shows also genetic and historical development in the ornament-to-symbols direction. The date carved directly on the vertical beam of a cross indicates the year of 188(-), with the last digit illegible because of decay. This cross has no symbolic connotation as yet. Its tulips grow up out of a flower pot rather naturally, and as such they are only an ornament. (49) Another cross at the same cemetery, dated 1928, is evidently an advanced version of the older cross in its ornament-symbol relationship. (50) Its symbolism is expressed in the form of tulips branching upwards from a heart . The "spiritual character" of love is here symbolized, in my opinion, by the "open branching" of the tulip, and, I think, the entire arrangement can be interpreted as suggesting the everlasting love of the deceased toward his living relatives. Now, how does this spiritual and wordly love relationship score with the other folk art products in Europe and in America? Is there any evidence of an ornament-to-symbol orientation among folk artists in more recent times? A little wooden shovel, to start with, was decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland. This shovel may be considered as an intermediary stage between the ornaments symbolizing spiritual and erotic love. Representing the so-called ''medovnikove srdce'' (i.e., " marzipan heart") flanked by two schematized roosters, the ornamental arrangement on the little shovel still preserves some traces of spiritual love (i.e. , the two tulips branching from the heart), but the presence of the roosters suggests already "another aspect" of love. This aspect, I think, is stressed even more by the traditional meaning of the marzipan heart in Slovakia since such a heart was given by a boy 50 SLOVAKIA only to the girl whom he intended to marry. In like manner, the egg made by Mrs. J . B. also shows an intermediary character, this time in connection with the genetic flower pot-to-heart development (i.e., from naturalism to symbolism). There is a remarkable likeness between this egg and an egg shown by A. Vaclavik. (51) This likeness suggests that the polygenetic trend in motifs is not restricted to folk narratives only. Two eggs decorated by one of my informants in Cleveland belong also to the intermediary zone between spiritual and wordly love. One of the eggs , a vertical rendition of "twisting" and "open branching," looks almost like a combination of the rose-and-briar motif of AngloAmerican traditional balladry and of tulip-branching of western Slovak wall-painting. The other egg, elaborated horizontally with only one garland of roses and green leaves slightly above the middle of eggshell, already suggests a higher spiritualization, but this is only an impression. It seems that the most recent ornaments whether created by my informants or by folk artists in Slovakia remained only ornaments. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols like the cross, the heart, and the thorn crown, one of my informants did not know why he put together, for example, the horizontally-arranged grapevine motif with wild roses superimposed upon the grapevine branches. Except the swastika and "sun circles," the other ornaments also described in connection with the types and motifs above are taken by the majority of my informants for face value only. So, for example, Mrs. Korlatovic considered the cobweb, the sieve, and the rake only as a cobweb, a sieve, or a rake, and nothing else. The swastika, treated extensively by M. Gavazzi, (52) was for my informants either "an emblem of the Nazis" or "a garden sprinkler" whenever presented in the "round form.'' Only the informants with formal art training were able to recognize the ' 'ancient symbol of a moving sun'' (53) behind the forms of "windmill wings or clover leaves" of the swastika. The "sun circles," (54) used by my informants in one form or another, were recognized by Mrs. Jana Mad'ar "as a Slovak ceiling decoration," but only Dr. Cincik was familiar with the ancient meaning of this ornament. Theory of design in folk art, like its counterpart in fine arts, is a matter of interpretation in the first place. yonsidered with general concepts of art, designs in folk art may be examined in the terms of form and content, as stated above. Linked to the diachronic study, these designs may reveal some social, economic, cultural, or psychological conditions. Folk art, when contrasted with fine arts, shows a high occurrence of borrowing, repetition, use of conventional themes, plagiarism, and disregard for spontaneity and originality. In the past, folk art was thought to be linked to the preservation and reproduction of life by magical and natural means. At present, folk art seems to lose more and more of its magic character. Hand in hand with the new and more realistic approaches to the problems of life, folk art tends today to emphasize stylistic and formal elements, such as or- SLOVAKIA 51 nament and decoration attained by mere technical means (i.e., relief techniques). Generally, it seems that folk art design moved originally away from naturalism tow~rd schematization. Its present tendency is toward self-explanatory and self-evident symbolism (i.e., a flower pot exchanged by a heart). When, however, certain general symbols were removed out of anunstressed situation, they became localized within a new and stronger situation and acquired a new meaning (i.e., the Apostolic Cross became the Slovak or Eastern Byzantine Cross). According to conventional aesthetics, symbolism giving content to the form should be thought of as a ''higher level'' in the understanding of artistic creations. In folk art, on the contrary, symbolism was more evident in the ancient and relatively more primitive cultures. With the exception of the most self-evident symbols of the cross and heart, symbolism is almost absent from the recent folk creations. Is this a paradox? No, it is only a fact which suggests that sophisticated and folk culture are two different entities, and so also are conventional aesthetics and folk art ''aesthetics.'' Techniques of egg decoration play an important part in the diachronic-synchronic study of folklore transmission. Thought of in the terms of materials and tools used, these techniques are identified as painting, batiking, scratch-carving, embossing, (with related techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), and tying. (55) Considered in their relationship to the predetermined use of eggs, these techniques are primarily of a conservational character. There are, however, some techniques of preparatory character which are either considered as preliminary steps for proper decoration of eggs or thought of as techniques in their own right. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, I want first to consider the preparatoryconservational egg decoration · techniques. To start with, painting or coloring of eggs requires "completely clean hands (and) implements." (56) According to Zibrt, the egg must be "at least three days old in order to 'catch' color, (and it should be) slightly heated in order to retain wax. (57) Several informants, quoted by Zibrt and Vaclavik, stress that "lukewarm rain water" (58) is the best for the cleaning of eggs. Then the eggs are either blown out of the eggshells, or cooked in clean water or with any coloring substance whenever they should be decorated later and used as decorative articles at home or as presents for the others. On the other hand, the eggs are either cooked together with onion skin, tea leaves, or other food coloring substances whenever they should be consumed during Easter holidays, or else "scratched-carved" after cooking. These preparatory techniques are gen·e rally known all over the Slavic area. There is, however, a rather restricted technique of a conservational character employed consistently by Mrs. Korlatovic. According to this technique, raw eggs are decorated with batik, and when dry, the eggs are covered with a thin layer of special shellac. This prevents spoilage, adding a bit 52 SLOVAKIA of mirrorlike gloss. Let us now describe and examine the decorative techniques. The first technique of painting is, in essence, the simple application of the technique employed in other forms of folk art, such as wall painting, pottery and ceramics, painting of household implements, and painting on glass. The technique, "gaining momentum recently especially in northern Slovakia," (59) consists of direct application of oil or water paints on eggs. Although mentioned by Zibrt and Vaclavik, this technique is not very important in over all transmission of Easter customs from Europe to America, and only one of my informants in Cleveland used it extensively. Batik technique, on the other hand, is the most important and widespread technique in egg decoration. Mentioned often by several Slavic and non-Slavic authors, (60) this technique is of an ancient origin. Its existence is known all over the Slavic area, and its popularity is unquestioned also among my informants in Cleveland (See Figs. 1,2,3,5, and 6). The technique itself is based fundamentally on a principle similar to offset printing. Decoration by means of this technique is, therefore, attained in such a way that the parts of the eggshell are covered with wax heated in the tiny cup of voskovacka (i.e., waxing pen), and the egg is then immersed and tinted in a light water color. After removal of the egg from the first color, and when the egg is dry enough, the wax is wiped off thoroughly with a warm rag. (61) Then the egg is, again, "painted" with wax, "bathed" in another somewhat darker color, removed, dried and wiped. These steps are repeated until the egg attains the desired design composition (See Fig. 9) Scratch-carving, after batik the most popular technique in Slovakia, is known also among my informants. Related and similar to woodcarving, this technique is generally linked with the eastern type egg design in general and with the so-called "salasnicka kultura" (i.e. pastoral culture) in particular. According to Vaclavik, the drawback of this technique ' 'is hard work, more time-c~nsuming than with wax(batiked) eggs." (62) Only well-seasoned artists are able to work with this technique successfully. As mentioned above, all my informants are familiar with this technique, but only Mrs . Molchak was willing to scratch carve eggs during my stay in Ohio. Folk artists in Europe use for scratch carving "file or awl, knife, (but) most frequently the point of laid-away razor blades." (63) In America, on the contrary, the most popullar implement for this technique is the so-called "skrabacka" (lit., scraper), an awl made of hard steel and having a pencil-like wooden or metallic handle. The egg, decorated in this technique by Mrs. Molchak was made with the skrabacka. Embossing, inlaying, ribboning, hammering, and tying are basically complementary techniques. Linked with each other both in Europe and in America, these techniques are employed in order to SLOVAKIA 53 variegate the relief of egg's surface by raising the parts of eggshell. In my opinion, however, only embossing and tying are techniques in their own right. Techniques of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering, on the contrary, are mere adaptations of each other as to the material used. Embossing is a technique ih which the egg's surface is raised by permanent application of heavy coat of wax. This technique , in spite of how effective it looks, is not widespread because, in addition to being hard to work the ''relief peels off easily and melts away in warm weather." (64) Traditional specimens with this technique were made with an application of ''red or blue wax'' upon eggshell, or of '' black wax" upon a red-tinted egg. Embossing of eggs is, according to Vaclavik, "known in Moravia, in westernmost Bohemia, and in Bulgaria.'' (65) Only one of my informants in Cleveland (Mrs. Molchak) works with this traditional technique to any great extent. Inlaying, as the first of the three techniques (consisting of inlaying, ribboning, and hammering), is relatively restricted because it depends very much on the skill of a folk artist. In its European version, this technique is represented by two major variants, the so-called "pasted eggs" and "straw eggs." The "pasted eggs," known both in western Slovakia and in Moravia under the names of "birds" and "doves ," are decorated with paper of different colors and shapes . The results of such activity are "birds" with the body made of the egg, and with the head, feet, tail, and wings made of paper. (66) The "straw eggs, '' on the other hand, are manufactured with a technique in which pieces of colored straw are pasted directly upon the eggshell. This mosaic-like work requires great skill and patience. It is fundamentally a variant of a cabinet making technique in which pieces of straw are also used in decoration of furniture'.s frontispieces. (67) Inlaying, of course, can be carried out in a wide range of combination and of materials used. This aspect, however, will be referred to later in connection with the American counterparts of this technique. Ribboning is, according to Vaclavik, "a further (and) more recent variant (of) sitinovani.' ' (68) Widespread in northern Slovakia, ribboning consists of pasting little garlands on both ends of the egg, and tying the ribbons of different colors and widths around the middle. (69) Among my informants, only Miss Petrushka uses this technique in a form described by Vaclavik, while Mrs. Mad'ar uses this technique in its simpler variant of "string-lacing." Hammering, .the last close relative of inlaying and ribboning, is a very old technique. According to Cesky casopis historicky, (70) hammering is documented as early as 1415. Folk artists working with this technique use most "often blown out goose eggs (and embellish) them with metallic rings, flower and animal motifs. (71) With the exception of Miss Petrushka, none of my informants in Cleveland worked with this technique. Tying of eggs, as a technique in its own right, is now restricted to 54 SLOVAKIA the vicinity of Mikulov in Moravia. (72) However, owing to evidence from Cleveland, I will examine this technique in somewhat more detail than the others. According to the data gathered from other studies and from my informants, the egg is decorated with this technique when it is immersed into strong vinegar in order to soften it and then it is tied about the middle in order to acquire a shape of a written number 8. From a practical viewpoint, this technique seems merely to complement the other seven techniques mentioned before. But as mentioned above, tying becomes a technique in its own right for technological and other reasons. First of all, no attempts were made in other techniques to change the chemical composition of the eggshell to such an extent that it would become pliable. Then, in its interpretative aspect, I think that this technique also suggests another important point. As mentioned before, economic factors play a part in the work of folk artists in Europe and in America as well. One can see this in connection with the multifold use of tools both for general household chores and in the use of the terms with which folk artists unequivocally stress how carefully one should work, for example, with razor blade ''in order to prevent breaking of the eggshell." (73) Now, let us consider this project in the situation of which I was an eyewitness during an exposition of the art work of Miss Petrushka. At this exposition, Miss Petrushka startled the attending public when she let fall a jewelled egg as if accidentally, but the egg bounced up without damage. At my question of how this elasticity of the eggshell was attained, Miss Petrushka answered only in part. She told me that she learned this secret from her father, a folk artist also, but otherwise declined to elaborate on or describe the procedure or the chemical reaction by which the elasticity of egg was brought about. I am no chemist, but in view of Vaclavik' s investigation of the "tying egg technique," I think that the process by which Vaclavik's informants brought about the softening of eggs and the process by means of which miss Petrushka was able to induce elasticity to jewelled eggs\are at least partly related to each other. As to the other side of this problem, there is no doubt that her polite refusal to answer my question was motivated by economic reasons, a sort of private patent protection. With respect to the other techniques, I have observed that my informants combine the relief techniques into one. Conversely, embossing in this "modern" version is carried out in connection with inlaying, ribboning, hammering, painting, batiking, and scratch carving. My informants used for this "new technique," in addition to wax, also dough, cultured pearls, wire of various thicknesses, aluminum foil cut in the form of small leaves and flowers, silk and samite, tiny sequins and beads, marzipan, and confetti in baking and regular varieties. This range of materials used is still not a complete one. And this technique, whether considered as one or separately in agreement with its more traditional counterparts, shows that the SLOVAKIA 55 variety in products manufactured by my Slovak and Ruthenian informants in Cleveland is very wide. At its specific plane, this variety moves from the work of humble folk artists up almost to Faberge's level. (74) The Americanized technique, which includes a number of European traditional techniques , supports the hypothesis of a forwardreverse relationship beh,xeen techniques and implements used in egg decoration . While the number of tools in Europe shrinks , and the implements are frequently interchanged for economic reasons with those in overall household use , the techniques in Europe were held as separate entities in rather restricted areas, again, I believe, mainly to lower cost and to use only locally available materials . In America the situation seems to be reversed. The implements used exclusively for egg decoration here seem to gain ground . The techniques, as seen above , tend to lose individuality and become more and more incorporated into a larger whole. This again, in my opinion , is because of economic reasons . Ame rican folk artists have no difficulty in obtaining locally everything needed for egg decoration. The choice of products in America permits American folk artists to follow their interests to a greater degree than their European counterparts in the past. No matter whether these interests are of an aesthetic nature or whether they are conditioned by profession , economic aspects of buying and selling as well as of the conditions underlying the choice of raw materials and tools are ever present and important. The custom involving Easter eggs consisted in Slovakia of two basic parts: decoration of the eggs carried out in individual families, and use of eggs as presents for the young men performing showers and whippings. Both the showering and whipping as well as the egg decoration were historically documented , according to Cenek Zibrt, as early as the 14th century. (75) The decoration of Easter eggs , as the first part of this custom , has continued for over six hundred years, and no wonder that the Slovak and Ruthenian immigrants brought this custom also to the United States. According to my investigation in Cleveland, it was carried on by the first generation of Slovak immigrants in America. Only single young men used to perform showers and whippings in Slovakia. The first Slovak immigrants in America, to begin with , were in most cases married men who came to the United States to earn money and either to return home or to bring their families here at a later date. The way of life in the United States, to continue, was conditioned by an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and as such it had no ready-made accommodations for such strange customs as whipping and showering. This custom was practiced in Slovakia on Easter Monday and Tuesday , both days being either a religious (i.e., Easter Monday) or traditional (i.e., Easter Tuesday) holiday. Linked together, these three aspects support the thesis that the no-holiday character of these two post-Easter days was the primary cause that brought about disappearance of showering and whipping in the United 56 SLOVAKIA States. The secondary cause for this disappearance was the fact that the Slovak immigrants were unwilling to continue with a custom that might have brought about ridicule from the more sophisticated segments of the American population. (76) The third cause might have been owing to changed environmental conditions. While rural life in Slovakia posed no difficulties to young men performing showers or whipping, urban life in America brought about some restrictions as to where, for example, the custom of showering could have taken place. In Slovakia this custom was usually performed either in the backyard or in the garden. In America, there were in most cases no places to perform the custom without damage to the interior of the house or, if the showering were performed in the street, without interference with law and order. The second part of the custom, involving the Easter eggs as presents in exchange for showering and whipping, had therefore either to disappear completely or to acquire a new meaning. Because of contact with other ethnic and cultural groups, this part of the custom took the road of incorporation within another cultural context. (77) Thus the Roman Catholic Slovak immigrants retained the custom of egg decoration as practiced in Slovakia; however, the second part of this custom involving Easter eggs as presents for the young men performing the whipping and showering either disappeared completely or was adjusted in order to suit the new situation. On the other hand, the Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, (78) together with the Ruthenians and Ukrainians proper, did not change the first part of the custom (i.e., decoration of eggs) at all. But a slight change took place among them in the exchange of eggs as compared with eastern Slovakia and Ruthenia. While, according to Greek Catholic usage, a simple form of exchange among the relatives and neighbors used to take place in Europe, eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in America decorate eggs now either for sale or for exchange with the other church members. The sale itself could be of two kinds: a simple sale for personal profit and a sale to fellow church members with the proceeds donated to the church. The second and third generations of thf Slovak Roman Catholic immigrants in Cleveland retained the "new approach" of the first generation regarding the revision of the custom involving Easter showers and whipping. Together with the eastern Slovaks and Ukrainians, the Roman Catholic Slovaks also adopted the changes of basic techniques, tools, terminology, and economy with respect to Easter customs and decorated eggs in particular. But this is, again, a matter concerning the other aspects of egg decoration, and as such it was either treated in connection with the individual aspects of egg decoration or it will be touched upon in the last part of this article. In the final analysis, one could see that change manifested itself in the various aspects of egg decoration more frequently than its corollary or continuity. With the exception of designs and tools of general use SLOVAKIA 57 (both of which remained almost unaltered), changes occurred in coloring substances, techniques, customs involving decorated eggs, and in the tools used exclusively in egg decoration. However, as shown above in connection with individual aspects of egg decoration, these changes were always of different character and extent, and were brought about for different reasons. Thus, there was, on the one hand, a complete change from the.traditional home-made coloring substances (79) to the commercially available coloring kits in America. (80) There were, on the other hand, less evident, but still important, changes in techniques, customs, and tools of specific character. Placed side by side, both techniques and special tools show trends of adding and subtracting in a folktale-like manner. As in the study of folktales, one could observe that "two or more tales (are stringed) together," (81) the techniques which existed in Slovakia and in the Ukraine as separate entities were brought together by the folk artists in America and incorporated into one general technique. The opposite trend, again as in folktales, was evident in connection with the tools used exclusively in egg decoration when the "adding of detail(s)" occurred in the New World either owing to modernization of older tools or because of the introduction of new implements. The two-fold change took place, according to my observation, in customs involving Easter eggs. As mentioned, the custom of whipping and showering disappeared in America. The custom of giving Easter eggs as presents to the others was, on the contrary, retained, but its complete change was evident among the western and central Slovak immigrants while only a slight change as to its practical application was recorded among the eastern Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland. (82) What were 1:he reasons behind these changes and why were certain aspects of egg decoration more amenable for alteration than others? As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, the motives for changes in various aspects of egg decoration can be attributed to folk "aesthetics," economy, and to the impact of culture contact with the other ethnic groups in America. Since no fingerprint evidence exists as to the cross-influence between "aesthetics," economy, and impact of culture contact, on the one hand, and the aspects of egg decoration, on the other, my interpretation of the motives leading to the changes in egg decoration is only a tentative one. I believe that the formation of concepts concerning ''aesthetics'' in the European version of egg decoration was brought about by the availability of materials and tools, in the first place. Artistic endeavors of European egg decorators were, in my opinion, conditioned by the initial cost of egg decoration. European folk artists, therefore, either manufactured the tools and coloring substances at their homes or used only locally available materials in order to save on transportation costs. American folk artists, on the other hand, seem to be concerned more with the sale of finished products, and make every effort to sell their products either for 58 SLOVAKIA money or for recognition ; hence, in order to do so, they are forced "to make saleable products" and "to protect their inventions." The worries about qualitative expression compel American egg decorators to buy new tools and to adapt traditional techniques to new needs . Even the custom involving decorated eggs, as an aspect of Easter eggs, was influenced to the greatest extent by culture contact with the other ethnic groups , is currently conditioned by economic artistic considerations . (83) Continuity, holding opposite side to the change in transmission, is evident in the use of general household implements and in designs. As to the tools, this rule of continuity is caused by the fact that knives, spoons, and needles, to mention just some of these items, are bought or used in Europe and in America along similar lines. Designs, in my opinion, seem to be stable elements in egg decoration because they have the most striking visual impact and are also formulaically and repetitively-oriented to a high degree. Seen altogether, both change and continuity exist side by side in the aspects of egg decoration as they exist both in folk art and in culture itself. This fact, being undeniable proof that egg decoration represents a part of the overall culture, is also testimony that the decoration of eggs as a form of folk art is governed by the laws governing culture itself. Easter eggs, therefore , like culture, are a unique human phenomenon, socially shared and transmitted, (84) this time by the Slovaks and Ruthenians in Cleveland, Ohio. Reprinted from Journal of Popular Culture (Summer 1970) IV:l, pp. 155-193, with permission of Dr. Ray B. Browne. FOOTNOTES (1) Cf. Cenek Zibrt, Vesele chvile v iivote lidu ceskeho. Prague : Vysehrad, 1950, p. 251. According to Zibrt, the term 'Easter eggs' was known already in the 14th century, but originated long before that time . (2) Cf. Antonin Vaclavik, Vyrocni obyceje a lidove umeni. Prague : Ceskoslovenska akademie ved, 1959, p . 261. Vaclavik's informants in Moravia think that Easter eggs exist "from the very beginning " and several of his informants " maintain that the decoration of eggs started in Slovakia." (p . 262). In Vaclavik ' s opinion , the term " Slovakia" should be applied to the region alongside the Slovak-Moravian border only . (3) Cf. Kazimierz Moszyiiski, Kultura Ludowa Slowian. Cracow, 1939. CF . also Rudolf Bednarik , Duchovna kultura slovenskeho l'udu. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1941 . (4) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 259-580 ; cf. Zibrt, passim. (5) Cf. Note No. 6 below. (6) This fi eldwork was carried out by the author between March 18 and April 2, 1969. Thirty informants of Slovak and Ruthenian descent were interviewed. In addition to extensive tape-recordings and note-taking, the author took photographs tracing the individual steps of egg decoration (black and white as well as color slides) . Most of this material, containing also 17 actual eggs, is stored and available for consultation in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology at the University of California , Los Angeles. SLOVAKIA 59 (7) Used as holders of blown-out eggs or as devises for the lengthwise partitioning of , such eggs . (8) Rubber bands may belong to either of the two groups. Used at times only for partitioning of egg surfaces, rubber bands may be stretched lengthwise diagonally, or latitudinally , and reused as any implement of the group one . At other times , rubber bands can be pasted around the eggs in order either to obtain embossing or to hold other items used in egg decoration , such as ribbons , colored sections of straw, or aluminum foil. Used this way, rubber bands belong to group two . For the specimens made either with ~krabai!ka or with sharp-pointed knife, see R. Bednarik, pp. 95-6. A dark-green egg, made by Mrs . Molchak and donated to this collection at U.C .L.A ., was decorated with ~krabai!ka. For an English treatment of eggs made with egg-carving technique, see Alfred L. Shoemaker, Eastertide in Pennsylvania, pp. 50-62. (9) (10) Cf. Zibrt, p. 257. (11) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 267-8. (12) The most modern specimen of uoskouai!ka is now available commercially. I bought one in the store of Mr. Rudenskij, 5432 State Road, Parma, Ohio, for $1.00. This specimen is now stored in the Archive F.M .G. at U.C.L.A. (13) As to the specific tools used exclusively for egg decoration, it is ahnost certain that some changes may have occurred in the Old World owing to new developments in culture and technology. This aspect, however, cannot be treated here because my evidence is fragmentary about it. (14) Cf. Zibrt, p . 251. (15) Cf. Ibid ., p. 255 . Cf. also Vaclavik, pp . 267-8. (16) Interview with Mrs . Mad'ar (17) Zibrt , p . 253 . (18) Ibid. (19) For description of etching, see Vaclavik , pp . 268, 275 . (20) Interview with Mrs. Molchak . (21) Interview with Mrs. Pap. (22) " Pryzyly " is a sort of reddish substance used for tinting (Cf. Zibrt, p . 252). "Kampeska" is a commercially-acquired " wood chip" coloring (Zibrt, p. 253). (23) Vaclavik, p . 269 . (24) Cf. Ibid. For a description of scratch carving, see Shoemaker, p. 51. (25) Zibrt, p . 255. (26) Vaclavik, p. 267. (27) Note Fig. No . 1, 2, 3, and 5. The photographs mentioned are on file in the Archive of the Center for Comparative Folklore and Mythology, U .C.L.A. (28) Vaclavik, p . 267 . (29) Interview with Mr~. Molchak . (30) Vaclavik, p . 376. (31) Cf. Ibid ., pp . 338-9. For a summary concerning the western type of egg decoration, see Ibid . , p . 523 . (32) Ibid ., p. 338 . (33) Cf. Ibid ., p. 287 and Plate LXXVII (upper part) . (34) Cf. Ibid ., p . 338 and Plate LV . 60 SLOVAKIA (35) Cf. Ibid., p. 338. (36) Cf. Ibid . (37) Cf. Ibid., p. 339. (38) Cf. Bednarik, pp. 206-208. (39) Cf. Ibid., Plate 75. Cf. also Moszyiiski, p. 916. (40) Cf. R. Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim., but especially Plates No. 55, 79, 142, 149, and 158. (41) Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 389 , 391, 393, and 395. (42) For prominent motifs in wall painting in western Slovakia, see R. Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, passim. For ''pastoral culture'' in central Slovakia , see Bednarik, Pastierske rezbarske umenie, passim. (43) Vaclavik, p . 376 . (44) Ibid ., 375. (45) R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, 57. (46) Cf. J. E. Cir lot, A Dictionary of Symbols, passim. (47) Cf. E. Haig, Floral Symbolism of the Great Masters, pp. 127-8. (48) Cf. R. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p . 73. Cf. also Bednarik, Mal'ovane ohnistia v oblasti Malych Karpat, plates 1-40. (49) Cf. Bednarik, Eudove nahrobniky na Slovensku, p. 91. (50) Cf. Ibid ., p. 73. (51) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 346 (left side) . (52) Cf. M. Gavazzi, "Svastika i njezin ornamentalni razoj na uskrsnim jajima sa Balkana,'' Zbornik za narodni Zivot i obyc:aje juinih Slavena, XXVII, 1-24. (53) Cf. Gavazzi, Op. Cit., passim. (54) Cf. Alan Dundes, ed., The Study of Folklore, p. 387. (55) For a detailed description of these techniques, see Vaclavik, pp. 267-72. (56) Ibid., p. 267. (57) Zibrt, pp. 252-3. (58) Vaclavik, p. 267; also Zibrt, op. cit., passim. (59) Interview with Mrs. Mad'ar. (60) Cf. Vaclavik, p. 268; Zibrt, op. cit., passim., but especially 251 ff. (61) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 267. (62) Vaclavik, p. 269. (63) Vaclavik, p. 269. (64) Ibid. (65) Ibid. (66) Cf. Vaclavik, p . 269, and Plate XLV. (67) Cf. Ibid., pp. 269-70. Modern specimens made with this technique are shown on Plates XLIX and LXXV; furniture, Pl. LXIV. (68) Ibid ., p. 270. Sitinovani is a technique in which the core of Juncus is pasted upon the eggshell. (Juncus is the Latin term for a genus of olderly tree.) (69) Cf. Ibid . , p. 271. For specimens, see Ibid., p. 351. (70) Czech Historical Review , XXXIII, p. 278 . Cf. Vaclavik, pp. 271, 275. (71) Vaclavik, p. 271. SLOVAKIA 61 (72) Cf. Ibid., pp. 271-2. (73) Ibid., p. 269. (74) For a treatment of Faberge,. work, see Venetia Newall, "Easter Eggs," Journal of American Folklore, LXXX (1967), 17 ff. (75) Cf. Note No. 1 above. (76) In connection with this point, I tried to elicit the opinions of my informants as to their feeling about whipping and showering. Only Mrs. Mad'ar, a recent immigrant from Slovakia, "hopes that her husband and sons will shower her, but with perfume only." Mrs. Molchak, on the other hand, is against any sort of showering in spite of the fact that the "young boys used to shower her in Pennsylvania." The boys, according to Mrs. Molchak, refused to take any eggs as presents for showering; if they did so, the others "would laugh." Mrs. Pap, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, considered the custom "without any religious significance." (77) Both the showering and whipping are basically western Slovak customs. In eastern Slovakia, these customs were almost unknown because the majority of the Eastern Slovak population is Greek Catholic. (78) Byzantine Rite Slovaks are in the majority in Cleveland, in comparison with the Roman Catholic Slovaks. In Slovakia, the situation is reversed: Roman Catholics form the majority of the population. (79) I.e., cooked spring rye, hay, coffee, clover leaves, parsley, tea, etc. Cf. also Notes 17 and 22 above. (80) According to Mrs. Mad'ar, coloring substances are now also available commercially in Slovakia; however, they are not used frequently, and they are not packed in exclusive egg decoration kits either. (81) According to Stith Thompson, folktales change by "adding a detail (and by) stringing two or more tales together." The Folktale, p. 436. (82) Because of the disappearance of showering and whipping, again as in folktales, ''one change (brings about others) to maintain consistency," Ibid. (83) I.e., eggs are now sold publicly in front of the church while in the past they were given for showering and whipping or in exchange for other eggs. (84) Cf. the works of Ruth Benedict, Franz Boas, and A. L. Kroeber, passim. INFORMANTS MRS. KORLATOVIC, an American of Ukrainian ethnic ancestry, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rudenskij, owners and operators of an export-import store in Parma, Ohio. Mrs. Korlatovic, the mother of two children and a teacher in a kindergarten near Parma, decorates Easter eggs mainly for sale in her parent's store; she also decorates ceramics. MRS. JANA MADAR, a recent immigrant to the United States, arrived in Cleveland on November 30, 1968. A native of Ruzomberok, central Slovakia, Mrs. Mad'ar is the mother l)f two sons, ages 21 and 20. Mrs. Mad'ar decorated several eggs for this project in the so-called ''painting'' and ''string-lacing'' techniques. MRS. SOPHIE MOLCHAK, an American of Slovak descent, was born in Regenstown, Pennsylvania. She is married to an American of Ukrainian origin and is the mother of six children. Three of her daughters, ages 18, 12, and 9, took an active part in egg decoration during the interviews. MRS. TANYA OSADCA, an Ukrainian by ethnic descent, immigrated to America after World War II. Living now with her family in Peninsula, Ohio, she started egg decorating and collecting in 1952, and at present she owns over 500 specimens. She also SLOVAKIA 62 studies and collects material published on Easter eggs. Her husband, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Administration Hospital, is also a collector and folk artist specializing in ceramics and pottery. MRS. ANNA PAP, a Ruthenian by ethnic origin, was born in Roztok near the present CSSR-USSR border. Married to Dr. M. S. Pap and the mother of four children ages 17, 14, 11, and 5, Mrs. Pap arrived in the United States in 1933. In addition to her household duties, she is also director of the choir at the St. Mary' s Ukrainian Catholic Church. MISS PETRUSHKA is an American of Slovak descent and a native of Cleveland. An admirer of Slovak folk traditions and a student of Slovak ethnography, Miss Petrushka is the owner of an art studio on Shaker Boulevard, Cleveland. Her collages, collage boxes, and jewelled eggs are well-known all over the United States. During my stay in Cleveland, she held two successful expositions of her creations. DR. JOSEPH CINClK, 65, a Slovak immigrant, arrived in the United States in 1948. An ex-professor at the University of Bratislava and at present an art bibliographer in Cleveland, Dr. Cincik is the foremost expert on Slovak folk art. MR. VLADIMIR OZABAL, 60 , a native of western Slovakia and an ex-officer of the Slovak Army, immigrated to America after World War II . Now the supervisor of a division of the City Water Department in Cleveland , Mr. Ozabal is still working at various projects related to Slovak folk art . .,• "'~ ~:: '~ ., ' Fig. 1 - A typical arrangement of eggs , implements, and coloring substances used by Mrs. Zofia Molchak, an American-born Slovak folk artist working with batik technique in the western-type design. Note the heating plate used for wax melting, rubber bands employed for partitioning of eggs, and the glasses with coloring substances. SLOVAKIA ~ .,. 63 .. ~ Mrs. Ann Pap, an American of Ruthenian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern-type design. Note: a candle is used as a source of melted wax and the most modern specimen of voskovacka, or kistka (" waxing pen") , is employed by Mrs. Pap in batiking of eggs . Fig. 2 - ( Fig. 3 - Mrs. Korlatovic, an American-born folk artist of Ukrainian ancestry, decorates eggs in the eastern style and batik technique for sale in her parents' store. 64 SLOVAKIA Partition of eggshells is carried out with stretched rubber bands. Note the modified " implements" (i .e., needles and pins pushed lengthwise into large kitchen matches, chopsticks, or wooden pencil handles) used in batiking and embossing. Fig. 4 - Fig. 5 - A candle as a source of wax in the batik technique. SLOVAKIA 65 Fig. 6 - A typical instance of batik-embossing technique and of western-type design. Note the tear-like dots and lines , and the star motifs on both ends of the egg. Miss Sue Molchak, 18 , shown in this picture, decorates eggs every year together with her mother and two of her sisters. The daughter of Mr. Molchak, an American of Ukrainian descent, and of Mrs. Molchak, an American-born Slovak, Miss Molchak is typical of young folk artists who help old traditions permeate a new environment. SLOVAKIA 66 Fig. 7 - Immersing of a freshly-batiked egg into coloring substance with the so-called " oko " (" eye" ). Fig. 8 - A spoon used for immersing and removal of eggs. SLOVAKIA Fig. 9 - A typical egg batiked in the eastern-type design . Fig. 10 - Eggs painted and ' ·string-laced" by Mrs . Mad'ar. 67 68 SLOVAKIA Miss Petrushka , an American-born Slovak, started egg decorating as a folk artist and continued egg decoration on a professional level. The egg shown in this picture is one of her jewelled creations presented at an exposition in Lakewood, Ohio . Fig. 11 - ... Examples of the so-called "Gesunkenes Kulturgut" in folk art - conventional art relationship. The jewelled eggs, shown in this picture, were decorated by Miss Petrushka who, according to her own words, learned "secrets" of egg decoration from her father, a Slovak folk artist . Fig. 12 -  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 and Ruthenian Easter Eggs in America: The Impact of Culture Contact on Immigrant Art and Custom Description An account of the resource Andrew Cincura Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 40-68 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cincura, Andrew, 1917- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/982cfdcfbfccf238bc9078687412e4fc.pdf 97318c3f7e7f0781d5bea6dfe8a72bb5 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social �70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. �SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) �72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically �SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient �74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing �SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 1950. � SLOVAKIA 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social �70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. �SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) �72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically �SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient �74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing �SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social 70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) 72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient 74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 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 John J. Kubašek, Priest and Patriot Description An account of the resource Daniel F. Tanzone Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 69-75 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tanzone, Daniel F. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/18b3bde70493d2466a2d646ebd4dfc79.pdf c76c37a8411a35935f83972174612cc6 PDF Text Text 76 SLOVAKIA The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement BY ANTHONY SUTHERLAND The Slovak National Revolution of 1918 followed in the wake of the First World War and the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire. It achieved for the Slovaks the first period of political freedom after one thousand years under Magyar domination. Much of the thought and leadership for this liberation came from a small but effective intellectual circle commonly known as the ' 'hlasists ' ' . (1) Named after their periodical, Hlas, the group originated in the mid 1890s among several young Slovak intellectuals who sought new directions for the Slovak national movement . They borrowed from the realism of Thomas Masaryk and the philosophies of Herbert Spencer, William James and others. Although always a minority and never an organized political party, the ' 'hlasists'' had an impact on Slovak political and intellectual history far exceeding their numbers. Besides being a main impetus in the Slovak National Revolution, they provided much of the Slovak leadership in the subsequent First Czecho-Slovak Republic. They represented the first Slovak intellectual movement based on English philosophy. Slovak national politics until then had been dominated largely by the Slovak National Party, a small Lutheran intellectual group headed by the renouned poet-nationalist, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Rooted strongly in German romanticism, the Nationalists sought primarily cultural freedom from Budapest while look4lg to the Russian Empire for assistance and eventual liberation. The "ltlasists" rejected both the outlook and apparent passivity of the Nationalists and insisted on a program of action joined with economic and social reforms. Salvation for the Slovaks, the "hlasists" believed, would come not from Russia but from Western Europe, particularly England, and from close cooperation with the Czechs. In a similar manner, the Czech national movement was influenced by romanticism and marked by vague concepts of Pan Slavism. Thomas Masaryk, the father of Czecho-Slovakia, saw the inadequacy of the Czech politics and so searched for a new political philosophy that would bring about tangible results. In his book Ceska Otazka, Masaryk expressed the need for active politics, education and self-consciousness while criticizing the negativism of the Czech national movement. He added the need for social reform and humanism. (2) The founders and probably best exponents of Slovak realism were Vavro Srobar and Pavel Blaho. Srobar was born in 1867 in Liskova, the fourth of twelve children. After attending local schools, he went to the University of Prague to prepare for a career in medicine. While in �SLOVAKIA 77 Prague, Srobar, through the Slavic society, "Detvan", came into contact with Masaryk and his philosophy of realism. (3) Until this time, Srobar was a romantic nationalist clinging to the traditional ideals of Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky and other Nationalists . In 1899 he was even invited by Ambor Pietor to become an editor of Narodne noviny, the voice of the Slovak Nationalist Party, but turned down the offer feeling unfit for the task at that time. (4) Srobar soon began to have doubts about the leadership and direction of the national movement. He became increasingly critical of the Slovak National Party's unrealistic faith in tsarist Russia and the former' s apparent inability to achieve any substantial gains for the Slovak cause. Pavel Blaho (1867-1927), in a similar way, began as a romantic nationalist and ended as a follower of Masaryk's realism. Born in Skalica and educated at the University of Vienna, Blaho became a close collaborator of Srobar and the new generation of Slovak intellectuals. By 1894, both men had been completely converted to Masaryk's realism and were determined to translate realistic principles into Slovakia. One of the first goals of the ''hlasists'' was the publication of a new political review, one completely independent from the Narodne noviny and one which would reflect the new progressive ideals of realism. (5) At a meeting of young Slovak intellectuals held in Turc. Sv. Martin on August 4, 1897, the decision was made to prepare for a new periodical, and at another conference four weeks later the title, Hlas, was selected. (6) During several succeeding conferences the aims and ideology of the new school of realism were put forth and debated. At the yearly conference of 1898 Srobar talked of the ideals and principles of realism but in such vague generalities that he left the one hundred people who attended uncertain over the actual nature of the new philosophy. (7) The 1899 conference in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, attended by some sixty people including such notables as Andrej Hlinka and Karol Kmet'ko, was of far greater practical value. Here Srobar elaborated on the realistic principles placing emphasis on the need for education and performance of 'small deeds' for the people. (8) The "hlasists" had many aims and ideas, some challenging traditional Slovak nationalism, others seemingly impractical or idealistic. Throughout ''hlasist'' thought there was a clear faith in science, in the pragmatic, positivist philosophy and distrust of the methods of the conservative, national movement. Srobar believed that pragmatism and the ability to act were the reasons for America's success. (9) Such a belief in pragmatism, for Srobar, necessitated a knowledge of the truth. The notion of truth was borrowed from Masaryk who once said, "Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, hold on to the truth, defend the truth to the death." (10) Truth to Srobar must replace lies, work was to replace laziness, and love to replace hatred. (11) In the search for truth nothing was held to be too sacred, not national custom, literature, songs or �78 SLOVAKIA anything. (12) Milan Hodza, one of the most gifted members of the "hlasist" group, wrote in Hl,as that Slovak history had to be examined objectively with no preconceived notions or feelings. (13) Once the truth was ascertained, then appropriate action could be taken to produce progress in the national movement. The primacy of truth, according to Srobar, demanded the '' regeneration in the morality of the Slovak man'' (14) but left it unclear as to the exact meaning of this morality . (15) By being better in the moral sense it was hoped the Slovak people would somehow be better equipped to deflect the onslaught of Magyarization. (16) Throughout the history of the ''hlasist'' movement, education was made a paramount objective. Self-enlightenment was the sine qua non of all progress for the "hlasists". It had to be democratic, not limited to the privileged few or for city dwellers but to all levels of society, including farmers, tradesmen, and workers . (17) Blaho emphasized the need for regional specialization in education . Blaho, the author of regionalism in the ''hlasist'' movement, proposed that every district have its own local newspaper to meet local needs as well as to supply information on national events. (18) "Hlasists" believed that national education rather than education for a selected few was necessary for a national movement. Blaho wrote, '' A nation that learns to want and demand begins also to fight and struggle." (19) Blaho, too, along with Hodza believed that with education came economic liberation, another precondition for national liberation. Blaho later wrote, "We want to liberate the people from spiritual darkness, from economic slavery, we want to restore Slovak elementary schools, we want to teach the people the intensive and technical cultivation of the soil. We want to teach them in a trade, to improve production, to teach them to work in business, to work in a cooperative society, we want to teach them to sacrifice for themselves, for their goals, their needs. '' (20) Education of the masses and moral regeneration could be accomplished, according to the "hlasists", dnly by 'work' or by the performance of small deeds, (drobnci prcica). (21) Pragmatism and science possessed little value unless they were translated into action. (22) "Work and only work for the people, for without work it is impossible to imagine a cultural life for the Slovaks," (23) Blaho wrote: "Look, we stand under the protection of the great power which maintains and directs the whole world, we stand under the patronage of abstract work . The entire universe is built on work . ... We fulfill the great law of life when we work.'' The ''hlasist'' virtue of work, although never really explained beyond a general sense, stood in contradiction to the apparent inactivity of traditional Slovak politics. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the "hlasist" movement was the criticism leveled against the Slovak National Party. Since the closing of the Matica Slovenska, the nationalists had accomplished little and it seemed to the "hlasists" �SLOVAKIA 79 that they were resigned to their fate. Milan Hodfa charged that the National Party had no real political program. The memorandums of 1848 and 1861 contained only the "Alpha and Omega" of Slovak demands (25) but ignor~d specific economic and social needs. He concluded that nationaliSln alone was insufficient as the basis for national politics. (26) ' ' Hlasists'' concentrated their sharpest attacks on the leader of the National Party, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Vajansky was the recognized leader of the nation, the interpreter of national tradition. As the son of the famous Jozef M. Hurban, the 1848 revolutionary leader and pioneer in the work of establishing a separate written Slovak language, his authority not only in literature but in politics went often unquestioned . (27) Vajansky's political and spiritual ideas were based on romanticism and Russian Slavophilism. He believed Slovakia's salvation would come not from the West which he distributed for its materialism and atheism, but from Russia. (28) "Hlasists" saw in Vajansky's philosophy and politics a dangerous fatalism. Liberation would not come from tsarist Russia, Srobar felt, and even if it did, it would lead only to ''tsarist despotism.'' (29) Srobar once wrote, "Hurban is not an active politician yet directs Slovak politics; he likes to judge and condemn. Hurban is a spiritual leader of the nation; his powerful artistic talent is known to implant the soul of the Slovak intelligentsia, its thoughts, desires, ideals. Hurban personifies the entire Slovak intelligentsia." (30) Srobar reacted strongly to Vajansky's statement, ''We are the nation - pars pro toto (a part of the whole),'' (31) making the intelligentsia the national elite. Srobar answered, ''We are not the nation, we are crumbs in the nation, we are servants and not these haughty lords, elite of the nation, but we are the worst part of the nation.'' (32) The nation, Srobar continued, was to be found among the "honest workers, the hand-calloused laborers, among the soiled peasants and tenant farmers ." (33) Hodfa agreed with Srobar that the nation could not be found among a few intellectuals. He wrote in Hlas in 1904: "The nation is the people with all its needs and desires . The nation must be something concrete, calculable and not some fictitious ideal. Therefore then, national culture must not be limited to the intelligentsia; it deserves the name 'national' culture only if it penetrates and inspires all levels of the nation." (34) Srobar was particularly concerned over the direction that Vajansky seemed to be leading Slovak politics. The Slovaks were politically isolated, Srobar recalled, with no real allies or ties with any strong state. (35) Since a continuation of the Nationalist's Russophile policy was out of the question the only ' realistic' alternative the "hlasists" had was to develop closer relations with the Czechs, their closest Slavic neighbor. (36) Although Czech-Slovak cooperation was no invention of Srobar or the other "hlasists", it was their efforts that prepared the way for collaboration during the First World War. �80 SLOVAKIA On the question of Czech-Slovak unity, Srobar was cautiously silent. (37) He said only that it was impossible at this time to talk about political unification with the Czechs. "We reject emphatically all debate a priori about unification of us with the Czech nation in the political sense. There can be no unification in language but only in spirit." (38) Later in 1920, Srobar acknowledged the close cultural and political ties that existed between the two nations. ''The origin of a new written language in Slovakia did not interrupt the conscious tribal (kmen) unity of the Czecho-Slovaks even for one moment. The desire for close cultural, economic, and political unity increased year after year in proportion to the growth of a brutal Magyar suppression.'' (39) Many Slovaks anxiously awaited Vajansky's reaction to "hlasist" attacks, but were left somewhat disappointed. For a long time he said little. (40) In a series of articles appearing in the Narodne noviny Vajansky made references to the youth movement, meaning the "hlasists", as "trivial and childish." (41) It was known that Vajansky was opposed to the Czech orientation and to the placing of economic reforms before political goals. (42) But the most controversial feature of ''hlasist'' views was their critical position taken against the Catholic Church and clerical influence in Slovak society. Srobar attacked the Slovak priesthood as corrupt, materialistic and Magyar in spirit. (43) Since his student days Srobar had begun to question Church authority. (44) Much of this questioning attitude towards the Church was taken from Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy taught that the organized Church had corrupted and formalized Christianity to the extent that it was necessary to return to a primitive type of Christianity as was found in the early Church. In Tolstoy Srobar also discovered support for his idea of truth as the most important element in dealing with social problems. Tolstoy said all the revolutions of the nineteenth century lacked this principle of truth. It is not necessary to merely proclaim truth but to act on it. (45) Srobar looked at the Slovak problem as largely a religious problem. (46) Slovaks, he said, cared for little else but religion. Art, science, politics concerned them only to the extent that they served religious needs. (47) Slovak Catholics, Srobar believed, although sincere and pious, were infected with superstition and f~talism. He wrote: ''Great masses of the Slovak people designate thems~lves, 'I am a Catholic' or 'I am a Lutheran', but the faiths of the Slovaks are not joined in one unit but left divided. The faith of Slovaks is pure, sincere, but the content of their faith is completely pagan, fetishistic, superstitious, fatalistic . . . . Here is where I expect the guarantee of our fall. All our people have fallen to this decadent Catholicism." (48) It would be a mistake, however, to label Srobar at this time as an atheist or an irreverent Christian, for many of his early writings reveal a sincere religious faith. His disagreement was not with Catholicism but with the adverse influence it seemed to have on the development of �SLOVAKIA 81 the nation. Srobar was opposed to anything resembling a theocratic type state and one which did not permit freedom of thought and expression. His arguments for freedom of conscience were founded in Christ's teaching, "Seek the truth and the truth will free you," adding that one who did not support the free search for truth was in violation of divine teaching. (49) Freedom of conscience, for Srobar, was a precondition for all progress, economic and social. To stifle the free quest for truth would ~ot only stagnate a society's growth but ultimately destroy that society. (50) He wrote: Without freedom of conscience and conviction there is no life for a dignified man, only the animal in man remains, in one degree of development. A man must teach and educate himself every day, that is seek and know the truth because who seeks the truth enriches his knowledge and becomes more learned than one who does not seek the truth. And if this law is applicable for the individual, that he educate and perfect himself, then it is even important for the entire nation. Free and educated nations enslave backward and uncultured nations. And he who cries and calls names at progress in a nation is the greatest enemy of his nation because he wants his nation to remain in darkness and ignorance so that nothing new is passed or begun. (51) At the same time, Srobar did not deny the necessity of good religious and moral standards for a healthy society. Srobar traced the evolution of moral standards. In primitive societies customs comprised the moral code. During the " age of faith" religious laws provided this same code . Later, in the age of democracy, faith and customs had lost their value, thus moral feelings of men had to be "more sincere, one had to perform voluntarily what he was once forced to do." (52) A man committed to religious ideals, Srobar continued, would be better able to serve the state than one lacking any religious conviction. (53) Srobar felt the neglect of moral faith was the foremost weakness of modern times . He wrote: Religious feelings, because they are developed from morality and fear of God have directed and controlled the natural impulses of man from time immemorial. A devout, religious man better performs his obligations towards himself, his family, and all society than a man without principles, without religion, or a man standing purely on materialism. Modern times forget the harmonious cultivation of reason and feeling and so becomes one-sided and superficial. A wise democracy expends all its efforts so that this harmonious culture among its citizenry is not forgotten. (54) �82 SLOVAKIA But, while Srobar did not completely reject organized religion, he did advocate that its activity be limited to purely spiritual concerns while leaving material questions to politicians. (55) Both church and state should exist, in Srobar's view, in a harmonious union but they had to remain separated. Srobar warned against religious intolerance which he defined as "hatred and anger against one's neighbor," (56) and against clericalism. Every unhappy nation, Srobar added, has a clerical leader at its head, and no class or political prejudice is as dangerous as religious intolerance. (57) "Every Slovak who holds dear freedom and independence for his homeland, who desires that we not remain under Magyar enslavement, who wants to rule himself, will avoid clerical slavery." (58) Such assaults on the Church caused the expected reaction and probably accounted for the defection of most of the clerical leaders from the " hlasist" camp. During the first few years of "hlasist" activity, the response by many Catholic priests was favorable . Several Catholic priests corresponded regularly with the "hlasists". Jozef Buday, a noted priest in the People's Party, complimented Blaho in 1898 on Hlas for exposing the nation's weaknesses . In a letter to Blaho of July 14, 1898, Buday wrote, " Therefore, with unspeakable joy I wish the periodical Hlas the most beautiful secure future, and I welcome you as its author, as its intrepid fighter for the development of the Slovak nation and as a sacrificing leader of Slovak youth on the thorny, spiral path of national life." (59) The following year Buday submitted an article for Hlas in which he recommended that priests not turn their backs on modem science and progress but take part in modem movements. The famous priest Ferdis Juriga supported the movement of Hlas towards moral regeneration. (60) But perhaps the most enthusiastic clerical supporter of Hlas was the priest and later Magyarone, Frantisek Jehlicka. He eagerly volunteered to work to obtain subscriptions for Hlas, telling Blaho, ''I want to become an eternal subscriber to Hlas." (61) Soon, however, many priests including Jehlicka became disillusioned with "hlasist" radicalism and seemingly irreligious attitudes. Many Slovak clerics were no doubt faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they supported the progressivism of the "hlasists", but on the other hand, they could not accept their questioning attitude towards Church authority. Leaders in the Lutheran Church were in ~ similar position. They praised the '' hlasists'' but also cautioned them about condemning the entire old intelligentsia. They warned them against looking abroad for foreign ideas to follow, when good ideas could be found at home. (62) Reassuring the Lutheran hierarchy, Blaho said, " ... we want to reform by work and not destroy the work of our fathers, not attack the church in dogma, ... we want to be better." (63) The "hlasists" remained a small, disorganized group of men possessing a variety of ideas. Despite all the alleged radicalism at- �SLOVAKIA 83 tributed to them , the "hlasists" were quite traditional in many respects, at least during the first few years of their activity. There was never an attempt to break completely from the past but efforts were made to reconcile realistic principles with Slovak tradition, with the ideas of Stur and other leaders. The spiritual nature found throughout the works of Slovak nationalists was unmistakably evident in many "hlasist" writings, particularly those of Srobar. A good portion of "hlasist" thinking involved introspection or analysis of the nation's soul or character. In this respect "hlasists" were no different from the generations of Slovak thinkers that came before them. Even in their 'Czechoslovak' position, they were at first moderate . They were admirers of the Czechs and their culture, but they did not deny Slovak national individuality. Cooperation with the Czechs was viewed as the only realistic alternative, the only politically expedient course. Later, however, many "hlasists" became zealous supporters of Prague centralism, and some even adhered to the fictitious idea of the 'Czechoslovak' nation. Their Czechoslovak orientation before 1914 guaranteed the "hlasists" several leadership posts in the First Czecho-Slovak Republic. Srobar was chosen Minister Plenipotentiary for Slovakia during the first months of the republic, while other "hlasists" dominated the remaining Slovak posts. During the critical years of the First World War it was often the '' hlasists'' rather than the Nationalists or Populists who took the decisive action calling for national conferences, issuing declarations of independence, or working with foreign governments. Hlinka and others often hesitated, moved more cautiously, thus possibly losing some of the leadership in the new republic. Although popular at first, the "hlasists" gradually lost support from many quarters. Buday, Juriga and other priests lost all confidence in the ''hlasists'' because of their increasing radicalism, their free thinking, and their Czechoslovakism. The main significance of the ''hlasist'' movement, though, was in providing a journal and an atmosphere for critical, secular thought in Slovakia. This brought some progress, it might be argued; on the other hand, it meant tragedy for the Slovak nation. The ''hlasists'' seriously divided the Slovak national intelligentsia before 1914 and brought an end to the once united national movement. FOOTNOTES Included in the hlasist group were: Vavro Srobar, Pavel Blaho, Milan Hodia, Anton Stefanek. (2) Stefan Jansak, .Zivot Dr. Pavla Blahu, Vol. I (Tmava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1947), pp. 129-130. (1) �84 SLOVAKIA (3) Srobar related in his memoirs how he became acquainted with Masaryk . What especially impressed him was Masaryk's statement that in religious questions, realism " stood on Christian principles." Vavro Srobar, Z m6jho iivota (Praha: Fr. Borovy , 1946) , p . 181. (4) Ibid ., p. 162 . (5) Jansak, pp . 138 and 141. (6) Ibid., pp . 145-147. An eleven-member editorial board was chosen: Srobar , Blaho, Hodfa , Me dvecky, Zathurecky, Rath, Minarik, Ivanko, Dohnany, Ziak-Somolicky and Jesensky. (7) Ibid., pp. 302-303. (8) Ibid . , pp. 306-307. (9) Ibid. , pp. 208-209 . (10) Ibid., p. 200 . (11) Ibid. , p . 198 Quoted in Anton Stefanek, Slovensko pred prevratom a poi!as prevratu (Praha , 1923), p. 35. (12) Srobar disagreed with Blaho over the national individuality found in Slovak weddings, songs, and costumes . Srobar attacked what he considered to be the backwardness and primitivism of Slovak weddings. He said, "In our weddings, individuals drink and eat to excess . It is necessary to improve and refine the people so that they can be convinced that they can enjoy themselves without becoming inebriated.'' Jansak, p. 259. (13) Milan Hodfa, " Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI (1904) p . 294 . (14) Jansak, p . 197. (15) Ibid., p. 198. (16) Ibid., p. 198 (17) Ibid., pp. 209-210 . Vavro Srobar, Via.do l'udu v demokracii (Praha, 1920), p. 125. (18) Jansak, p. 211. (19) Pavel Blaho , Obrodenie slovenskeho zci.padu (Praha, n .d .) p . 22. (20) Ibid., p . 31. (21) Jansak, p . 306. (22) Ibid . , p . 205 (23) Ibid., p. 206 (24) Ibid . , p. 206. (25) Milan Hodfa "K aktivite slovenskej narodnej strany," Clanky, reti, ~tudie I (Praha, 1935) , pp. 176-177. (26) Hodfa "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI, p. 162. (27) Jansak, p . 330. See Ignotus (Milan Hodfa) Nacionalizmus je slepy," Hlas, V (1903) 97-99 . (28) Vavro Srobar, Politicky problem Slovenska (Praha, 1926) pp. 4-5. (29) Srobar, z m6jho iivota, p. 402 . (30) Ibid ., p . 360. (31) Jansak, p. 335 . (32) Ibid. , p . 335. (33) Ibid . , p. 335. (34) Hodfa, "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI , pp. 295-296. �SLOVAKIA 85 (35) Srobar, Z mojho iivota , pp. 361-362 . (36) Ibid ., p. 362. Jansak, p. 221. (37) Jansak, p . 221. (38) Ibid ., pp. 221-222 . (39) Vavro Srobar, Osvobodene Slovensko (Praha , 1928) . p . 11. (40) Jansak, p. 332. (41) Ibid ., p . 334. (42) See Jansak, p. 217. (43) Vavro Srobar, Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (1914-1918) (Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho, 1922), pp. 177-178. (44) See Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p. 221. (45) Jansak, pp. 200-201. (46) Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p . 36'1 . Srobar, Pamiitizvojnyaz viizenia, p . 176. (47) Srobar, Pamati z vojny a z viizenia, pp. 176-177. (48) Ibid ., pp . 176-177. (49) Srobar, Vldda l'udu v demokracii, p. 88. (50) Ibid. , pp. 87-89. (51) Ibid., p. 92 . (52) Ibid., p . 94 . (53) Ibid ., p. 95. (54) Ibid., p . 95 . (55) Ibid., pp. 95 and 100. (56) Ibid ., p . 106. (57) Ibid ., p. 106. (58) Ibid ., p . 107. (59) Jansak, p . 342. (60) Ibid., pp. 294-295. (61) Ibid ., p. 297. (62) Ibid ., pp . 346-347. (63) Ibid ., p . 347. BIBLIOGRAPHY Blaho, Pavel. Obrodenie slovenskeho zcipadu (The Rebirth of the Slovak West). Praha: Ostredny vybor prednaskovy, n.d. Hlas (The Voice) V, VI, (Ruzomberok), 1903, 1904. Hodia , Milan . Clcinky, re<!i,. studie (Articles, Speeches, Studies). Vol. I, Praha, 1930. Jansak , Stefan . Zivot Dr. Pavla Blaha, (The Life of Dr. Paul Blaho). Vol. I. Trnava: Spolok sv . Vojtecha, 1947 . Srobar, Vavro. Osvobodenie Slovensko (Liberated Slovakia) . Praho, 1928. - - - · Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (Memoirs from the War and from Prison). Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho , 1921. �86 SLOVAKIA _ _ _ . Politicky problem Slovenska (The Political Problem of Slovakia). Praha, 1926. _ _ _ . Vlcida l'udu v demokracii (Government of the People in a Democracy). Praha, 1920. _ _ _ , Z m6jho iivota (From My Life). Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1946. Stefimek, Anton. Slovensko pred prevratom a pot!as prevratu (Slovakia Before 1918 and During 1918). Praha, 1923. � 76 SLOVAKIA The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement BY ANTHONY SUTHERLAND The Slovak National Revolution of 1918 followed in the wake of the First World War and the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire. It achieved for the Slovaks the first period of political freedom after one thousand years under Magyar domination. Much of the thought and leadership for this liberation came from a small but effective intellectual circle commonly known as the ' 'hlasists ' ' . (1) Named after their periodical, Hlas, the group originated in the mid 1890s among several young Slovak intellectuals who sought new directions for the Slovak national movement . They borrowed from the realism of Thomas Masaryk and the philosophies of Herbert Spencer, William James and others. Although always a minority and never an organized political party, the ' 'hlasists'' had an impact on Slovak political and intellectual history far exceeding their numbers. Besides being a main impetus in the Slovak National Revolution, they provided much of the Slovak leadership in the subsequent First Czecho-Slovak Republic. They represented the first Slovak intellectual movement based on English philosophy. Slovak national politics until then had been dominated largely by the Slovak National Party, a small Lutheran intellectual group headed by the renouned poet-nationalist, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Rooted strongly in German romanticism, the Nationalists sought primarily cultural freedom from Budapest while look4lg to the Russian Empire for assistance and eventual liberation. The "ltlasists" rejected both the outlook and apparent passivity of the Nationalists and insisted on a program of action joined with economic and social reforms. Salvation for the Slovaks, the "hlasists" believed, would come not from Russia but from Western Europe, particularly England, and from close cooperation with the Czechs. In a similar manner, the Czech national movement was influenced by romanticism and marked by vague concepts of Pan Slavism. Thomas Masaryk, the father of Czecho-Slovakia, saw the inadequacy of the Czech politics and so searched for a new political philosophy that would bring about tangible results. In his book Ceska Otazka, Masaryk expressed the need for active politics, education and self-consciousness while criticizing the negativism of the Czech national movement. He added the need for social reform and humanism. (2) The founders and probably best exponents of Slovak realism were Vavro Srobar and Pavel Blaho. Srobar was born in 1867 in Liskova, the fourth of twelve children. After attending local schools, he went to the University of Prague to prepare for a career in medicine. While in �SLOVAKIA 77 Prague, Srobar, through the Slavic society, "Detvan", came into contact with Masaryk and his philosophy of realism. (3) Until this time, Srobar was a romantic nationalist clinging to the traditional ideals of Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky and other Nationalists . In 1899 he was even invited by Ambor Pietor to become an editor of Narodne noviny, the voice of the Slovak Nationalist Party, but turned down the offer feeling unfit for the task at that time. (4) Srobar soon began to have doubts about the leadership and direction of the national movement. He became increasingly critical of the Slovak National Party's unrealistic faith in tsarist Russia and the former' s apparent inability to achieve any substantial gains for the Slovak cause. Pavel Blaho (1867-1927), in a similar way, began as a romantic nationalist and ended as a follower of Masaryk's realism. Born in Skalica and educated at the University of Vienna, Blaho became a close collaborator of Srobar and the new generation of Slovak intellectuals. By 1894, both men had been completely converted to Masaryk's realism and were determined to translate realistic principles into Slovakia. One of the first goals of the ''hlasists'' was the publication of a new political review, one completely independent from the Narodne noviny and one which would reflect the new progressive ideals of realism. (5) At a meeting of young Slovak intellectuals held in Turc. Sv. Martin on August 4, 1897, the decision was made to prepare for a new periodical, and at another conference four weeks later the title, Hlas, was selected. (6) During several succeeding conferences the aims and ideology of the new school of realism were put forth and debated. At the yearly conference of 1898 Srobar talked of the ideals and principles of realism but in such vague generalities that he left the one hundred people who attended uncertain over the actual nature of the new philosophy. (7) The 1899 conference in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, attended by some sixty people including such notables as Andrej Hlinka and Karol Kmet'ko, was of far greater practical value. Here Srobar elaborated on the realistic principles placing emphasis on the need for education and performance of 'small deeds' for the people. (8) The "hlasists" had many aims and ideas, some challenging traditional Slovak nationalism, others seemingly impractical or idealistic. Throughout ''hlasist'' thought there was a clear faith in science, in the pragmatic, positivist philosophy and distrust of the methods of the conservative, national movement. Srobar believed that pragmatism and the ability to act were the reasons for America's success. (9) Such a belief in pragmatism, for Srobar, necessitated a knowledge of the truth. The notion of truth was borrowed from Masaryk who once said, "Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, hold on to the truth, defend the truth to the death." (10) Truth to Srobar must replace lies, work was to replace laziness, and love to replace hatred. (11) In the search for truth nothing was held to be too sacred, not national custom, literature, songs or �78 SLOVAKIA anything. (12) Milan Hodza, one of the most gifted members of the "hlasist" group, wrote in Hl,as that Slovak history had to be examined objectively with no preconceived notions or feelings. (13) Once the truth was ascertained, then appropriate action could be taken to produce progress in the national movement. The primacy of truth, according to Srobar, demanded the '' regeneration in the morality of the Slovak man'' (14) but left it unclear as to the exact meaning of this morality . (15) By being better in the moral sense it was hoped the Slovak people would somehow be better equipped to deflect the onslaught of Magyarization. (16) Throughout the history of the ''hlasist'' movement, education was made a paramount objective. Self-enlightenment was the sine qua non of all progress for the "hlasists". It had to be democratic, not limited to the privileged few or for city dwellers but to all levels of society, including farmers, tradesmen, and workers . (17) Blaho emphasized the need for regional specialization in education . Blaho, the author of regionalism in the ''hlasist'' movement, proposed that every district have its own local newspaper to meet local needs as well as to supply information on national events. (18) "Hlasists" believed that national education rather than education for a selected few was necessary for a national movement. Blaho wrote, '' A nation that learns to want and demand begins also to fight and struggle." (19) Blaho, too, along with Hodza believed that with education came economic liberation, another precondition for national liberation. Blaho later wrote, "We want to liberate the people from spiritual darkness, from economic slavery, we want to restore Slovak elementary schools, we want to teach the people the intensive and technical cultivation of the soil. We want to teach them in a trade, to improve production, to teach them to work in business, to work in a cooperative society, we want to teach them to sacrifice for themselves, for their goals, their needs. '' (20) Education of the masses and moral regeneration could be accomplished, according to the "hlasists", dnly by 'work' or by the performance of small deeds, (drobnci prcica). (21) Pragmatism and science possessed little value unless they were translated into action. (22) "Work and only work for the people, for without work it is impossible to imagine a cultural life for the Slovaks," (23) Blaho wrote: "Look, we stand under the protection of the great power which maintains and directs the whole world, we stand under the patronage of abstract work . The entire universe is built on work . ... We fulfill the great law of life when we work.'' The ''hlasist'' virtue of work, although never really explained beyond a general sense, stood in contradiction to the apparent inactivity of traditional Slovak politics. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the "hlasist" movement was the criticism leveled against the Slovak National Party. Since the closing of the Matica Slovenska, the nationalists had accomplished little and it seemed to the "hlasists" �SLOVAKIA 79 that they were resigned to their fate. Milan Hodfa charged that the National Party had no real political program. The memorandums of 1848 and 1861 contained only the "Alpha and Omega" of Slovak demands (25) but ignor~d specific economic and social needs. He concluded that nationaliSln alone was insufficient as the basis for national politics. (26) ' ' Hlasists'' concentrated their sharpest attacks on the leader of the National Party, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Vajansky was the recognized leader of the nation, the interpreter of national tradition. As the son of the famous Jozef M. Hurban, the 1848 revolutionary leader and pioneer in the work of establishing a separate written Slovak language, his authority not only in literature but in politics went often unquestioned . (27) Vajansky's political and spiritual ideas were based on romanticism and Russian Slavophilism. He believed Slovakia's salvation would come not from the West which he distributed for its materialism and atheism, but from Russia. (28) "Hlasists" saw in Vajansky's philosophy and politics a dangerous fatalism. Liberation would not come from tsarist Russia, Srobar felt, and even if it did, it would lead only to ''tsarist despotism.'' (29) Srobar once wrote, "Hurban is not an active politician yet directs Slovak politics; he likes to judge and condemn. Hurban is a spiritual leader of the nation; his powerful artistic talent is known to implant the soul of the Slovak intelligentsia, its thoughts, desires, ideals. Hurban personifies the entire Slovak intelligentsia." (30) Srobar reacted strongly to Vajansky's statement, ''We are the nation - pars pro toto (a part of the whole),'' (31) making the intelligentsia the national elite. Srobar answered, ''We are not the nation, we are crumbs in the nation, we are servants and not these haughty lords, elite of the nation, but we are the worst part of the nation.'' (32) The nation, Srobar continued, was to be found among the "honest workers, the hand-calloused laborers, among the soiled peasants and tenant farmers ." (33) Hodfa agreed with Srobar that the nation could not be found among a few intellectuals. He wrote in Hlas in 1904: "The nation is the people with all its needs and desires . The nation must be something concrete, calculable and not some fictitious ideal. Therefore then, national culture must not be limited to the intelligentsia; it deserves the name 'national' culture only if it penetrates and inspires all levels of the nation." (34) Srobar was particularly concerned over the direction that Vajansky seemed to be leading Slovak politics. The Slovaks were politically isolated, Srobar recalled, with no real allies or ties with any strong state. (35) Since a continuation of the Nationalist's Russophile policy was out of the question the only ' realistic' alternative the "hlasists" had was to develop closer relations with the Czechs, their closest Slavic neighbor. (36) Although Czech-Slovak cooperation was no invention of Srobar or the other "hlasists", it was their efforts that prepared the way for collaboration during the First World War. �80 SLOVAKIA On the question of Czech-Slovak unity, Srobar was cautiously silent. (37) He said only that it was impossible at this time to talk about political unification with the Czechs. "We reject emphatically all debate a priori about unification of us with the Czech nation in the political sense. There can be no unification in language but only in spirit." (38) Later in 1920, Srobar acknowledged the close cultural and political ties that existed between the two nations. ''The origin of a new written language in Slovakia did not interrupt the conscious tribal (kmen) unity of the Czecho-Slovaks even for one moment. The desire for close cultural, economic, and political unity increased year after year in proportion to the growth of a brutal Magyar suppression.'' (39) Many Slovaks anxiously awaited Vajansky's reaction to "hlasist" attacks, but were left somewhat disappointed. For a long time he said little. (40) In a series of articles appearing in the Narodne noviny Vajansky made references to the youth movement, meaning the "hlasists", as "trivial and childish." (41) It was known that Vajansky was opposed to the Czech orientation and to the placing of economic reforms before political goals. (42) But the most controversial feature of ''hlasist'' views was their critical position taken against the Catholic Church and clerical influence in Slovak society. Srobar attacked the Slovak priesthood as corrupt, materialistic and Magyar in spirit. (43) Since his student days Srobar had begun to question Church authority. (44) Much of this questioning attitude towards the Church was taken from Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy taught that the organized Church had corrupted and formalized Christianity to the extent that it was necessary to return to a primitive type of Christianity as was found in the early Church. In Tolstoy Srobar also discovered support for his idea of truth as the most important element in dealing with social problems. Tolstoy said all the revolutions of the nineteenth century lacked this principle of truth. It is not necessary to merely proclaim truth but to act on it. (45) Srobar looked at the Slovak problem as largely a religious problem. (46) Slovaks, he said, cared for little else but religion. Art, science, politics concerned them only to the extent that they served religious needs. (47) Slovak Catholics, Srobar believed, although sincere and pious, were infected with superstition and f~talism. He wrote: ''Great masses of the Slovak people designate thems~lves, 'I am a Catholic' or 'I am a Lutheran', but the faiths of the Slovaks are not joined in one unit but left divided. The faith of Slovaks is pure, sincere, but the content of their faith is completely pagan, fetishistic, superstitious, fatalistic . . . . Here is where I expect the guarantee of our fall. All our people have fallen to this decadent Catholicism." (48) It would be a mistake, however, to label Srobar at this time as an atheist or an irreverent Christian, for many of his early writings reveal a sincere religious faith. His disagreement was not with Catholicism but with the adverse influence it seemed to have on the development of �SLOVAKIA 81 the nation. Srobar was opposed to anything resembling a theocratic type state and one which did not permit freedom of thought and expression. His arguments for freedom of conscience were founded in Christ's teaching, "Seek the truth and the truth will free you," adding that one who did not support the free search for truth was in violation of divine teaching. (49) Freedom of conscience, for Srobar, was a precondition for all progress, economic and social. To stifle the free quest for truth would ~ot only stagnate a society's growth but ultimately destroy that society. (50) He wrote: Without freedom of conscience and conviction there is no life for a dignified man, only the animal in man remains, in one degree of development. A man must teach and educate himself every day, that is seek and know the truth because who seeks the truth enriches his knowledge and becomes more learned than one who does not seek the truth. And if this law is applicable for the individual, that he educate and perfect himself, then it is even important for the entire nation. Free and educated nations enslave backward and uncultured nations. And he who cries and calls names at progress in a nation is the greatest enemy of his nation because he wants his nation to remain in darkness and ignorance so that nothing new is passed or begun. (51) At the same time, Srobar did not deny the necessity of good religious and moral standards for a healthy society. Srobar traced the evolution of moral standards. In primitive societies customs comprised the moral code. During the " age of faith" religious laws provided this same code . Later, in the age of democracy, faith and customs had lost their value, thus moral feelings of men had to be "more sincere, one had to perform voluntarily what he was once forced to do." (52) A man committed to religious ideals, Srobar continued, would be better able to serve the state than one lacking any religious conviction. (53) Srobar felt the neglect of moral faith was the foremost weakness of modern times . He wrote: Religious feelings, because they are developed from morality and fear of God have directed and controlled the natural impulses of man from time immemorial. A devout, religious man better performs his obligations towards himself, his family, and all society than a man without principles, without religion, or a man standing purely on materialism. Modern times forget the harmonious cultivation of reason and feeling and so becomes one-sided and superficial. A wise democracy expends all its efforts so that this harmonious culture among its citizenry is not forgotten. (54) �82 SLOVAKIA But, while Srobar did not completely reject organized religion, he did advocate that its activity be limited to purely spiritual concerns while leaving material questions to politicians. (55) Both church and state should exist, in Srobar's view, in a harmonious union but they had to remain separated. Srobar warned against religious intolerance which he defined as "hatred and anger against one's neighbor," (56) and against clericalism. Every unhappy nation, Srobar added, has a clerical leader at its head, and no class or political prejudice is as dangerous as religious intolerance. (57) "Every Slovak who holds dear freedom and independence for his homeland, who desires that we not remain under Magyar enslavement, who wants to rule himself, will avoid clerical slavery." (58) Such assaults on the Church caused the expected reaction and probably accounted for the defection of most of the clerical leaders from the " hlasist" camp. During the first few years of "hlasist" activity, the response by many Catholic priests was favorable . Several Catholic priests corresponded regularly with the "hlasists". Jozef Buday, a noted priest in the People's Party, complimented Blaho in 1898 on Hlas for exposing the nation's weaknesses . In a letter to Blaho of July 14, 1898, Buday wrote, " Therefore, with unspeakable joy I wish the periodical Hlas the most beautiful secure future, and I welcome you as its author, as its intrepid fighter for the development of the Slovak nation and as a sacrificing leader of Slovak youth on the thorny, spiral path of national life." (59) The following year Buday submitted an article for Hlas in which he recommended that priests not turn their backs on modem science and progress but take part in modem movements. The famous priest Ferdis Juriga supported the movement of Hlas towards moral regeneration. (60) But perhaps the most enthusiastic clerical supporter of Hlas was the priest and later Magyarone, Frantisek Jehlicka. He eagerly volunteered to work to obtain subscriptions for Hlas, telling Blaho, ''I want to become an eternal subscriber to Hlas." (61) Soon, however, many priests including Jehlicka became disillusioned with "hlasist" radicalism and seemingly irreligious attitudes. Many Slovak clerics were no doubt faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they supported the progressivism of the "hlasists", but on the other hand, they could not accept their questioning attitude towards Church authority. Leaders in the Lutheran Church were in ~ similar position. They praised the '' hlasists'' but also cautioned them about condemning the entire old intelligentsia. They warned them against looking abroad for foreign ideas to follow, when good ideas could be found at home. (62) Reassuring the Lutheran hierarchy, Blaho said, " ... we want to reform by work and not destroy the work of our fathers, not attack the church in dogma, ... we want to be better." (63) The "hlasists" remained a small, disorganized group of men possessing a variety of ideas. Despite all the alleged radicalism at- �SLOVAKIA 83 tributed to them , the "hlasists" were quite traditional in many respects, at least during the first few years of their activity. There was never an attempt to break completely from the past but efforts were made to reconcile realistic principles with Slovak tradition, with the ideas of Stur and other leaders. The spiritual nature found throughout the works of Slovak nationalists was unmistakably evident in many "hlasist" writings, particularly those of Srobar. A good portion of "hlasist" thinking involved introspection or analysis of the nation's soul or character. In this respect "hlasists" were no different from the generations of Slovak thinkers that came before them. Even in their 'Czechoslovak' position, they were at first moderate . They were admirers of the Czechs and their culture, but they did not deny Slovak national individuality. Cooperation with the Czechs was viewed as the only realistic alternative, the only politically expedient course. Later, however, many "hlasists" became zealous supporters of Prague centralism, and some even adhered to the fictitious idea of the 'Czechoslovak' nation. Their Czechoslovak orientation before 1914 guaranteed the "hlasists" several leadership posts in the First Czecho-Slovak Republic. Srobar was chosen Minister Plenipotentiary for Slovakia during the first months of the republic, while other "hlasists" dominated the remaining Slovak posts. During the critical years of the First World War it was often the '' hlasists'' rather than the Nationalists or Populists who took the decisive action calling for national conferences, issuing declarations of independence, or working with foreign governments. Hlinka and others often hesitated, moved more cautiously, thus possibly losing some of the leadership in the new republic. Although popular at first, the "hlasists" gradually lost support from many quarters. Buday, Juriga and other priests lost all confidence in the ''hlasists'' because of their increasing radicalism, their free thinking, and their Czechoslovakism. The main significance of the ''hlasist'' movement, though, was in providing a journal and an atmosphere for critical, secular thought in Slovakia. This brought some progress, it might be argued; on the other hand, it meant tragedy for the Slovak nation. The ''hlasists'' seriously divided the Slovak national intelligentsia before 1914 and brought an end to the once united national movement. FOOTNOTES Included in the hlasist group were: Vavro Srobar, Pavel Blaho, Milan Hodia, Anton Stefanek. (2) Stefan Jansak, .Zivot Dr. Pavla Blahu, Vol. I (Tmava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1947), pp. 129-130. (1) �84 SLOVAKIA (3) Srobar related in his memoirs how he became acquainted with Masaryk . What especially impressed him was Masaryk's statement that in religious questions, realism " stood on Christian principles." Vavro Srobar, Z m6jho iivota (Praha: Fr. Borovy , 1946) , p . 181. (4) Ibid ., p. 162 . (5) Jansak, pp . 138 and 141. (6) Ibid., pp . 145-147. An eleven-member editorial board was chosen: Srobar , Blaho, Hodfa , Me dvecky, Zathurecky, Rath, Minarik, Ivanko, Dohnany, Ziak-Somolicky and Jesensky. (7) Ibid., pp. 302-303. (8) Ibid . , pp. 306-307. (9) Ibid. , pp. 208-209 . (10) Ibid., p. 200 . (11) Ibid. , p . 198 Quoted in Anton Stefanek, Slovensko pred prevratom a poi!as prevratu (Praha , 1923), p. 35. (12) Srobar disagreed with Blaho over the national individuality found in Slovak weddings, songs, and costumes . Srobar attacked what he considered to be the backwardness and primitivism of Slovak weddings. He said, "In our weddings, individuals drink and eat to excess . It is necessary to improve and refine the people so that they can be convinced that they can enjoy themselves without becoming inebriated.'' Jansak, p. 259. (13) Milan Hodfa, " Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI (1904) p . 294 . (14) Jansak, p . 197. (15) Ibid., p. 198. (16) Ibid., p. 198 (17) Ibid., pp. 209-210 . Vavro Srobar, Via.do l'udu v demokracii (Praha, 1920), p. 125. (18) Jansak, p. 211. (19) Pavel Blaho , Obrodenie slovenskeho zci.padu (Praha, n .d .) p . 22. (20) Ibid., p . 31. (21) Jansak, p . 306. (22) Ibid . , p . 205 (23) Ibid., p. 206 (24) Ibid . , p. 206. (25) Milan Hodfa "K aktivite slovenskej narodnej strany," Clanky, reti, ~tudie I (Praha, 1935) , pp. 176-177. (26) Hodfa "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI, p. 162. (27) Jansak, p . 330. See Ignotus (Milan Hodfa) Nacionalizmus je slepy," Hlas, V (1903) 97-99 . (28) Vavro Srobar, Politicky problem Slovenska (Praha, 1926) pp. 4-5. (29) Srobar, z m6jho iivota, p. 402 . (30) Ibid ., p . 360. (31) Jansak, p. 335 . (32) Ibid. , p . 335. (33) Ibid . , p. 335. (34) Hodfa, "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI , pp. 295-296. �SLOVAKIA 85 (35) Srobar, Z mojho iivota , pp. 361-362 . (36) Ibid ., p. 362. Jansak, p. 221. (37) Jansak, p . 221. (38) Ibid ., pp. 221-222 . (39) Vavro Srobar, Osvobodene Slovensko (Praha , 1928) . p . 11. (40) Jansak, p. 332. (41) Ibid ., p . 334. (42) See Jansak, p. 217. (43) Vavro Srobar, Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (1914-1918) (Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho, 1922), pp. 177-178. (44) See Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p. 221. (45) Jansak, pp. 200-201. (46) Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p . 36'1 . Srobar, Pamiitizvojnyaz viizenia, p . 176. (47) Srobar, Pamati z vojny a z viizenia, pp. 176-177. (48) Ibid ., pp . 176-177. (49) Srobar, Vldda l'udu v demokracii, p. 88. (50) Ibid. , pp. 87-89. (51) Ibid., p. 92 . (52) Ibid., p . 94 . (53) Ibid ., p. 95. (54) Ibid., p . 95 . (55) Ibid., pp. 95 and 100. (56) Ibid ., p . 106. (57) Ibid ., p. 106. (58) Ibid ., p . 107. (59) Jansak, p . 342. (60) Ibid., pp. 294-295. (61) Ibid ., p. 297. (62) Ibid ., pp . 346-347. (63) Ibid ., p . 347. BIBLIOGRAPHY Blaho, Pavel. Obrodenie slovenskeho zcipadu (The Rebirth of the Slovak West). Praha: Ostredny vybor prednaskovy, n.d. Hlas (The Voice) V, VI, (Ruzomberok), 1903, 1904. Hodia , Milan . Clcinky, re<!i,. studie (Articles, Speeches, Studies). Vol. I, Praha, 1930. Jansak , Stefan . Zivot Dr. Pavla Blaha, (The Life of Dr. Paul Blaho). Vol. I. Trnava: Spolok sv . Vojtecha, 1947 . Srobar, Vavro. Osvobodenie Slovensko (Liberated Slovakia) . Praho, 1928. - - - · Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (Memoirs from the War and from Prison). Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho , 1921. �86 SLOVAKIA _ _ _ . Politicky problem Slovenska (The Political Problem of Slovakia). Praha, 1926. _ _ _ . Vlcida l'udu v demokracii (Government of the People in a Democracy). Praha, 1920. _ _ _ , Z m6jho iivota (From My Life). Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1946. Stefimek, Anton. Slovensko pred prevratom a pot!as prevratu (Slovakia Before 1918 and During 1918). Praha, 1923. � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 76 SLOVAKIA The Ideas of the Hlasist Movement BY ANTHONY SUTHERLAND The Slovak National Revolution of 1918 followed in the wake of the First World War and the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire. It achieved for the Slovaks the first period of political freedom after one thousand years under Magyar domination. Much of the thought and leadership for this liberation came from a small but effective intellectual circle commonly known as the ' 'hlasists ' ' . (1) Named after their periodical, Hlas, the group originated in the mid 1890s among several young Slovak intellectuals who sought new directions for the Slovak national movement . They borrowed from the realism of Thomas Masaryk and the philosophies of Herbert Spencer, William James and others. Although always a minority and never an organized political party, the ' 'hlasists'' had an impact on Slovak political and intellectual history far exceeding their numbers. Besides being a main impetus in the Slovak National Revolution, they provided much of the Slovak leadership in the subsequent First Czecho-Slovak Republic. They represented the first Slovak intellectual movement based on English philosophy. Slovak national politics until then had been dominated largely by the Slovak National Party, a small Lutheran intellectual group headed by the renouned poet-nationalist, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Rooted strongly in German romanticism, the Nationalists sought primarily cultural freedom from Budapest while look4lg to the Russian Empire for assistance and eventual liberation. The "ltlasists" rejected both the outlook and apparent passivity of the Nationalists and insisted on a program of action joined with economic and social reforms. Salvation for the Slovaks, the "hlasists" believed, would come not from Russia but from Western Europe, particularly England, and from close cooperation with the Czechs. In a similar manner, the Czech national movement was influenced by romanticism and marked by vague concepts of Pan Slavism. Thomas Masaryk, the father of Czecho-Slovakia, saw the inadequacy of the Czech politics and so searched for a new political philosophy that would bring about tangible results. In his book Ceska Otazka, Masaryk expressed the need for active politics, education and self-consciousness while criticizing the negativism of the Czech national movement. He added the need for social reform and humanism. (2) The founders and probably best exponents of Slovak realism were Vavro Srobar and Pavel Blaho. Srobar was born in 1867 in Liskova, the fourth of twelve children. After attending local schools, he went to the University of Prague to prepare for a career in medicine. While in SLOVAKIA 77 Prague, Srobar, through the Slavic society, "Detvan", came into contact with Masaryk and his philosophy of realism. (3) Until this time, Srobar was a romantic nationalist clinging to the traditional ideals of Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky and other Nationalists . In 1899 he was even invited by Ambor Pietor to become an editor of Narodne noviny, the voice of the Slovak Nationalist Party, but turned down the offer feeling unfit for the task at that time. (4) Srobar soon began to have doubts about the leadership and direction of the national movement. He became increasingly critical of the Slovak National Party's unrealistic faith in tsarist Russia and the former' s apparent inability to achieve any substantial gains for the Slovak cause. Pavel Blaho (1867-1927), in a similar way, began as a romantic nationalist and ended as a follower of Masaryk's realism. Born in Skalica and educated at the University of Vienna, Blaho became a close collaborator of Srobar and the new generation of Slovak intellectuals. By 1894, both men had been completely converted to Masaryk's realism and were determined to translate realistic principles into Slovakia. One of the first goals of the ''hlasists'' was the publication of a new political review, one completely independent from the Narodne noviny and one which would reflect the new progressive ideals of realism. (5) At a meeting of young Slovak intellectuals held in Turc. Sv. Martin on August 4, 1897, the decision was made to prepare for a new periodical, and at another conference four weeks later the title, Hlas, was selected. (6) During several succeeding conferences the aims and ideology of the new school of realism were put forth and debated. At the yearly conference of 1898 Srobar talked of the ideals and principles of realism but in such vague generalities that he left the one hundred people who attended uncertain over the actual nature of the new philosophy. (7) The 1899 conference in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, attended by some sixty people including such notables as Andrej Hlinka and Karol Kmet'ko, was of far greater practical value. Here Srobar elaborated on the realistic principles placing emphasis on the need for education and performance of 'small deeds' for the people. (8) The "hlasists" had many aims and ideas, some challenging traditional Slovak nationalism, others seemingly impractical or idealistic. Throughout ''hlasist'' thought there was a clear faith in science, in the pragmatic, positivist philosophy and distrust of the methods of the conservative, national movement. Srobar believed that pragmatism and the ability to act were the reasons for America's success. (9) Such a belief in pragmatism, for Srobar, necessitated a knowledge of the truth. The notion of truth was borrowed from Masaryk who once said, "Seek the truth, hear the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, hold on to the truth, defend the truth to the death." (10) Truth to Srobar must replace lies, work was to replace laziness, and love to replace hatred. (11) In the search for truth nothing was held to be too sacred, not national custom, literature, songs or 78 SLOVAKIA anything. (12) Milan Hodza, one of the most gifted members of the "hlasist" group, wrote in Hl,as that Slovak history had to be examined objectively with no preconceived notions or feelings. (13) Once the truth was ascertained, then appropriate action could be taken to produce progress in the national movement. The primacy of truth, according to Srobar, demanded the '' regeneration in the morality of the Slovak man'' (14) but left it unclear as to the exact meaning of this morality . (15) By being better in the moral sense it was hoped the Slovak people would somehow be better equipped to deflect the onslaught of Magyarization. (16) Throughout the history of the ''hlasist'' movement, education was made a paramount objective. Self-enlightenment was the sine qua non of all progress for the "hlasists". It had to be democratic, not limited to the privileged few or for city dwellers but to all levels of society, including farmers, tradesmen, and workers . (17) Blaho emphasized the need for regional specialization in education . Blaho, the author of regionalism in the ''hlasist'' movement, proposed that every district have its own local newspaper to meet local needs as well as to supply information on national events. (18) "Hlasists" believed that national education rather than education for a selected few was necessary for a national movement. Blaho wrote, '' A nation that learns to want and demand begins also to fight and struggle." (19) Blaho, too, along with Hodza believed that with education came economic liberation, another precondition for national liberation. Blaho later wrote, "We want to liberate the people from spiritual darkness, from economic slavery, we want to restore Slovak elementary schools, we want to teach the people the intensive and technical cultivation of the soil. We want to teach them in a trade, to improve production, to teach them to work in business, to work in a cooperative society, we want to teach them to sacrifice for themselves, for their goals, their needs. '' (20) Education of the masses and moral regeneration could be accomplished, according to the "hlasists", dnly by 'work' or by the performance of small deeds, (drobnci prcica). (21) Pragmatism and science possessed little value unless they were translated into action. (22) "Work and only work for the people, for without work it is impossible to imagine a cultural life for the Slovaks," (23) Blaho wrote: "Look, we stand under the protection of the great power which maintains and directs the whole world, we stand under the patronage of abstract work . The entire universe is built on work . ... We fulfill the great law of life when we work.'' The ''hlasist'' virtue of work, although never really explained beyond a general sense, stood in contradiction to the apparent inactivity of traditional Slovak politics. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the "hlasist" movement was the criticism leveled against the Slovak National Party. Since the closing of the Matica Slovenska, the nationalists had accomplished little and it seemed to the "hlasists" SLOVAKIA 79 that they were resigned to their fate. Milan Hodfa charged that the National Party had no real political program. The memorandums of 1848 and 1861 contained only the "Alpha and Omega" of Slovak demands (25) but ignor~d specific economic and social needs. He concluded that nationaliSln alone was insufficient as the basis for national politics. (26) ' ' Hlasists'' concentrated their sharpest attacks on the leader of the National Party, Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. Vajansky was the recognized leader of the nation, the interpreter of national tradition. As the son of the famous Jozef M. Hurban, the 1848 revolutionary leader and pioneer in the work of establishing a separate written Slovak language, his authority not only in literature but in politics went often unquestioned . (27) Vajansky's political and spiritual ideas were based on romanticism and Russian Slavophilism. He believed Slovakia's salvation would come not from the West which he distributed for its materialism and atheism, but from Russia. (28) "Hlasists" saw in Vajansky's philosophy and politics a dangerous fatalism. Liberation would not come from tsarist Russia, Srobar felt, and even if it did, it would lead only to ''tsarist despotism.'' (29) Srobar once wrote, "Hurban is not an active politician yet directs Slovak politics; he likes to judge and condemn. Hurban is a spiritual leader of the nation; his powerful artistic talent is known to implant the soul of the Slovak intelligentsia, its thoughts, desires, ideals. Hurban personifies the entire Slovak intelligentsia." (30) Srobar reacted strongly to Vajansky's statement, ''We are the nation - pars pro toto (a part of the whole),'' (31) making the intelligentsia the national elite. Srobar answered, ''We are not the nation, we are crumbs in the nation, we are servants and not these haughty lords, elite of the nation, but we are the worst part of the nation.'' (32) The nation, Srobar continued, was to be found among the "honest workers, the hand-calloused laborers, among the soiled peasants and tenant farmers ." (33) Hodfa agreed with Srobar that the nation could not be found among a few intellectuals. He wrote in Hlas in 1904: "The nation is the people with all its needs and desires . The nation must be something concrete, calculable and not some fictitious ideal. Therefore then, national culture must not be limited to the intelligentsia; it deserves the name 'national' culture only if it penetrates and inspires all levels of the nation." (34) Srobar was particularly concerned over the direction that Vajansky seemed to be leading Slovak politics. The Slovaks were politically isolated, Srobar recalled, with no real allies or ties with any strong state. (35) Since a continuation of the Nationalist's Russophile policy was out of the question the only ' realistic' alternative the "hlasists" had was to develop closer relations with the Czechs, their closest Slavic neighbor. (36) Although Czech-Slovak cooperation was no invention of Srobar or the other "hlasists", it was their efforts that prepared the way for collaboration during the First World War. 80 SLOVAKIA On the question of Czech-Slovak unity, Srobar was cautiously silent. (37) He said only that it was impossible at this time to talk about political unification with the Czechs. "We reject emphatically all debate a priori about unification of us with the Czech nation in the political sense. There can be no unification in language but only in spirit." (38) Later in 1920, Srobar acknowledged the close cultural and political ties that existed between the two nations. ''The origin of a new written language in Slovakia did not interrupt the conscious tribal (kmen) unity of the Czecho-Slovaks even for one moment. The desire for close cultural, economic, and political unity increased year after year in proportion to the growth of a brutal Magyar suppression.'' (39) Many Slovaks anxiously awaited Vajansky's reaction to "hlasist" attacks, but were left somewhat disappointed. For a long time he said little. (40) In a series of articles appearing in the Narodne noviny Vajansky made references to the youth movement, meaning the "hlasists", as "trivial and childish." (41) It was known that Vajansky was opposed to the Czech orientation and to the placing of economic reforms before political goals. (42) But the most controversial feature of ''hlasist'' views was their critical position taken against the Catholic Church and clerical influence in Slovak society. Srobar attacked the Slovak priesthood as corrupt, materialistic and Magyar in spirit. (43) Since his student days Srobar had begun to question Church authority. (44) Much of this questioning attitude towards the Church was taken from Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy taught that the organized Church had corrupted and formalized Christianity to the extent that it was necessary to return to a primitive type of Christianity as was found in the early Church. In Tolstoy Srobar also discovered support for his idea of truth as the most important element in dealing with social problems. Tolstoy said all the revolutions of the nineteenth century lacked this principle of truth. It is not necessary to merely proclaim truth but to act on it. (45) Srobar looked at the Slovak problem as largely a religious problem. (46) Slovaks, he said, cared for little else but religion. Art, science, politics concerned them only to the extent that they served religious needs. (47) Slovak Catholics, Srobar believed, although sincere and pious, were infected with superstition and f~talism. He wrote: ''Great masses of the Slovak people designate thems~lves, 'I am a Catholic' or 'I am a Lutheran', but the faiths of the Slovaks are not joined in one unit but left divided. The faith of Slovaks is pure, sincere, but the content of their faith is completely pagan, fetishistic, superstitious, fatalistic . . . . Here is where I expect the guarantee of our fall. All our people have fallen to this decadent Catholicism." (48) It would be a mistake, however, to label Srobar at this time as an atheist or an irreverent Christian, for many of his early writings reveal a sincere religious faith. His disagreement was not with Catholicism but with the adverse influence it seemed to have on the development of SLOVAKIA 81 the nation. Srobar was opposed to anything resembling a theocratic type state and one which did not permit freedom of thought and expression. His arguments for freedom of conscience were founded in Christ's teaching, "Seek the truth and the truth will free you," adding that one who did not support the free search for truth was in violation of divine teaching. (49) Freedom of conscience, for Srobar, was a precondition for all progress, economic and social. To stifle the free quest for truth would ~ot only stagnate a society's growth but ultimately destroy that society. (50) He wrote: Without freedom of conscience and conviction there is no life for a dignified man, only the animal in man remains, in one degree of development. A man must teach and educate himself every day, that is seek and know the truth because who seeks the truth enriches his knowledge and becomes more learned than one who does not seek the truth. And if this law is applicable for the individual, that he educate and perfect himself, then it is even important for the entire nation. Free and educated nations enslave backward and uncultured nations. And he who cries and calls names at progress in a nation is the greatest enemy of his nation because he wants his nation to remain in darkness and ignorance so that nothing new is passed or begun. (51) At the same time, Srobar did not deny the necessity of good religious and moral standards for a healthy society. Srobar traced the evolution of moral standards. In primitive societies customs comprised the moral code. During the " age of faith" religious laws provided this same code . Later, in the age of democracy, faith and customs had lost their value, thus moral feelings of men had to be "more sincere, one had to perform voluntarily what he was once forced to do." (52) A man committed to religious ideals, Srobar continued, would be better able to serve the state than one lacking any religious conviction. (53) Srobar felt the neglect of moral faith was the foremost weakness of modern times . He wrote: Religious feelings, because they are developed from morality and fear of God have directed and controlled the natural impulses of man from time immemorial. A devout, religious man better performs his obligations towards himself, his family, and all society than a man without principles, without religion, or a man standing purely on materialism. Modern times forget the harmonious cultivation of reason and feeling and so becomes one-sided and superficial. A wise democracy expends all its efforts so that this harmonious culture among its citizenry is not forgotten. (54) 82 SLOVAKIA But, while Srobar did not completely reject organized religion, he did advocate that its activity be limited to purely spiritual concerns while leaving material questions to politicians. (55) Both church and state should exist, in Srobar's view, in a harmonious union but they had to remain separated. Srobar warned against religious intolerance which he defined as "hatred and anger against one's neighbor," (56) and against clericalism. Every unhappy nation, Srobar added, has a clerical leader at its head, and no class or political prejudice is as dangerous as religious intolerance. (57) "Every Slovak who holds dear freedom and independence for his homeland, who desires that we not remain under Magyar enslavement, who wants to rule himself, will avoid clerical slavery." (58) Such assaults on the Church caused the expected reaction and probably accounted for the defection of most of the clerical leaders from the " hlasist" camp. During the first few years of "hlasist" activity, the response by many Catholic priests was favorable . Several Catholic priests corresponded regularly with the "hlasists". Jozef Buday, a noted priest in the People's Party, complimented Blaho in 1898 on Hlas for exposing the nation's weaknesses . In a letter to Blaho of July 14, 1898, Buday wrote, " Therefore, with unspeakable joy I wish the periodical Hlas the most beautiful secure future, and I welcome you as its author, as its intrepid fighter for the development of the Slovak nation and as a sacrificing leader of Slovak youth on the thorny, spiral path of national life." (59) The following year Buday submitted an article for Hlas in which he recommended that priests not turn their backs on modem science and progress but take part in modem movements. The famous priest Ferdis Juriga supported the movement of Hlas towards moral regeneration. (60) But perhaps the most enthusiastic clerical supporter of Hlas was the priest and later Magyarone, Frantisek Jehlicka. He eagerly volunteered to work to obtain subscriptions for Hlas, telling Blaho, ''I want to become an eternal subscriber to Hlas." (61) Soon, however, many priests including Jehlicka became disillusioned with "hlasist" radicalism and seemingly irreligious attitudes. Many Slovak clerics were no doubt faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they supported the progressivism of the "hlasists", but on the other hand, they could not accept their questioning attitude towards Church authority. Leaders in the Lutheran Church were in ~ similar position. They praised the '' hlasists'' but also cautioned them about condemning the entire old intelligentsia. They warned them against looking abroad for foreign ideas to follow, when good ideas could be found at home. (62) Reassuring the Lutheran hierarchy, Blaho said, " ... we want to reform by work and not destroy the work of our fathers, not attack the church in dogma, ... we want to be better." (63) The "hlasists" remained a small, disorganized group of men possessing a variety of ideas. Despite all the alleged radicalism at- SLOVAKIA 83 tributed to them , the "hlasists" were quite traditional in many respects, at least during the first few years of their activity. There was never an attempt to break completely from the past but efforts were made to reconcile realistic principles with Slovak tradition, with the ideas of Stur and other leaders. The spiritual nature found throughout the works of Slovak nationalists was unmistakably evident in many "hlasist" writings, particularly those of Srobar. A good portion of "hlasist" thinking involved introspection or analysis of the nation's soul or character. In this respect "hlasists" were no different from the generations of Slovak thinkers that came before them. Even in their 'Czechoslovak' position, they were at first moderate . They were admirers of the Czechs and their culture, but they did not deny Slovak national individuality. Cooperation with the Czechs was viewed as the only realistic alternative, the only politically expedient course. Later, however, many "hlasists" became zealous supporters of Prague centralism, and some even adhered to the fictitious idea of the 'Czechoslovak' nation. Their Czechoslovak orientation before 1914 guaranteed the "hlasists" several leadership posts in the First Czecho-Slovak Republic. Srobar was chosen Minister Plenipotentiary for Slovakia during the first months of the republic, while other "hlasists" dominated the remaining Slovak posts. During the critical years of the First World War it was often the '' hlasists'' rather than the Nationalists or Populists who took the decisive action calling for national conferences, issuing declarations of independence, or working with foreign governments. Hlinka and others often hesitated, moved more cautiously, thus possibly losing some of the leadership in the new republic. Although popular at first, the "hlasists" gradually lost support from many quarters. Buday, Juriga and other priests lost all confidence in the ''hlasists'' because of their increasing radicalism, their free thinking, and their Czechoslovakism. The main significance of the ''hlasist'' movement, though, was in providing a journal and an atmosphere for critical, secular thought in Slovakia. This brought some progress, it might be argued; on the other hand, it meant tragedy for the Slovak nation. The ''hlasists'' seriously divided the Slovak national intelligentsia before 1914 and brought an end to the once united national movement. FOOTNOTES Included in the hlasist group were: Vavro Srobar, Pavel Blaho, Milan Hodia, Anton Stefanek. (2) Stefan Jansak, .Zivot Dr. Pavla Blahu, Vol. I (Tmava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1947), pp. 129-130. (1) 84 SLOVAKIA (3) Srobar related in his memoirs how he became acquainted with Masaryk . What especially impressed him was Masaryk's statement that in religious questions, realism " stood on Christian principles." Vavro Srobar, Z m6jho iivota (Praha: Fr. Borovy , 1946) , p . 181. (4) Ibid ., p. 162 . (5) Jansak, pp . 138 and 141. (6) Ibid., pp . 145-147. An eleven-member editorial board was chosen: Srobar , Blaho, Hodfa , Me dvecky, Zathurecky, Rath, Minarik, Ivanko, Dohnany, Ziak-Somolicky and Jesensky. (7) Ibid., pp. 302-303. (8) Ibid . , pp. 306-307. (9) Ibid. , pp. 208-209 . (10) Ibid., p. 200 . (11) Ibid. , p . 198 Quoted in Anton Stefanek, Slovensko pred prevratom a poi!as prevratu (Praha , 1923), p. 35. (12) Srobar disagreed with Blaho over the national individuality found in Slovak weddings, songs, and costumes . Srobar attacked what he considered to be the backwardness and primitivism of Slovak weddings. He said, "In our weddings, individuals drink and eat to excess . It is necessary to improve and refine the people so that they can be convinced that they can enjoy themselves without becoming inebriated.'' Jansak, p. 259. (13) Milan Hodfa, " Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI (1904) p . 294 . (14) Jansak, p . 197. (15) Ibid., p. 198. (16) Ibid., p. 198 (17) Ibid., pp. 209-210 . Vavro Srobar, Via.do l'udu v demokracii (Praha, 1920), p. 125. (18) Jansak, p. 211. (19) Pavel Blaho , Obrodenie slovenskeho zci.padu (Praha, n .d .) p . 22. (20) Ibid., p . 31. (21) Jansak, p . 306. (22) Ibid . , p . 205 (23) Ibid., p. 206 (24) Ibid . , p. 206. (25) Milan Hodfa "K aktivite slovenskej narodnej strany," Clanky, reti, ~tudie I (Praha, 1935) , pp. 176-177. (26) Hodfa "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI, p. 162. (27) Jansak, p . 330. See Ignotus (Milan Hodfa) Nacionalizmus je slepy," Hlas, V (1903) 97-99 . (28) Vavro Srobar, Politicky problem Slovenska (Praha, 1926) pp. 4-5. (29) Srobar, z m6jho iivota, p. 402 . (30) Ibid ., p . 360. (31) Jansak, p. 335 . (32) Ibid. , p . 335. (33) Ibid . , p. 335. (34) Hodfa, "Realizmus u nas," Hlas VI , pp. 295-296. SLOVAKIA 85 (35) Srobar, Z mojho iivota , pp. 361-362 . (36) Ibid ., p. 362. Jansak, p. 221. (37) Jansak, p . 221. (38) Ibid ., pp. 221-222 . (39) Vavro Srobar, Osvobodene Slovensko (Praha , 1928) . p . 11. (40) Jansak, p. 332. (41) Ibid ., p . 334. (42) See Jansak, p. 217. (43) Vavro Srobar, Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (1914-1918) (Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho, 1922), pp. 177-178. (44) See Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p. 221. (45) Jansak, pp. 200-201. (46) Srobar, Z mojho iivota, p . 36'1 . Srobar, Pamiitizvojnyaz viizenia, p . 176. (47) Srobar, Pamati z vojny a z viizenia, pp. 176-177. (48) Ibid ., pp . 176-177. (49) Srobar, Vldda l'udu v demokracii, p. 88. (50) Ibid. , pp. 87-89. (51) Ibid., p. 92 . (52) Ibid., p . 94 . (53) Ibid ., p. 95. (54) Ibid., p . 95 . (55) Ibid., pp. 95 and 100. (56) Ibid ., p . 106. (57) Ibid ., p. 106. (58) Ibid ., p . 107. (59) Jansak, p . 342. (60) Ibid., pp. 294-295. (61) Ibid ., p. 297. (62) Ibid ., pp . 346-347. (63) Ibid ., p . 347. BIBLIOGRAPHY Blaho, Pavel. Obrodenie slovenskeho zcipadu (The Rebirth of the Slovak West). Praha: Ostredny vybor prednaskovy, n.d. Hlas (The Voice) V, VI, (Ruzomberok), 1903, 1904. Hodia , Milan . Clcinky, re<!i,. studie (Articles, Speeches, Studies). Vol. I, Praha, 1930. Jansak , Stefan . Zivot Dr. Pavla Blaha, (The Life of Dr. Paul Blaho). Vol. I. Trnava: Spolok sv . Vojtecha, 1947 . Srobar, Vavro. Osvobodenie Slovensko (Liberated Slovakia) . Praho, 1928. - - - · Pamiiti z vojny a z viizenia (Memoirs from the War and from Prison). Praha: Nakladom Gustava Dubskeho , 1921. 86 SLOVAKIA _ _ _ . Politicky problem Slovenska (The Political Problem of Slovakia). Praha, 1926. _ _ _ . Vlcida l'udu v demokracii (Government of the People in a Democracy). Praha, 1920. _ _ _ , Z m6jho iivota (From My Life). Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1946. Stefimek, Anton. Slovensko pred prevratom a pot!as prevratu (Slovakia Before 1918 and During 1918). Praha, 1923.  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 Ideas of the Hlasist Movement Description An account of the resource Anthony Sutherland Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 76-86 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sutherland, Anthony X. (Anthony Xavier) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1d03466e355cfdad7b25342ce320a66c.pdf 150d6e4c02c48cbfd5c70d17ffdd573c PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 87 AN ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK UTERA TURE Introductory Remarks ANDREW CINCURA \ An Anthology of Slovak Literature, compiled recently with financial support from The Rockefeller Foundation, presents the most representative selections from the works of over 70 Slovak authors. Consisting primarily of translations from Slovak poetry, prose , and drama, this anthology contains, in addition, a general introduction by Dr. Michael Novak, a long aesthetic-historical essay "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Dr. Karol StrmeN, and an appendix presenting several selections from Slovak-American authors. Several scholars and artists, including the well-known Slovak-American poet, Reverend Jaroslav J. Vajda, and American poet and scholar, Dr. Michael Collings , assisted the compiler in the project. The Anthology of Slovak Literature is - in the words of Dr. Novak - ''a work of major importance (connecting) the United States and one other small part of the world . . . This anthology is done with taste, intelligence, judgment, and perception. I read it with excitement, and I am sure that hundreds of thousands of others from Eastern Europe will find in it nourishment over the next generation, for it is a landmark book, certain to endure. " Although just a minute part of the work itself, the following excerpts from An Anthology of Slovak Literature will give the reader a foretaste of the character and artistry of the book. An Anthology of Slovak Literature has been available since May 1, 1976, at : University Hardcovers P . 0. Box 248 Riverside , California 92502 or from the major Slovak newspapers and bookstores throughout the United States and Canada. If ordered directly from the publisher, the price of the book is $16.50 for individual copies. A discount of 10 percent will be given on orders of 5-10 copies , and a discount of 20 percent on orders of 11 or more copies. The following selections are reprinted with perrmss10n of University Hardcovers, P. 0 . Box 248, Riverside, California 92502, from An Anthology of Slovak Literature by Andrew Cincura. Copyright © 1976 by Andrew Cincura. �88 SLOVAKIA On Skulls JAN HOLLY (1785-1849) Tell me, you skulls, so neatly stacked in dark bone-bins, whose were you once, a peasant's or a lord's? Which one of you was held aloof on a wealthy, mighty neck, and which drooped languid from a beggar's spine? Upon which, while alive, did fortune cast her smile, and which was crushed by lifelong slavery? Is this one whiter from the fawning adulation so many offered it in lavish awe? And that one darker having suffered undeserved ingratitude and cruel ridicule? Speechless in terrifying silence, not one of you is able to give me an answer to my question. In frightful heaps you lie, looking so very much like gathered shards of stony desolations; or like those grief-bent forests when the white-maned wind denudes them of their leafy captivating beauty. So when a man is gone: with him all honor dies and glory and every deference bestowed by others. (Ba1ne rozmanite, n. d.) Translated by J aroslav J. Vajda �SLOVAKIA God in Heaven \ AN"DREJ SLADKOVIC (1820-1872) God in heaven , see what sorrow when our young are cast abroad out into the world to borrow, toil, or beg a crust of bread. See them mercilessly driven, scattered by life's cruel hoax, what were solitary ravens have become falcon flocks . God in heaven, thus forsaken, if I stay, what can I earn? Into this world came I naked, naked I shall there return . In that hour, pray, be responsive to my final, inmost need: mercy , God, 0 God, have mercy when I stand alone with Thee. Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 89 �90 SLOVAKIA Bloody Sonnets (a fragment) PA VOL ORSAGH-HVIEZDOSLAV (1849-1921) I A song of blood: - what madness can this be? And which shall be our theme? The sudden rush rose-red, that leaps into a maiden 's blush, the sleeping infant's pink we love to see , that pulses under angel custody ; or shall it be the ardent crimson gush that fires the zealot 's brow with fervid flush: then let the song resound with rapture free! Oh, blood is a wonder-working fluid! Hidden like some rare vintage seething ~ithin the heart , it pounds with the might and rage of tempest-ridden breakers ; or bursting the tranquil pulse apart, it charges one with frenzy God-forbidden . .. Do thoughts like these engage the butcher's art? Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda �SLOVAKIA The Guests , IVANKRASKO (1876-1958) Courteously , though with a mystic fearfulness, I welcomed nonetheless my funeral guests, somber, with psalters under thei:r arms, having arrived from distant lands . Ceremonially , with chalky, dry and bony hands each reverenced the icon of my dusty home, and bowing to the waist (to me - if not, to whom?), they sat around the table , a solemn, black-swathed ring. Searching the psalter for long-lost hymns, they then began to sing in deep sepulchral voice - the harshest kind of air of bitter fruit the tree of life was found to bear, of Mother Earth's original condition - as one she was before the thrice-cursed lust of slithering Diabolos ... And then as gloomily they left (under the smiles of those who never dared to take from Eve the apple of her wiles), and said they would return to us again next year to visit those they now considered brothers, or at least as near. Eunice! Where are you? Look how one by one they disappear. (Verse, 1912) Translated by Jaroslav J . Vajda 91 �92 SLOVAKIA The Hundred and First Tale of Boccaccio VALENTIN BENIAK (1894-1973) Quill in hand, I wrote a letter home: I shall stay on till Autumn here in Florence. And yes, I met Boccaccio carrying his Decameron, followed by a band of noble virgins. One I knew - Donna Clara - led her beast and handed me the leather bridle as she went. In Fiesole we met a priest bearing on his shoulder a battered trident. Neptune it was, reaping hay - despite his wont the pagan seas had scorned him, one and all. ''Sir,'' he asked, ' 'might you be the Duke of Brabant on your way to my confessional?" He would have liked the stole and blessed oil, would pray my soul to heaven's halls, would hire wicked men to toil rip Botticelli's Venus from the U(fizi's walls . . Slip her from her canvas world - be done! she would return with him to her sea-home . (For this is but the hundredth tale and one, carved from Carrara marble and sea-foam.) (Ozveny krokov, 1931) Translated by Andrew Cincura �SLOVAKIA ' Carmen EMIL B. LUKAC (1900) Dance and sing, you naked bajadera, throughout this long and melancholy era. Dance and sing, the golden calf is bleating, and dragon claws the kettle-fires are heating. In flaming dance your many limbs entwine to form a beast half-hydra, half-divine. Dance and sing, you universal axis, you contradictory, convoluted maxims: maze, lie, and death - not way and truth and life. Dance and sing, deaf.to the din of strife. The blood of millions suck, you golden flea. Machine guns bark, and cracks the gallows-tree. (Moloch, 1938) Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 93 �94 SLOVAKIA Two Days at Chujava (a Iragment) JONASZABORSKY (1812-1876) Zajac, a slovenly peasant and the village clown, entered the inn's hall. The youngsters surrounded him at once, and, as always, he launched into a narrative of his heroic exploits inBombardy. (1) "Every Bombardian bee, believe me, is as large as a Slovak sheep," Zajac said, to introduce his story. "And what about the beehives - how large are they?" Pelechavy asked from the other side of the table, smiling broadly. "Only as large as ours." "Then how can the bees enter the beehives?" "That's their problem, "the ex-hussar Zajac roared, laughing and half-seriously accusing Pelechavy of r.itting at the table without ever touching his full glass . "Why don't you drink like all the other right men do? May a hundred thunderclaps deafen your soul.'' A guffaw shook the room. The men emptied their glasses, while the Jewish innkeeper did his best to keep them filled. Zajac continued with his tall tales: "Did you know that macaroni is really nothing but tapeworms seventy yards long? People buy them by the foot. To eat macaroni, all one has to do is sit in the most comfortable position, open his mouth, and let the tapeworm run down his throat by itself, while the waitress measures its length by the yard and cuts it with scissors when the customer has eaten his fill.'' Zajac then related the tale of his love affair with an Italian countess. "As soon as I rode into the castle yard," he said, "she started to wink at me, her mouth watering with anticipation. She thought, 'By Jove, there's a lad. I'm sure he has no eq~al in the entire world!' And when I dismounted and handed my horse over to the servant, she shook my hand and took me by arm, saying, ''If you will, please!' Then we went into the house. After a good supper, she prepared a bed for her husband on the bench at the hearth. 'You'll sleep here tonight,' she said, patting his arm, 'but please be quiet and don't disturb the hussar in his sleep.' - For me she spread a sheaf of straw on the floor in the middle of the room. The count, listening to her soft conversation with me, coughed and said, 'Erzha, is that hussar whispering with you?' " 'So what if he is?' " 'Why don't you stop him?' the count said. " 'I can't. I don't speak his language,' the countess replied." �SLOVAKIA 95 '' And what about your meeting with Napoleon?'' a youngster with a broom-like feather on his hat called, prompting Zajac to further narration. '' All right, listen! WhE!n the Frenchmen had annoyed us with their frequent attacks, our Emperor met with his generals to find out which one of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers wore his cap most rakishly and would therefore be best suited to be sent to Napoleon . All the generals, of course, agreed that only I, Zajac, was the proper hero, willing and able to go on such an important mission. I mounted my horse and was off to Paris. On my arrival there, I tethered my horse to a fence . Mrs. Napoleon, the Empress of France, immediately ran to me, bringing oats for my horse in her apron and taking me into her kitchen . She cooked pirohy (a) for me, filled with minced pears. They were really good, better than any I'd ever seen or tasted! Large as peasant moccasins, they were greased with the tallow collected from seven melted candles. I swear to God, they were so good that the grease flowed down my chin as profusely as down Aaron's beard. I ate almost two of them. As an extra treat the Empress also cooked hriate (b) and baked pag<ice (c) with cracklings for my return trip." "And what about Napoleon?" "Well, he patted my shoulder and said, ' My dear fellow! I wish I had a regiment of hussars like you! With men like you I would easily conquer the entire world, and all the nations in it.' - And you should have seen it - I give you my word of honor and cross my heart - he embraced and kissed me as if I were his lady love.'' "And did he sue for peace?" ' 'Of course , what else could he do when I asked him to? He gave me ten farthings for whisky and asked me to convince our Emperor and generals not to stir until he took over as many lands as he wanted. He whetted his appetite for our Bombardy (1) and bombarded us out of it, may thunder and lightning strike his sideways-turned hat! We looked around, hoping that some Cossack would appear and help us, but the world is ungrateful! We assisted the Frenchmen in Crimea against the Muscovites and the thankless Muscovites did not come to repay our courtesy and help us against the Frenchmen. That's the kind of honor you find in this world! . . . " "You' re the greatest liar I've ever seen! " Buchak remarked, wiping his moustache. ''Yes, and all of you are great fools,'' the ex-hussar Zajac laughed. "You should take my words as seriously as you take the print on paper money, which sa: ·s you may exchange it for silver any time, or believe me as much as yo I can the saying that all men are equal." (1883) (Translated by Andrew Cincura) �96 SLOVAKIA NOTES: jocular term for Lombardy . Lombardy belonged to the AustroHungarian Empire until 1859. (1) Bombardy - (a) pirohy - cheese or fruit dumplings (b) hriate - hot whisky with goose-fat topping (c) pagace (pagaache) - small unsweetened cakes The nDiscovery" of Gunpowder (a frag111cnt) TEREZIA VANSOV A (1857-1941) Autumn had progressed considerably, but our children were still enjoying the golden freedom of summer vacation. In our village, there was a tradition that school started only after the Tisovec Fair. After the pupil's mothers had sold a goose or a piece of homespun linen and had bought clothes for their children and the primers with the picture of a rooster on the front cover. Then, and only then, could the children walk proudly to school. Our boys conducted great military maneuvers in the parsonage orchard. Danny, who continually pestered Srnchik with his questions about military strategy, commanded his "rank-and-file" comrades, who were equipped with wooden sabres, guns, and a supply of dry-pea bullets in their pockets. One-two-one-two - the company marched up the orchard path, and when Danny thought they had reached their position, he called, "H-a-a-a-1-t!" Then he turned to his "men" and drilled them in the proper ways of military know-how. He was naturally dissatisfied with the over-all results. The ''men'' halted, once with one leg in the forward position, then with the ~ther. Some of them were stooped, some crooked; some did not add to iih.e glory of the tight-knit military unit at all. "How are you standing there, Private Misho? Don't you know anything about proper military bearing? Up! Straighten your legs! No, no! Don't stand there like a duckling! Pull your belly in! Out with your chest!'' Misho tried his best, but he never succeeded in acquiring a proper stance. His face was one broad grin. He opened his mouth wide and held his hands tightly to his knees (his monkey-like hands actually reached lower than his knees!). Yet regardless of his efforts, he was never praised for his achievements. �SLOVAKIA 97 Then Danny drilled the ''troops'' in the proper use of weapons, but he became really upset when even his own gun refused to obey his command. "F-i-r-e! F-i-r-e!" Danny repeated in exasperation. What was the purpose of military games without a weapon that really shoots? Why use a weapon which neither fires nor kills? He had already almost worn out his brains in an effort to acquire gunpowder. What all he had done, and all for nothing! He would have bought some powder, and he certainly could have obtained the money for it somehow. But what good would it do when neither he nor any of his comrades were big enough to buy powder in Tisovec. He was just a child, and his request, however small, would have been considered too dangerous anyway. Danny's friend Johnny had not taken part in the military drill today. Johnny would have been subject to a reprimand from his stem commander had he not appeared when the game was about to end. Running through the orchard, Johnny finally stopped near the formation. With a book in his hand, he waved and shouted, almost out of breath, "Hurrah, we've got gunpowder!" The boys turned around. Forgetting their military discipline, they jumped out of their lines and surrounded Johnny. Johnny showed them the book - the Almanac of Fejerpataky. The boys stopped, bewildered. They thought their comrade had brought some real gunpowder with him; and instead, he only showed them an old book. Danny snatched the book from Johnny's hand and asked with contempt and suspicion, "Why did you bring this book?" "Here, look! Here it is!" Johnny replied, still gasping for breath. "What?" Danny asked impatiently. ''The formula for making gunpowder!'' Johnny's reply electrified Danny. "Let's see!" He grabbed the book again, sank to the turf, and started to turn the leaves. Johnny showed him the article in the almanac. Both boys plunged into reading and quickly forgot their comrades, who resumed their own play. Danny studied the well-known recipe like a cook about the prepare a tasty cake. While reading, he wondered how he could obtain and measure all the ingredients necessary for gunpowder. Seventy-five parts saltpeter (but what is "saltpeter" and where he could buy it?); eleven parts sulfur (ah, he had it; luckily, he had already taken some from his father's supply); and fourteen parts hazel-wood charcoal (that's the easiest to get: they could cut hazel twigs anywhere, and they could bum charcoal by themselves). The scales for weighing the ingredients? No problem - they would construct it from twigs, strings, and an apple. And now to work! Danny stood up, his face gleaming. He gave the necessary instructions immediately. The boys were to go tomorrow morning to cut hazel wood. They were to store the supply at the upper end of the orchard, and they were to build a charcoal-pile there. Johnny was to go to Tisovec to buy saltpeter. (Danny knew that he could not get any �98 SLOVAKIA himself because of his previous "contacts" with the city merchants.) Danny would try to find out what saltpeter was and where they could buy it. The orders dispensed, Danny hit the shortest path to his grandmother' s. He found her in front of her house thrashing hemp. He addressed her directly, "Grandma!" "What do you want, my son?" ' 'What ' s saltpeter?'' "Saltpeter?" the old woman repeated the question with surprise. "What is he dabbling in now, this Danny?" she thought with suspicion, unable to find a good reason behind the question. She was familiar with saltpeter, a harmless ingredient which was used for certain jobs in the household. She told him that the druggists in Tisovec kept saltpeter in their stores. This information was all Danny needed. Early the next morning, he sent Johnny to the city with three farthings to buy the saltpeter. In the meantime, Danny found a large apple, a "funtovka" apple (1) growing in the school garden, cut the apple in two equal halves, carving them into bowl-like plates, he attached the two halves first to strings and then to twigs arranged as primitive scales. When the charcoal was prepared and all the ingredients collected, he weighed the proper amounts of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, triturated every ingredient separately, and mixed them together. It made a little pile when he poured the mixture on a sheet of paper. He was as pleased with the feat as a chemist might have been with a successful experiment in his laboratory. The boys soon found that their experiment was successful, when one of them put the compound on the fire; the gunpowder wheezed up and hit Mis ho directly on his nose, for he was too curious and had stuck his head close to the compound "to see everything better." Fortunately, the amount allotted for the experiment was small, and Misho's accident thus was not too serious. A.similar result was attained in another experiment when one of the boys ~laced a capsule on a stone and hit it with another stone. The explosion again produced "casualties" - one "well-done thumb" and one "medium-done nose.'' The boys' summer games were brought to a sudden end with the announcement that school would open and classes would begin again immediately after the Tisovec Fair. (1934) Translated by Andrew Cincura NOTE: (1) funt (Slovak) - "pound. " "Funtovky" (pl.; funtovka, sg.) are very large apples that grow in Central Europe. In Slovak folk etymology, they are supposed to weigh at least one pound each. �SLOVAKIA 99 More About the Fair (11 fr1111111ent) MARTIN KUKUCfN (1860-1928) \ An African afternoon heat seemed to rest on our exhilarated city. There was almost no shade, not even next to the house walls. The sun was inescapable, burning mercilessly as if trying to suck the last drop of moisture from emaciated, desiccated Mother Earth. And still no one even thought of hitting the bunk for an hour or so, as the human constitution should require, especially after a festive dinner, when limbs become as heavy as lead and eyelids droop; when a sweet dream flutters about despite straining efforts to keep one's eyes open. Eyes grow stiff and seem to be bulging and enveloped by a fog in which objects merge with each other. In the end, you cannot do anything but give up and lie down sinking deeply into the embraces of a sweet nap. But who could have slept this afternoon? Recently rising from the table to sip black coffee, everyone shook off his drowsiness and went off to the square. The entire city swarmed and dawdled among the tents, buying and extorting presents without shyness or courtesy. Everyone was happy, alert, and lively. The bells, tolling four o'clock, put an end to the hurly-burly. At once the square became as empty as if swept. The tents were closed, and people either entered the church or - not finding a place inside surrounded the church in a numberless mass. After somewhat abbreviated vespers, a procession started. People forged out of the church in waves, reeling from side to side, and finally taking their position in rows. The most difficult task remained - to set the procession in motion. At the head there were school children under the church banner, followed by endless rows of men. Two by two, each of the men carried a faintly-smoldering candle into the dazzling sun's rays. The young boys following the men carried huge candles and torches in multicolored lanterns. The church banners fluttered in the air, then hung limply as the faint breeze died in the torrid stillness. Then the church kantadurs (1) marched under the ,leadership of mester (2) Ivo, all singing monotonous psalms with strong but dragging voices. The echo of their song thundered amid the houses and immediately died in the dead silence of the surroundings. Four youngsters in white albs, walking after the singers, carried on their shoulders the statue of the Virgin Mary, removed from the main altar. Mary sat majestically, with the smiling child on her knees. Crowns of pure gold glittered on the heads �100 SLOVAKIA of the Mother and Son. The Christ-Child spread his plump hands as if surprised by the sudden trip from the gloomy altar niche into the blinding sun. A brocade-like garment fell in colorful folds down the statue of the Mother of God. The image, laden with jewels and precious stones, glittered, flashed, and sparkled. After the company of priests, led by our Don Roko in a festive cape, sor Ilija Zorkovic walked in black clothes, with a hard hat in one hand and a black cane trimmed with a massive silver handle in the other. He walked alone. Pacing slowly and gravely, he looked neither to the right nor to the left, conscious of his authority and elevated rank which surpassed all the other laymen in the procession. Ilija is the chairman of the church board, curator and controller of all church holdings. He is responsible for the care of church fields and wine cellars. He manages the wine until it is sold to the merchants. Everything in the church - even the candles used in such large numbers every year - rests on his shoulders. He is, in addition, the manager of the Virgin Mary, the patroness of our city - he protects all jewelry and precious stones, earrings and golden chains, bracelets and rings. Sor Ilija Zorkovic keeps all the trinkets that are hung and poured over the statue in his own house in a heavy, ironbound chest. Such a grave responsibility entails much work and many pains, but the reward is splendid - during every procession, he occupies the most prominent place, alone, right behind the baldachin, before the eyes of the entire world, seen by friends and enemies, well-wishers and envious men. Why should his chest not swell with pride and self-assurance? Why should he not walk seriously and solemnly? Behind sor Ilija Zorkovic came the mayor surrounded by all the assessors. The mayor, too, walked gravely, but one way or another, his entire countenance was a far cry from Zorkovic's. After the representatives of the opcina, (4) there was a gap of five or six paces in the procession - the women walking separately behind the men's rows. The military retinue, with rifles on, their shoulders and their "hay-straw, hay-straw" cadence, flanked the statue and priests on both sides. · It was really a magnificent sight! The continuous tolling of the bells - urgent, fancy, heavy, tremulous - you name it! The bellman, holding the clapper in his fist and shaking it with his hand, struck the bell. Everyone looked forward to the procession; for weeks and weeks everyone delighted in its anticipation. Every member of the family took part in it if he had strength enough to move his limbs. Doddering elders, hardly able to drag their feet, were present, as were the little children, just managing their first attempts to stay on their feet. Mothers carried infants in their arms, so that no one would miss the procession. Among those present, there were also many non-residents. Many guests took pains to join the procession to express their devotion to the Mother of God either for restored health or for other favors �SLOVAKIA 101 granted them or their relatives. No wonder, then, that the magnificence and number of participants serve as a gauge for evaluating whether the fair was a complete or only a partial success. And the "mark" of relative success or failure was an important thing - every citizen was proud if his city's fair was famous far and wide . The entire processioJJ. dragged slowly across the square and through the short street, out,of the city toward the cross standing in the flat field on a marble pedestal. From there, following the promenade, the procession returned to the city, submerging into narrow alleys, flanked either by blunt fence walls or one-story houses . The streets were swept and sprinkled with white sand. The balconies of the more stately houses were transformed into fragrant flower groves; draperies or ornamental rugs hung from the windows and banisters . Even the teiaks (5) decorated their cottages for the occasion. The low roofs of some cottages were covered with flowerpots. In other cottages - those with marriageable daughters - the girls spread their dowries out on the roofs or on adjacent stone walls. The school children had already entered the narrow streets when sora (6) Andrejana's group was just leaving the church yard. The stylish young misses, as always, remained at the very end of the procession. Because of their relative distance from the statue of the Virgin, they may have forgotten the reason for their presence. While the lingering song of the church singers reverberated and a muffled prayer recited with the rosary beads murmured above the crowd, whispered conversations and giggles flowed among the young ladies, accompanied by glances cast toward the balcony of Citaonica (7) where a number of the young elite assembled to see the magnificent march. It is necessary to stress that hardly any of the young ladies wore a hat in most cases they wore black veils with the ends flowing picturesquely down their breasts. Since they had no parasols, they held fans in their hands, and were able to throw coquettish glances here and there, to the side or up toward the windows. The merchants remained at their tents. With the approach of the procession, they fell to their knees , contritely beating their chests. The bells warbled and tinkled. Dust clouds rose, especially behind the women. The mortars thundered in volleys. Sor Hija Zorkovic tied a knot on the cord in his hand after every volley, in order to have an exact count of the gunpowder used and prevent youngsters from stealing part of the explosives for hunting rabbits or partridges. And the Mother of God looked down kindly from her throne. Her Son , as if bewildered, threw his chubby hands about, smiling. With almost vertical rays, the sun blazed from above, and the dark-blue sky seemed to stretch absent-mindedly above this multicolored world. (1904) Translated by Andrew Cincura �102 SLOVAKIA Note: "More About the Fair," a fragment from Kukucin's novel, Dom u strcini (The House on the Hillside), is fundamentally a representative sample of the author's "second creative period," which coincided with his life in Dalmatia. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) kantadurs (Dalmatian): singers mester (meshter, Dalmatian): master sor (shor, Dalmatian): mister, sir opcina (Croatian): commune, township teiaks (tezhaks, Croatian): poor peasants, farm hands sora (shora, Dalmatian): Mrs. citaonica (chitaonica, Croatian): reading club, library Joe Mak (a fr111111ent) JOZEF CIGER-HRONSKY (1896-1960) Just as Joe Mak returned on Thursday afternoon from hauling and had finished watering his horses, his employer, Baniar-Banoci, came into the yard and called, "Joe! J-o-o-e! Where are you?" ''Here! I'm here,'' Joe replied, coming out of the stable. Joe followed Baniar-Banoci to the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Take this and go home!" Baniar-Banoci gave Joe a large bottle of whisky, some flour, sugar, and other victuals. Joe Mak looked at Baniar and at the f~od in surprise, hesitating before taking the offered goods. ''Just take everything and hurry, go home! And send someone for the milk in the evening. But let me warn you, you'd better leave your sheepskin cap here and go home with a bare head!'' At that moment Joe's hands fell motionless. His lips moved into a smile. He looked first at the floor , then again at Baniar. He understood. "A girl?" " No, it's a boy!" Baniar replied. "The women said that he is big enough to post the banns and get married right away.'' "Well ... ," Joe Mak said, standing on one spot without a gesture and without any real thoughts in his head. He lifted his sheepskin cap somewhat automatically and thanked God from the bottom of his soul. "Julia wanted a girl," Joe said. "She still can have one. " "Yes, she can ... But I wouldn't have minded if she had had one now.'' �SLOVAKIA 103 Then he left. The flour and sugar on his back convinced him that everything was all right. He could believe Baniar's words. He did not need to ask anyone else. But the distance from Baniar's homestead to Joe's cottage was relatively long. Joe suddenly noticed that he was walking rapidly and began to drag his steps. If someone were to meet him, he would stop; he would talk at length as he would be expected to do; he would speak of the commonest things, for he wanted everything to be simple. He would say, ''Baniar told me that we have an additional member in our family, so I'm going to see. Of course, there will be more worries again .... And what a dry winter this is! The snow is late . Very likely we won 't have any snow this winter. One needs a bit of snow. Otherwise one loses track of the time, not knowing how far winter has progressed and why his fi1'gers get numb." He prepared the remarks about winter in the event that someone stopped him. But no one did. He was obliged to go home directly. And there he had only one opportunity to compliment Baniar for giving him so many things. Even so, he referred to Baniar only in order to have an excuse to stop at the hearth, unload the gifts slowly and carefully, and listen to the words of Mary Klachovka and Hana and little Joe, his son. It was easy for Joe to straighten his back. It was difficult to look at Julia, his wife. Almost transparent and with her eyes closed, she was lying in bed as if asleep; yet she was not asleep. She knew Joe was standing at her bedside unable to find words to fit the occasion. Her eyelids quivered. And when she opened her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks. "Don't be angry with me , Joe!" Julia's lips moved, and Joe thought that she deliberately said the words softly so that no one but he could hear them. And Joe Mak was ashamed. Ordinary shame, though perhaps deeper than usual, overcame him. It was a merciless shame. Joe's face reddened as always, but this time the shame reached into his veins. Driving forward, it benumbed all of Joe's blood vessels. He pressed his knee to the sideboard of the bed, feeling that he could not stay on his feet otherwise. He pressed his hands together behind his back in an effort to cover his excitement. He clenched his teeth, realizing that both his eyelids and his eyesockets had begun to tremble. He knew they would gush tears like a little child if he relaxed his cheek muscles even slightly. Would that not be embarrassing? Or was there something else? Yes, there was! Mary Klachovka was present. She should not be lingering in the room at this time. Her presence was a sacrilege. She should not interfere with Joe's intimate conversation with Julia. No one likes to be surprised in a moment of weakness. No one wants to be caught at a time when he is nothing but a human being; �104 SLOVAKIA when he is neither rich nor poor, neither Joe nor Mak; when everything - work and clothing and everything bestowed on a man by destiny falls off of him for a while, and when nothing but fundamental wisdom remains in him. Klachovka felt it. She unconsciously sensed the moment. She left the room, taking the children with her so that Joe Mak did not have to hide his humanity, so that all his wisdom - a wisdom possessed by every man in such moments - would remain his in its entirety. Without Klachovka in the room, Joe Mak could reflect on those things which other men can think of in advance and thus prepare themselves for any contingency, so as to know when and how one should weep or when and how one should laugh. But the wise man Joe Mak found that in all his life he had learned nothing for such occasions and that he might better remain silent, without word or gesture, for it would be funny if his heavy hands started doing something they had never learned before and his mouth began a speech which he had not prepared. His hands could not attempt any tenderness, for they were calloused and rough, suitable only for heavy work. This way he was also able to hold back the assault of tears, however unusual, which welled in his eyes, since heretofore he had experienced only one kind of moisture on his face - that of sweat, drying either in the sun or frost, etching deep wrinkles into his face. Be that as it may, Joe just wanted Julia to know that even a laborer has a heart, although he cannot show it as much as a gentle man or a lighthearted youngster. Joe had more than enough warmth and kindness and love in his heart for this moment. Because his love for Julia was born with difficulty, it had become purer and more secure - a love on which one could rely. Surely Julia knew of all this. "God help us, Julia," Joe said like a weather-beaten priest who had plowed a cliff and was about to deliver his first sermon. A wan, almost invisible smile touched Julia's lips, lightly caressing her cheeks and eyes. The pure white smile then spread to her forehead. Had she been able to do anything~t all, she would have lifted both her hands so that Joe Mak could have placed his head in her palms. Had she been stronger, she would certainly have smiled more clearly and would have spoken loudly: "Joe, my dear husband! I didn't think I would live through this childbirth. I thought you and I would never understand each other. And everything I thought was wrong. Now I see clearly that you love me. I see everything and I know for sure that God will help us. Why shouldn't He? But don't be angry with me, Joe! Surely you aren't angry because of what I said. How could I imagine that you would be angry? I knew beforehand that you would be good to me when you returned home. A dream pressed its way into my eyes, and the women around by bed thought I was really sleeping. But I was just waiting for you, because all �SLOVAKIA 105 the others around me were strangers. I'll sleep soundly now. If you place your hand on my body, you can feel that my heart is still motionless; it feels as hard as a stone. But now that you've returned, now that I can see you, I'll rest peacefully, and my heart will start beating again. Do you know, my dear husband, what will happen when my heart begins to beat again? My entire world will start for me again.'' ''Banoci didn't tell me., what happened or how it happened. But I can guess," Joe Mak said quietly. Perspiration flowed down his hard face, but what could he do? What else could he do when he knew no other way of telling Julia that today was different from all other days? Joe Mak saw Julia's white smile. But he knew that a white smile was a very fragile thing; one must be very careful to not touch such a smile at all. Joe thought it would have been a blasphemy to desecrate such a smile with words. And Joe did not want to offend God today nor to hinder the beating of Julia's heart in any way. Julia's heart started slowly. Thump, thump .... Some blood had reached its auricles and ventricles and warmed up immediately. Happiness began glowing in Julia's cheeks. This happiness, small as it was in the beginning, started to grow and fly and flow and fill the entire room. Even the loud-mouthed Klachovka, returning to the room, refrained from disturbing the couple's bliss. Joe Mak lifted his oldest son up high and tickled him under his chin. And the boy broke into such laughter that the glass shook in the window frame. Little Joe laughed because he was a little boy. All this took place on Thursday. The hoarfrost came on the following Monday. Everyone knows that hoarfrost is like a beautiful veil. You cannot find it in any anticipated place or at any predetermined time. The hoarfrost's veil is beautiful on bleached meadows. But this one did not spread over plains or slopes. The hoarfrost usually settles on the birch twigs. It glitters opaquely, a demure element of nature's magnificence, reluctant to impose itself on anyone's sight. But this particular frost did not encase the birch twigs . The hoarfrost did not settle on the firs and willows either. It did not come at midnight as usual. This one came in the daylight and settled only on Mak's cottage. But even there, the hoarfrost did not spread over the entire cottage. It did not cover either the roof or the threshold, or the room. This day's hoarfrost settled only on Julia's face, on her forehead, on her closed eyes, on her white lips, on Julia's white smile. Yes, Julia was smiling even then, as she died. (1933) Translated by Andrew Cincura � SLOVAKIA 87 AN ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK UTERA TURE Introductory Remarks ANDREW CINCURA \ An Anthology of Slovak Literature, compiled recently with financial support from The Rockefeller Foundation, presents the most representative selections from the works of over 70 Slovak authors. Consisting primarily of translations from Slovak poetry, prose , and drama, this anthology contains, in addition, a general introduction by Dr. Michael Novak, a long aesthetic-historical essay "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Dr. Karol StrmeN, and an appendix presenting several selections from Slovak-American authors. Several scholars and artists, including the well-known Slovak-American poet, Reverend Jaroslav J. Vajda, and American poet and scholar, Dr. Michael Collings , assisted the compiler in the project. The Anthology of Slovak Literature is - in the words of Dr. Novak - ''a work of major importance (connecting) the United States and one other small part of the world . . . This anthology is done with taste, intelligence, judgment, and perception. I read it with excitement, and I am sure that hundreds of thousands of others from Eastern Europe will find in it nourishment over the next generation, for it is a landmark book, certain to endure. " Although just a minute part of the work itself, the following excerpts from An Anthology of Slovak Literature will give the reader a foretaste of the character and artistry of the book. An Anthology of Slovak Literature has been available since May 1, 1976, at : University Hardcovers P . 0. Box 248 Riverside , California 92502 or from the major Slovak newspapers and bookstores throughout the United States and Canada. If ordered directly from the publisher, the price of the book is $16.50 for individual copies. A discount of 10 percent will be given on orders of 5-10 copies , and a discount of 20 percent on orders of 11 or more copies. The following selections are reprinted with perrmss10n of University Hardcovers, P. 0 . Box 248, Riverside, California 92502, from An Anthology of Slovak Literature by Andrew Cincura. Copyright © 1976 by Andrew Cincura. �88 SLOVAKIA On Skulls JAN HOLLY (1785-1849) Tell me, you skulls, so neatly stacked in dark bone-bins, whose were you once, a peasant's or a lord's? Which one of you was held aloof on a wealthy, mighty neck, and which drooped languid from a beggar's spine? Upon which, while alive, did fortune cast her smile, and which was crushed by lifelong slavery? Is this one whiter from the fawning adulation so many offered it in lavish awe? And that one darker having suffered undeserved ingratitude and cruel ridicule? Speechless in terrifying silence, not one of you is able to give me an answer to my question. In frightful heaps you lie, looking so very much like gathered shards of stony desolations; or like those grief-bent forests when the white-maned wind denudes them of their leafy captivating beauty. So when a man is gone: with him all honor dies and glory and every deference bestowed by others. (Ba1ne rozmanite, n. d.) Translated by J aroslav J. Vajda �SLOVAKIA God in Heaven \ AN"DREJ SLADKOVIC (1820-1872) God in heaven , see what sorrow when our young are cast abroad out into the world to borrow, toil, or beg a crust of bread. See them mercilessly driven, scattered by life's cruel hoax, what were solitary ravens have become falcon flocks . God in heaven, thus forsaken, if I stay, what can I earn? Into this world came I naked, naked I shall there return . In that hour, pray, be responsive to my final, inmost need: mercy , God, 0 God, have mercy when I stand alone with Thee. Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 89 �90 SLOVAKIA Bloody Sonnets (a fragment) PA VOL ORSAGH-HVIEZDOSLAV (1849-1921) I A song of blood: - what madness can this be? And which shall be our theme? The sudden rush rose-red, that leaps into a maiden 's blush, the sleeping infant's pink we love to see , that pulses under angel custody ; or shall it be the ardent crimson gush that fires the zealot 's brow with fervid flush: then let the song resound with rapture free! Oh, blood is a wonder-working fluid! Hidden like some rare vintage seething ~ithin the heart , it pounds with the might and rage of tempest-ridden breakers ; or bursting the tranquil pulse apart, it charges one with frenzy God-forbidden . .. Do thoughts like these engage the butcher's art? Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda �SLOVAKIA The Guests , IVANKRASKO (1876-1958) Courteously , though with a mystic fearfulness, I welcomed nonetheless my funeral guests, somber, with psalters under thei:r arms, having arrived from distant lands . Ceremonially , with chalky, dry and bony hands each reverenced the icon of my dusty home, and bowing to the waist (to me - if not, to whom?), they sat around the table , a solemn, black-swathed ring. Searching the psalter for long-lost hymns, they then began to sing in deep sepulchral voice - the harshest kind of air of bitter fruit the tree of life was found to bear, of Mother Earth's original condition - as one she was before the thrice-cursed lust of slithering Diabolos ... And then as gloomily they left (under the smiles of those who never dared to take from Eve the apple of her wiles), and said they would return to us again next year to visit those they now considered brothers, or at least as near. Eunice! Where are you? Look how one by one they disappear. (Verse, 1912) Translated by Jaroslav J . Vajda 91 �92 SLOVAKIA The Hundred and First Tale of Boccaccio VALENTIN BENIAK (1894-1973) Quill in hand, I wrote a letter home: I shall stay on till Autumn here in Florence. And yes, I met Boccaccio carrying his Decameron, followed by a band of noble virgins. One I knew - Donna Clara - led her beast and handed me the leather bridle as she went. In Fiesole we met a priest bearing on his shoulder a battered trident. Neptune it was, reaping hay - despite his wont the pagan seas had scorned him, one and all. ''Sir,'' he asked, ' 'might you be the Duke of Brabant on your way to my confessional?" He would have liked the stole and blessed oil, would pray my soul to heaven's halls, would hire wicked men to toil rip Botticelli's Venus from the U(fizi's walls . . Slip her from her canvas world - be done! she would return with him to her sea-home . (For this is but the hundredth tale and one, carved from Carrara marble and sea-foam.) (Ozveny krokov, 1931) Translated by Andrew Cincura �SLOVAKIA ' Carmen EMIL B. LUKAC (1900) Dance and sing, you naked bajadera, throughout this long and melancholy era. Dance and sing, the golden calf is bleating, and dragon claws the kettle-fires are heating. In flaming dance your many limbs entwine to form a beast half-hydra, half-divine. Dance and sing, you universal axis, you contradictory, convoluted maxims: maze, lie, and death - not way and truth and life. Dance and sing, deaf.to the din of strife. The blood of millions suck, you golden flea. Machine guns bark, and cracks the gallows-tree. (Moloch, 1938) Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 93 �94 SLOVAKIA Two Days at Chujava (a Iragment) JONASZABORSKY (1812-1876) Zajac, a slovenly peasant and the village clown, entered the inn's hall. The youngsters surrounded him at once, and, as always, he launched into a narrative of his heroic exploits inBombardy. (1) "Every Bombardian bee, believe me, is as large as a Slovak sheep," Zajac said, to introduce his story. "And what about the beehives - how large are they?" Pelechavy asked from the other side of the table, smiling broadly. "Only as large as ours." "Then how can the bees enter the beehives?" "That's their problem, "the ex-hussar Zajac roared, laughing and half-seriously accusing Pelechavy of r.itting at the table without ever touching his full glass . "Why don't you drink like all the other right men do? May a hundred thunderclaps deafen your soul.'' A guffaw shook the room. The men emptied their glasses, while the Jewish innkeeper did his best to keep them filled. Zajac continued with his tall tales: "Did you know that macaroni is really nothing but tapeworms seventy yards long? People buy them by the foot. To eat macaroni, all one has to do is sit in the most comfortable position, open his mouth, and let the tapeworm run down his throat by itself, while the waitress measures its length by the yard and cuts it with scissors when the customer has eaten his fill.'' Zajac then related the tale of his love affair with an Italian countess. "As soon as I rode into the castle yard," he said, "she started to wink at me, her mouth watering with anticipation. She thought, 'By Jove, there's a lad. I'm sure he has no eq~al in the entire world!' And when I dismounted and handed my horse over to the servant, she shook my hand and took me by arm, saying, ''If you will, please!' Then we went into the house. After a good supper, she prepared a bed for her husband on the bench at the hearth. 'You'll sleep here tonight,' she said, patting his arm, 'but please be quiet and don't disturb the hussar in his sleep.' - For me she spread a sheaf of straw on the floor in the middle of the room. The count, listening to her soft conversation with me, coughed and said, 'Erzha, is that hussar whispering with you?' " 'So what if he is?' " 'Why don't you stop him?' the count said. " 'I can't. I don't speak his language,' the countess replied." �SLOVAKIA 95 '' And what about your meeting with Napoleon?'' a youngster with a broom-like feather on his hat called, prompting Zajac to further narration. '' All right, listen! WhE!n the Frenchmen had annoyed us with their frequent attacks, our Emperor met with his generals to find out which one of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers wore his cap most rakishly and would therefore be best suited to be sent to Napoleon . All the generals, of course, agreed that only I, Zajac, was the proper hero, willing and able to go on such an important mission. I mounted my horse and was off to Paris. On my arrival there, I tethered my horse to a fence . Mrs. Napoleon, the Empress of France, immediately ran to me, bringing oats for my horse in her apron and taking me into her kitchen . She cooked pirohy (a) for me, filled with minced pears. They were really good, better than any I'd ever seen or tasted! Large as peasant moccasins, they were greased with the tallow collected from seven melted candles. I swear to God, they were so good that the grease flowed down my chin as profusely as down Aaron's beard. I ate almost two of them. As an extra treat the Empress also cooked hriate (b) and baked pag<ice (c) with cracklings for my return trip." "And what about Napoleon?" "Well, he patted my shoulder and said, ' My dear fellow! I wish I had a regiment of hussars like you! With men like you I would easily conquer the entire world, and all the nations in it.' - And you should have seen it - I give you my word of honor and cross my heart - he embraced and kissed me as if I were his lady love.'' "And did he sue for peace?" ' 'Of course , what else could he do when I asked him to? He gave me ten farthings for whisky and asked me to convince our Emperor and generals not to stir until he took over as many lands as he wanted. He whetted his appetite for our Bombardy (1) and bombarded us out of it, may thunder and lightning strike his sideways-turned hat! We looked around, hoping that some Cossack would appear and help us, but the world is ungrateful! We assisted the Frenchmen in Crimea against the Muscovites and the thankless Muscovites did not come to repay our courtesy and help us against the Frenchmen. That's the kind of honor you find in this world! . . . " "You' re the greatest liar I've ever seen! " Buchak remarked, wiping his moustache. ''Yes, and all of you are great fools,'' the ex-hussar Zajac laughed. "You should take my words as seriously as you take the print on paper money, which sa: ·s you may exchange it for silver any time, or believe me as much as yo I can the saying that all men are equal." (1883) (Translated by Andrew Cincura) �96 SLOVAKIA NOTES: jocular term for Lombardy . Lombardy belonged to the AustroHungarian Empire until 1859. (1) Bombardy - (a) pirohy - cheese or fruit dumplings (b) hriate - hot whisky with goose-fat topping (c) pagace (pagaache) - small unsweetened cakes The nDiscovery" of Gunpowder (a frag111cnt) TEREZIA VANSOV A (1857-1941) Autumn had progressed considerably, but our children were still enjoying the golden freedom of summer vacation. In our village, there was a tradition that school started only after the Tisovec Fair. After the pupil's mothers had sold a goose or a piece of homespun linen and had bought clothes for their children and the primers with the picture of a rooster on the front cover. Then, and only then, could the children walk proudly to school. Our boys conducted great military maneuvers in the parsonage orchard. Danny, who continually pestered Srnchik with his questions about military strategy, commanded his "rank-and-file" comrades, who were equipped with wooden sabres, guns, and a supply of dry-pea bullets in their pockets. One-two-one-two - the company marched up the orchard path, and when Danny thought they had reached their position, he called, "H-a-a-a-1-t!" Then he turned to his "men" and drilled them in the proper ways of military know-how. He was naturally dissatisfied with the over-all results. The ''men'' halted, once with one leg in the forward position, then with the ~ther. Some of them were stooped, some crooked; some did not add to iih.e glory of the tight-knit military unit at all. "How are you standing there, Private Misho? Don't you know anything about proper military bearing? Up! Straighten your legs! No, no! Don't stand there like a duckling! Pull your belly in! Out with your chest!'' Misho tried his best, but he never succeeded in acquiring a proper stance. His face was one broad grin. He opened his mouth wide and held his hands tightly to his knees (his monkey-like hands actually reached lower than his knees!). Yet regardless of his efforts, he was never praised for his achievements. �SLOVAKIA 97 Then Danny drilled the ''troops'' in the proper use of weapons, but he became really upset when even his own gun refused to obey his command. "F-i-r-e! F-i-r-e!" Danny repeated in exasperation. What was the purpose of military games without a weapon that really shoots? Why use a weapon which neither fires nor kills? He had already almost worn out his brains in an effort to acquire gunpowder. What all he had done, and all for nothing! He would have bought some powder, and he certainly could have obtained the money for it somehow. But what good would it do when neither he nor any of his comrades were big enough to buy powder in Tisovec. He was just a child, and his request, however small, would have been considered too dangerous anyway. Danny's friend Johnny had not taken part in the military drill today. Johnny would have been subject to a reprimand from his stem commander had he not appeared when the game was about to end. Running through the orchard, Johnny finally stopped near the formation. With a book in his hand, he waved and shouted, almost out of breath, "Hurrah, we've got gunpowder!" The boys turned around. Forgetting their military discipline, they jumped out of their lines and surrounded Johnny. Johnny showed them the book - the Almanac of Fejerpataky. The boys stopped, bewildered. They thought their comrade had brought some real gunpowder with him; and instead, he only showed them an old book. Danny snatched the book from Johnny's hand and asked with contempt and suspicion, "Why did you bring this book?" "Here, look! Here it is!" Johnny replied, still gasping for breath. "What?" Danny asked impatiently. ''The formula for making gunpowder!'' Johnny's reply electrified Danny. "Let's see!" He grabbed the book again, sank to the turf, and started to turn the leaves. Johnny showed him the article in the almanac. Both boys plunged into reading and quickly forgot their comrades, who resumed their own play. Danny studied the well-known recipe like a cook about the prepare a tasty cake. While reading, he wondered how he could obtain and measure all the ingredients necessary for gunpowder. Seventy-five parts saltpeter (but what is "saltpeter" and where he could buy it?); eleven parts sulfur (ah, he had it; luckily, he had already taken some from his father's supply); and fourteen parts hazel-wood charcoal (that's the easiest to get: they could cut hazel twigs anywhere, and they could bum charcoal by themselves). The scales for weighing the ingredients? No problem - they would construct it from twigs, strings, and an apple. And now to work! Danny stood up, his face gleaming. He gave the necessary instructions immediately. The boys were to go tomorrow morning to cut hazel wood. They were to store the supply at the upper end of the orchard, and they were to build a charcoal-pile there. Johnny was to go to Tisovec to buy saltpeter. (Danny knew that he could not get any �98 SLOVAKIA himself because of his previous "contacts" with the city merchants.) Danny would try to find out what saltpeter was and where they could buy it. The orders dispensed, Danny hit the shortest path to his grandmother' s. He found her in front of her house thrashing hemp. He addressed her directly, "Grandma!" "What do you want, my son?" ' 'What ' s saltpeter?'' "Saltpeter?" the old woman repeated the question with surprise. "What is he dabbling in now, this Danny?" she thought with suspicion, unable to find a good reason behind the question. She was familiar with saltpeter, a harmless ingredient which was used for certain jobs in the household. She told him that the druggists in Tisovec kept saltpeter in their stores. This information was all Danny needed. Early the next morning, he sent Johnny to the city with three farthings to buy the saltpeter. In the meantime, Danny found a large apple, a "funtovka" apple (1) growing in the school garden, cut the apple in two equal halves, carving them into bowl-like plates, he attached the two halves first to strings and then to twigs arranged as primitive scales. When the charcoal was prepared and all the ingredients collected, he weighed the proper amounts of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, triturated every ingredient separately, and mixed them together. It made a little pile when he poured the mixture on a sheet of paper. He was as pleased with the feat as a chemist might have been with a successful experiment in his laboratory. The boys soon found that their experiment was successful, when one of them put the compound on the fire; the gunpowder wheezed up and hit Mis ho directly on his nose, for he was too curious and had stuck his head close to the compound "to see everything better." Fortunately, the amount allotted for the experiment was small, and Misho's accident thus was not too serious. A.similar result was attained in another experiment when one of the boys ~laced a capsule on a stone and hit it with another stone. The explosion again produced "casualties" - one "well-done thumb" and one "medium-done nose.'' The boys' summer games were brought to a sudden end with the announcement that school would open and classes would begin again immediately after the Tisovec Fair. (1934) Translated by Andrew Cincura NOTE: (1) funt (Slovak) - "pound. " "Funtovky" (pl.; funtovka, sg.) are very large apples that grow in Central Europe. In Slovak folk etymology, they are supposed to weigh at least one pound each. �SLOVAKIA 99 More About the Fair (11 fr1111111ent) MARTIN KUKUCfN (1860-1928) \ An African afternoon heat seemed to rest on our exhilarated city. There was almost no shade, not even next to the house walls. The sun was inescapable, burning mercilessly as if trying to suck the last drop of moisture from emaciated, desiccated Mother Earth. And still no one even thought of hitting the bunk for an hour or so, as the human constitution should require, especially after a festive dinner, when limbs become as heavy as lead and eyelids droop; when a sweet dream flutters about despite straining efforts to keep one's eyes open. Eyes grow stiff and seem to be bulging and enveloped by a fog in which objects merge with each other. In the end, you cannot do anything but give up and lie down sinking deeply into the embraces of a sweet nap. But who could have slept this afternoon? Recently rising from the table to sip black coffee, everyone shook off his drowsiness and went off to the square. The entire city swarmed and dawdled among the tents, buying and extorting presents without shyness or courtesy. Everyone was happy, alert, and lively. The bells, tolling four o'clock, put an end to the hurly-burly. At once the square became as empty as if swept. The tents were closed, and people either entered the church or - not finding a place inside surrounded the church in a numberless mass. After somewhat abbreviated vespers, a procession started. People forged out of the church in waves, reeling from side to side, and finally taking their position in rows. The most difficult task remained - to set the procession in motion. At the head there were school children under the church banner, followed by endless rows of men. Two by two, each of the men carried a faintly-smoldering candle into the dazzling sun's rays. The young boys following the men carried huge candles and torches in multicolored lanterns. The church banners fluttered in the air, then hung limply as the faint breeze died in the torrid stillness. Then the church kantadurs (1) marched under the ,leadership of mester (2) Ivo, all singing monotonous psalms with strong but dragging voices. The echo of their song thundered amid the houses and immediately died in the dead silence of the surroundings. Four youngsters in white albs, walking after the singers, carried on their shoulders the statue of the Virgin Mary, removed from the main altar. Mary sat majestically, with the smiling child on her knees. Crowns of pure gold glittered on the heads �100 SLOVAKIA of the Mother and Son. The Christ-Child spread his plump hands as if surprised by the sudden trip from the gloomy altar niche into the blinding sun. A brocade-like garment fell in colorful folds down the statue of the Mother of God. The image, laden with jewels and precious stones, glittered, flashed, and sparkled. After the company of priests, led by our Don Roko in a festive cape, sor Ilija Zorkovic walked in black clothes, with a hard hat in one hand and a black cane trimmed with a massive silver handle in the other. He walked alone. Pacing slowly and gravely, he looked neither to the right nor to the left, conscious of his authority and elevated rank which surpassed all the other laymen in the procession. Ilija is the chairman of the church board, curator and controller of all church holdings. He is responsible for the care of church fields and wine cellars. He manages the wine until it is sold to the merchants. Everything in the church - even the candles used in such large numbers every year - rests on his shoulders. He is, in addition, the manager of the Virgin Mary, the patroness of our city - he protects all jewelry and precious stones, earrings and golden chains, bracelets and rings. Sor Ilija Zorkovic keeps all the trinkets that are hung and poured over the statue in his own house in a heavy, ironbound chest. Such a grave responsibility entails much work and many pains, but the reward is splendid - during every procession, he occupies the most prominent place, alone, right behind the baldachin, before the eyes of the entire world, seen by friends and enemies, well-wishers and envious men. Why should his chest not swell with pride and self-assurance? Why should he not walk seriously and solemnly? Behind sor Ilija Zorkovic came the mayor surrounded by all the assessors. The mayor, too, walked gravely, but one way or another, his entire countenance was a far cry from Zorkovic's. After the representatives of the opcina, (4) there was a gap of five or six paces in the procession - the women walking separately behind the men's rows. The military retinue, with rifles on, their shoulders and their "hay-straw, hay-straw" cadence, flanked the statue and priests on both sides. · It was really a magnificent sight! The continuous tolling of the bells - urgent, fancy, heavy, tremulous - you name it! The bellman, holding the clapper in his fist and shaking it with his hand, struck the bell. Everyone looked forward to the procession; for weeks and weeks everyone delighted in its anticipation. Every member of the family took part in it if he had strength enough to move his limbs. Doddering elders, hardly able to drag their feet, were present, as were the little children, just managing their first attempts to stay on their feet. Mothers carried infants in their arms, so that no one would miss the procession. Among those present, there were also many non-residents. Many guests took pains to join the procession to express their devotion to the Mother of God either for restored health or for other favors �SLOVAKIA 101 granted them or their relatives. No wonder, then, that the magnificence and number of participants serve as a gauge for evaluating whether the fair was a complete or only a partial success. And the "mark" of relative success or failure was an important thing - every citizen was proud if his city's fair was famous far and wide . The entire processioJJ. dragged slowly across the square and through the short street, out,of the city toward the cross standing in the flat field on a marble pedestal. From there, following the promenade, the procession returned to the city, submerging into narrow alleys, flanked either by blunt fence walls or one-story houses . The streets were swept and sprinkled with white sand. The balconies of the more stately houses were transformed into fragrant flower groves; draperies or ornamental rugs hung from the windows and banisters . Even the teiaks (5) decorated their cottages for the occasion. The low roofs of some cottages were covered with flowerpots. In other cottages - those with marriageable daughters - the girls spread their dowries out on the roofs or on adjacent stone walls. The school children had already entered the narrow streets when sora (6) Andrejana's group was just leaving the church yard. The stylish young misses, as always, remained at the very end of the procession. Because of their relative distance from the statue of the Virgin, they may have forgotten the reason for their presence. While the lingering song of the church singers reverberated and a muffled prayer recited with the rosary beads murmured above the crowd, whispered conversations and giggles flowed among the young ladies, accompanied by glances cast toward the balcony of Citaonica (7) where a number of the young elite assembled to see the magnificent march. It is necessary to stress that hardly any of the young ladies wore a hat in most cases they wore black veils with the ends flowing picturesquely down their breasts. Since they had no parasols, they held fans in their hands, and were able to throw coquettish glances here and there, to the side or up toward the windows. The merchants remained at their tents. With the approach of the procession, they fell to their knees , contritely beating their chests. The bells warbled and tinkled. Dust clouds rose, especially behind the women. The mortars thundered in volleys. Sor Hija Zorkovic tied a knot on the cord in his hand after every volley, in order to have an exact count of the gunpowder used and prevent youngsters from stealing part of the explosives for hunting rabbits or partridges. And the Mother of God looked down kindly from her throne. Her Son , as if bewildered, threw his chubby hands about, smiling. With almost vertical rays, the sun blazed from above, and the dark-blue sky seemed to stretch absent-mindedly above this multicolored world. (1904) Translated by Andrew Cincura �102 SLOVAKIA Note: "More About the Fair," a fragment from Kukucin's novel, Dom u strcini (The House on the Hillside), is fundamentally a representative sample of the author's "second creative period," which coincided with his life in Dalmatia. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) kantadurs (Dalmatian): singers mester (meshter, Dalmatian): master sor (shor, Dalmatian): mister, sir opcina (Croatian): commune, township teiaks (tezhaks, Croatian): poor peasants, farm hands sora (shora, Dalmatian): Mrs. citaonica (chitaonica, Croatian): reading club, library Joe Mak (a fr111111ent) JOZEF CIGER-HRONSKY (1896-1960) Just as Joe Mak returned on Thursday afternoon from hauling and had finished watering his horses, his employer, Baniar-Banoci, came into the yard and called, "Joe! J-o-o-e! Where are you?" ''Here! I'm here,'' Joe replied, coming out of the stable. Joe followed Baniar-Banoci to the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Take this and go home!" Baniar-Banoci gave Joe a large bottle of whisky, some flour, sugar, and other victuals. Joe Mak looked at Baniar and at the f~od in surprise, hesitating before taking the offered goods. ''Just take everything and hurry, go home! And send someone for the milk in the evening. But let me warn you, you'd better leave your sheepskin cap here and go home with a bare head!'' At that moment Joe's hands fell motionless. His lips moved into a smile. He looked first at the floor , then again at Baniar. He understood. "A girl?" " No, it's a boy!" Baniar replied. "The women said that he is big enough to post the banns and get married right away.'' "Well ... ," Joe Mak said, standing on one spot without a gesture and without any real thoughts in his head. He lifted his sheepskin cap somewhat automatically and thanked God from the bottom of his soul. "Julia wanted a girl," Joe said. "She still can have one. " "Yes, she can ... But I wouldn't have minded if she had had one now.'' �SLOVAKIA 103 Then he left. The flour and sugar on his back convinced him that everything was all right. He could believe Baniar's words. He did not need to ask anyone else. But the distance from Baniar's homestead to Joe's cottage was relatively long. Joe suddenly noticed that he was walking rapidly and began to drag his steps. If someone were to meet him, he would stop; he would talk at length as he would be expected to do; he would speak of the commonest things, for he wanted everything to be simple. He would say, ''Baniar told me that we have an additional member in our family, so I'm going to see. Of course, there will be more worries again .... And what a dry winter this is! The snow is late . Very likely we won 't have any snow this winter. One needs a bit of snow. Otherwise one loses track of the time, not knowing how far winter has progressed and why his fi1'gers get numb." He prepared the remarks about winter in the event that someone stopped him. But no one did. He was obliged to go home directly. And there he had only one opportunity to compliment Baniar for giving him so many things. Even so, he referred to Baniar only in order to have an excuse to stop at the hearth, unload the gifts slowly and carefully, and listen to the words of Mary Klachovka and Hana and little Joe, his son. It was easy for Joe to straighten his back. It was difficult to look at Julia, his wife. Almost transparent and with her eyes closed, she was lying in bed as if asleep; yet she was not asleep. She knew Joe was standing at her bedside unable to find words to fit the occasion. Her eyelids quivered. And when she opened her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks. "Don't be angry with me , Joe!" Julia's lips moved, and Joe thought that she deliberately said the words softly so that no one but he could hear them. And Joe Mak was ashamed. Ordinary shame, though perhaps deeper than usual, overcame him. It was a merciless shame. Joe's face reddened as always, but this time the shame reached into his veins. Driving forward, it benumbed all of Joe's blood vessels. He pressed his knee to the sideboard of the bed, feeling that he could not stay on his feet otherwise. He pressed his hands together behind his back in an effort to cover his excitement. He clenched his teeth, realizing that both his eyelids and his eyesockets had begun to tremble. He knew they would gush tears like a little child if he relaxed his cheek muscles even slightly. Would that not be embarrassing? Or was there something else? Yes, there was! Mary Klachovka was present. She should not be lingering in the room at this time. Her presence was a sacrilege. She should not interfere with Joe's intimate conversation with Julia. No one likes to be surprised in a moment of weakness. No one wants to be caught at a time when he is nothing but a human being; �104 SLOVAKIA when he is neither rich nor poor, neither Joe nor Mak; when everything - work and clothing and everything bestowed on a man by destiny falls off of him for a while, and when nothing but fundamental wisdom remains in him. Klachovka felt it. She unconsciously sensed the moment. She left the room, taking the children with her so that Joe Mak did not have to hide his humanity, so that all his wisdom - a wisdom possessed by every man in such moments - would remain his in its entirety. Without Klachovka in the room, Joe Mak could reflect on those things which other men can think of in advance and thus prepare themselves for any contingency, so as to know when and how one should weep or when and how one should laugh. But the wise man Joe Mak found that in all his life he had learned nothing for such occasions and that he might better remain silent, without word or gesture, for it would be funny if his heavy hands started doing something they had never learned before and his mouth began a speech which he had not prepared. His hands could not attempt any tenderness, for they were calloused and rough, suitable only for heavy work. This way he was also able to hold back the assault of tears, however unusual, which welled in his eyes, since heretofore he had experienced only one kind of moisture on his face - that of sweat, drying either in the sun or frost, etching deep wrinkles into his face. Be that as it may, Joe just wanted Julia to know that even a laborer has a heart, although he cannot show it as much as a gentle man or a lighthearted youngster. Joe had more than enough warmth and kindness and love in his heart for this moment. Because his love for Julia was born with difficulty, it had become purer and more secure - a love on which one could rely. Surely Julia knew of all this. "God help us, Julia," Joe said like a weather-beaten priest who had plowed a cliff and was about to deliver his first sermon. A wan, almost invisible smile touched Julia's lips, lightly caressing her cheeks and eyes. The pure white smile then spread to her forehead. Had she been able to do anything~t all, she would have lifted both her hands so that Joe Mak could have placed his head in her palms. Had she been stronger, she would certainly have smiled more clearly and would have spoken loudly: "Joe, my dear husband! I didn't think I would live through this childbirth. I thought you and I would never understand each other. And everything I thought was wrong. Now I see clearly that you love me. I see everything and I know for sure that God will help us. Why shouldn't He? But don't be angry with me, Joe! Surely you aren't angry because of what I said. How could I imagine that you would be angry? I knew beforehand that you would be good to me when you returned home. A dream pressed its way into my eyes, and the women around by bed thought I was really sleeping. But I was just waiting for you, because all �SLOVAKIA 105 the others around me were strangers. I'll sleep soundly now. If you place your hand on my body, you can feel that my heart is still motionless; it feels as hard as a stone. But now that you've returned, now that I can see you, I'll rest peacefully, and my heart will start beating again. Do you know, my dear husband, what will happen when my heart begins to beat again? My entire world will start for me again.'' ''Banoci didn't tell me., what happened or how it happened. But I can guess," Joe Mak said quietly. Perspiration flowed down his hard face, but what could he do? What else could he do when he knew no other way of telling Julia that today was different from all other days? Joe Mak saw Julia's white smile. But he knew that a white smile was a very fragile thing; one must be very careful to not touch such a smile at all. Joe thought it would have been a blasphemy to desecrate such a smile with words. And Joe did not want to offend God today nor to hinder the beating of Julia's heart in any way. Julia's heart started slowly. Thump, thump .... Some blood had reached its auricles and ventricles and warmed up immediately. Happiness began glowing in Julia's cheeks. This happiness, small as it was in the beginning, started to grow and fly and flow and fill the entire room. Even the loud-mouthed Klachovka, returning to the room, refrained from disturbing the couple's bliss. Joe Mak lifted his oldest son up high and tickled him under his chin. And the boy broke into such laughter that the glass shook in the window frame. Little Joe laughed because he was a little boy. All this took place on Thursday. The hoarfrost came on the following Monday. Everyone knows that hoarfrost is like a beautiful veil. You cannot find it in any anticipated place or at any predetermined time. The hoarfrost's veil is beautiful on bleached meadows. But this one did not spread over plains or slopes. The hoarfrost usually settles on the birch twigs. It glitters opaquely, a demure element of nature's magnificence, reluctant to impose itself on anyone's sight. But this particular frost did not encase the birch twigs . The hoarfrost did not settle on the firs and willows either. It did not come at midnight as usual. This one came in the daylight and settled only on Mak's cottage. But even there, the hoarfrost did not spread over the entire cottage. It did not cover either the roof or the threshold, or the room. This day's hoarfrost settled only on Julia's face, on her forehead, on her closed eyes, on her white lips, on Julia's white smile. Yes, Julia was smiling even then, as she died. (1933) Translated by Andrew Cincura � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 87 AN ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK UTERA TURE Introductory Remarks ANDREW CINCURA \ An Anthology of Slovak Literature, compiled recently with financial support from The Rockefeller Foundation, presents the most representative selections from the works of over 70 Slovak authors. Consisting primarily of translations from Slovak poetry, prose , and drama, this anthology contains, in addition, a general introduction by Dr. Michael Novak, a long aesthetic-historical essay "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Dr. Karol StrmeN, and an appendix presenting several selections from Slovak-American authors. Several scholars and artists, including the well-known Slovak-American poet, Reverend Jaroslav J. Vajda, and American poet and scholar, Dr. Michael Collings , assisted the compiler in the project. The Anthology of Slovak Literature is - in the words of Dr. Novak - ''a work of major importance (connecting) the United States and one other small part of the world . . . This anthology is done with taste, intelligence, judgment, and perception. I read it with excitement, and I am sure that hundreds of thousands of others from Eastern Europe will find in it nourishment over the next generation, for it is a landmark book, certain to endure. " Although just a minute part of the work itself, the following excerpts from An Anthology of Slovak Literature will give the reader a foretaste of the character and artistry of the book. An Anthology of Slovak Literature has been available since May 1, 1976, at : University Hardcovers P . 0. Box 248 Riverside , California 92502 or from the major Slovak newspapers and bookstores throughout the United States and Canada. If ordered directly from the publisher, the price of the book is $16.50 for individual copies. A discount of 10 percent will be given on orders of 5-10 copies , and a discount of 20 percent on orders of 11 or more copies. The following selections are reprinted with perrmss10n of University Hardcovers, P. 0 . Box 248, Riverside, California 92502, from An Anthology of Slovak Literature by Andrew Cincura. Copyright © 1976 by Andrew Cincura. 88 SLOVAKIA On Skulls JAN HOLLY (1785-1849) Tell me, you skulls, so neatly stacked in dark bone-bins, whose were you once, a peasant's or a lord's? Which one of you was held aloof on a wealthy, mighty neck, and which drooped languid from a beggar's spine? Upon which, while alive, did fortune cast her smile, and which was crushed by lifelong slavery? Is this one whiter from the fawning adulation so many offered it in lavish awe? And that one darker having suffered undeserved ingratitude and cruel ridicule? Speechless in terrifying silence, not one of you is able to give me an answer to my question. In frightful heaps you lie, looking so very much like gathered shards of stony desolations; or like those grief-bent forests when the white-maned wind denudes them of their leafy captivating beauty. So when a man is gone: with him all honor dies and glory and every deference bestowed by others. (Ba1ne rozmanite, n. d.) Translated by J aroslav J. Vajda SLOVAKIA God in Heaven \ AN"DREJ SLADKOVIC (1820-1872) God in heaven , see what sorrow when our young are cast abroad out into the world to borrow, toil, or beg a crust of bread. See them mercilessly driven, scattered by life's cruel hoax, what were solitary ravens have become falcon flocks . God in heaven, thus forsaken, if I stay, what can I earn? Into this world came I naked, naked I shall there return . In that hour, pray, be responsive to my final, inmost need: mercy , God, 0 God, have mercy when I stand alone with Thee. Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 89 90 SLOVAKIA Bloody Sonnets (a fragment) PA VOL ORSAGH-HVIEZDOSLAV (1849-1921) I A song of blood: - what madness can this be? And which shall be our theme? The sudden rush rose-red, that leaps into a maiden 's blush, the sleeping infant's pink we love to see , that pulses under angel custody ; or shall it be the ardent crimson gush that fires the zealot 's brow with fervid flush: then let the song resound with rapture free! Oh, blood is a wonder-working fluid! Hidden like some rare vintage seething ~ithin the heart , it pounds with the might and rage of tempest-ridden breakers ; or bursting the tranquil pulse apart, it charges one with frenzy God-forbidden . .. Do thoughts like these engage the butcher's art? Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda SLOVAKIA The Guests , IVANKRASKO (1876-1958) Courteously , though with a mystic fearfulness, I welcomed nonetheless my funeral guests, somber, with psalters under thei:r arms, having arrived from distant lands . Ceremonially , with chalky, dry and bony hands each reverenced the icon of my dusty home, and bowing to the waist (to me - if not, to whom?), they sat around the table , a solemn, black-swathed ring. Searching the psalter for long-lost hymns, they then began to sing in deep sepulchral voice - the harshest kind of air of bitter fruit the tree of life was found to bear, of Mother Earth's original condition - as one she was before the thrice-cursed lust of slithering Diabolos ... And then as gloomily they left (under the smiles of those who never dared to take from Eve the apple of her wiles), and said they would return to us again next year to visit those they now considered brothers, or at least as near. Eunice! Where are you? Look how one by one they disappear. (Verse, 1912) Translated by Jaroslav J . Vajda 91 92 SLOVAKIA The Hundred and First Tale of Boccaccio VALENTIN BENIAK (1894-1973) Quill in hand, I wrote a letter home: I shall stay on till Autumn here in Florence. And yes, I met Boccaccio carrying his Decameron, followed by a band of noble virgins. One I knew - Donna Clara - led her beast and handed me the leather bridle as she went. In Fiesole we met a priest bearing on his shoulder a battered trident. Neptune it was, reaping hay - despite his wont the pagan seas had scorned him, one and all. ''Sir,'' he asked, ' 'might you be the Duke of Brabant on your way to my confessional?" He would have liked the stole and blessed oil, would pray my soul to heaven's halls, would hire wicked men to toil rip Botticelli's Venus from the U(fizi's walls . . Slip her from her canvas world - be done! she would return with him to her sea-home . (For this is but the hundredth tale and one, carved from Carrara marble and sea-foam.) (Ozveny krokov, 1931) Translated by Andrew Cincura SLOVAKIA ' Carmen EMIL B. LUKAC (1900) Dance and sing, you naked bajadera, throughout this long and melancholy era. Dance and sing, the golden calf is bleating, and dragon claws the kettle-fires are heating. In flaming dance your many limbs entwine to form a beast half-hydra, half-divine. Dance and sing, you universal axis, you contradictory, convoluted maxims: maze, lie, and death - not way and truth and life. Dance and sing, deaf.to the din of strife. The blood of millions suck, you golden flea. Machine guns bark, and cracks the gallows-tree. (Moloch, 1938) Translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda 93 94 SLOVAKIA Two Days at Chujava (a Iragment) JONASZABORSKY (1812-1876) Zajac, a slovenly peasant and the village clown, entered the inn's hall. The youngsters surrounded him at once, and, as always, he launched into a narrative of his heroic exploits inBombardy. (1) "Every Bombardian bee, believe me, is as large as a Slovak sheep," Zajac said, to introduce his story. "And what about the beehives - how large are they?" Pelechavy asked from the other side of the table, smiling broadly. "Only as large as ours." "Then how can the bees enter the beehives?" "That's their problem, "the ex-hussar Zajac roared, laughing and half-seriously accusing Pelechavy of r.itting at the table without ever touching his full glass . "Why don't you drink like all the other right men do? May a hundred thunderclaps deafen your soul.'' A guffaw shook the room. The men emptied their glasses, while the Jewish innkeeper did his best to keep them filled. Zajac continued with his tall tales: "Did you know that macaroni is really nothing but tapeworms seventy yards long? People buy them by the foot. To eat macaroni, all one has to do is sit in the most comfortable position, open his mouth, and let the tapeworm run down his throat by itself, while the waitress measures its length by the yard and cuts it with scissors when the customer has eaten his fill.'' Zajac then related the tale of his love affair with an Italian countess. "As soon as I rode into the castle yard," he said, "she started to wink at me, her mouth watering with anticipation. She thought, 'By Jove, there's a lad. I'm sure he has no eq~al in the entire world!' And when I dismounted and handed my horse over to the servant, she shook my hand and took me by arm, saying, ''If you will, please!' Then we went into the house. After a good supper, she prepared a bed for her husband on the bench at the hearth. 'You'll sleep here tonight,' she said, patting his arm, 'but please be quiet and don't disturb the hussar in his sleep.' - For me she spread a sheaf of straw on the floor in the middle of the room. The count, listening to her soft conversation with me, coughed and said, 'Erzha, is that hussar whispering with you?' " 'So what if he is?' " 'Why don't you stop him?' the count said. " 'I can't. I don't speak his language,' the countess replied." SLOVAKIA 95 '' And what about your meeting with Napoleon?'' a youngster with a broom-like feather on his hat called, prompting Zajac to further narration. '' All right, listen! WhE!n the Frenchmen had annoyed us with their frequent attacks, our Emperor met with his generals to find out which one of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers wore his cap most rakishly and would therefore be best suited to be sent to Napoleon . All the generals, of course, agreed that only I, Zajac, was the proper hero, willing and able to go on such an important mission. I mounted my horse and was off to Paris. On my arrival there, I tethered my horse to a fence . Mrs. Napoleon, the Empress of France, immediately ran to me, bringing oats for my horse in her apron and taking me into her kitchen . She cooked pirohy (a) for me, filled with minced pears. They were really good, better than any I'd ever seen or tasted! Large as peasant moccasins, they were greased with the tallow collected from seven melted candles. I swear to God, they were so good that the grease flowed down my chin as profusely as down Aaron's beard. I ate almost two of them. As an extra treat the Empress also cooked hriate (b) and baked pag<ice (c) with cracklings for my return trip." "And what about Napoleon?" "Well, he patted my shoulder and said, ' My dear fellow! I wish I had a regiment of hussars like you! With men like you I would easily conquer the entire world, and all the nations in it.' - And you should have seen it - I give you my word of honor and cross my heart - he embraced and kissed me as if I were his lady love.'' "And did he sue for peace?" ' 'Of course , what else could he do when I asked him to? He gave me ten farthings for whisky and asked me to convince our Emperor and generals not to stir until he took over as many lands as he wanted. He whetted his appetite for our Bombardy (1) and bombarded us out of it, may thunder and lightning strike his sideways-turned hat! We looked around, hoping that some Cossack would appear and help us, but the world is ungrateful! We assisted the Frenchmen in Crimea against the Muscovites and the thankless Muscovites did not come to repay our courtesy and help us against the Frenchmen. That's the kind of honor you find in this world! . . . " "You' re the greatest liar I've ever seen! " Buchak remarked, wiping his moustache. ''Yes, and all of you are great fools,'' the ex-hussar Zajac laughed. "You should take my words as seriously as you take the print on paper money, which sa: ·s you may exchange it for silver any time, or believe me as much as yo I can the saying that all men are equal." (1883) (Translated by Andrew Cincura) 96 SLOVAKIA NOTES: jocular term for Lombardy . Lombardy belonged to the AustroHungarian Empire until 1859. (1) Bombardy - (a) pirohy - cheese or fruit dumplings (b) hriate - hot whisky with goose-fat topping (c) pagace (pagaache) - small unsweetened cakes The nDiscovery" of Gunpowder (a frag111cnt) TEREZIA VANSOV A (1857-1941) Autumn had progressed considerably, but our children were still enjoying the golden freedom of summer vacation. In our village, there was a tradition that school started only after the Tisovec Fair. After the pupil's mothers had sold a goose or a piece of homespun linen and had bought clothes for their children and the primers with the picture of a rooster on the front cover. Then, and only then, could the children walk proudly to school. Our boys conducted great military maneuvers in the parsonage orchard. Danny, who continually pestered Srnchik with his questions about military strategy, commanded his "rank-and-file" comrades, who were equipped with wooden sabres, guns, and a supply of dry-pea bullets in their pockets. One-two-one-two - the company marched up the orchard path, and when Danny thought they had reached their position, he called, "H-a-a-a-1-t!" Then he turned to his "men" and drilled them in the proper ways of military know-how. He was naturally dissatisfied with the over-all results. The ''men'' halted, once with one leg in the forward position, then with the ~ther. Some of them were stooped, some crooked; some did not add to iih.e glory of the tight-knit military unit at all. "How are you standing there, Private Misho? Don't you know anything about proper military bearing? Up! Straighten your legs! No, no! Don't stand there like a duckling! Pull your belly in! Out with your chest!'' Misho tried his best, but he never succeeded in acquiring a proper stance. His face was one broad grin. He opened his mouth wide and held his hands tightly to his knees (his monkey-like hands actually reached lower than his knees!). Yet regardless of his efforts, he was never praised for his achievements. SLOVAKIA 97 Then Danny drilled the ''troops'' in the proper use of weapons, but he became really upset when even his own gun refused to obey his command. "F-i-r-e! F-i-r-e!" Danny repeated in exasperation. What was the purpose of military games without a weapon that really shoots? Why use a weapon which neither fires nor kills? He had already almost worn out his brains in an effort to acquire gunpowder. What all he had done, and all for nothing! He would have bought some powder, and he certainly could have obtained the money for it somehow. But what good would it do when neither he nor any of his comrades were big enough to buy powder in Tisovec. He was just a child, and his request, however small, would have been considered too dangerous anyway. Danny's friend Johnny had not taken part in the military drill today. Johnny would have been subject to a reprimand from his stem commander had he not appeared when the game was about to end. Running through the orchard, Johnny finally stopped near the formation. With a book in his hand, he waved and shouted, almost out of breath, "Hurrah, we've got gunpowder!" The boys turned around. Forgetting their military discipline, they jumped out of their lines and surrounded Johnny. Johnny showed them the book - the Almanac of Fejerpataky. The boys stopped, bewildered. They thought their comrade had brought some real gunpowder with him; and instead, he only showed them an old book. Danny snatched the book from Johnny's hand and asked with contempt and suspicion, "Why did you bring this book?" "Here, look! Here it is!" Johnny replied, still gasping for breath. "What?" Danny asked impatiently. ''The formula for making gunpowder!'' Johnny's reply electrified Danny. "Let's see!" He grabbed the book again, sank to the turf, and started to turn the leaves. Johnny showed him the article in the almanac. Both boys plunged into reading and quickly forgot their comrades, who resumed their own play. Danny studied the well-known recipe like a cook about the prepare a tasty cake. While reading, he wondered how he could obtain and measure all the ingredients necessary for gunpowder. Seventy-five parts saltpeter (but what is "saltpeter" and where he could buy it?); eleven parts sulfur (ah, he had it; luckily, he had already taken some from his father's supply); and fourteen parts hazel-wood charcoal (that's the easiest to get: they could cut hazel twigs anywhere, and they could bum charcoal by themselves). The scales for weighing the ingredients? No problem - they would construct it from twigs, strings, and an apple. And now to work! Danny stood up, his face gleaming. He gave the necessary instructions immediately. The boys were to go tomorrow morning to cut hazel wood. They were to store the supply at the upper end of the orchard, and they were to build a charcoal-pile there. Johnny was to go to Tisovec to buy saltpeter. (Danny knew that he could not get any 98 SLOVAKIA himself because of his previous "contacts" with the city merchants.) Danny would try to find out what saltpeter was and where they could buy it. The orders dispensed, Danny hit the shortest path to his grandmother' s. He found her in front of her house thrashing hemp. He addressed her directly, "Grandma!" "What do you want, my son?" ' 'What ' s saltpeter?'' "Saltpeter?" the old woman repeated the question with surprise. "What is he dabbling in now, this Danny?" she thought with suspicion, unable to find a good reason behind the question. She was familiar with saltpeter, a harmless ingredient which was used for certain jobs in the household. She told him that the druggists in Tisovec kept saltpeter in their stores. This information was all Danny needed. Early the next morning, he sent Johnny to the city with three farthings to buy the saltpeter. In the meantime, Danny found a large apple, a "funtovka" apple (1) growing in the school garden, cut the apple in two equal halves, carving them into bowl-like plates, he attached the two halves first to strings and then to twigs arranged as primitive scales. When the charcoal was prepared and all the ingredients collected, he weighed the proper amounts of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, triturated every ingredient separately, and mixed them together. It made a little pile when he poured the mixture on a sheet of paper. He was as pleased with the feat as a chemist might have been with a successful experiment in his laboratory. The boys soon found that their experiment was successful, when one of them put the compound on the fire; the gunpowder wheezed up and hit Mis ho directly on his nose, for he was too curious and had stuck his head close to the compound "to see everything better." Fortunately, the amount allotted for the experiment was small, and Misho's accident thus was not too serious. A.similar result was attained in another experiment when one of the boys ~laced a capsule on a stone and hit it with another stone. The explosion again produced "casualties" - one "well-done thumb" and one "medium-done nose.'' The boys' summer games were brought to a sudden end with the announcement that school would open and classes would begin again immediately after the Tisovec Fair. (1934) Translated by Andrew Cincura NOTE: (1) funt (Slovak) - "pound. " "Funtovky" (pl.; funtovka, sg.) are very large apples that grow in Central Europe. In Slovak folk etymology, they are supposed to weigh at least one pound each. SLOVAKIA 99 More About the Fair (11 fr1111111ent) MARTIN KUKUCfN (1860-1928) \ An African afternoon heat seemed to rest on our exhilarated city. There was almost no shade, not even next to the house walls. The sun was inescapable, burning mercilessly as if trying to suck the last drop of moisture from emaciated, desiccated Mother Earth. And still no one even thought of hitting the bunk for an hour or so, as the human constitution should require, especially after a festive dinner, when limbs become as heavy as lead and eyelids droop; when a sweet dream flutters about despite straining efforts to keep one's eyes open. Eyes grow stiff and seem to be bulging and enveloped by a fog in which objects merge with each other. In the end, you cannot do anything but give up and lie down sinking deeply into the embraces of a sweet nap. But who could have slept this afternoon? Recently rising from the table to sip black coffee, everyone shook off his drowsiness and went off to the square. The entire city swarmed and dawdled among the tents, buying and extorting presents without shyness or courtesy. Everyone was happy, alert, and lively. The bells, tolling four o'clock, put an end to the hurly-burly. At once the square became as empty as if swept. The tents were closed, and people either entered the church or - not finding a place inside surrounded the church in a numberless mass. After somewhat abbreviated vespers, a procession started. People forged out of the church in waves, reeling from side to side, and finally taking their position in rows. The most difficult task remained - to set the procession in motion. At the head there were school children under the church banner, followed by endless rows of men. Two by two, each of the men carried a faintly-smoldering candle into the dazzling sun's rays. The young boys following the men carried huge candles and torches in multicolored lanterns. The church banners fluttered in the air, then hung limply as the faint breeze died in the torrid stillness. Then the church kantadurs (1) marched under the ,leadership of mester (2) Ivo, all singing monotonous psalms with strong but dragging voices. The echo of their song thundered amid the houses and immediately died in the dead silence of the surroundings. Four youngsters in white albs, walking after the singers, carried on their shoulders the statue of the Virgin Mary, removed from the main altar. Mary sat majestically, with the smiling child on her knees. Crowns of pure gold glittered on the heads 100 SLOVAKIA of the Mother and Son. The Christ-Child spread his plump hands as if surprised by the sudden trip from the gloomy altar niche into the blinding sun. A brocade-like garment fell in colorful folds down the statue of the Mother of God. The image, laden with jewels and precious stones, glittered, flashed, and sparkled. After the company of priests, led by our Don Roko in a festive cape, sor Ilija Zorkovic walked in black clothes, with a hard hat in one hand and a black cane trimmed with a massive silver handle in the other. He walked alone. Pacing slowly and gravely, he looked neither to the right nor to the left, conscious of his authority and elevated rank which surpassed all the other laymen in the procession. Ilija is the chairman of the church board, curator and controller of all church holdings. He is responsible for the care of church fields and wine cellars. He manages the wine until it is sold to the merchants. Everything in the church - even the candles used in such large numbers every year - rests on his shoulders. He is, in addition, the manager of the Virgin Mary, the patroness of our city - he protects all jewelry and precious stones, earrings and golden chains, bracelets and rings. Sor Ilija Zorkovic keeps all the trinkets that are hung and poured over the statue in his own house in a heavy, ironbound chest. Such a grave responsibility entails much work and many pains, but the reward is splendid - during every procession, he occupies the most prominent place, alone, right behind the baldachin, before the eyes of the entire world, seen by friends and enemies, well-wishers and envious men. Why should his chest not swell with pride and self-assurance? Why should he not walk seriously and solemnly? Behind sor Ilija Zorkovic came the mayor surrounded by all the assessors. The mayor, too, walked gravely, but one way or another, his entire countenance was a far cry from Zorkovic's. After the representatives of the opcina, (4) there was a gap of five or six paces in the procession - the women walking separately behind the men's rows. The military retinue, with rifles on, their shoulders and their "hay-straw, hay-straw" cadence, flanked the statue and priests on both sides. · It was really a magnificent sight! The continuous tolling of the bells - urgent, fancy, heavy, tremulous - you name it! The bellman, holding the clapper in his fist and shaking it with his hand, struck the bell. Everyone looked forward to the procession; for weeks and weeks everyone delighted in its anticipation. Every member of the family took part in it if he had strength enough to move his limbs. Doddering elders, hardly able to drag their feet, were present, as were the little children, just managing their first attempts to stay on their feet. Mothers carried infants in their arms, so that no one would miss the procession. Among those present, there were also many non-residents. Many guests took pains to join the procession to express their devotion to the Mother of God either for restored health or for other favors SLOVAKIA 101 granted them or their relatives. No wonder, then, that the magnificence and number of participants serve as a gauge for evaluating whether the fair was a complete or only a partial success. And the "mark" of relative success or failure was an important thing - every citizen was proud if his city's fair was famous far and wide . The entire processioJJ. dragged slowly across the square and through the short street, out,of the city toward the cross standing in the flat field on a marble pedestal. From there, following the promenade, the procession returned to the city, submerging into narrow alleys, flanked either by blunt fence walls or one-story houses . The streets were swept and sprinkled with white sand. The balconies of the more stately houses were transformed into fragrant flower groves; draperies or ornamental rugs hung from the windows and banisters . Even the teiaks (5) decorated their cottages for the occasion. The low roofs of some cottages were covered with flowerpots. In other cottages - those with marriageable daughters - the girls spread their dowries out on the roofs or on adjacent stone walls. The school children had already entered the narrow streets when sora (6) Andrejana's group was just leaving the church yard. The stylish young misses, as always, remained at the very end of the procession. Because of their relative distance from the statue of the Virgin, they may have forgotten the reason for their presence. While the lingering song of the church singers reverberated and a muffled prayer recited with the rosary beads murmured above the crowd, whispered conversations and giggles flowed among the young ladies, accompanied by glances cast toward the balcony of Citaonica (7) where a number of the young elite assembled to see the magnificent march. It is necessary to stress that hardly any of the young ladies wore a hat in most cases they wore black veils with the ends flowing picturesquely down their breasts. Since they had no parasols, they held fans in their hands, and were able to throw coquettish glances here and there, to the side or up toward the windows. The merchants remained at their tents. With the approach of the procession, they fell to their knees , contritely beating their chests. The bells warbled and tinkled. Dust clouds rose, especially behind the women. The mortars thundered in volleys. Sor Hija Zorkovic tied a knot on the cord in his hand after every volley, in order to have an exact count of the gunpowder used and prevent youngsters from stealing part of the explosives for hunting rabbits or partridges. And the Mother of God looked down kindly from her throne. Her Son , as if bewildered, threw his chubby hands about, smiling. With almost vertical rays, the sun blazed from above, and the dark-blue sky seemed to stretch absent-mindedly above this multicolored world. (1904) Translated by Andrew Cincura 102 SLOVAKIA Note: "More About the Fair," a fragment from Kukucin's novel, Dom u strcini (The House on the Hillside), is fundamentally a representative sample of the author's "second creative period," which coincided with his life in Dalmatia. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) kantadurs (Dalmatian): singers mester (meshter, Dalmatian): master sor (shor, Dalmatian): mister, sir opcina (Croatian): commune, township teiaks (tezhaks, Croatian): poor peasants, farm hands sora (shora, Dalmatian): Mrs. citaonica (chitaonica, Croatian): reading club, library Joe Mak (a fr111111ent) JOZEF CIGER-HRONSKY (1896-1960) Just as Joe Mak returned on Thursday afternoon from hauling and had finished watering his horses, his employer, Baniar-Banoci, came into the yard and called, "Joe! J-o-o-e! Where are you?" ''Here! I'm here,'' Joe replied, coming out of the stable. Joe followed Baniar-Banoci to the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Take this and go home!" Baniar-Banoci gave Joe a large bottle of whisky, some flour, sugar, and other victuals. Joe Mak looked at Baniar and at the f~od in surprise, hesitating before taking the offered goods. ''Just take everything and hurry, go home! And send someone for the milk in the evening. But let me warn you, you'd better leave your sheepskin cap here and go home with a bare head!'' At that moment Joe's hands fell motionless. His lips moved into a smile. He looked first at the floor , then again at Baniar. He understood. "A girl?" " No, it's a boy!" Baniar replied. "The women said that he is big enough to post the banns and get married right away.'' "Well ... ," Joe Mak said, standing on one spot without a gesture and without any real thoughts in his head. He lifted his sheepskin cap somewhat automatically and thanked God from the bottom of his soul. "Julia wanted a girl," Joe said. "She still can have one. " "Yes, she can ... But I wouldn't have minded if she had had one now.'' SLOVAKIA 103 Then he left. The flour and sugar on his back convinced him that everything was all right. He could believe Baniar's words. He did not need to ask anyone else. But the distance from Baniar's homestead to Joe's cottage was relatively long. Joe suddenly noticed that he was walking rapidly and began to drag his steps. If someone were to meet him, he would stop; he would talk at length as he would be expected to do; he would speak of the commonest things, for he wanted everything to be simple. He would say, ''Baniar told me that we have an additional member in our family, so I'm going to see. Of course, there will be more worries again .... And what a dry winter this is! The snow is late . Very likely we won 't have any snow this winter. One needs a bit of snow. Otherwise one loses track of the time, not knowing how far winter has progressed and why his fi1'gers get numb." He prepared the remarks about winter in the event that someone stopped him. But no one did. He was obliged to go home directly. And there he had only one opportunity to compliment Baniar for giving him so many things. Even so, he referred to Baniar only in order to have an excuse to stop at the hearth, unload the gifts slowly and carefully, and listen to the words of Mary Klachovka and Hana and little Joe, his son. It was easy for Joe to straighten his back. It was difficult to look at Julia, his wife. Almost transparent and with her eyes closed, she was lying in bed as if asleep; yet she was not asleep. She knew Joe was standing at her bedside unable to find words to fit the occasion. Her eyelids quivered. And when she opened her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks. "Don't be angry with me , Joe!" Julia's lips moved, and Joe thought that she deliberately said the words softly so that no one but he could hear them. And Joe Mak was ashamed. Ordinary shame, though perhaps deeper than usual, overcame him. It was a merciless shame. Joe's face reddened as always, but this time the shame reached into his veins. Driving forward, it benumbed all of Joe's blood vessels. He pressed his knee to the sideboard of the bed, feeling that he could not stay on his feet otherwise. He pressed his hands together behind his back in an effort to cover his excitement. He clenched his teeth, realizing that both his eyelids and his eyesockets had begun to tremble. He knew they would gush tears like a little child if he relaxed his cheek muscles even slightly. Would that not be embarrassing? Or was there something else? Yes, there was! Mary Klachovka was present. She should not be lingering in the room at this time. Her presence was a sacrilege. She should not interfere with Joe's intimate conversation with Julia. No one likes to be surprised in a moment of weakness. No one wants to be caught at a time when he is nothing but a human being; 104 SLOVAKIA when he is neither rich nor poor, neither Joe nor Mak; when everything - work and clothing and everything bestowed on a man by destiny falls off of him for a while, and when nothing but fundamental wisdom remains in him. Klachovka felt it. She unconsciously sensed the moment. She left the room, taking the children with her so that Joe Mak did not have to hide his humanity, so that all his wisdom - a wisdom possessed by every man in such moments - would remain his in its entirety. Without Klachovka in the room, Joe Mak could reflect on those things which other men can think of in advance and thus prepare themselves for any contingency, so as to know when and how one should weep or when and how one should laugh. But the wise man Joe Mak found that in all his life he had learned nothing for such occasions and that he might better remain silent, without word or gesture, for it would be funny if his heavy hands started doing something they had never learned before and his mouth began a speech which he had not prepared. His hands could not attempt any tenderness, for they were calloused and rough, suitable only for heavy work. This way he was also able to hold back the assault of tears, however unusual, which welled in his eyes, since heretofore he had experienced only one kind of moisture on his face - that of sweat, drying either in the sun or frost, etching deep wrinkles into his face. Be that as it may, Joe just wanted Julia to know that even a laborer has a heart, although he cannot show it as much as a gentle man or a lighthearted youngster. Joe had more than enough warmth and kindness and love in his heart for this moment. Because his love for Julia was born with difficulty, it had become purer and more secure - a love on which one could rely. Surely Julia knew of all this. "God help us, Julia," Joe said like a weather-beaten priest who had plowed a cliff and was about to deliver his first sermon. A wan, almost invisible smile touched Julia's lips, lightly caressing her cheeks and eyes. The pure white smile then spread to her forehead. Had she been able to do anything~t all, she would have lifted both her hands so that Joe Mak could have placed his head in her palms. Had she been stronger, she would certainly have smiled more clearly and would have spoken loudly: "Joe, my dear husband! I didn't think I would live through this childbirth. I thought you and I would never understand each other. And everything I thought was wrong. Now I see clearly that you love me. I see everything and I know for sure that God will help us. Why shouldn't He? But don't be angry with me, Joe! Surely you aren't angry because of what I said. How could I imagine that you would be angry? I knew beforehand that you would be good to me when you returned home. A dream pressed its way into my eyes, and the women around by bed thought I was really sleeping. But I was just waiting for you, because all SLOVAKIA 105 the others around me were strangers. I'll sleep soundly now. If you place your hand on my body, you can feel that my heart is still motionless; it feels as hard as a stone. But now that you've returned, now that I can see you, I'll rest peacefully, and my heart will start beating again. Do you know, my dear husband, what will happen when my heart begins to beat again? My entire world will start for me again.'' ''Banoci didn't tell me., what happened or how it happened. But I can guess," Joe Mak said quietly. Perspiration flowed down his hard face, but what could he do? What else could he do when he knew no other way of telling Julia that today was different from all other days? Joe Mak saw Julia's white smile. But he knew that a white smile was a very fragile thing; one must be very careful to not touch such a smile at all. Joe thought it would have been a blasphemy to desecrate such a smile with words. And Joe did not want to offend God today nor to hinder the beating of Julia's heart in any way. Julia's heart started slowly. Thump, thump .... Some blood had reached its auricles and ventricles and warmed up immediately. Happiness began glowing in Julia's cheeks. This happiness, small as it was in the beginning, started to grow and fly and flow and fill the entire room. Even the loud-mouthed Klachovka, returning to the room, refrained from disturbing the couple's bliss. Joe Mak lifted his oldest son up high and tickled him under his chin. And the boy broke into such laughter that the glass shook in the window frame. Little Joe laughed because he was a little boy. All this took place on Thursday. The hoarfrost came on the following Monday. Everyone knows that hoarfrost is like a beautiful veil. You cannot find it in any anticipated place or at any predetermined time. The hoarfrost's veil is beautiful on bleached meadows. But this one did not spread over plains or slopes. The hoarfrost usually settles on the birch twigs. It glitters opaquely, a demure element of nature's magnificence, reluctant to impose itself on anyone's sight. But this particular frost did not encase the birch twigs . The hoarfrost did not settle on the firs and willows either. It did not come at midnight as usual. This one came in the daylight and settled only on Mak's cottage. But even there, the hoarfrost did not spread over the entire cottage. It did not cover either the roof or the threshold, or the room. This day's hoarfrost settled only on Julia's face, on her forehead, on her closed eyes, on her white lips, on Julia's white smile. Yes, Julia was smiling even then, as she died. (1933) Translated by Andrew Cincura  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 Selections from An Anthology of Slovak Literature Description An account of the resource Andrew Cincurra<br />Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976<br />pp. 87-105<br /><ol><li>Introductory Remarks / Andrew Cincura (p. 87).</li> <li>On Skulls / Ján Hollý, translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda (p. 88).</li> <li>God in Heaven / Andrej Sládkovič, translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda (p. 89).</li> <li>Bloody Sonnets (a fragment) / Pavol Orságh-Hviezdoslav, translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda (p. 90).</li> <li>The Guests / Ivan Krasko, translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda (p. 91).</li> <li>The Hundred and First Tale of Boccaccio / Valentín Beniak, translated by Andrew Cincura (p. 92).</li> <li>Carmen / Emil B. Lukáč, translated by Jaroslav J. Vajda (p. 93).</li> <li>Two Days at Chujava (a fragment) / Jonáš Záborský, translated by Andrew Cincura (pp. 94-95).</li> <li>The "Discovery" of Gunpowder (a fragment) / Terézia Vansová, translated by Andrew Cincura (pp. 96-98).</li> <li>More About the Fair (a fragment) / Martin Kukučín, translated by Andrew Cincura (pp. 99-101).</li> <li>Joe Mak (a fragment) / Jozef Cíger-Hronský, translated by Andrew Cincura (pp. 102-105).</li> </ol> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cincura, Andrew, 1917- Vajda, Jaroslav J., 1919-2008 Hollý, Ján, 1785-1849 Sládkovič, Andrej, 1820-1872 Hviezdoslav, Pavol Országh, 1849-1921 Krasko, Ivan, 1876-1958 Beniak, Valentín, 1894-1973 Lukáč, Emil Boleslav, 1900-1979 Záborský, Jonáš, 1812-1876 Vansová, Terézia, 1857-1942 Kukučín, Martin, 1860-1928 Hronský, Jozef Cíger, 1896-1960 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/029d603d9d512ac10874f3e99299fe7b.pdf d7f1309ae0047674f22aeaaea36de48b PDF Text Text 106 SLOVAKIA Slovakia on My Map MARGARET MATUS It' s been three years since they buried my grandfather. He died just after Christmas when I was seventeen. I can still picture the grief in his eyes the day they buried my grandmother, just three short weeks before his own death. I remember him sitting heavy and limp in his wheel chair next to her casket, staring at no one in particular, while pictures were taken of Grandma to send to her relatives in CzechoSlovakia. Somehow it seemed a disgusting thing to do - taking pictures of a dead person . But it caused me to think back to a picture that some distant cousin had sent from the old country. It was a woman, one hundred and one years old, so they said. She was stretched out in a narrow coffin with people lined up all around her. The picture fascinated me, not because the old woman was dead, but rather because those people, living so far away, were related to me . It caused me to wonder what it would be like to live in their country and speak in my grandparents' native tongue. My interest, however, didn't fully develop until my sophomore year of high school, when I was assigned to research my ethnic background. At the time I didn't even know where exactly CzechoSlovakia was on the map. None of the history courses I'd ever taken mentioned much about it. I could only find one book in the school library that had anything at all about Slovaks, other than a sentence or two. It was a paragraph of mostly derogatory remarks. It talked about' our bad temper and our weak will for booze - something to the effect that our idea of a good time was to see how many empty beer kegs we could leave rolling on the floor. I found it hard to believe that a history resource book could be so opinionated and it angered me. I flatly refused to tell the class about what I had found. Instead, I tried to rely on what little information I could dig up from my own family background. It wasn't easy. Even though both of my parents are Slovak, they were only able to answer a few of the many questions I raised about our family heritage. I couldn't speak to my father's parents about it. They had long since passed away. And, while my mother's parents were still alive, I never bothered much to question them about their history. I'm not sure exactly why . Maybe it was because they never encouraged my interest, or maybe I was just too impatient to struggle with their broken English. Besides, they always had a habit of slipping into Slovak, and I was never around them long enough to understand any of it . I remember once, when I was very young, I asked my mother to teach me Slovak. Unfortunately, she could only speak a few words of it �SLOVAKIA 107 herself, even though she was quite. capable of understanding it when it was spoken to her. She taught me a few things, like how to say my name and how to count to ten, but that was about the extent of it. Being close to the youngest in her family, my mother didn't have as much exposure to the Slovak tradition as her brothers and sister had. I guess you could say that by the time she was born, the family had become more Americanized. But she told me as much as she could about the life and conventiQns of my grandparents. They came to America shortly after World War I. My grandmother, Anna Goffa, was officially born in the United States but was taken back to Europe soon after her birth. She was still an infant when her mother died and her father returned to America, leaving her behind with relatives. Joseph Svac had known Anna as an infant, and it was said that once, while he was rocking her to sleep, he claimed he would one day marry her. As a child, Anna lived the life of an orphan, being pushed from one relative to another. She went to school for a short time only, never reaching the fourth grade. When the war broke out she was sent to work in fields where soldiers were buried, throwing lime on the ground to hasten the decay. She was eighteen when her father finally sent for her to join him in America. Joseph had embarked for the U.S. a few years earlier and he was working as a lumberjack in Colorado. When he heard of Anna's arrival in Pittsburgh, he joined her and they were married shortly afterwards at Holy Trinity Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, with a celebration that lasted three days. Eventually, they settled down in Clairton, Pennsylvania, where Joseph got a job as a mill worker. The Svac family came from a background that was rich in superstition. Many of their beliefs centered around the "evil eye." Anna claimed that her first-horn's death was caused by this curse. She said that on the day her newborn baby was baptized, a woman, presumably possessing the "evil eye," cast a spell on the baby by staring at her. At that very moment the baby began to cry and continued to do so for several hours. She died a day or so later. Anna's only son, Mike, was also supposedly cursed by the "evil eye" when he was five years old. He slipped into a convulsive-like state, and a neighborhood midwife had to perform some sort of ritulll to rid him of it. Altogether, Joseph and Anna Svac had eight children. Two of them died as infants. My mother was their seventh-born, which supposedly meant that her life would be blessed with good fortune. She was also a ''veiled'' child, signifying that she had the potential to develop certain psychic capabilities. ("Veiled" was a term used to describe a baby born with a film of skin over its face.) They christened her Margaret V. Svac. The "V" was meant to �108 SLOVAKIA stand for Wilma, but my grandmother's heavy accent caused some misunderstanding and Margaret' s middle name was recorded as Vilma instead. Many of her family ' s customs had faded out when my mother was young so that she could recall only a few with any clarity. She told me about the host-like bread that they had every Christmas Eve, and how it was imprinted with holy pictures and eaten with honey on it . She also mentioned the blessing of Easter baskets and managed to recall a few of my grandparents' superstitions. According to one of them, in order to have good luck all year, a dark haired man must be the first to enter the home on New Year's Eve. She said that my grandfather believed that it was bad luck to leave a room through a different doorway than that through which one entered. By the time my mother married, there was very little to pass on to her children in the way of tradition other than a few vague memories, most of which were fragmented and, more than likely, inaccurate. My father's family couldn't provide any more cultural information than that of my mother ' s. As a matter of fact, his family was even more Americanized than hers. He didn't even have any considerable exposure to the Slovak language . It wasn't spoken in his home because, I suspect, my grandparents philosophized that "when you ' re in America, you only need to speak English.'' My grandfather, Jan Matus, came to the United States shortly before the onset of World War I. Slovakia, then under Magyar control, was plagued by a serious economic depression - driving over 750,000 Slovaks to the U.S . in search of work and better living conditions . Jan, who was seventeen years old at the time, left his family of nineteen in hopes of finding a good paying job as a tool and die maker in America. My great-grandfather, Jan Sr. , had wanted to come to the U.S. for many years. But the thought of either uprooting or abandoning his large family kept him from leaving his home in Spisska Nova Ves, where he worked as supervisor to an ore mine. Jan Jr., though, had no intention of following his father's line of work, and so he embarked for America in 1910. Once he arrived here, my grandfather found out that life wouldn't be quite as easy as he had thought it would be. He ended up writing home for money to live on until he could establish himself. Eventually, he settled down in Pittsburgh after marrying Anna Kovalcik, who was American-born and, therefore, somewhat less ethnic-oriented than himself. Together, they raised seven children, each named according to the saint's day on which he or she was born an idea which Jan's eldest son, Sylvester, resented. Jan had four other sons, one of which was named John, after himself. John was to become my father. Early in 1943, Anna Kovalcik Matus died of cancer, leaving my grandfather to raise seven children on his own. My father was twelve �SLOVAKIA 109 years old at the time and very quickly learned to be independent. He lived at home until his marriage to my mother in 1955. I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away, and the only trace of him that I can remember, other than what can be seen in the family photograph album, is the foreign accent he had. Most of his relatives are still living in Eastern Europe. I have a great aunt who writes to thE¥I1 from time to time. However, her letters are written in Hungarian. She can no longer remember very much of her native language. I visited her a few times, when I was much younger, and I remember once finding a book of Slovak proverbs that had been lying next to her reading chair. I spent an entire day copying them over very carefully - first in Slovak, and then in English translation. I had two favorites out of all those sayings. One was, "If you have the horse, don't worry about the saddle,'' and the other, ''If there were no 'ifs' we'd all be in heaven." After that day, whenever I wrote to a friend, I'd make sure to add one of the Slovak proverbs, written in Slovak, to the bottom of the letter. I thought it looked impressive, almost as though I actually knew the language. None ofmy friends, that I can recall, were Slovak, and it made me feel rather unique that I was of a descent almost totally mysterious to them - the only problem being that it was just about as mysterious to me, also. I realize now that very few Slavic Americans felt the way that I had back then. Most of them tried to become as "American" as possible. Some even went as far as changing their surnames to cover up their heritage. I've only recently come to realize that this was due primarily to various forms of discrimination suffered by the Slavic Americans. Even though my parents' families let quite a few Slovak traditions slip away from them, they were never ashamed of their ancestry and never covered up the fact they were of Slavic origin. Of course, no one in my family ever tried to push for anything more than a modest middle class life. If they had, they might have felt the same oppression that so many other Slavic Americans faced. It reminds me of a teacher I once had, who asked me to name one famous American of Slovak descent. I couldn't think of any at all - at least none that would have ever openly admitted to being Slovak. The incident embarrassed me, but it had no effect whatsoever on the pride I had for my own heritage. Those Slovaks who emigrated to this country were a very humble and pious people, and I admire them very much. They were hard workers and, more than anything else, they were deeply religious. My elder relatives still adorn their homes with an abundance of sacred statues and pictures. Many of them spend a great deal of time in Church. And, of what little customs they do remember, almost all have strong religious connotations. Since the death of my grandfather, three years ago, my interest in my own heritage has grown considerably, and I'm beginning to learn �110 SLOVAKIA the language and the culture. And, I'm glad to see that ethnic awareness is developing, not only in my community, but in others as well. For Slavic Americans are rapidly losing a wealth of cultural knowledge that cannot be preserved unless desire is generated now. (Reprinted with permission from Growing Up Slavic in America, published by EMPAC, Box 48, Bayville, New York 10109.) (Margaret Matus, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, is currently working on a self-designed major in Eastern European Studies. She is an active member in the Slavic-American Citizens Educational Society and is President of the University Slovak-Czech Club, in addition to being affiliated with various other University organizations.) � 106 SLOVAKIA Slovakia on My Map MARGARET MATUS It' s been three years since they buried my grandfather. He died just after Christmas when I was seventeen. I can still picture the grief in his eyes the day they buried my grandmother, just three short weeks before his own death. I remember him sitting heavy and limp in his wheel chair next to her casket, staring at no one in particular, while pictures were taken of Grandma to send to her relatives in CzechoSlovakia. Somehow it seemed a disgusting thing to do - taking pictures of a dead person . But it caused me to think back to a picture that some distant cousin had sent from the old country. It was a woman, one hundred and one years old, so they said. She was stretched out in a narrow coffin with people lined up all around her. The picture fascinated me, not because the old woman was dead, but rather because those people, living so far away, were related to me . It caused me to wonder what it would be like to live in their country and speak in my grandparents' native tongue. My interest, however, didn't fully develop until my sophomore year of high school, when I was assigned to research my ethnic background. At the time I didn't even know where exactly CzechoSlovakia was on the map. None of the history courses I'd ever taken mentioned much about it. I could only find one book in the school library that had anything at all about Slovaks, other than a sentence or two. It was a paragraph of mostly derogatory remarks. It talked about' our bad temper and our weak will for booze - something to the effect that our idea of a good time was to see how many empty beer kegs we could leave rolling on the floor. I found it hard to believe that a history resource book could be so opinionated and it angered me. I flatly refused to tell the class about what I had found. Instead, I tried to rely on what little information I could dig up from my own family background. It wasn't easy. Even though both of my parents are Slovak, they were only able to answer a few of the many questions I raised about our family heritage. I couldn't speak to my father's parents about it. They had long since passed away. And, while my mother's parents were still alive, I never bothered much to question them about their history. I'm not sure exactly why . Maybe it was because they never encouraged my interest, or maybe I was just too impatient to struggle with their broken English. Besides, they always had a habit of slipping into Slovak, and I was never around them long enough to understand any of it . I remember once, when I was very young, I asked my mother to teach me Slovak. Unfortunately, she could only speak a few words of it �SLOVAKIA 107 herself, even though she was quite. capable of understanding it when it was spoken to her. She taught me a few things, like how to say my name and how to count to ten, but that was about the extent of it. Being close to the youngest in her family, my mother didn't have as much exposure to the Slovak tradition as her brothers and sister had. I guess you could say that by the time she was born, the family had become more Americanized. But she told me as much as she could about the life and conventiQns of my grandparents. They came to America shortly after World War I. My grandmother, Anna Goffa, was officially born in the United States but was taken back to Europe soon after her birth. She was still an infant when her mother died and her father returned to America, leaving her behind with relatives. Joseph Svac had known Anna as an infant, and it was said that once, while he was rocking her to sleep, he claimed he would one day marry her. As a child, Anna lived the life of an orphan, being pushed from one relative to another. She went to school for a short time only, never reaching the fourth grade. When the war broke out she was sent to work in fields where soldiers were buried, throwing lime on the ground to hasten the decay. She was eighteen when her father finally sent for her to join him in America. Joseph had embarked for the U.S. a few years earlier and he was working as a lumberjack in Colorado. When he heard of Anna's arrival in Pittsburgh, he joined her and they were married shortly afterwards at Holy Trinity Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, with a celebration that lasted three days. Eventually, they settled down in Clairton, Pennsylvania, where Joseph got a job as a mill worker. The Svac family came from a background that was rich in superstition. Many of their beliefs centered around the "evil eye." Anna claimed that her first-horn's death was caused by this curse. She said that on the day her newborn baby was baptized, a woman, presumably possessing the "evil eye," cast a spell on the baby by staring at her. At that very moment the baby began to cry and continued to do so for several hours. She died a day or so later. Anna's only son, Mike, was also supposedly cursed by the "evil eye" when he was five years old. He slipped into a convulsive-like state, and a neighborhood midwife had to perform some sort of ritulll to rid him of it. Altogether, Joseph and Anna Svac had eight children. Two of them died as infants. My mother was their seventh-born, which supposedly meant that her life would be blessed with good fortune. She was also a ''veiled'' child, signifying that she had the potential to develop certain psychic capabilities. ("Veiled" was a term used to describe a baby born with a film of skin over its face.) They christened her Margaret V. Svac. The "V" was meant to �108 SLOVAKIA stand for Wilma, but my grandmother's heavy accent caused some misunderstanding and Margaret' s middle name was recorded as Vilma instead. Many of her family ' s customs had faded out when my mother was young so that she could recall only a few with any clarity. She told me about the host-like bread that they had every Christmas Eve, and how it was imprinted with holy pictures and eaten with honey on it . She also mentioned the blessing of Easter baskets and managed to recall a few of my grandparents' superstitions. According to one of them, in order to have good luck all year, a dark haired man must be the first to enter the home on New Year's Eve. She said that my grandfather believed that it was bad luck to leave a room through a different doorway than that through which one entered. By the time my mother married, there was very little to pass on to her children in the way of tradition other than a few vague memories, most of which were fragmented and, more than likely, inaccurate. My father's family couldn't provide any more cultural information than that of my mother ' s. As a matter of fact, his family was even more Americanized than hers. He didn't even have any considerable exposure to the Slovak language . It wasn't spoken in his home because, I suspect, my grandparents philosophized that "when you ' re in America, you only need to speak English.'' My grandfather, Jan Matus, came to the United States shortly before the onset of World War I. Slovakia, then under Magyar control, was plagued by a serious economic depression - driving over 750,000 Slovaks to the U.S . in search of work and better living conditions . Jan, who was seventeen years old at the time, left his family of nineteen in hopes of finding a good paying job as a tool and die maker in America. My great-grandfather, Jan Sr. , had wanted to come to the U.S. for many years. But the thought of either uprooting or abandoning his large family kept him from leaving his home in Spisska Nova Ves, where he worked as supervisor to an ore mine. Jan Jr., though, had no intention of following his father's line of work, and so he embarked for America in 1910. Once he arrived here, my grandfather found out that life wouldn't be quite as easy as he had thought it would be. He ended up writing home for money to live on until he could establish himself. Eventually, he settled down in Pittsburgh after marrying Anna Kovalcik, who was American-born and, therefore, somewhat less ethnic-oriented than himself. Together, they raised seven children, each named according to the saint's day on which he or she was born an idea which Jan's eldest son, Sylvester, resented. Jan had four other sons, one of which was named John, after himself. John was to become my father. Early in 1943, Anna Kovalcik Matus died of cancer, leaving my grandfather to raise seven children on his own. My father was twelve �SLOVAKIA 109 years old at the time and very quickly learned to be independent. He lived at home until his marriage to my mother in 1955. I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away, and the only trace of him that I can remember, other than what can be seen in the family photograph album, is the foreign accent he had. Most of his relatives are still living in Eastern Europe. I have a great aunt who writes to thE¥I1 from time to time. However, her letters are written in Hungarian. She can no longer remember very much of her native language. I visited her a few times, when I was much younger, and I remember once finding a book of Slovak proverbs that had been lying next to her reading chair. I spent an entire day copying them over very carefully - first in Slovak, and then in English translation. I had two favorites out of all those sayings. One was, "If you have the horse, don't worry about the saddle,'' and the other, ''If there were no 'ifs' we'd all be in heaven." After that day, whenever I wrote to a friend, I'd make sure to add one of the Slovak proverbs, written in Slovak, to the bottom of the letter. I thought it looked impressive, almost as though I actually knew the language. None ofmy friends, that I can recall, were Slovak, and it made me feel rather unique that I was of a descent almost totally mysterious to them - the only problem being that it was just about as mysterious to me, also. I realize now that very few Slavic Americans felt the way that I had back then. Most of them tried to become as "American" as possible. Some even went as far as changing their surnames to cover up their heritage. I've only recently come to realize that this was due primarily to various forms of discrimination suffered by the Slavic Americans. Even though my parents' families let quite a few Slovak traditions slip away from them, they were never ashamed of their ancestry and never covered up the fact they were of Slavic origin. Of course, no one in my family ever tried to push for anything more than a modest middle class life. If they had, they might have felt the same oppression that so many other Slavic Americans faced. It reminds me of a teacher I once had, who asked me to name one famous American of Slovak descent. I couldn't think of any at all - at least none that would have ever openly admitted to being Slovak. The incident embarrassed me, but it had no effect whatsoever on the pride I had for my own heritage. Those Slovaks who emigrated to this country were a very humble and pious people, and I admire them very much. They were hard workers and, more than anything else, they were deeply religious. My elder relatives still adorn their homes with an abundance of sacred statues and pictures. Many of them spend a great deal of time in Church. And, of what little customs they do remember, almost all have strong religious connotations. Since the death of my grandfather, three years ago, my interest in my own heritage has grown considerably, and I'm beginning to learn �110 SLOVAKIA the language and the culture. And, I'm glad to see that ethnic awareness is developing, not only in my community, but in others as well. For Slavic Americans are rapidly losing a wealth of cultural knowledge that cannot be preserved unless desire is generated now. (Reprinted with permission from Growing Up Slavic in America, published by EMPAC, Box 48, Bayville, New York 10109.) (Margaret Matus, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, is currently working on a self-designed major in Eastern European Studies. She is an active member in the Slavic-American Citizens Educational Society and is President of the University Slovak-Czech Club, in addition to being affiliated with various other University organizations.) � 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 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 106 SLOVAKIA Slovakia on My Map MARGARET MATUS It' s been three years since they buried my grandfather. He died just after Christmas when I was seventeen. I can still picture the grief in his eyes the day they buried my grandmother, just three short weeks before his own death. I remember him sitting heavy and limp in his wheel chair next to her casket, staring at no one in particular, while pictures were taken of Grandma to send to her relatives in CzechoSlovakia. Somehow it seemed a disgusting thing to do - taking pictures of a dead person . But it caused me to think back to a picture that some distant cousin had sent from the old country. It was a woman, one hundred and one years old, so they said. She was stretched out in a narrow coffin with people lined up all around her. The picture fascinated me, not because the old woman was dead, but rather because those people, living so far away, were related to me . It caused me to wonder what it would be like to live in their country and speak in my grandparents' native tongue. My interest, however, didn't fully develop until my sophomore year of high school, when I was assigned to research my ethnic background. At the time I didn't even know where exactly CzechoSlovakia was on the map. None of the history courses I'd ever taken mentioned much about it. I could only find one book in the school library that had anything at all about Slovaks, other than a sentence or two. It was a paragraph of mostly derogatory remarks. It talked about' our bad temper and our weak will for booze - something to the effect that our idea of a good time was to see how many empty beer kegs we could leave rolling on the floor. I found it hard to believe that a history resource book could be so opinionated and it angered me. I flatly refused to tell the class about what I had found. Instead, I tried to rely on what little information I could dig up from my own family background. It wasn't easy. Even though both of my parents are Slovak, they were only able to answer a few of the many questions I raised about our family heritage. I couldn't speak to my father's parents about it. They had long since passed away. And, while my mother's parents were still alive, I never bothered much to question them about their history. I'm not sure exactly why . Maybe it was because they never encouraged my interest, or maybe I was just too impatient to struggle with their broken English. Besides, they always had a habit of slipping into Slovak, and I was never around them long enough to understand any of it . I remember once, when I was very young, I asked my mother to teach me Slovak. Unfortunately, she could only speak a few words of it SLOVAKIA 107 herself, even though she was quite. capable of understanding it when it was spoken to her. She taught me a few things, like how to say my name and how to count to ten, but that was about the extent of it. Being close to the youngest in her family, my mother didn't have as much exposure to the Slovak tradition as her brothers and sister had. I guess you could say that by the time she was born, the family had become more Americanized. But she told me as much as she could about the life and conventiQns of my grandparents. They came to America shortly after World War I. My grandmother, Anna Goffa, was officially born in the United States but was taken back to Europe soon after her birth. She was still an infant when her mother died and her father returned to America, leaving her behind with relatives. Joseph Svac had known Anna as an infant, and it was said that once, while he was rocking her to sleep, he claimed he would one day marry her. As a child, Anna lived the life of an orphan, being pushed from one relative to another. She went to school for a short time only, never reaching the fourth grade. When the war broke out she was sent to work in fields where soldiers were buried, throwing lime on the ground to hasten the decay. She was eighteen when her father finally sent for her to join him in America. Joseph had embarked for the U.S. a few years earlier and he was working as a lumberjack in Colorado. When he heard of Anna's arrival in Pittsburgh, he joined her and they were married shortly afterwards at Holy Trinity Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, with a celebration that lasted three days. Eventually, they settled down in Clairton, Pennsylvania, where Joseph got a job as a mill worker. The Svac family came from a background that was rich in superstition. Many of their beliefs centered around the "evil eye." Anna claimed that her first-horn's death was caused by this curse. She said that on the day her newborn baby was baptized, a woman, presumably possessing the "evil eye," cast a spell on the baby by staring at her. At that very moment the baby began to cry and continued to do so for several hours. She died a day or so later. Anna's only son, Mike, was also supposedly cursed by the "evil eye" when he was five years old. He slipped into a convulsive-like state, and a neighborhood midwife had to perform some sort of ritulll to rid him of it. Altogether, Joseph and Anna Svac had eight children. Two of them died as infants. My mother was their seventh-born, which supposedly meant that her life would be blessed with good fortune. She was also a ''veiled'' child, signifying that she had the potential to develop certain psychic capabilities. ("Veiled" was a term used to describe a baby born with a film of skin over its face.) They christened her Margaret V. Svac. The "V" was meant to 108 SLOVAKIA stand for Wilma, but my grandmother's heavy accent caused some misunderstanding and Margaret' s middle name was recorded as Vilma instead. Many of her family ' s customs had faded out when my mother was young so that she could recall only a few with any clarity. She told me about the host-like bread that they had every Christmas Eve, and how it was imprinted with holy pictures and eaten with honey on it . She also mentioned the blessing of Easter baskets and managed to recall a few of my grandparents' superstitions. According to one of them, in order to have good luck all year, a dark haired man must be the first to enter the home on New Year's Eve. She said that my grandfather believed that it was bad luck to leave a room through a different doorway than that through which one entered. By the time my mother married, there was very little to pass on to her children in the way of tradition other than a few vague memories, most of which were fragmented and, more than likely, inaccurate. My father's family couldn't provide any more cultural information than that of my mother ' s. As a matter of fact, his family was even more Americanized than hers. He didn't even have any considerable exposure to the Slovak language . It wasn't spoken in his home because, I suspect, my grandparents philosophized that "when you ' re in America, you only need to speak English.'' My grandfather, Jan Matus, came to the United States shortly before the onset of World War I. Slovakia, then under Magyar control, was plagued by a serious economic depression - driving over 750,000 Slovaks to the U.S . in search of work and better living conditions . Jan, who was seventeen years old at the time, left his family of nineteen in hopes of finding a good paying job as a tool and die maker in America. My great-grandfather, Jan Sr. , had wanted to come to the U.S. for many years. But the thought of either uprooting or abandoning his large family kept him from leaving his home in Spisska Nova Ves, where he worked as supervisor to an ore mine. Jan Jr., though, had no intention of following his father's line of work, and so he embarked for America in 1910. Once he arrived here, my grandfather found out that life wouldn't be quite as easy as he had thought it would be. He ended up writing home for money to live on until he could establish himself. Eventually, he settled down in Pittsburgh after marrying Anna Kovalcik, who was American-born and, therefore, somewhat less ethnic-oriented than himself. Together, they raised seven children, each named according to the saint's day on which he or she was born an idea which Jan's eldest son, Sylvester, resented. Jan had four other sons, one of which was named John, after himself. John was to become my father. Early in 1943, Anna Kovalcik Matus died of cancer, leaving my grandfather to raise seven children on his own. My father was twelve SLOVAKIA 109 years old at the time and very quickly learned to be independent. He lived at home until his marriage to my mother in 1955. I was nine years old when my grandfather passed away, and the only trace of him that I can remember, other than what can be seen in the family photograph album, is the foreign accent he had. Most of his relatives are still living in Eastern Europe. I have a great aunt who writes to thE¥I1 from time to time. However, her letters are written in Hungarian. She can no longer remember very much of her native language. I visited her a few times, when I was much younger, and I remember once finding a book of Slovak proverbs that had been lying next to her reading chair. I spent an entire day copying them over very carefully - first in Slovak, and then in English translation. I had two favorites out of all those sayings. One was, "If you have the horse, don't worry about the saddle,'' and the other, ''If there were no 'ifs' we'd all be in heaven." After that day, whenever I wrote to a friend, I'd make sure to add one of the Slovak proverbs, written in Slovak, to the bottom of the letter. I thought it looked impressive, almost as though I actually knew the language. None ofmy friends, that I can recall, were Slovak, and it made me feel rather unique that I was of a descent almost totally mysterious to them - the only problem being that it was just about as mysterious to me, also. I realize now that very few Slavic Americans felt the way that I had back then. Most of them tried to become as "American" as possible. Some even went as far as changing their surnames to cover up their heritage. I've only recently come to realize that this was due primarily to various forms of discrimination suffered by the Slavic Americans. Even though my parents' families let quite a few Slovak traditions slip away from them, they were never ashamed of their ancestry and never covered up the fact they were of Slavic origin. Of course, no one in my family ever tried to push for anything more than a modest middle class life. If they had, they might have felt the same oppression that so many other Slavic Americans faced. It reminds me of a teacher I once had, who asked me to name one famous American of Slovak descent. I couldn't think of any at all - at least none that would have ever openly admitted to being Slovak. The incident embarrassed me, but it had no effect whatsoever on the pride I had for my own heritage. Those Slovaks who emigrated to this country were a very humble and pious people, and I admire them very much. They were hard workers and, more than anything else, they were deeply religious. My elder relatives still adorn their homes with an abundance of sacred statues and pictures. Many of them spend a great deal of time in Church. And, of what little customs they do remember, almost all have strong religious connotations. Since the death of my grandfather, three years ago, my interest in my own heritage has grown considerably, and I'm beginning to learn 110 SLOVAKIA the language and the culture. And, I'm glad to see that ethnic awareness is developing, not only in my community, but in others as well. For Slavic Americans are rapidly losing a wealth of cultural knowledge that cannot be preserved unless desire is generated now. (Reprinted with permission from Growing Up Slavic in America, published by EMPAC, Box 48, Bayville, New York 10109.) (Margaret Matus, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, is currently working on a self-designed major in Eastern European Studies. She is an active member in the Slavic-American Citizens Educational Society and is President of the University Slovak-Czech Club, in addition to being affiliated with various other University organizations.)  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 on My Map Description An account of the resource Margaret Matus Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 106-110 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Matus, Margaret Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/da285e31b47ab5345aad9be6132e47c0.pdf 4d0173f8a9110e3152430014d41e1258 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 111 Henry Delfiner, Vienna Broadcasts to Slovakia. East European Quarterly, Boulder, Colorado, 1974. 142 pp . (Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York and London). Delfiner's study is a valuable source of information both on the German policy towards Eastern Europe on the threshhold of the Second World War and on the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia. Vienna broadcasts became influential after Berlin interpreted the Munich Agreement as giving Germany a "free hand" in Central Eastern Europe . The dissatisfied and frightened peoples and minorities, uncertain about their future, were more than inclined to consider the broadcasts as an interpreter of Berlin's foreign policy. Slovakia was one of the countries whose future was most uncertain. Hungarians , Poles and Germans claimed parts of Slovak territory and, even though the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks improved after Slovakia was granted autonomy, Prague was unable either to defend Slovakia against her neighbors or assure her future. In fact, the government of Prague advised the Slovak autonomous government to turn to Berlin for protection against Hungarian claims. As a result, in the case of Slovakia, the broadcasts undoubtedly influenced the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks, as well as the attitude of the Slovak population towards the Jews. The influence was, however, not as decisive as the author asserts . Mutnansky, as announcer and author of the major part of the broadcasts, was not the best person to perform the task. Unknown, without the necessary good contacts with Slovak politicians, and having a doubtful political record, he was not taken seriously in political circles. The anti-clericalism of his broadcasts and their violent anti-semitism also diminished their impact. As Delfiner rightly states, ''One of the first issues on which Slovakian Catholicism (Slovakia's population was 82 percent Catholic) and Nazi ideology clashed concerned treatment of the Jews." (p. 24) In addition, the broadcasts promoted K . Sidor at a time when Dr. Tiso was the head of the Populist Party and, from October 6, 1938, also the head of the Slovak government. The broadcasts also promoted Dr. Tuka who had no political office after he returned from Czech jails and neither Sidor nor Tiso were eager to adopt Tuka' s political views and plans. In fact Tiso protested on certain occasions against the broadcasts. It was in the March crisis of 1939, when Prague deposed the Slovak government, arrested hundreds of Slovak political and civic leaders, and militarily occupied public buildings, that the Vienna broadcasts and the Viennese politicians (Seyss-Inquart, Burckel) played the im- �112 SLOVAKIA portant role ascribed to them by the author in the final decision of the Slovaks to part with the Czechs. Since the story of the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia was presented in the West with a certain bias, the collection of these broadcasts will be useful for historians. The text of the broadcasts published in Mutnansky's books as well as his interpretation of them are not, however, necessarily accurate. He was not rewarded in Slovakia and advocated German policies even after the broadcasts were terminated. The work is enhanced by a useful bibliography and chronology. Some minor errors slipped into the glossary and chronology: Dr. Tuka made his first speech for independence on December 6, 1938 and not on December 9; Dr. Durcansky did not ask for "Hitler's intervention" on March 10. He merely hinted in his broadcast from Vienna that Slovaks '' aim to achieve national freedom with the help of our friends, the great German nation", (p. 117); Karol Sidor died in Montreal on October 20, 1953 and not 1954. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Bohemia - Jahrbuch des Collegium Carolinum, Band 15, R. Oldenburg Verlag, (Munich, 1974). Edited by Dr. Gerhard Hanke, pp. 532. Even though the symposium Bohemia deals predominantly with the history, the culture and Czech-German relations in the present Czech part of Czecho-Slovakia, known throughout the centuries as Bohemia, many issues of this carefully edited annual publication have also paid attention to Slovakia and the Slovaks. The present volume contains three contributions dealing with Slovakia: Helmut Slapnicka writes about German lectures at the Law Academy in Bratislava in the middle of the 19th century; Ladislav Lipscher contributes an excellent essay on the constitution and regional political administration in Czecho-Slovakia during the 1920s; and Stanislav Kirschbaum deals with the contin_uity and political changes in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968. While Slapnicka i~ of German background, the two other contributors were born in Slovakia. Ladislav Lipscher is a noted historian of the political and legal organization of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia. Before escaping to the West in 1968 he published books and studies in this field in Slovakia and in spite of the difficulty of access to sources, Lipscher continues to do so from his Swiss exile . This is his third contribution published abroad, and it deserves our special attention because legal and administrative questions were by-passed by Slovak writers in the West. The institution of regional administration had political implications, being conceived as a substitute for political autonomy, promised to the Slovaks during the First World War. Based on solid knowledge and thorough research �SLOVAKIA 113 of the subject, Lipscher's study analyses political and administrative problems and presents an objective outline of the regional administration and the party politics behind it. Stanislav Kirschbaum, a specialist on Eastern Europe who teaches Political Science at York University in Toronto, deals with the political changes in Dubcek's era. There are numerous books and articles on this period in several W estem languages. Unfortunately , they are concerned predominantly with the Czech part of the country . Those that deal with Slovakia do so from a Czech perspective or treat the Slovaks as quantite negli[leable even though their role was of primary importance in the events between 1963 and 1968. Kirschbaum's contribution is a well documented scholarly analysis of the political situation in Czecho-Slovakia in the 1960s. It is a presentation of the changes which brought about the liberalization of the regime and the federalization of the State in that fateful year of 1968. Collegium Carolinum deserves our recognition for regularly including studies on Slovak topics in the annual Bohemia. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Ludwig v. Gogolak, Beitraege zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, II. Die slowakische nationale Frage in der Reformepoche Ungams 1790-1848, (Contributions to the History of the Slovak People - The Slovak National Question in the Reform Period of Hungary, 1790-1848). Verlag R. Oldenburg, (Muenchen, 1969), pp. 280. The second volume(+) of Gogolak's work on Slovakia's selfassertion in Hungary is a detailed and well-documented insight into the crucial years of Slovak history when the Slovaks had to fight not only the Magyar nationalism, but also the ''Czechoslovak'' tendencies of the Slovak Lutheran leaders. Though of Slovak origin and related to Bernolak' s family, Gogolak belonged to the Hungarian aristocracy and his interpretation of Slovak national movement is consequently quite different from the Czech or Slovak nationalist interpretations. The present volume deals predominantly with the second half of the 19th and the first decade of the 20th Centuries. Special attention was paid by the author to the Pan-Slav movement and its representatives in Slovakia and to the movement of tudovit Stur which clashed with both the Magyar assimilation policy and "Czechoslovak" orientation of some Lutheran leaders, especially Kollar and Safarik. Particular attention is paid also to Jan Holly and his influence on the Slovak national movement in the 19th Century. According to Gogolak, Holly deserves credit for giving Slovaks the consciousness of their history (Geschichtsbewusstsein) and faith in their future. In this respect Gogolak is in agreement not only with the older school of Slovak �114 SLOVAKIA historians but also with the present " Marxist" historians and clashes only with the views of the "Czechoslovak" historiography. Gogolak is not denying the oppressive policy of Budapest, but explains it in the context of European nationalism and liberalism and points out the weakness of the Slovak movement whose leaders were divided by religion into two camps, one of which looked for a solution outside Hungary, in a merger with the Czechs . There are many aspects of the Slovak national question in Gogolak's work which were by-passed in Slovak history books or interpreted with bias by Czech historians. Unfortunately, we are unable, outside Slovakia, to pass judgment on their correctness. Gogolak refers to a great number of sources in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian and German which are not accessible to us . Supported by references to reliable sources, Gogolak's conclusions and interpretations seem to be convincing, and as a result we face a new interpretation of the Slovak national movement and of the role the Catholics and the Protestans played in modem Slovak history . In some respects Gogolak is in complete disagreement with the Czech interpretation, especially with the unfounded assertion that Catholics took a minor part in national revival. In his view, "only the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars who were conscious of their goal and mission allowed the Slovak national character not to lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political Magyarization and the spiritual Czechoslovak in the age of modem nationalism and preponderance of the bourgeoisie .... Had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, remained in its leading role, the result would probably have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people." (Vol. I. p. 229 and 238). Considering the fact that Gogolak's work was published by a wellknown publisher and, except for T. J. Locher's book Die Nazionale Differenzierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihren geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Harlem, 1931), it is the only.work in German by nonSlovak writer, we should not underestimate' its importance. Slovak historians should thoroughly analyze this new interpretation of modem Slovak history. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM (+)For my review of Volume I see Slovakia, No. 35, 1964, pp. 156-158. ■■■ Roger Portal , The Slavs. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, 1969), pp. 508, Bihl., index, illustrations. Portal's voluminous book is a survey of the cultural and historical development of the Slavic peoples, including the Slovaks. It was �SLOVAKIA 115 written, and originally published, in French (Librairie Armand Colin, 1965), probably as a manual for students at French universities at which Portal has been a professor. The work is illustrated by maps and pictures and presents the Slavs in a much more objective light than some American books have done in the past. French scholars were interested in the Slavs for more than a century, but rarely have any French Slavists presented a global picture similar to Portars book. Slovaks and Slovakia are treated by Portal in proportion to their place and significance among the Slavs without the usual bias encountered in the West. His interpretation of certain periods of Slovak history was apparently influenced by Czech sources, which is, to a degree, understandable. While historiography in Slovakia developed considerably during the past three decades, there are still very few books in foreign languages which could be used by Slavists outside Slovakia. Moreover, even the summaries in scholarly works are always in Russian or German, and only occasionally in French and English. As a result one can hardly reproach Portal or other foreign Slavists if their chapters or paragraphs on Slovaks are sketchy, superficial or if they omit certain periods considered as important for Slovaks but less important in the context of the general history of the Slavs . It is evident that we cannot expect an objective and complete history of Slovakia and Slovaks until there are good history books on Slovakia translated into or written in foreign languages and until there are foreign students at Slovak universities specializing in Slovak history, culture, literature, and language. The absence of statehood, resulting in limited or non-existent cultural exchanges with other countries , necessarily reflects on the knowledge of Slovakia abroad. Many books on Czech history and culture were written by former foreign students at Prague 's university or by Slavists invited to Prague and studying there on scholarships. The same goes for Poland and other Slavic countries. Except for the six years of the Slovak Republic, there was never a government ruling in Slovakia which would have been interested in making Slovakia known in the World. Looking at Portal's book from this angle, we have to welcome it as a great step ahead. Slovak intellectuals in Western Europe should carefully analyze the book and supply Professor Portal with correct information on periods or events which were omitted or misinterpreted. That is the only way to obtain a change in presenting Slovakia abroad until the Slovaks have their own government and normal cultural relations with the world. In Portal's book Slovakia is at least not a footnote to Czech history as happens so often in other books. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• �116 SLOVAKIA R. Krajcovic, Slovencina a slovanske jazyky (The Slovak and the Slavic Languages), Slovenske pedagogicke nakladatelstvo (Bratislava, 1974), pp. 324, illustrations, Russian and German summary. Slovak philology has experienced a remarkable development during the past fifty years for reasons which can properly be understood only in the context of political developments in Slovakia.(+) The attempts to make the Slovak language a dialect of the Czech or nonexistent "Czechoslovak" language gave a strong impetus to Slovak philologists to prove that there was no scientific basis for such theories. The subsequent attempts at Russification of the Slovak language worked in the same direction: they intensified the desire of Slovak philologists to elaborate their own theories about the independent place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages. As a result, Slovak philology developed favorably in all areas of philological research: dialectology, lexicology, comparative philology, morphology, phonology, etc. and the Slovak language was finally established as a distinct Slavic tongue. The book by Krajcovic expertly deals with the place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages and asserts its originality from the time when the Slavic macro-dialects split into dialects with the distinct characteristics of the present Slavic languages. He analyzes the theories which aimed at proving that the Slovak language did not have a homogeneous proto-slavic basis as well as the theories which substantiated the thesis that the Slovak language was formed on the homogeneous West Slavic basis, and corroborates the distinct character of the Slovak language. The book is destined by its terminology for scholars and philologists, but its conclusions are understandable by everybody. In many ways, the book is a good example of the high academic level of the new generation of Slovak philologists. The German summary makes the book accessible also to Wes tern scholars. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ( +) See Chapter II in Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, 1975), I\- 25-38 . ••• Dr. J. Mesaros (ed.), Slovaci a ich narodny vyvin (The Slovaks and Their National Development). Proceedings of the V Congress of Slovak Historians. Published by Vydavatel'stvo-Slovenskej akademie vied, (Bratislava, 1969); pp. 305. This symposium is composed of 12 papers delivered at the Conference of Slovak Historians and deserves mention not only for the academic value of individual contributions, but also in connection with �SLOVAKIA 117 Gogolak's work mentioned above. While Gogolak's two volumes present an interpretation by a non-Slovak historian, this volume, edited by Dr. Mesaros, gives us an interpretation of Slovak history by the generation of Slovak historians who adopted nolens-volens, a Marxist approach to history. It is regrettable that the symposium is not available in W estem languages for it demolishes the "Czechoslovak" interpretation of Slovakia 's past and present, and substantiates the thesis that Slovaks developed independently of Czechs or other Slavs into a distinct nation culturally, linguistically and politically from the Middle Ages. The contributions by P. Ratkos , J. Tibensky, J. Butvin , K. Rebro and Mesaros are especially explicit in this regard. The contribution by Z. Holotikova is of interest for understanding the attitude of the Communists towards Slovak !llational aspirations. Like the "bourgeois" adherents of "Czechoslov'a kism" who retarded Slovak development towards full national independence, the Communists were also liable for the confusion and for Prague's rule in Slovakia, both of which were detrimental to Slovak development towards a distinct national identity and self-rule. The admission by Marxist historians that religious divisions and Communist adherence to "Czechoslovakism" were harmful to Slovak national development is expressed with caution, but it is present throughout the book and sets the record straight. The majority of Slovaks never doubted their distinct national identity and fought for equal rights with other nations. The minority - political and religious - nevertheless succeeded, with Prague's help, in creating confusion even among foreign Slavists. The post-war experiences with Prague centralism in the economy and renewed efforts to stifle Slovak nationalism resulted in the re.thinking and re-appraising of the Slovak question not only by politicians but also by historians. The publication under review presents their conclusions. Most of the contributions are well-researched and well-written and deal with problems of primary interest for the Slovak struggle for self-assertion. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM □□□ Jednota Annual FURDEK 1977, Volume XVI, 303 pages. Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. Printed by the Jednota Press , Middletown, Pennsylvania . FURDEK 1977, Jednota's sixteenth in a series of annuals in the English language, offers the reader a variety of articles written by a number of old pros, several new authors and semi-pros, but all have something interesting for the reader who wants to know more about his Slovak ethnic background . �118 SLOVAKIA Doctor Pauco 's invaluable contributions (superbly translated from the Slovak by Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS.C .M .) enrich this year's production , which is easily the most informative and probably the best of the series inaugurated by the late Editor Philip A. Hrobak and continued by the present editor-in-chief, Joseph C. Krajsa. Every effort should be made to send this edition to as many Slovak homes, as well as to public, college, and university libraries, as possible. Thomas (Belejcak) Bell, American novelist of Slovak ancestry, is presented, and his half dozen works are ably reviewed by John F. Berko. Bell's books generally reflect the somber and tragic side of life among Slovak (and other Slavic) immigrants in the steel city of Pittsburgh and its suburbs. By a slim margin of one, the young men hold the edge over the Jednota scholarship winners (31-30) in the past year as the fair sex scored high in the final standings. This is a sound display of nondiscrimination in a men's organization. As always, the attractive photos of our intelligent youth give us renewed hope for the future destiny of our J ednota in particular and the ethnic identity of the American Slovaks in general. Michael Novak, Ph.D . , who holds the center stage as the acknowledged champion of ethnics in America, discusses the subject in his usual profound manner and inimitable style. In his " Long Life to Slovaks" contribution, Doctor William Gombar counters Michael Simko's realistic but bleak view for the future of the ethnic population in America. Joseph Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., is well known for his many writings. In this issue of FURDEK the Slovak diplomat and author contributes a valuable review of the influence of American Slovak organizations on his fellow countrymen in Canada. Glimpses into the ancient historical past of the Slovak nation are presented by a newcomer, Michael Kolarci~, ~S.J. His sketches of the life and times of Prince Pribina, Kings Mojmir I, Rastislav, and Svatopluk the Great, are concise and accurate. Michael Krajsa's tribute to General Stefanik and Doctor Pauco's firsthand information on President Tiso during wartime recall outstanding national heroes of the First and Second World Wars respectively. Tonka Kral, Anna Maria Kulhan, and Theresa Sapak make their debut as a talented trio of promising youthful writers . Sister M . Gabriel Hricko 's biographical sketch of Doctor Joseph Pauco on the first anniversary of the death of a fearless fighter for Slovakia 's national freedom and statehood is a timely tribute to one of the greatest Slovak newspapermen and patriots in our time. Sister Gabriel's beautiful article on the Miracle of Fatima rounds out this year's publication . �SLOVAKIA 119 Two Congressmen, namely, the Honorable Daniel Flood of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Peter Rodino, Jr. of New Jersey are contributors who add prestige to this edition. Sophia Zufa finds Slovakia a picturesque country inhabited by a warm, hospitable people, and her father's hometown of Nizna nad Oravou full of memories as recalled by her aunt during her visit. Paul Fenchak's article on Slavic Studies in Maryland's public schools is typical of their place in the public schools around the country - shamefully neglected. Karol Sidor, Slovak newspaperman, diplomat, and statesman, is remembered as a distinguished author, thanks to Imrich Stolarik's contribution. Astronaut Eugene Ceman rates a photograph taken at Youngstown, Ohio's American Slovak Bicentennial celebration last year. A number of other articles of interest in this issue of FURDEK include ones by Fathers Edward Hancko, S.J., Francis Kuba, C.P., Joseph Adamec, Andrew Pier, O.S.B., as well as by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, D.D., Monsignor J. Jaworski, S.T.D., and by Vincent Drobniak, John Herling, and Edward Svercek. Seventy-five concise articles of a diversified nature cover a wide spectrum of historical, political, cultural, religious, and social subjects. Several poems are added to enhance a rich assortment of carefully selected writings. Nevertheless, the Slovak sources of interesting subjects remain far from being exhausted. There remains a great deal more to be told about Slovakia and her people at home and scattered throughout the world. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• An Anthology of Slovak Literature, by Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., University of California. Not the last but the latest and most complete and comprehensive study of Slovak prose and poetry in the English language is Dr. Cincura' s scholarly work produced after several years of research by the Slovak Professor whom the Rockefeller Foundation sponsored in compiling a truly pioneer project that merits the highest praise on the basis of its contents and superb presentation. A quarter of a century ago, Ivan Kramoris, M.A., of the Marquette University Preparatory School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, published the first anthology of Slovak literature in English, but since then many new writers have appeared in Slovakia and in exile. This literary development necessitated an up-to-date edition to review the writings of new Slovak authors and poets. Michael Novak, Ph.D., the prolific author of a number of works on the ethnics, introduces the book as "done with taste, intelligence, �120 SLOVAKIA judgment and perception ... " Moreover, Karol Strmen, Ph.D., an eminent Slovak poet, provides the setting for a proper appreciation of a representative series of selections from the surprisingly extensive output of Slovak literary works since the beginning of the nineteenth century. His historical review of Slovak literature is enlightening and informative . While most of Slovak poets and prose writers in Dr. Cincura's selective list rate a high place in their field, some of them compare favorably with leading writers in world literature. By their imagination , workmanship, originality, realism, and idealism, the works of the Slovak nation's literary men and women prove their genuine value as enduring products that have a universal appeal. Certainly Dr. Cincura cannot be accused of male chauvinism, for he chose ten women writers of some thirty authors of prose, although only two women poets are included in approximately forty Slovak poets in his selection. And a woman dramatist is on his list of four Slovak playwrights. Doubtless, there are many more selections of prose and poetry that manifest the natural genius of the Slovak people in expressing their ideas and feelings, but the author was limited by inadequate space. Perhaps in the near future a second volume may be added to supplement this excellent book that will acquaint the English-speaking world with some of the best creative writers of Slovakia. Obviously the very nature of this work presents but a fragmentary part of the entire literary field of Slovak literature, but the reader is given a wide assortment of creative works by writers and poets who are intimately related to their historic land and its people. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• J.M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, Series: Readings in Slavic Literatures, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 1975, pp . XIV, 366, Index, ill., bibl. Slovak Language and Literature, the ~test publication by Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, the distinguished author of historical, political and literary works relating to the Slovak nation, contains a vast wealth of facts, opinions, reflections and references to standard works of prominent Slavists in several languages. The Series Editor, Professor J.B. Rudnyckyj, in his preface acknowledges: "Slovakia, a central part of the Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, was the cradle of Slavic letters and civilization, for there were the beginnings of the rich and highly cultivated Cyrillo-Methodian literature which spread in the tenth century to other Slavic countries, especially to the southern and eastern Slavs." �SLOVAKIA 121 The author deems a background to the development of Slovak literature ve ry helpful to the understanding of the evolution of the Slovak language itself. His book is the most comprehensive study of the Slovak language and literature in the English language. Moreover, the author, who has spent years in research and has lectured on the subject during the past two decades, alludes to historical and philosophical aspects that affected the growth of the language and literature of the Slovak people from earliest times to the present day. The impact of the Slovak literary language on the national life of historic Slovakia aided considerably in the emergence of a strong national consciousness in the 19th and 20th centuries. , '' Slovakia,'' Professor Rudnyckyj notes , ''played an important role in the Pan-Slav movement. Not only was the word Panslavism coined by a Slovak, but Slovakia also gave the Pan-Slav idea, which stirred the national consciousness of several Slavic peoples, the most prominent representatives: Jan Kollar, Pavol J. Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur. ' ' Dr. Kirschbaum points out that "Slovak literature achieved a level comparable to other Slavic literatures in the first half of the twentieth century.'' It was during this period that Slovak writers came under the influence of Slavic authors but also drew their inspiration from English, French , and Scandinavian writers . Their works reflected a wide variety of literary trends : Romanticism, Pan-Slavism, Symbolism, Modernism, and Surrealism. Despite World War II, Slovak writers (even proletarian poets) were given a free hand to publish their works in the era of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). This freedom was sharply curtailed soon after World War II by the communist takeover in Slovakia. As a result, the boycott inaugurated officially by the regime has been in force against all Slovak writers in the free world for more than a quarter of a century. Inside Slovakia, after the ' ' liberation'' of the country by armies of the Soviet Union and the communist coup of 1948, only "proletarian" writers, surrealic;ts, and leftist poets and authors, journalists and newspapermen have been permitted to publish their writings. All others, even leading novelists like Hronsky (and to some extent Gaspar and Urban) have been excluded, as have such prominent poets as Beniak, while others (Andrej Zarnov, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc, K . Strmen) were forced to go into exile, and the poetry and prose of the latter are not acceptable in the country of their birth. Outside Slovakia, in the past three decades Slovak writers in exile from their communist-controlled homeland have published prolific works in literature and history that have offset an outpouring of communist-oriented publications of poetry and prose within the narrow limits of the ruling regime. These creative writers living in the free world have been "excommunicated" from the socialist state imposed upon their countrymen - and their works are "verboten. " Completely unlike the literary picture painted by captive artists of �122 SLOVAKIA the communist regime in present-day Slovakia, the portrait of Slovak literature both in and out of the country, produced by Dr. Kirschbaum in the free world, is a realistic work depicting the landscape and people of Slovakia in their true colors. It is also an objective delineation of the men and women of letters working under close surveillance in their homeland held captive by foreign invaders and oppressors . Although the impact of Professor Kirschbaum 's book in the field in western literature will be strongly felt, it is a foregone conclusion that it will be totally ignored or attacked in Slovakia. Meanwhile , readers, Slovak and non-Slovak alike, who are interested in true literature, will welcome this highly creditable and scholarly volume that is richly supported by an extensive bibliography. We cannot but agree with Professor Constantine Bida of the University of Ottawa, who reviewed the manuscript, that the book is ''a valuable compendium, necessary for Slovaks abroad and useful for the Anglophone peoples since it supplies a great deal of valuable information on Slovak philology and literature, by using the biobibliographical method''. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B. □□□ Francesco Petrarca, Vavrin (a Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere), translated by Karol Strmen. Rome: Slovak Institute of St. Cyril and Methodius, 1974, 216 pp . The time-honored tradition of observing the anniversary of a deceased foreign author by honoring him with a volume of translations from his work found new expression in a recent Slovak selection from Francesco Petrarca' s ll Canzoniere. Translated from the Italian original by Professor Karol Strmen, who is a poet in .his own right, and titled Vavrin (The Laurel Crown), the most rece:dt Slovak rendition of Il Canzoniere commemorates the 600th anniversary of Petrarca's death. The work presents almost one-third of Petrarca's own collection as well as a scholarly resume of the life, works, and aesthetics of the Italian poet. There are likewise explanatory notes and a bibliography of Petrarca' s works and scholarly criticisms. The purpose of the work as indicated explicitly in its introduction is two-fold: (1) to present "all really important poems (from the original) in the suggested order and framework" of Petrarca's own collection; and (2) to give to Slovak readers background information necessary for a better understanding of the great Italian poet and scholar. Professor Strmen has also tried to show implicitly that able translators can render even the most profound concepts and intricate patterns of foreign masterpieces in the Slovak language without damaging distortion, and that modern Slovak scholarship, if unburdened by historical, political, �SLOVAKIA 123 and other non-literary forces, can fulfill the most challenging tasks of standard literary investigation. For at least a partial response to anticipated questions about norms for Strmen's selection, I shall at least curiously examine some fortunes of Petrarca' s poetry in Slovakia and then concentrate on the more germane relationship of Vavrin to the only other extensive Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere, the work Francesco Petrarca, Sonety pre Lauru, translated by the Slovak poet, Vojtech Mihalik, in 1968. Besides Mihalik' s extensive translation, there are also shorter selections translated by Zvonicky and Durica. Together with Strmen's new renditions from Il Can'zoniere these all testify to the great interest that Slovak men of letters and patrons of literature take in Petrarca's works. The Petrarca ''vogue,'' nevertheless, had already taken hold among Slovak poets and scholars as early as the beginning of the 19th century when Pavel Jozef Safarik, Jan Kollar, and Jan Holly employed Il Canzoniere either as a formal model for their poems or as a starting point in their arguments about the role of the Slavs in Europe. The followers of Safarik, Kollar, and Holly, including both post-Romantic and modern Slovak poets, experimented with Petrarchian forms primarily as to their conceptual and linguistic appropriateness in the spectrum of Slovak poetry. The renowned Slovak poet Pavol Orszagh-Hviezdoslav, and his contemporary Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, used the Petrarchian sonnets mostly as prototypes for their own reflective-intellectual poems. Janko Jesensky, on the contrary, returned in his Poems (1905) to love themes inherent to the Petrarchian sonnets. Ivan Krasko followed Petrarca in the use of the so-called '' squared oxymoron'' in his collections, Nox et solitudo (1909) and Poems (1912) (cf. Slovenske pohl'ady 85 (1969; cited hereafter as SP) , No. XI, 129) . The gallery of Petrarca's followers in Slovak literature was further complemented by Valentin Beniak (Sophia, 1941) and Jan Kostra (Ave Eva, 1943). Mihalik's selection from Il Canzoniere , both as a pioneering undertaking and as a work briefly preceding Strmen's Vavrin, constitutes a valuable contribution to Slovak literature and general aesthetics. Like Strmen in the work under review, Mihalik according to one reviewer, presents parts of Il Canzoniere as faithfully as possible. His translated version of the original "sings" in Slovak as it does in the original Italian (SP, No. XI, 124). It may be noted that Mihalik and Strmen, who are both poets-translators, chose slightly different formal and conceptual paths to attain their goals. Mihalik, living in Slovakia and somewhat burdened by his limited knowledge of the Italian language, was forced to seek the assistance of a translator and depend on the present politically-motivated scholarship of the Society sphere. Strmen, residing abroad and fluent in a dozen of foreign languages, had the capacity and the circumstances to approach the task and to accomplish it singlehandedly. In each case, the net result is characterized by some �124 SLOVAKIA similarities in an overall consideration and by specific differences in matters of detail. Let us now briefly examine some prominent features of both translations. To begin with, Mihalik used the thirteen foot iambic feminine verse alternated by the masculine hexameter exclusively. Examples: Vy po-slu-cha-ci bas-ni, v kto-rych iial'-i chve-nie ai do-sial' mu-ci mo-je srd-ce u-sta-te ... (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) Do-bro-re-ce-ne mie-sto, mo-jej Las-ky sud-ca, den, me-siac, rok a chvi-l'a, pa-miit-ny ten kut kra-ji-ny, kde ma vrh-li do ca-rov-nych put due o-ci pre-kras-ne, ie v6-bec ne-viem hnut' sa. (Sonnet LXI, vv. 1-4) An analysis of Mihalik' s translation and expository writing shows that his strict adherence to a specific form might have been prompted by several formal and quasi-polemical considerations. As the poet of a somewhat conservative bent, he tried to counteract "the wave of amorphism governing the preponderant part of (modem Slovak) poetry" (SP , No. XI , 132). As a scholar, he seems to defend some modern concepts exalting the creative role of a translator over the older claims of Kollar and Holly, who hold that no translation can surpass the artistry of the original Slovak creations. Viliam Turcany, a modem Slovak scholar , commented that Mihalik' s translations "read as if they were his own original works" (SP, No. XII, 122). In the specific reference to the form used in Mihalik's rendition of fl Canzoniere, Turcany stressed the fact that the thirteen-foot iambic line alternated with the hexameter is the metric form best sv.ited for expressing ''the similar quantitative-conceptual density of the Italian and Slovak prosody line" (SP, No. XII, 127). Strmen disregarded both the explicit and the implied claims of Mihalik and Turcany, and translated his selected parts of fl Canzoniere in accordance with his own aesthetic and semantic tenets. Cutting down the length of Petrarca's sonnet line to eleven and ten syllables respectively, he indirectly confirmed the fact that translations from Italian poetry - like translations of prose - require about 15 percent less space in Slovak. Examples: Vy, co tu v zlom-koch ver-sov za-chy-ti-te sum vzdy-chov, kto-re l'u-bost' ii-vi-li . . . (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) �125 SLOVAKIA Bla-ho-sla-ve-ny me-siac, deii i rok i pek-ny kraj i vcas-na jar i chvi-l'a i mie-sto, kde mi Las-ka za-lo-ii-la na mih jej o-ka kru-hy ie-lie-zok .. (Sonnet LXI , vv. 1-4) On the other hand, preserving the prevailing "dynamic" subjectverb structure of Petrarca,' s sentence in his rendition of the Italian work, Strrnen established a close relationship between poet and theme . In the remarks which introduce his translation of Il Canzoniere, Strrnen underlined the importance of the original work for the quality of its translation and for general scholarly consideration. According to him every new great poet represents, so to speak, the last word , the exhaustion of literary potentials. And since, we all are willy-nilly prisoners of our era, we are all tempted to make him the criterion of the past. But the history of poetry deals with something else: the great poet stands out as an independent island (and) we approach him with the guidebooks of our aesthetic prejudices . . . A translation should be primarily a mirror (of the original, and) not ... a colonization or an extension of the translator's personality. In summing up the basic tenets of this review, it is necessary to ask how both poet-translators enriched Slovak literature by translating parts of Petrarca's masterpiece into Slovak and how each of them contributed to the advancement of general scholarly knowledge. Considering the first part of the question , I wish to point out that these translations complement each other. Each poet selected different portions from the original and consequently offered a wider selection from the Italian work to his Slovak readers. A limited number of the poems translated by both poets makes it possible, on the other hand, to study these poems in juxtaposition with each other and facilitates their close comparison. As to the second part of the question, I thank that both Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere provide new thoughts for a theoretical approach to aesthetics in general and Slovak Petrarchian studies in particular . Two basic points of this review, namely verse structure and the " kinetics" of language, are common denominators in the comparative study of specific segments of the respective works and , at the same time , of the · specifics of the individual parts within the artistic whole. Conversely , any segment of Il Canzoniere - if juxtaposed with its counterparts in Slovak translations - will give at least a hint about the character and merits of the respective work. In practical terms, the lines cited in Slovak from Mihalik's and Strmen's translations (as well as any other lines from their selections) �126 SLOVAKIA will give the reader at least a broad idea about the formal aspects of either translation. Italian Slavists will, even by a dissection of these brief segments, gain insight into "hidden" linguistic and artistic concepts governing Strmen's and Mihalik's translations. Economy, idea, and sound quality were the most importat denominators shaping Petrarca's masterpiece. Without expressing any subjective valuejudgment about the Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere, I can state that Mihalik and Strmen fulfilled scholarly expectations in coping with these three fundamental principles of Petrarca's work. ANDREW CINCURA □□□ Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature: Essays. Winnipeg and Cleveland: University of Manitoba, Department of Slavic Studies, 1975. (Readings in Slavic Literature, 12). 336 pages. This is a collection of twelve essays on various aspects of Slovak language and literature which Prof. Kirschbaum has read at conferences and-or published in journals over the past twenty years. He has divided them into three parts, the first (2 essays) discussing questions of language, the second (7 essays) presenting selected topics in Slovak literature through the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the third (3 essays) surveying post-World War II trends. There is a fourth part which purports to be a '' French summary'', but in reality is a slightly rearranged translation of the first and third English chapters. Prof. Kirschbaum's purpose is "to acquaint students and scholars . . . with the development of the Slovak vernacular into a literary medium and with the literature created by the Slovaks in their own language as well as other languages used in Slovakia ... '' The goal is admirable, but he has missed a splendid opportunity to create a solid synthetic survey. There are several reasons to regret his choice of method. As is unfortunately true with much material published by Slovaks in the West, one is left in doubt as to precisely what audience he is trying to reach. Part of the time, Prof. Kirschbaum devotes essays to polemics, particularly with those who sub,s cribe to the concept of Czechoslovakism. He uses expressions such 'as ''misconceptions'' and ''errors' ', charging that these ''wrongs' ' are based on flimsy evidence. But in turn, Kirschbaum himself offers minimal ''proof'' for some of his assertions. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to see polemical essays alongside more serious academic treatments (particularly those chapters on Jan Kollar, Pavol Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur). Further, Western scholars in recent years have taken note of changing perceptions of the development of Slovak national consciousness. (See, for example, Joseph Zacek's remarks in his study of "Nationalism in �SLOVAKIA 127 Czechoslovakia" in Peter F. Sugar and Ivo J. Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe - 1969.) The second problem is that Prof. Kirschbaum has several times repeated his use of the same evidence. He indicates in his introduction that he has done some editing to avoid repetitions, but what are we to make of his double use of a statement by the Polish philologist Tadeusz Lehr-Splawinski (pp. 20 and 68), or of "western" discussions of the origin of Slovak as a literazy language (pp . 18-19 and 52-53)? This is also a problem in books in · which the essays of multiple authors are collected, but one wishes Prof. Kirschbaum had been more diligent in overcoming it. Why, though , when such a golden opportunity presented itself, didn't Prof. Kirschbaum give us a synthetic survey of Slovak literature? There would have been no fear of his repeating himself, and the scholars and students, for whom he says he is writing, would have had an overall view of the evolving Slovak language and literature. Kirschbaum himself remarks on the particular importance of Slovak literature between the wars, but he allows as that would require too much space to discuss, and so he skips the subject. Similarly, his discussion of post1945 literary development is a bare outline of the 1945-1956 period, with only a couple of paragraphs given over to the extremely important dozen years after that, a period so necessary for an understanding of the events of 1968 and after. Kirschbaum alludes to a few important matters after 1956, such as the rapidly growing research on Slovak language and literature in the early 1960s (pp. 35-36). He suggests that this development resulted from the Communist Party's perception of language and literature as being a neutral field. The reader is left wondering why it was, then, that manifestations of Slovak nationalism developed precisely in those areas. The plea of complexity is inadequate. The inclusion of the two chapters of Slovak emigre literature is puzzling, since Kirschbaum tells us twice that only about 50 writers are involved. He does cite their availablity to the reader in the West, but in fact, after the passage of three decades, they now belong more among Slovak ethnic writers in the United States and Canada (or wherever else they live) than to continuing Slovak literary trends in Czecho-Slovakia. Sad as it might be, these authors are writing for a decreasing number of readers. The interesting aspect of these chapters is the report of the publication in post-February Czecho-Slovakia of works · by :Cudo Besenovsky and Milos Mlynarovic. Prof. Kirschbaum should be cautioned in his use of Robert Kann's praise of Slovak cultural development in the whole of the nineteenth century (pp. 147-8). It is clear from Kann's context that he includes Kollar, Safarik, Stefanik, and Masaryk in his kudos, a quartet who are usually ascribed major roles in the Czecho-Slovak movement, a concept Prof. Kirschbaum would certainly take strong offense to. �128 SLOVAKIA The number of printing errors is atrocious . Thus, R. W. SetonWatson becomes Seton-Weston (p. 9), Nicholas Spulber is Spuller (p. 9), Jan Tibensky comes out T. Tibeasky (p . 119) , the Spolok sv. Vojtecha is said to have been founded in 1780, rather than 1870 (p. 206), Timrava and Podjavorinska become Timarava and Podajavorisnka (also p. 206), Cyrillic is spelled in at least 5 or 6 different ways, ad infinitum. The French resume fares no better. I counted at least a half dozen errors in the first paragraph on page 286. An inserted errata catches a small number of errors, but tells us, "The word 'Slovensky' in Chapter III should have an accent on the letter e (! ) unavailable to the printers.' ' A couple of other minor carps: (1) the use of Loe. cit., op. cit., etc., is functional for article-length material, but not very feasible in a monograph. A reference to Robert Auty, loc. cit., on page 117 requires the reader to go all the way back to page 21. A reference to Noge, op. cit. on page 203 lacks any earlier reference whatsoever. It belongs to Julius Noge, An Outline of Slovakian Literature (Bratislava, 1968) which certainly also belongs in the bibliography. (2) In Chapter XII we suddenly have titles of Slovak works given only in English, making them harder to locate. In sum, a book whose title held so much promise turns out to be a disappointment. I share Prof. J. B. Rudnyckyj's prefaced complaint that there is far too little scholarly material available in English about Slovak literature, and I would add, about Slovak history, and Slovakia in general. Unfortunately, this compendium has not improved the situation. - OWENV. JOHNSON \ �Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J.D., attorney; America, Stratford, Connecticut president, Slovak League of John Bodnar, Ph.D., historian, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., author; professor, Riverside, California Owen V. Johnson, Ph.D., historian, University of Michigan Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LLD., Ph.D., historian; author, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Margaret Matus, student, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Michael Novak, Ph.D., author; lecturer; professor, Bayville, New York Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B., M.A., historian; author, Cleveland, Ohio M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian; professor, Cleveland, Ohio Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D., historian, Stony Point, New York Daniel F. Tanzone, 8.A., author; fraternalist, Yonkers, New York Francis Vnuk, M.A., author; historian, Broadview, Australia �OFFICERS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Honorary President: Stephen J. Tkach, K.H.S. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President 178 Elliott Street Stratford, Conn. 06497 Vice Presidents: Milan V. Blazek Frances L. Mizenko Daniel F. Tanzone Executive Committee: Edward J . Behuncik, John A. Holy, Louise Yash, Irma A. Vrbancic, John A. Sabol, George J. Kostelnik, Stephen J. Kavulich, Andrew Hudak, Jr., Dr. Joseph Mikula Anna E. Hletko Auditors: Dr. Stanislav Duris George N. Kantor SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 104,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Beachwood, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 53,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 15,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA John C. Sciranka, President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 3,000) ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation 7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 9,000) SLOVAKIA $4.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $5.00 elsewhere Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania U.S.A. � SLOVAKIA 111 Henry Delfiner, Vienna Broadcasts to Slovakia. East European Quarterly, Boulder, Colorado, 1974. 142 pp . (Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York and London). Delfiner's study is a valuable source of information both on the German policy towards Eastern Europe on the threshhold of the Second World War and on the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia. Vienna broadcasts became influential after Berlin interpreted the Munich Agreement as giving Germany a "free hand" in Central Eastern Europe . The dissatisfied and frightened peoples and minorities, uncertain about their future, were more than inclined to consider the broadcasts as an interpreter of Berlin's foreign policy. Slovakia was one of the countries whose future was most uncertain. Hungarians , Poles and Germans claimed parts of Slovak territory and, even though the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks improved after Slovakia was granted autonomy, Prague was unable either to defend Slovakia against her neighbors or assure her future. In fact, the government of Prague advised the Slovak autonomous government to turn to Berlin for protection against Hungarian claims. As a result, in the case of Slovakia, the broadcasts undoubtedly influenced the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks, as well as the attitude of the Slovak population towards the Jews. The influence was, however, not as decisive as the author asserts . Mutnansky, as announcer and author of the major part of the broadcasts, was not the best person to perform the task. Unknown, without the necessary good contacts with Slovak politicians, and having a doubtful political record, he was not taken seriously in political circles. The anti-clericalism of his broadcasts and their violent anti-semitism also diminished their impact. As Delfiner rightly states, ''One of the first issues on which Slovakian Catholicism (Slovakia's population was 82 percent Catholic) and Nazi ideology clashed concerned treatment of the Jews." (p. 24) In addition, the broadcasts promoted K . Sidor at a time when Dr. Tiso was the head of the Populist Party and, from October 6, 1938, also the head of the Slovak government. The broadcasts also promoted Dr. Tuka who had no political office after he returned from Czech jails and neither Sidor nor Tiso were eager to adopt Tuka' s political views and plans. In fact Tiso protested on certain occasions against the broadcasts. It was in the March crisis of 1939, when Prague deposed the Slovak government, arrested hundreds of Slovak political and civic leaders, and militarily occupied public buildings, that the Vienna broadcasts and the Viennese politicians (Seyss-Inquart, Burckel) played the im- �112 SLOVAKIA portant role ascribed to them by the author in the final decision of the Slovaks to part with the Czechs. Since the story of the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia was presented in the West with a certain bias, the collection of these broadcasts will be useful for historians. The text of the broadcasts published in Mutnansky's books as well as his interpretation of them are not, however, necessarily accurate. He was not rewarded in Slovakia and advocated German policies even after the broadcasts were terminated. The work is enhanced by a useful bibliography and chronology. Some minor errors slipped into the glossary and chronology: Dr. Tuka made his first speech for independence on December 6, 1938 and not on December 9; Dr. Durcansky did not ask for "Hitler's intervention" on March 10. He merely hinted in his broadcast from Vienna that Slovaks '' aim to achieve national freedom with the help of our friends, the great German nation", (p. 117); Karol Sidor died in Montreal on October 20, 1953 and not 1954. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Bohemia - Jahrbuch des Collegium Carolinum, Band 15, R. Oldenburg Verlag, (Munich, 1974). Edited by Dr. Gerhard Hanke, pp. 532. Even though the symposium Bohemia deals predominantly with the history, the culture and Czech-German relations in the present Czech part of Czecho-Slovakia, known throughout the centuries as Bohemia, many issues of this carefully edited annual publication have also paid attention to Slovakia and the Slovaks. The present volume contains three contributions dealing with Slovakia: Helmut Slapnicka writes about German lectures at the Law Academy in Bratislava in the middle of the 19th century; Ladislav Lipscher contributes an excellent essay on the constitution and regional political administration in Czecho-Slovakia during the 1920s; and Stanislav Kirschbaum deals with the contin_uity and political changes in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968. While Slapnicka i~ of German background, the two other contributors were born in Slovakia. Ladislav Lipscher is a noted historian of the political and legal organization of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia. Before escaping to the West in 1968 he published books and studies in this field in Slovakia and in spite of the difficulty of access to sources, Lipscher continues to do so from his Swiss exile . This is his third contribution published abroad, and it deserves our special attention because legal and administrative questions were by-passed by Slovak writers in the West. The institution of regional administration had political implications, being conceived as a substitute for political autonomy, promised to the Slovaks during the First World War. Based on solid knowledge and thorough research �SLOVAKIA 113 of the subject, Lipscher's study analyses political and administrative problems and presents an objective outline of the regional administration and the party politics behind it. Stanislav Kirschbaum, a specialist on Eastern Europe who teaches Political Science at York University in Toronto, deals with the political changes in Dubcek's era. There are numerous books and articles on this period in several W estem languages. Unfortunately , they are concerned predominantly with the Czech part of the country . Those that deal with Slovakia do so from a Czech perspective or treat the Slovaks as quantite negli[leable even though their role was of primary importance in the events between 1963 and 1968. Kirschbaum's contribution is a well documented scholarly analysis of the political situation in Czecho-Slovakia in the 1960s. It is a presentation of the changes which brought about the liberalization of the regime and the federalization of the State in that fateful year of 1968. Collegium Carolinum deserves our recognition for regularly including studies on Slovak topics in the annual Bohemia. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Ludwig v. Gogolak, Beitraege zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, II. Die slowakische nationale Frage in der Reformepoche Ungams 1790-1848, (Contributions to the History of the Slovak People - The Slovak National Question in the Reform Period of Hungary, 1790-1848). Verlag R. Oldenburg, (Muenchen, 1969), pp. 280. The second volume(+) of Gogolak's work on Slovakia's selfassertion in Hungary is a detailed and well-documented insight into the crucial years of Slovak history when the Slovaks had to fight not only the Magyar nationalism, but also the ''Czechoslovak'' tendencies of the Slovak Lutheran leaders. Though of Slovak origin and related to Bernolak' s family, Gogolak belonged to the Hungarian aristocracy and his interpretation of Slovak national movement is consequently quite different from the Czech or Slovak nationalist interpretations. The present volume deals predominantly with the second half of the 19th and the first decade of the 20th Centuries. Special attention was paid by the author to the Pan-Slav movement and its representatives in Slovakia and to the movement of tudovit Stur which clashed with both the Magyar assimilation policy and "Czechoslovak" orientation of some Lutheran leaders, especially Kollar and Safarik. Particular attention is paid also to Jan Holly and his influence on the Slovak national movement in the 19th Century. According to Gogolak, Holly deserves credit for giving Slovaks the consciousness of their history (Geschichtsbewusstsein) and faith in their future. In this respect Gogolak is in agreement not only with the older school of Slovak �114 SLOVAKIA historians but also with the present " Marxist" historians and clashes only with the views of the "Czechoslovak" historiography. Gogolak is not denying the oppressive policy of Budapest, but explains it in the context of European nationalism and liberalism and points out the weakness of the Slovak movement whose leaders were divided by religion into two camps, one of which looked for a solution outside Hungary, in a merger with the Czechs . There are many aspects of the Slovak national question in Gogolak's work which were by-passed in Slovak history books or interpreted with bias by Czech historians. Unfortunately, we are unable, outside Slovakia, to pass judgment on their correctness. Gogolak refers to a great number of sources in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian and German which are not accessible to us . Supported by references to reliable sources, Gogolak's conclusions and interpretations seem to be convincing, and as a result we face a new interpretation of the Slovak national movement and of the role the Catholics and the Protestans played in modem Slovak history . In some respects Gogolak is in complete disagreement with the Czech interpretation, especially with the unfounded assertion that Catholics took a minor part in national revival. In his view, "only the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars who were conscious of their goal and mission allowed the Slovak national character not to lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political Magyarization and the spiritual Czechoslovak in the age of modem nationalism and preponderance of the bourgeoisie .... Had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, remained in its leading role, the result would probably have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people." (Vol. I. p. 229 and 238). Considering the fact that Gogolak's work was published by a wellknown publisher and, except for T. J. Locher's book Die Nazionale Differenzierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihren geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Harlem, 1931), it is the only.work in German by nonSlovak writer, we should not underestimate' its importance. Slovak historians should thoroughly analyze this new interpretation of modem Slovak history. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM (+)For my review of Volume I see Slovakia, No. 35, 1964, pp. 156-158. ■■■ Roger Portal , The Slavs. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, 1969), pp. 508, Bihl., index, illustrations. Portal's voluminous book is a survey of the cultural and historical development of the Slavic peoples, including the Slovaks. It was �SLOVAKIA 115 written, and originally published, in French (Librairie Armand Colin, 1965), probably as a manual for students at French universities at which Portal has been a professor. The work is illustrated by maps and pictures and presents the Slavs in a much more objective light than some American books have done in the past. French scholars were interested in the Slavs for more than a century, but rarely have any French Slavists presented a global picture similar to Portars book. Slovaks and Slovakia are treated by Portal in proportion to their place and significance among the Slavs without the usual bias encountered in the West. His interpretation of certain periods of Slovak history was apparently influenced by Czech sources, which is, to a degree, understandable. While historiography in Slovakia developed considerably during the past three decades, there are still very few books in foreign languages which could be used by Slavists outside Slovakia. Moreover, even the summaries in scholarly works are always in Russian or German, and only occasionally in French and English. As a result one can hardly reproach Portal or other foreign Slavists if their chapters or paragraphs on Slovaks are sketchy, superficial or if they omit certain periods considered as important for Slovaks but less important in the context of the general history of the Slavs . It is evident that we cannot expect an objective and complete history of Slovakia and Slovaks until there are good history books on Slovakia translated into or written in foreign languages and until there are foreign students at Slovak universities specializing in Slovak history, culture, literature, and language. The absence of statehood, resulting in limited or non-existent cultural exchanges with other countries , necessarily reflects on the knowledge of Slovakia abroad. Many books on Czech history and culture were written by former foreign students at Prague 's university or by Slavists invited to Prague and studying there on scholarships. The same goes for Poland and other Slavic countries. Except for the six years of the Slovak Republic, there was never a government ruling in Slovakia which would have been interested in making Slovakia known in the World. Looking at Portal's book from this angle, we have to welcome it as a great step ahead. Slovak intellectuals in Western Europe should carefully analyze the book and supply Professor Portal with correct information on periods or events which were omitted or misinterpreted. That is the only way to obtain a change in presenting Slovakia abroad until the Slovaks have their own government and normal cultural relations with the world. In Portal's book Slovakia is at least not a footnote to Czech history as happens so often in other books. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• �116 SLOVAKIA R. Krajcovic, Slovencina a slovanske jazyky (The Slovak and the Slavic Languages), Slovenske pedagogicke nakladatelstvo (Bratislava, 1974), pp. 324, illustrations, Russian and German summary. Slovak philology has experienced a remarkable development during the past fifty years for reasons which can properly be understood only in the context of political developments in Slovakia.(+) The attempts to make the Slovak language a dialect of the Czech or nonexistent "Czechoslovak" language gave a strong impetus to Slovak philologists to prove that there was no scientific basis for such theories. The subsequent attempts at Russification of the Slovak language worked in the same direction: they intensified the desire of Slovak philologists to elaborate their own theories about the independent place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages. As a result, Slovak philology developed favorably in all areas of philological research: dialectology, lexicology, comparative philology, morphology, phonology, etc. and the Slovak language was finally established as a distinct Slavic tongue. The book by Krajcovic expertly deals with the place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages and asserts its originality from the time when the Slavic macro-dialects split into dialects with the distinct characteristics of the present Slavic languages. He analyzes the theories which aimed at proving that the Slovak language did not have a homogeneous proto-slavic basis as well as the theories which substantiated the thesis that the Slovak language was formed on the homogeneous West Slavic basis, and corroborates the distinct character of the Slovak language. The book is destined by its terminology for scholars and philologists, but its conclusions are understandable by everybody. In many ways, the book is a good example of the high academic level of the new generation of Slovak philologists. The German summary makes the book accessible also to Wes tern scholars. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ( +) See Chapter II in Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, 1975), I\- 25-38 . ••• Dr. J. Mesaros (ed.), Slovaci a ich narodny vyvin (The Slovaks and Their National Development). Proceedings of the V Congress of Slovak Historians. Published by Vydavatel'stvo-Slovenskej akademie vied, (Bratislava, 1969); pp. 305. This symposium is composed of 12 papers delivered at the Conference of Slovak Historians and deserves mention not only for the academic value of individual contributions, but also in connection with �SLOVAKIA 117 Gogolak's work mentioned above. While Gogolak's two volumes present an interpretation by a non-Slovak historian, this volume, edited by Dr. Mesaros, gives us an interpretation of Slovak history by the generation of Slovak historians who adopted nolens-volens, a Marxist approach to history. It is regrettable that the symposium is not available in W estem languages for it demolishes the "Czechoslovak" interpretation of Slovakia 's past and present, and substantiates the thesis that Slovaks developed independently of Czechs or other Slavs into a distinct nation culturally, linguistically and politically from the Middle Ages. The contributions by P. Ratkos , J. Tibensky, J. Butvin , K. Rebro and Mesaros are especially explicit in this regard. The contribution by Z. Holotikova is of interest for understanding the attitude of the Communists towards Slovak !llational aspirations. Like the "bourgeois" adherents of "Czechoslov'a kism" who retarded Slovak development towards full national independence, the Communists were also liable for the confusion and for Prague's rule in Slovakia, both of which were detrimental to Slovak development towards a distinct national identity and self-rule. The admission by Marxist historians that religious divisions and Communist adherence to "Czechoslovakism" were harmful to Slovak national development is expressed with caution, but it is present throughout the book and sets the record straight. The majority of Slovaks never doubted their distinct national identity and fought for equal rights with other nations. The minority - political and religious - nevertheless succeeded, with Prague's help, in creating confusion even among foreign Slavists. The post-war experiences with Prague centralism in the economy and renewed efforts to stifle Slovak nationalism resulted in the re.thinking and re-appraising of the Slovak question not only by politicians but also by historians. The publication under review presents their conclusions. Most of the contributions are well-researched and well-written and deal with problems of primary interest for the Slovak struggle for self-assertion. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM □□□ Jednota Annual FURDEK 1977, Volume XVI, 303 pages. Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. Printed by the Jednota Press , Middletown, Pennsylvania . FURDEK 1977, Jednota's sixteenth in a series of annuals in the English language, offers the reader a variety of articles written by a number of old pros, several new authors and semi-pros, but all have something interesting for the reader who wants to know more about his Slovak ethnic background . �118 SLOVAKIA Doctor Pauco 's invaluable contributions (superbly translated from the Slovak by Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS.C .M .) enrich this year's production , which is easily the most informative and probably the best of the series inaugurated by the late Editor Philip A. Hrobak and continued by the present editor-in-chief, Joseph C. Krajsa. Every effort should be made to send this edition to as many Slovak homes, as well as to public, college, and university libraries, as possible. Thomas (Belejcak) Bell, American novelist of Slovak ancestry, is presented, and his half dozen works are ably reviewed by John F. Berko. Bell's books generally reflect the somber and tragic side of life among Slovak (and other Slavic) immigrants in the steel city of Pittsburgh and its suburbs. By a slim margin of one, the young men hold the edge over the Jednota scholarship winners (31-30) in the past year as the fair sex scored high in the final standings. This is a sound display of nondiscrimination in a men's organization. As always, the attractive photos of our intelligent youth give us renewed hope for the future destiny of our J ednota in particular and the ethnic identity of the American Slovaks in general. Michael Novak, Ph.D . , who holds the center stage as the acknowledged champion of ethnics in America, discusses the subject in his usual profound manner and inimitable style. In his " Long Life to Slovaks" contribution, Doctor William Gombar counters Michael Simko's realistic but bleak view for the future of the ethnic population in America. Joseph Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., is well known for his many writings. In this issue of FURDEK the Slovak diplomat and author contributes a valuable review of the influence of American Slovak organizations on his fellow countrymen in Canada. Glimpses into the ancient historical past of the Slovak nation are presented by a newcomer, Michael Kolarci~, ~S.J. His sketches of the life and times of Prince Pribina, Kings Mojmir I, Rastislav, and Svatopluk the Great, are concise and accurate. Michael Krajsa's tribute to General Stefanik and Doctor Pauco's firsthand information on President Tiso during wartime recall outstanding national heroes of the First and Second World Wars respectively. Tonka Kral, Anna Maria Kulhan, and Theresa Sapak make their debut as a talented trio of promising youthful writers . Sister M . Gabriel Hricko 's biographical sketch of Doctor Joseph Pauco on the first anniversary of the death of a fearless fighter for Slovakia 's national freedom and statehood is a timely tribute to one of the greatest Slovak newspapermen and patriots in our time. Sister Gabriel's beautiful article on the Miracle of Fatima rounds out this year's publication . �SLOVAKIA 119 Two Congressmen, namely, the Honorable Daniel Flood of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Peter Rodino, Jr. of New Jersey are contributors who add prestige to this edition. Sophia Zufa finds Slovakia a picturesque country inhabited by a warm, hospitable people, and her father's hometown of Nizna nad Oravou full of memories as recalled by her aunt during her visit. Paul Fenchak's article on Slavic Studies in Maryland's public schools is typical of their place in the public schools around the country - shamefully neglected. Karol Sidor, Slovak newspaperman, diplomat, and statesman, is remembered as a distinguished author, thanks to Imrich Stolarik's contribution. Astronaut Eugene Ceman rates a photograph taken at Youngstown, Ohio's American Slovak Bicentennial celebration last year. A number of other articles of interest in this issue of FURDEK include ones by Fathers Edward Hancko, S.J., Francis Kuba, C.P., Joseph Adamec, Andrew Pier, O.S.B., as well as by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, D.D., Monsignor J. Jaworski, S.T.D., and by Vincent Drobniak, John Herling, and Edward Svercek. Seventy-five concise articles of a diversified nature cover a wide spectrum of historical, political, cultural, religious, and social subjects. Several poems are added to enhance a rich assortment of carefully selected writings. Nevertheless, the Slovak sources of interesting subjects remain far from being exhausted. There remains a great deal more to be told about Slovakia and her people at home and scattered throughout the world. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• An Anthology of Slovak Literature, by Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., University of California. Not the last but the latest and most complete and comprehensive study of Slovak prose and poetry in the English language is Dr. Cincura' s scholarly work produced after several years of research by the Slovak Professor whom the Rockefeller Foundation sponsored in compiling a truly pioneer project that merits the highest praise on the basis of its contents and superb presentation. A quarter of a century ago, Ivan Kramoris, M.A., of the Marquette University Preparatory School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, published the first anthology of Slovak literature in English, but since then many new writers have appeared in Slovakia and in exile. This literary development necessitated an up-to-date edition to review the writings of new Slovak authors and poets. Michael Novak, Ph.D., the prolific author of a number of works on the ethnics, introduces the book as "done with taste, intelligence, �120 SLOVAKIA judgment and perception ... " Moreover, Karol Strmen, Ph.D., an eminent Slovak poet, provides the setting for a proper appreciation of a representative series of selections from the surprisingly extensive output of Slovak literary works since the beginning of the nineteenth century. His historical review of Slovak literature is enlightening and informative . While most of Slovak poets and prose writers in Dr. Cincura's selective list rate a high place in their field, some of them compare favorably with leading writers in world literature. By their imagination , workmanship, originality, realism, and idealism, the works of the Slovak nation's literary men and women prove their genuine value as enduring products that have a universal appeal. Certainly Dr. Cincura cannot be accused of male chauvinism, for he chose ten women writers of some thirty authors of prose, although only two women poets are included in approximately forty Slovak poets in his selection. And a woman dramatist is on his list of four Slovak playwrights. Doubtless, there are many more selections of prose and poetry that manifest the natural genius of the Slovak people in expressing their ideas and feelings, but the author was limited by inadequate space. Perhaps in the near future a second volume may be added to supplement this excellent book that will acquaint the English-speaking world with some of the best creative writers of Slovakia. Obviously the very nature of this work presents but a fragmentary part of the entire literary field of Slovak literature, but the reader is given a wide assortment of creative works by writers and poets who are intimately related to their historic land and its people. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• J.M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, Series: Readings in Slavic Literatures, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 1975, pp . XIV, 366, Index, ill., bibl. Slovak Language and Literature, the ~test publication by Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, the distinguished author of historical, political and literary works relating to the Slovak nation, contains a vast wealth of facts, opinions, reflections and references to standard works of prominent Slavists in several languages. The Series Editor, Professor J.B. Rudnyckyj, in his preface acknowledges: "Slovakia, a central part of the Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, was the cradle of Slavic letters and civilization, for there were the beginnings of the rich and highly cultivated Cyrillo-Methodian literature which spread in the tenth century to other Slavic countries, especially to the southern and eastern Slavs." �SLOVAKIA 121 The author deems a background to the development of Slovak literature ve ry helpful to the understanding of the evolution of the Slovak language itself. His book is the most comprehensive study of the Slovak language and literature in the English language. Moreover, the author, who has spent years in research and has lectured on the subject during the past two decades, alludes to historical and philosophical aspects that affected the growth of the language and literature of the Slovak people from earliest times to the present day. The impact of the Slovak literary language on the national life of historic Slovakia aided considerably in the emergence of a strong national consciousness in the 19th and 20th centuries. , '' Slovakia,'' Professor Rudnyckyj notes , ''played an important role in the Pan-Slav movement. Not only was the word Panslavism coined by a Slovak, but Slovakia also gave the Pan-Slav idea, which stirred the national consciousness of several Slavic peoples, the most prominent representatives: Jan Kollar, Pavol J. Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur. ' ' Dr. Kirschbaum points out that "Slovak literature achieved a level comparable to other Slavic literatures in the first half of the twentieth century.'' It was during this period that Slovak writers came under the influence of Slavic authors but also drew their inspiration from English, French , and Scandinavian writers . Their works reflected a wide variety of literary trends : Romanticism, Pan-Slavism, Symbolism, Modernism, and Surrealism. Despite World War II, Slovak writers (even proletarian poets) were given a free hand to publish their works in the era of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). This freedom was sharply curtailed soon after World War II by the communist takeover in Slovakia. As a result, the boycott inaugurated officially by the regime has been in force against all Slovak writers in the free world for more than a quarter of a century. Inside Slovakia, after the ' ' liberation'' of the country by armies of the Soviet Union and the communist coup of 1948, only "proletarian" writers, surrealic;ts, and leftist poets and authors, journalists and newspapermen have been permitted to publish their writings. All others, even leading novelists like Hronsky (and to some extent Gaspar and Urban) have been excluded, as have such prominent poets as Beniak, while others (Andrej Zarnov, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc, K . Strmen) were forced to go into exile, and the poetry and prose of the latter are not acceptable in the country of their birth. Outside Slovakia, in the past three decades Slovak writers in exile from their communist-controlled homeland have published prolific works in literature and history that have offset an outpouring of communist-oriented publications of poetry and prose within the narrow limits of the ruling regime. These creative writers living in the free world have been "excommunicated" from the socialist state imposed upon their countrymen - and their works are "verboten. " Completely unlike the literary picture painted by captive artists of �122 SLOVAKIA the communist regime in present-day Slovakia, the portrait of Slovak literature both in and out of the country, produced by Dr. Kirschbaum in the free world, is a realistic work depicting the landscape and people of Slovakia in their true colors. It is also an objective delineation of the men and women of letters working under close surveillance in their homeland held captive by foreign invaders and oppressors . Although the impact of Professor Kirschbaum 's book in the field in western literature will be strongly felt, it is a foregone conclusion that it will be totally ignored or attacked in Slovakia. Meanwhile , readers, Slovak and non-Slovak alike, who are interested in true literature, will welcome this highly creditable and scholarly volume that is richly supported by an extensive bibliography. We cannot but agree with Professor Constantine Bida of the University of Ottawa, who reviewed the manuscript, that the book is ''a valuable compendium, necessary for Slovaks abroad and useful for the Anglophone peoples since it supplies a great deal of valuable information on Slovak philology and literature, by using the biobibliographical method''. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B. □□□ Francesco Petrarca, Vavrin (a Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere), translated by Karol Strmen. Rome: Slovak Institute of St. Cyril and Methodius, 1974, 216 pp . The time-honored tradition of observing the anniversary of a deceased foreign author by honoring him with a volume of translations from his work found new expression in a recent Slovak selection from Francesco Petrarca' s ll Canzoniere. Translated from the Italian original by Professor Karol Strmen, who is a poet in .his own right, and titled Vavrin (The Laurel Crown), the most rece:dt Slovak rendition of Il Canzoniere commemorates the 600th anniversary of Petrarca's death. The work presents almost one-third of Petrarca's own collection as well as a scholarly resume of the life, works, and aesthetics of the Italian poet. There are likewise explanatory notes and a bibliography of Petrarca' s works and scholarly criticisms. The purpose of the work as indicated explicitly in its introduction is two-fold: (1) to present "all really important poems (from the original) in the suggested order and framework" of Petrarca's own collection; and (2) to give to Slovak readers background information necessary for a better understanding of the great Italian poet and scholar. Professor Strmen has also tried to show implicitly that able translators can render even the most profound concepts and intricate patterns of foreign masterpieces in the Slovak language without damaging distortion, and that modern Slovak scholarship, if unburdened by historical, political, �SLOVAKIA 123 and other non-literary forces, can fulfill the most challenging tasks of standard literary investigation. For at least a partial response to anticipated questions about norms for Strmen's selection, I shall at least curiously examine some fortunes of Petrarca' s poetry in Slovakia and then concentrate on the more germane relationship of Vavrin to the only other extensive Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere, the work Francesco Petrarca, Sonety pre Lauru, translated by the Slovak poet, Vojtech Mihalik, in 1968. Besides Mihalik' s extensive translation, there are also shorter selections translated by Zvonicky and Durica. Together with Strmen's new renditions from Il Can'zoniere these all testify to the great interest that Slovak men of letters and patrons of literature take in Petrarca's works. The Petrarca ''vogue,'' nevertheless, had already taken hold among Slovak poets and scholars as early as the beginning of the 19th century when Pavel Jozef Safarik, Jan Kollar, and Jan Holly employed Il Canzoniere either as a formal model for their poems or as a starting point in their arguments about the role of the Slavs in Europe. The followers of Safarik, Kollar, and Holly, including both post-Romantic and modern Slovak poets, experimented with Petrarchian forms primarily as to their conceptual and linguistic appropriateness in the spectrum of Slovak poetry. The renowned Slovak poet Pavol Orszagh-Hviezdoslav, and his contemporary Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, used the Petrarchian sonnets mostly as prototypes for their own reflective-intellectual poems. Janko Jesensky, on the contrary, returned in his Poems (1905) to love themes inherent to the Petrarchian sonnets. Ivan Krasko followed Petrarca in the use of the so-called '' squared oxymoron'' in his collections, Nox et solitudo (1909) and Poems (1912) (cf. Slovenske pohl'ady 85 (1969; cited hereafter as SP) , No. XI, 129) . The gallery of Petrarca's followers in Slovak literature was further complemented by Valentin Beniak (Sophia, 1941) and Jan Kostra (Ave Eva, 1943). Mihalik's selection from Il Canzoniere , both as a pioneering undertaking and as a work briefly preceding Strmen's Vavrin, constitutes a valuable contribution to Slovak literature and general aesthetics. Like Strmen in the work under review, Mihalik according to one reviewer, presents parts of Il Canzoniere as faithfully as possible. His translated version of the original "sings" in Slovak as it does in the original Italian (SP, No. XI, 124). It may be noted that Mihalik and Strmen, who are both poets-translators, chose slightly different formal and conceptual paths to attain their goals. Mihalik, living in Slovakia and somewhat burdened by his limited knowledge of the Italian language, was forced to seek the assistance of a translator and depend on the present politically-motivated scholarship of the Society sphere. Strmen, residing abroad and fluent in a dozen of foreign languages, had the capacity and the circumstances to approach the task and to accomplish it singlehandedly. In each case, the net result is characterized by some �124 SLOVAKIA similarities in an overall consideration and by specific differences in matters of detail. Let us now briefly examine some prominent features of both translations. To begin with, Mihalik used the thirteen foot iambic feminine verse alternated by the masculine hexameter exclusively. Examples: Vy po-slu-cha-ci bas-ni, v kto-rych iial'-i chve-nie ai do-sial' mu-ci mo-je srd-ce u-sta-te ... (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) Do-bro-re-ce-ne mie-sto, mo-jej Las-ky sud-ca, den, me-siac, rok a chvi-l'a, pa-miit-ny ten kut kra-ji-ny, kde ma vrh-li do ca-rov-nych put due o-ci pre-kras-ne, ie v6-bec ne-viem hnut' sa. (Sonnet LXI, vv. 1-4) An analysis of Mihalik' s translation and expository writing shows that his strict adherence to a specific form might have been prompted by several formal and quasi-polemical considerations. As the poet of a somewhat conservative bent, he tried to counteract "the wave of amorphism governing the preponderant part of (modem Slovak) poetry" (SP , No. XI , 132). As a scholar, he seems to defend some modern concepts exalting the creative role of a translator over the older claims of Kollar and Holly, who hold that no translation can surpass the artistry of the original Slovak creations. Viliam Turcany, a modem Slovak scholar , commented that Mihalik' s translations "read as if they were his own original works" (SP, No. XII, 122). In the specific reference to the form used in Mihalik's rendition of fl Canzoniere, Turcany stressed the fact that the thirteen-foot iambic line alternated with the hexameter is the metric form best sv.ited for expressing ''the similar quantitative-conceptual density of the Italian and Slovak prosody line" (SP, No. XII, 127). Strmen disregarded both the explicit and the implied claims of Mihalik and Turcany, and translated his selected parts of fl Canzoniere in accordance with his own aesthetic and semantic tenets. Cutting down the length of Petrarca's sonnet line to eleven and ten syllables respectively, he indirectly confirmed the fact that translations from Italian poetry - like translations of prose - require about 15 percent less space in Slovak. Examples: Vy, co tu v zlom-koch ver-sov za-chy-ti-te sum vzdy-chov, kto-re l'u-bost' ii-vi-li . . . (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) �125 SLOVAKIA Bla-ho-sla-ve-ny me-siac, deii i rok i pek-ny kraj i vcas-na jar i chvi-l'a i mie-sto, kde mi Las-ka za-lo-ii-la na mih jej o-ka kru-hy ie-lie-zok .. (Sonnet LXI , vv. 1-4) On the other hand, preserving the prevailing "dynamic" subjectverb structure of Petrarca,' s sentence in his rendition of the Italian work, Strrnen established a close relationship between poet and theme . In the remarks which introduce his translation of Il Canzoniere, Strrnen underlined the importance of the original work for the quality of its translation and for general scholarly consideration. According to him every new great poet represents, so to speak, the last word , the exhaustion of literary potentials. And since, we all are willy-nilly prisoners of our era, we are all tempted to make him the criterion of the past. But the history of poetry deals with something else: the great poet stands out as an independent island (and) we approach him with the guidebooks of our aesthetic prejudices . . . A translation should be primarily a mirror (of the original, and) not ... a colonization or an extension of the translator's personality. In summing up the basic tenets of this review, it is necessary to ask how both poet-translators enriched Slovak literature by translating parts of Petrarca's masterpiece into Slovak and how each of them contributed to the advancement of general scholarly knowledge. Considering the first part of the question , I wish to point out that these translations complement each other. Each poet selected different portions from the original and consequently offered a wider selection from the Italian work to his Slovak readers. A limited number of the poems translated by both poets makes it possible, on the other hand, to study these poems in juxtaposition with each other and facilitates their close comparison. As to the second part of the question, I thank that both Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere provide new thoughts for a theoretical approach to aesthetics in general and Slovak Petrarchian studies in particular . Two basic points of this review, namely verse structure and the " kinetics" of language, are common denominators in the comparative study of specific segments of the respective works and , at the same time , of the · specifics of the individual parts within the artistic whole. Conversely , any segment of Il Canzoniere - if juxtaposed with its counterparts in Slovak translations - will give at least a hint about the character and merits of the respective work. In practical terms, the lines cited in Slovak from Mihalik's and Strmen's translations (as well as any other lines from their selections) �126 SLOVAKIA will give the reader at least a broad idea about the formal aspects of either translation. Italian Slavists will, even by a dissection of these brief segments, gain insight into "hidden" linguistic and artistic concepts governing Strmen's and Mihalik's translations. Economy, idea, and sound quality were the most importat denominators shaping Petrarca's masterpiece. Without expressing any subjective valuejudgment about the Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere, I can state that Mihalik and Strmen fulfilled scholarly expectations in coping with these three fundamental principles of Petrarca's work. ANDREW CINCURA □□□ Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature: Essays. Winnipeg and Cleveland: University of Manitoba, Department of Slavic Studies, 1975. (Readings in Slavic Literature, 12). 336 pages. This is a collection of twelve essays on various aspects of Slovak language and literature which Prof. Kirschbaum has read at conferences and-or published in journals over the past twenty years. He has divided them into three parts, the first (2 essays) discussing questions of language, the second (7 essays) presenting selected topics in Slovak literature through the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the third (3 essays) surveying post-World War II trends. There is a fourth part which purports to be a '' French summary'', but in reality is a slightly rearranged translation of the first and third English chapters. Prof. Kirschbaum's purpose is "to acquaint students and scholars . . . with the development of the Slovak vernacular into a literary medium and with the literature created by the Slovaks in their own language as well as other languages used in Slovakia ... '' The goal is admirable, but he has missed a splendid opportunity to create a solid synthetic survey. There are several reasons to regret his choice of method. As is unfortunately true with much material published by Slovaks in the West, one is left in doubt as to precisely what audience he is trying to reach. Part of the time, Prof. Kirschbaum devotes essays to polemics, particularly with those who sub,s cribe to the concept of Czechoslovakism. He uses expressions such 'as ''misconceptions'' and ''errors' ', charging that these ''wrongs' ' are based on flimsy evidence. But in turn, Kirschbaum himself offers minimal ''proof'' for some of his assertions. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to see polemical essays alongside more serious academic treatments (particularly those chapters on Jan Kollar, Pavol Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur). Further, Western scholars in recent years have taken note of changing perceptions of the development of Slovak national consciousness. (See, for example, Joseph Zacek's remarks in his study of "Nationalism in �SLOVAKIA 127 Czechoslovakia" in Peter F. Sugar and Ivo J. Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe - 1969.) The second problem is that Prof. Kirschbaum has several times repeated his use of the same evidence. He indicates in his introduction that he has done some editing to avoid repetitions, but what are we to make of his double use of a statement by the Polish philologist Tadeusz Lehr-Splawinski (pp. 20 and 68), or of "western" discussions of the origin of Slovak as a literazy language (pp . 18-19 and 52-53)? This is also a problem in books in · which the essays of multiple authors are collected, but one wishes Prof. Kirschbaum had been more diligent in overcoming it. Why, though , when such a golden opportunity presented itself, didn't Prof. Kirschbaum give us a synthetic survey of Slovak literature? There would have been no fear of his repeating himself, and the scholars and students, for whom he says he is writing, would have had an overall view of the evolving Slovak language and literature. Kirschbaum himself remarks on the particular importance of Slovak literature between the wars, but he allows as that would require too much space to discuss, and so he skips the subject. Similarly, his discussion of post1945 literary development is a bare outline of the 1945-1956 period, with only a couple of paragraphs given over to the extremely important dozen years after that, a period so necessary for an understanding of the events of 1968 and after. Kirschbaum alludes to a few important matters after 1956, such as the rapidly growing research on Slovak language and literature in the early 1960s (pp. 35-36). He suggests that this development resulted from the Communist Party's perception of language and literature as being a neutral field. The reader is left wondering why it was, then, that manifestations of Slovak nationalism developed precisely in those areas. The plea of complexity is inadequate. The inclusion of the two chapters of Slovak emigre literature is puzzling, since Kirschbaum tells us twice that only about 50 writers are involved. He does cite their availablity to the reader in the West, but in fact, after the passage of three decades, they now belong more among Slovak ethnic writers in the United States and Canada (or wherever else they live) than to continuing Slovak literary trends in Czecho-Slovakia. Sad as it might be, these authors are writing for a decreasing number of readers. The interesting aspect of these chapters is the report of the publication in post-February Czecho-Slovakia of works · by :Cudo Besenovsky and Milos Mlynarovic. Prof. Kirschbaum should be cautioned in his use of Robert Kann's praise of Slovak cultural development in the whole of the nineteenth century (pp. 147-8). It is clear from Kann's context that he includes Kollar, Safarik, Stefanik, and Masaryk in his kudos, a quartet who are usually ascribed major roles in the Czecho-Slovak movement, a concept Prof. Kirschbaum would certainly take strong offense to. �128 SLOVAKIA The number of printing errors is atrocious . Thus, R. W. SetonWatson becomes Seton-Weston (p. 9), Nicholas Spulber is Spuller (p. 9), Jan Tibensky comes out T. Tibeasky (p . 119) , the Spolok sv. Vojtecha is said to have been founded in 1780, rather than 1870 (p. 206), Timrava and Podjavorinska become Timarava and Podajavorisnka (also p. 206), Cyrillic is spelled in at least 5 or 6 different ways, ad infinitum. The French resume fares no better. I counted at least a half dozen errors in the first paragraph on page 286. An inserted errata catches a small number of errors, but tells us, "The word 'Slovensky' in Chapter III should have an accent on the letter e (! ) unavailable to the printers.' ' A couple of other minor carps: (1) the use of Loe. cit., op. cit., etc., is functional for article-length material, but not very feasible in a monograph. A reference to Robert Auty, loc. cit., on page 117 requires the reader to go all the way back to page 21. A reference to Noge, op. cit. on page 203 lacks any earlier reference whatsoever. It belongs to Julius Noge, An Outline of Slovakian Literature (Bratislava, 1968) which certainly also belongs in the bibliography. (2) In Chapter XII we suddenly have titles of Slovak works given only in English, making them harder to locate. In sum, a book whose title held so much promise turns out to be a disappointment. I share Prof. J. B. Rudnyckyj's prefaced complaint that there is far too little scholarly material available in English about Slovak literature, and I would add, about Slovak history, and Slovakia in general. Unfortunately, this compendium has not improved the situation. - OWENV. JOHNSON \ �Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J.D., attorney; America, Stratford, Connecticut president, Slovak League of John Bodnar, Ph.D., historian, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., author; professor, Riverside, California Owen V. Johnson, Ph.D., historian, University of Michigan Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LLD., Ph.D., historian; author, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Margaret Matus, student, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Michael Novak, Ph.D., author; lecturer; professor, Bayville, New York Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B., M.A., historian; author, Cleveland, Ohio M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian; professor, Cleveland, Ohio Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D., historian, Stony Point, New York Daniel F. Tanzone, 8.A., author; fraternalist, Yonkers, New York Francis Vnuk, M.A., author; historian, Broadview, Australia �OFFICERS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Honorary President: Stephen J. Tkach, K.H.S. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President 178 Elliott Street Stratford, Conn. 06497 Vice Presidents: Milan V. Blazek Frances L. Mizenko Daniel F. Tanzone Executive Committee: Edward J . Behuncik, John A. Holy, Louise Yash, Irma A. Vrbancic, John A. Sabol, George J. Kostelnik, Stephen J. Kavulich, Andrew Hudak, Jr., Dr. Joseph Mikula Anna E. Hletko Auditors: Dr. Stanislav Duris George N. Kantor SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 104,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Beachwood, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 53,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 15,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA John C. Sciranka, President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 3,000) ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation 7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 9,000) SLOVAKIA $4.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $5.00 elsewhere Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania U.S.A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. 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 1976 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 111 Henry Delfiner, Vienna Broadcasts to Slovakia. East European Quarterly, Boulder, Colorado, 1974. 142 pp . (Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York and London). Delfiner's study is a valuable source of information both on the German policy towards Eastern Europe on the threshhold of the Second World War and on the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia. Vienna broadcasts became influential after Berlin interpreted the Munich Agreement as giving Germany a "free hand" in Central Eastern Europe . The dissatisfied and frightened peoples and minorities, uncertain about their future, were more than inclined to consider the broadcasts as an interpreter of Berlin's foreign policy. Slovakia was one of the countries whose future was most uncertain. Hungarians , Poles and Germans claimed parts of Slovak territory and, even though the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks improved after Slovakia was granted autonomy, Prague was unable either to defend Slovakia against her neighbors or assure her future. In fact, the government of Prague advised the Slovak autonomous government to turn to Berlin for protection against Hungarian claims. As a result, in the case of Slovakia, the broadcasts undoubtedly influenced the relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks, as well as the attitude of the Slovak population towards the Jews. The influence was, however, not as decisive as the author asserts . Mutnansky, as announcer and author of the major part of the broadcasts, was not the best person to perform the task. Unknown, without the necessary good contacts with Slovak politicians, and having a doubtful political record, he was not taken seriously in political circles. The anti-clericalism of his broadcasts and their violent anti-semitism also diminished their impact. As Delfiner rightly states, ''One of the first issues on which Slovakian Catholicism (Slovakia's population was 82 percent Catholic) and Nazi ideology clashed concerned treatment of the Jews." (p. 24) In addition, the broadcasts promoted K . Sidor at a time when Dr. Tiso was the head of the Populist Party and, from October 6, 1938, also the head of the Slovak government. The broadcasts also promoted Dr. Tuka who had no political office after he returned from Czech jails and neither Sidor nor Tiso were eager to adopt Tuka' s political views and plans. In fact Tiso protested on certain occasions against the broadcasts. It was in the March crisis of 1939, when Prague deposed the Slovak government, arrested hundreds of Slovak political and civic leaders, and militarily occupied public buildings, that the Vienna broadcasts and the Viennese politicians (Seyss-Inquart, Burckel) played the im- 112 SLOVAKIA portant role ascribed to them by the author in the final decision of the Slovaks to part with the Czechs. Since the story of the disruption of Czecho-Slovakia was presented in the West with a certain bias, the collection of these broadcasts will be useful for historians. The text of the broadcasts published in Mutnansky's books as well as his interpretation of them are not, however, necessarily accurate. He was not rewarded in Slovakia and advocated German policies even after the broadcasts were terminated. The work is enhanced by a useful bibliography and chronology. Some minor errors slipped into the glossary and chronology: Dr. Tuka made his first speech for independence on December 6, 1938 and not on December 9; Dr. Durcansky did not ask for "Hitler's intervention" on March 10. He merely hinted in his broadcast from Vienna that Slovaks '' aim to achieve national freedom with the help of our friends, the great German nation", (p. 117); Karol Sidor died in Montreal on October 20, 1953 and not 1954. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Bohemia - Jahrbuch des Collegium Carolinum, Band 15, R. Oldenburg Verlag, (Munich, 1974). Edited by Dr. Gerhard Hanke, pp. 532. Even though the symposium Bohemia deals predominantly with the history, the culture and Czech-German relations in the present Czech part of Czecho-Slovakia, known throughout the centuries as Bohemia, many issues of this carefully edited annual publication have also paid attention to Slovakia and the Slovaks. The present volume contains three contributions dealing with Slovakia: Helmut Slapnicka writes about German lectures at the Law Academy in Bratislava in the middle of the 19th century; Ladislav Lipscher contributes an excellent essay on the constitution and regional political administration in Czecho-Slovakia during the 1920s; and Stanislav Kirschbaum deals with the contin_uity and political changes in Czecho-Slovakia in 1968. While Slapnicka i~ of German background, the two other contributors were born in Slovakia. Ladislav Lipscher is a noted historian of the political and legal organization of pre-war Czecho-Slovakia. Before escaping to the West in 1968 he published books and studies in this field in Slovakia and in spite of the difficulty of access to sources, Lipscher continues to do so from his Swiss exile . This is his third contribution published abroad, and it deserves our special attention because legal and administrative questions were by-passed by Slovak writers in the West. The institution of regional administration had political implications, being conceived as a substitute for political autonomy, promised to the Slovaks during the First World War. Based on solid knowledge and thorough research SLOVAKIA 113 of the subject, Lipscher's study analyses political and administrative problems and presents an objective outline of the regional administration and the party politics behind it. Stanislav Kirschbaum, a specialist on Eastern Europe who teaches Political Science at York University in Toronto, deals with the political changes in Dubcek's era. There are numerous books and articles on this period in several W estem languages. Unfortunately , they are concerned predominantly with the Czech part of the country . Those that deal with Slovakia do so from a Czech perspective or treat the Slovaks as quantite negli[leable even though their role was of primary importance in the events between 1963 and 1968. Kirschbaum's contribution is a well documented scholarly analysis of the political situation in Czecho-Slovakia in the 1960s. It is a presentation of the changes which brought about the liberalization of the regime and the federalization of the State in that fateful year of 1968. Collegium Carolinum deserves our recognition for regularly including studies on Slovak topics in the annual Bohemia. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• Ludwig v. Gogolak, Beitraege zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, II. Die slowakische nationale Frage in der Reformepoche Ungams 1790-1848, (Contributions to the History of the Slovak People - The Slovak National Question in the Reform Period of Hungary, 1790-1848). Verlag R. Oldenburg, (Muenchen, 1969), pp. 280. The second volume(+) of Gogolak's work on Slovakia's selfassertion in Hungary is a detailed and well-documented insight into the crucial years of Slovak history when the Slovaks had to fight not only the Magyar nationalism, but also the ''Czechoslovak'' tendencies of the Slovak Lutheran leaders. Though of Slovak origin and related to Bernolak' s family, Gogolak belonged to the Hungarian aristocracy and his interpretation of Slovak national movement is consequently quite different from the Czech or Slovak nationalist interpretations. The present volume deals predominantly with the second half of the 19th and the first decade of the 20th Centuries. Special attention was paid by the author to the Pan-Slav movement and its representatives in Slovakia and to the movement of tudovit Stur which clashed with both the Magyar assimilation policy and "Czechoslovak" orientation of some Lutheran leaders, especially Kollar and Safarik. Particular attention is paid also to Jan Holly and his influence on the Slovak national movement in the 19th Century. According to Gogolak, Holly deserves credit for giving Slovaks the consciousness of their history (Geschichtsbewusstsein) and faith in their future. In this respect Gogolak is in agreement not only with the older school of Slovak 114 SLOVAKIA historians but also with the present " Marxist" historians and clashes only with the views of the "Czechoslovak" historiography. Gogolak is not denying the oppressive policy of Budapest, but explains it in the context of European nationalism and liberalism and points out the weakness of the Slovak movement whose leaders were divided by religion into two camps, one of which looked for a solution outside Hungary, in a merger with the Czechs . There are many aspects of the Slovak national question in Gogolak's work which were by-passed in Slovak history books or interpreted with bias by Czech historians. Unfortunately, we are unable, outside Slovakia, to pass judgment on their correctness. Gogolak refers to a great number of sources in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian and German which are not accessible to us . Supported by references to reliable sources, Gogolak's conclusions and interpretations seem to be convincing, and as a result we face a new interpretation of the Slovak national movement and of the role the Catholics and the Protestans played in modem Slovak history . In some respects Gogolak is in complete disagreement with the Czech interpretation, especially with the unfounded assertion that Catholics took a minor part in national revival. In his view, "only the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars who were conscious of their goal and mission allowed the Slovak national character not to lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political Magyarization and the spiritual Czechoslovak in the age of modem nationalism and preponderance of the bourgeoisie .... Had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, remained in its leading role, the result would probably have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people." (Vol. I. p. 229 and 238). Considering the fact that Gogolak's work was published by a wellknown publisher and, except for T. J. Locher's book Die Nazionale Differenzierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihren geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848 (Harlem, 1931), it is the only.work in German by nonSlovak writer, we should not underestimate' its importance. Slovak historians should thoroughly analyze this new interpretation of modem Slovak history. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM (+)For my review of Volume I see Slovakia, No. 35, 1964, pp. 156-158. ■■■ Roger Portal , The Slavs. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, 1969), pp. 508, Bihl., index, illustrations. Portal's voluminous book is a survey of the cultural and historical development of the Slavic peoples, including the Slovaks. It was SLOVAKIA 115 written, and originally published, in French (Librairie Armand Colin, 1965), probably as a manual for students at French universities at which Portal has been a professor. The work is illustrated by maps and pictures and presents the Slavs in a much more objective light than some American books have done in the past. French scholars were interested in the Slavs for more than a century, but rarely have any French Slavists presented a global picture similar to Portars book. Slovaks and Slovakia are treated by Portal in proportion to their place and significance among the Slavs without the usual bias encountered in the West. His interpretation of certain periods of Slovak history was apparently influenced by Czech sources, which is, to a degree, understandable. While historiography in Slovakia developed considerably during the past three decades, there are still very few books in foreign languages which could be used by Slavists outside Slovakia. Moreover, even the summaries in scholarly works are always in Russian or German, and only occasionally in French and English. As a result one can hardly reproach Portal or other foreign Slavists if their chapters or paragraphs on Slovaks are sketchy, superficial or if they omit certain periods considered as important for Slovaks but less important in the context of the general history of the Slavs . It is evident that we cannot expect an objective and complete history of Slovakia and Slovaks until there are good history books on Slovakia translated into or written in foreign languages and until there are foreign students at Slovak universities specializing in Slovak history, culture, literature, and language. The absence of statehood, resulting in limited or non-existent cultural exchanges with other countries , necessarily reflects on the knowledge of Slovakia abroad. Many books on Czech history and culture were written by former foreign students at Prague 's university or by Slavists invited to Prague and studying there on scholarships. The same goes for Poland and other Slavic countries. Except for the six years of the Slovak Republic, there was never a government ruling in Slovakia which would have been interested in making Slovakia known in the World. Looking at Portal's book from this angle, we have to welcome it as a great step ahead. Slovak intellectuals in Western Europe should carefully analyze the book and supply Professor Portal with correct information on periods or events which were omitted or misinterpreted. That is the only way to obtain a change in presenting Slovakia abroad until the Slovaks have their own government and normal cultural relations with the world. In Portal's book Slovakia is at least not a footnote to Czech history as happens so often in other books. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ••• 116 SLOVAKIA R. Krajcovic, Slovencina a slovanske jazyky (The Slovak and the Slavic Languages), Slovenske pedagogicke nakladatelstvo (Bratislava, 1974), pp. 324, illustrations, Russian and German summary. Slovak philology has experienced a remarkable development during the past fifty years for reasons which can properly be understood only in the context of political developments in Slovakia.(+) The attempts to make the Slovak language a dialect of the Czech or nonexistent "Czechoslovak" language gave a strong impetus to Slovak philologists to prove that there was no scientific basis for such theories. The subsequent attempts at Russification of the Slovak language worked in the same direction: they intensified the desire of Slovak philologists to elaborate their own theories about the independent place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages. As a result, Slovak philology developed favorably in all areas of philological research: dialectology, lexicology, comparative philology, morphology, phonology, etc. and the Slovak language was finally established as a distinct Slavic tongue. The book by Krajcovic expertly deals with the place of the Slovak language among Slavic languages and asserts its originality from the time when the Slavic macro-dialects split into dialects with the distinct characteristics of the present Slavic languages. He analyzes the theories which aimed at proving that the Slovak language did not have a homogeneous proto-slavic basis as well as the theories which substantiated the thesis that the Slovak language was formed on the homogeneous West Slavic basis, and corroborates the distinct character of the Slovak language. The book is destined by its terminology for scholars and philologists, but its conclusions are understandable by everybody. In many ways, the book is a good example of the high academic level of the new generation of Slovak philologists. The German summary makes the book accessible also to Wes tern scholars. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM ( +) See Chapter II in Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, 1975), I\- 25-38 . ••• Dr. J. Mesaros (ed.), Slovaci a ich narodny vyvin (The Slovaks and Their National Development). Proceedings of the V Congress of Slovak Historians. Published by Vydavatel'stvo-Slovenskej akademie vied, (Bratislava, 1969); pp. 305. This symposium is composed of 12 papers delivered at the Conference of Slovak Historians and deserves mention not only for the academic value of individual contributions, but also in connection with SLOVAKIA 117 Gogolak's work mentioned above. While Gogolak's two volumes present an interpretation by a non-Slovak historian, this volume, edited by Dr. Mesaros, gives us an interpretation of Slovak history by the generation of Slovak historians who adopted nolens-volens, a Marxist approach to history. It is regrettable that the symposium is not available in W estem languages for it demolishes the "Czechoslovak" interpretation of Slovakia 's past and present, and substantiates the thesis that Slovaks developed independently of Czechs or other Slavs into a distinct nation culturally, linguistically and politically from the Middle Ages. The contributions by P. Ratkos , J. Tibensky, J. Butvin , K. Rebro and Mesaros are especially explicit in this regard. The contribution by Z. Holotikova is of interest for understanding the attitude of the Communists towards Slovak !llational aspirations. Like the "bourgeois" adherents of "Czechoslov'a kism" who retarded Slovak development towards full national independence, the Communists were also liable for the confusion and for Prague's rule in Slovakia, both of which were detrimental to Slovak development towards a distinct national identity and self-rule. The admission by Marxist historians that religious divisions and Communist adherence to "Czechoslovakism" were harmful to Slovak national development is expressed with caution, but it is present throughout the book and sets the record straight. The majority of Slovaks never doubted their distinct national identity and fought for equal rights with other nations. The minority - political and religious - nevertheless succeeded, with Prague's help, in creating confusion even among foreign Slavists. The post-war experiences with Prague centralism in the economy and renewed efforts to stifle Slovak nationalism resulted in the re.thinking and re-appraising of the Slovak question not only by politicians but also by historians. The publication under review presents their conclusions. Most of the contributions are well-researched and well-written and deal with problems of primary interest for the Slovak struggle for self-assertion. - PROF. J.M. KIRSCHBAUM □□□ Jednota Annual FURDEK 1977, Volume XVI, 303 pages. Edited by Joseph C. Krajsa. Published by the First Catholic Slovak Union of the United States and Canada. Printed by the Jednota Press , Middletown, Pennsylvania . FURDEK 1977, Jednota's sixteenth in a series of annuals in the English language, offers the reader a variety of articles written by a number of old pros, several new authors and semi-pros, but all have something interesting for the reader who wants to know more about his Slovak ethnic background . 118 SLOVAKIA Doctor Pauco 's invaluable contributions (superbly translated from the Slovak by Sister M . Martina Tybor, SS.C .M .) enrich this year's production , which is easily the most informative and probably the best of the series inaugurated by the late Editor Philip A. Hrobak and continued by the present editor-in-chief, Joseph C. Krajsa. Every effort should be made to send this edition to as many Slovak homes, as well as to public, college, and university libraries, as possible. Thomas (Belejcak) Bell, American novelist of Slovak ancestry, is presented, and his half dozen works are ably reviewed by John F. Berko. Bell's books generally reflect the somber and tragic side of life among Slovak (and other Slavic) immigrants in the steel city of Pittsburgh and its suburbs. By a slim margin of one, the young men hold the edge over the Jednota scholarship winners (31-30) in the past year as the fair sex scored high in the final standings. This is a sound display of nondiscrimination in a men's organization. As always, the attractive photos of our intelligent youth give us renewed hope for the future destiny of our J ednota in particular and the ethnic identity of the American Slovaks in general. Michael Novak, Ph.D . , who holds the center stage as the acknowledged champion of ethnics in America, discusses the subject in his usual profound manner and inimitable style. In his " Long Life to Slovaks" contribution, Doctor William Gombar counters Michael Simko's realistic but bleak view for the future of the ethnic population in America. Joseph Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., is well known for his many writings. In this issue of FURDEK the Slovak diplomat and author contributes a valuable review of the influence of American Slovak organizations on his fellow countrymen in Canada. Glimpses into the ancient historical past of the Slovak nation are presented by a newcomer, Michael Kolarci~, ~S.J. His sketches of the life and times of Prince Pribina, Kings Mojmir I, Rastislav, and Svatopluk the Great, are concise and accurate. Michael Krajsa's tribute to General Stefanik and Doctor Pauco's firsthand information on President Tiso during wartime recall outstanding national heroes of the First and Second World Wars respectively. Tonka Kral, Anna Maria Kulhan, and Theresa Sapak make their debut as a talented trio of promising youthful writers . Sister M . Gabriel Hricko 's biographical sketch of Doctor Joseph Pauco on the first anniversary of the death of a fearless fighter for Slovakia 's national freedom and statehood is a timely tribute to one of the greatest Slovak newspapermen and patriots in our time. Sister Gabriel's beautiful article on the Miracle of Fatima rounds out this year's publication . SLOVAKIA 119 Two Congressmen, namely, the Honorable Daniel Flood of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Peter Rodino, Jr. of New Jersey are contributors who add prestige to this edition. Sophia Zufa finds Slovakia a picturesque country inhabited by a warm, hospitable people, and her father's hometown of Nizna nad Oravou full of memories as recalled by her aunt during her visit. Paul Fenchak's article on Slavic Studies in Maryland's public schools is typical of their place in the public schools around the country - shamefully neglected. Karol Sidor, Slovak newspaperman, diplomat, and statesman, is remembered as a distinguished author, thanks to Imrich Stolarik's contribution. Astronaut Eugene Ceman rates a photograph taken at Youngstown, Ohio's American Slovak Bicentennial celebration last year. A number of other articles of interest in this issue of FURDEK include ones by Fathers Edward Hancko, S.J., Francis Kuba, C.P., Joseph Adamec, Andrew Pier, O.S.B., as well as by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, D.D., Monsignor J. Jaworski, S.T.D., and by Vincent Drobniak, John Herling, and Edward Svercek. Seventy-five concise articles of a diversified nature cover a wide spectrum of historical, political, cultural, religious, and social subjects. Several poems are added to enhance a rich assortment of carefully selected writings. Nevertheless, the Slovak sources of interesting subjects remain far from being exhausted. There remains a great deal more to be told about Slovakia and her people at home and scattered throughout the world. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• An Anthology of Slovak Literature, by Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., University of California. Not the last but the latest and most complete and comprehensive study of Slovak prose and poetry in the English language is Dr. Cincura' s scholarly work produced after several years of research by the Slovak Professor whom the Rockefeller Foundation sponsored in compiling a truly pioneer project that merits the highest praise on the basis of its contents and superb presentation. A quarter of a century ago, Ivan Kramoris, M.A., of the Marquette University Preparatory School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, published the first anthology of Slovak literature in English, but since then many new writers have appeared in Slovakia and in exile. This literary development necessitated an up-to-date edition to review the writings of new Slovak authors and poets. Michael Novak, Ph.D., the prolific author of a number of works on the ethnics, introduces the book as "done with taste, intelligence, 120 SLOVAKIA judgment and perception ... " Moreover, Karol Strmen, Ph.D., an eminent Slovak poet, provides the setting for a proper appreciation of a representative series of selections from the surprisingly extensive output of Slovak literary works since the beginning of the nineteenth century. His historical review of Slovak literature is enlightening and informative . While most of Slovak poets and prose writers in Dr. Cincura's selective list rate a high place in their field, some of them compare favorably with leading writers in world literature. By their imagination , workmanship, originality, realism, and idealism, the works of the Slovak nation's literary men and women prove their genuine value as enduring products that have a universal appeal. Certainly Dr. Cincura cannot be accused of male chauvinism, for he chose ten women writers of some thirty authors of prose, although only two women poets are included in approximately forty Slovak poets in his selection. And a woman dramatist is on his list of four Slovak playwrights. Doubtless, there are many more selections of prose and poetry that manifest the natural genius of the Slovak people in expressing their ideas and feelings, but the author was limited by inadequate space. Perhaps in the near future a second volume may be added to supplement this excellent book that will acquaint the English-speaking world with some of the best creative writers of Slovakia. Obviously the very nature of this work presents but a fragmentary part of the entire literary field of Slovak literature, but the reader is given a wide assortment of creative works by writers and poets who are intimately related to their historic land and its people. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B . ••• J.M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature, Series: Readings in Slavic Literatures, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 1975, pp . XIV, 366, Index, ill., bibl. Slovak Language and Literature, the ~test publication by Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, the distinguished author of historical, political and literary works relating to the Slovak nation, contains a vast wealth of facts, opinions, reflections and references to standard works of prominent Slavists in several languages. The Series Editor, Professor J.B. Rudnyckyj, in his preface acknowledges: "Slovakia, a central part of the Great Moravian Empire of the ninth century, was the cradle of Slavic letters and civilization, for there were the beginnings of the rich and highly cultivated Cyrillo-Methodian literature which spread in the tenth century to other Slavic countries, especially to the southern and eastern Slavs." SLOVAKIA 121 The author deems a background to the development of Slovak literature ve ry helpful to the understanding of the evolution of the Slovak language itself. His book is the most comprehensive study of the Slovak language and literature in the English language. Moreover, the author, who has spent years in research and has lectured on the subject during the past two decades, alludes to historical and philosophical aspects that affected the growth of the language and literature of the Slovak people from earliest times to the present day. The impact of the Slovak literary language on the national life of historic Slovakia aided considerably in the emergence of a strong national consciousness in the 19th and 20th centuries. , '' Slovakia,'' Professor Rudnyckyj notes , ''played an important role in the Pan-Slav movement. Not only was the word Panslavism coined by a Slovak, but Slovakia also gave the Pan-Slav idea, which stirred the national consciousness of several Slavic peoples, the most prominent representatives: Jan Kollar, Pavol J. Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur. ' ' Dr. Kirschbaum points out that "Slovak literature achieved a level comparable to other Slavic literatures in the first half of the twentieth century.'' It was during this period that Slovak writers came under the influence of Slavic authors but also drew their inspiration from English, French , and Scandinavian writers . Their works reflected a wide variety of literary trends : Romanticism, Pan-Slavism, Symbolism, Modernism, and Surrealism. Despite World War II, Slovak writers (even proletarian poets) were given a free hand to publish their works in the era of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945). This freedom was sharply curtailed soon after World War II by the communist takeover in Slovakia. As a result, the boycott inaugurated officially by the regime has been in force against all Slovak writers in the free world for more than a quarter of a century. Inside Slovakia, after the ' ' liberation'' of the country by armies of the Soviet Union and the communist coup of 1948, only "proletarian" writers, surrealic;ts, and leftist poets and authors, journalists and newspapermen have been permitted to publish their writings. All others, even leading novelists like Hronsky (and to some extent Gaspar and Urban) have been excluded, as have such prominent poets as Beniak, while others (Andrej Zarnov, R. Dilong, M. Sprinc, K . Strmen) were forced to go into exile, and the poetry and prose of the latter are not acceptable in the country of their birth. Outside Slovakia, in the past three decades Slovak writers in exile from their communist-controlled homeland have published prolific works in literature and history that have offset an outpouring of communist-oriented publications of poetry and prose within the narrow limits of the ruling regime. These creative writers living in the free world have been "excommunicated" from the socialist state imposed upon their countrymen - and their works are "verboten. " Completely unlike the literary picture painted by captive artists of 122 SLOVAKIA the communist regime in present-day Slovakia, the portrait of Slovak literature both in and out of the country, produced by Dr. Kirschbaum in the free world, is a realistic work depicting the landscape and people of Slovakia in their true colors. It is also an objective delineation of the men and women of letters working under close surveillance in their homeland held captive by foreign invaders and oppressors . Although the impact of Professor Kirschbaum 's book in the field in western literature will be strongly felt, it is a foregone conclusion that it will be totally ignored or attacked in Slovakia. Meanwhile , readers, Slovak and non-Slovak alike, who are interested in true literature, will welcome this highly creditable and scholarly volume that is richly supported by an extensive bibliography. We cannot but agree with Professor Constantine Bida of the University of Ottawa, who reviewed the manuscript, that the book is ''a valuable compendium, necessary for Slovaks abroad and useful for the Anglophone peoples since it supplies a great deal of valuable information on Slovak philology and literature, by using the biobibliographical method''. - ANDREW V. PIER, O.S.B. □□□ Francesco Petrarca, Vavrin (a Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere), translated by Karol Strmen. Rome: Slovak Institute of St. Cyril and Methodius, 1974, 216 pp . The time-honored tradition of observing the anniversary of a deceased foreign author by honoring him with a volume of translations from his work found new expression in a recent Slovak selection from Francesco Petrarca' s ll Canzoniere. Translated from the Italian original by Professor Karol Strmen, who is a poet in .his own right, and titled Vavrin (The Laurel Crown), the most rece:dt Slovak rendition of Il Canzoniere commemorates the 600th anniversary of Petrarca's death. The work presents almost one-third of Petrarca's own collection as well as a scholarly resume of the life, works, and aesthetics of the Italian poet. There are likewise explanatory notes and a bibliography of Petrarca' s works and scholarly criticisms. The purpose of the work as indicated explicitly in its introduction is two-fold: (1) to present "all really important poems (from the original) in the suggested order and framework" of Petrarca's own collection; and (2) to give to Slovak readers background information necessary for a better understanding of the great Italian poet and scholar. Professor Strmen has also tried to show implicitly that able translators can render even the most profound concepts and intricate patterns of foreign masterpieces in the Slovak language without damaging distortion, and that modern Slovak scholarship, if unburdened by historical, political, SLOVAKIA 123 and other non-literary forces, can fulfill the most challenging tasks of standard literary investigation. For at least a partial response to anticipated questions about norms for Strmen's selection, I shall at least curiously examine some fortunes of Petrarca' s poetry in Slovakia and then concentrate on the more germane relationship of Vavrin to the only other extensive Slovak selection from Il Canzoniere, the work Francesco Petrarca, Sonety pre Lauru, translated by the Slovak poet, Vojtech Mihalik, in 1968. Besides Mihalik' s extensive translation, there are also shorter selections translated by Zvonicky and Durica. Together with Strmen's new renditions from Il Can'zoniere these all testify to the great interest that Slovak men of letters and patrons of literature take in Petrarca's works. The Petrarca ''vogue,'' nevertheless, had already taken hold among Slovak poets and scholars as early as the beginning of the 19th century when Pavel Jozef Safarik, Jan Kollar, and Jan Holly employed Il Canzoniere either as a formal model for their poems or as a starting point in their arguments about the role of the Slavs in Europe. The followers of Safarik, Kollar, and Holly, including both post-Romantic and modern Slovak poets, experimented with Petrarchian forms primarily as to their conceptual and linguistic appropriateness in the spectrum of Slovak poetry. The renowned Slovak poet Pavol Orszagh-Hviezdoslav, and his contemporary Svetozar Hurban-Vajansky, used the Petrarchian sonnets mostly as prototypes for their own reflective-intellectual poems. Janko Jesensky, on the contrary, returned in his Poems (1905) to love themes inherent to the Petrarchian sonnets. Ivan Krasko followed Petrarca in the use of the so-called '' squared oxymoron'' in his collections, Nox et solitudo (1909) and Poems (1912) (cf. Slovenske pohl'ady 85 (1969; cited hereafter as SP) , No. XI, 129) . The gallery of Petrarca's followers in Slovak literature was further complemented by Valentin Beniak (Sophia, 1941) and Jan Kostra (Ave Eva, 1943). Mihalik's selection from Il Canzoniere , both as a pioneering undertaking and as a work briefly preceding Strmen's Vavrin, constitutes a valuable contribution to Slovak literature and general aesthetics. Like Strmen in the work under review, Mihalik according to one reviewer, presents parts of Il Canzoniere as faithfully as possible. His translated version of the original "sings" in Slovak as it does in the original Italian (SP, No. XI, 124). It may be noted that Mihalik and Strmen, who are both poets-translators, chose slightly different formal and conceptual paths to attain their goals. Mihalik, living in Slovakia and somewhat burdened by his limited knowledge of the Italian language, was forced to seek the assistance of a translator and depend on the present politically-motivated scholarship of the Society sphere. Strmen, residing abroad and fluent in a dozen of foreign languages, had the capacity and the circumstances to approach the task and to accomplish it singlehandedly. In each case, the net result is characterized by some 124 SLOVAKIA similarities in an overall consideration and by specific differences in matters of detail. Let us now briefly examine some prominent features of both translations. To begin with, Mihalik used the thirteen foot iambic feminine verse alternated by the masculine hexameter exclusively. Examples: Vy po-slu-cha-ci bas-ni, v kto-rych iial'-i chve-nie ai do-sial' mu-ci mo-je srd-ce u-sta-te ... (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) Do-bro-re-ce-ne mie-sto, mo-jej Las-ky sud-ca, den, me-siac, rok a chvi-l'a, pa-miit-ny ten kut kra-ji-ny, kde ma vrh-li do ca-rov-nych put due o-ci pre-kras-ne, ie v6-bec ne-viem hnut' sa. (Sonnet LXI, vv. 1-4) An analysis of Mihalik' s translation and expository writing shows that his strict adherence to a specific form might have been prompted by several formal and quasi-polemical considerations. As the poet of a somewhat conservative bent, he tried to counteract "the wave of amorphism governing the preponderant part of (modem Slovak) poetry" (SP , No. XI , 132). As a scholar, he seems to defend some modern concepts exalting the creative role of a translator over the older claims of Kollar and Holly, who hold that no translation can surpass the artistry of the original Slovak creations. Viliam Turcany, a modem Slovak scholar , commented that Mihalik' s translations "read as if they were his own original works" (SP, No. XII, 122). In the specific reference to the form used in Mihalik's rendition of fl Canzoniere, Turcany stressed the fact that the thirteen-foot iambic line alternated with the hexameter is the metric form best sv.ited for expressing ''the similar quantitative-conceptual density of the Italian and Slovak prosody line" (SP, No. XII, 127). Strmen disregarded both the explicit and the implied claims of Mihalik and Turcany, and translated his selected parts of fl Canzoniere in accordance with his own aesthetic and semantic tenets. Cutting down the length of Petrarca's sonnet line to eleven and ten syllables respectively, he indirectly confirmed the fact that translations from Italian poetry - like translations of prose - require about 15 percent less space in Slovak. Examples: Vy, co tu v zlom-koch ver-sov za-chy-ti-te sum vzdy-chov, kto-re l'u-bost' ii-vi-li . . . (Sonnet I, vv. 1-2) 125 SLOVAKIA Bla-ho-sla-ve-ny me-siac, deii i rok i pek-ny kraj i vcas-na jar i chvi-l'a i mie-sto, kde mi Las-ka za-lo-ii-la na mih jej o-ka kru-hy ie-lie-zok .. (Sonnet LXI , vv. 1-4) On the other hand, preserving the prevailing "dynamic" subjectverb structure of Petrarca,' s sentence in his rendition of the Italian work, Strrnen established a close relationship between poet and theme . In the remarks which introduce his translation of Il Canzoniere, Strrnen underlined the importance of the original work for the quality of its translation and for general scholarly consideration. According to him every new great poet represents, so to speak, the last word , the exhaustion of literary potentials. And since, we all are willy-nilly prisoners of our era, we are all tempted to make him the criterion of the past. But the history of poetry deals with something else: the great poet stands out as an independent island (and) we approach him with the guidebooks of our aesthetic prejudices . . . A translation should be primarily a mirror (of the original, and) not ... a colonization or an extension of the translator's personality. In summing up the basic tenets of this review, it is necessary to ask how both poet-translators enriched Slovak literature by translating parts of Petrarca's masterpiece into Slovak and how each of them contributed to the advancement of general scholarly knowledge. Considering the first part of the question , I wish to point out that these translations complement each other. Each poet selected different portions from the original and consequently offered a wider selection from the Italian work to his Slovak readers. A limited number of the poems translated by both poets makes it possible, on the other hand, to study these poems in juxtaposition with each other and facilitates their close comparison. As to the second part of the question, I thank that both Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere provide new thoughts for a theoretical approach to aesthetics in general and Slovak Petrarchian studies in particular . Two basic points of this review, namely verse structure and the " kinetics" of language, are common denominators in the comparative study of specific segments of the respective works and , at the same time , of the · specifics of the individual parts within the artistic whole. Conversely , any segment of Il Canzoniere - if juxtaposed with its counterparts in Slovak translations - will give at least a hint about the character and merits of the respective work. In practical terms, the lines cited in Slovak from Mihalik's and Strmen's translations (as well as any other lines from their selections) 126 SLOVAKIA will give the reader at least a broad idea about the formal aspects of either translation. Italian Slavists will, even by a dissection of these brief segments, gain insight into "hidden" linguistic and artistic concepts governing Strmen's and Mihalik's translations. Economy, idea, and sound quality were the most importat denominators shaping Petrarca's masterpiece. Without expressing any subjective valuejudgment about the Slovak selections from Il Canzoniere, I can state that Mihalik and Strmen fulfilled scholarly expectations in coping with these three fundamental principles of Petrarca's work. ANDREW CINCURA □□□ Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovak Language and Literature: Essays. Winnipeg and Cleveland: University of Manitoba, Department of Slavic Studies, 1975. (Readings in Slavic Literature, 12). 336 pages. This is a collection of twelve essays on various aspects of Slovak language and literature which Prof. Kirschbaum has read at conferences and-or published in journals over the past twenty years. He has divided them into three parts, the first (2 essays) discussing questions of language, the second (7 essays) presenting selected topics in Slovak literature through the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the third (3 essays) surveying post-World War II trends. There is a fourth part which purports to be a '' French summary'', but in reality is a slightly rearranged translation of the first and third English chapters. Prof. Kirschbaum's purpose is "to acquaint students and scholars . . . with the development of the Slovak vernacular into a literary medium and with the literature created by the Slovaks in their own language as well as other languages used in Slovakia ... '' The goal is admirable, but he has missed a splendid opportunity to create a solid synthetic survey. There are several reasons to regret his choice of method. As is unfortunately true with much material published by Slovaks in the West, one is left in doubt as to precisely what audience he is trying to reach. Part of the time, Prof. Kirschbaum devotes essays to polemics, particularly with those who sub,s cribe to the concept of Czechoslovakism. He uses expressions such 'as ''misconceptions'' and ''errors' ', charging that these ''wrongs' ' are based on flimsy evidence. But in turn, Kirschbaum himself offers minimal ''proof'' for some of his assertions. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to see polemical essays alongside more serious academic treatments (particularly those chapters on Jan Kollar, Pavol Safarik, and :Cudovit Stur). Further, Western scholars in recent years have taken note of changing perceptions of the development of Slovak national consciousness. (See, for example, Joseph Zacek's remarks in his study of "Nationalism in SLOVAKIA 127 Czechoslovakia" in Peter F. Sugar and Ivo J. Lederer, eds., Nationalism in Eastern Europe - 1969.) The second problem is that Prof. Kirschbaum has several times repeated his use of the same evidence. He indicates in his introduction that he has done some editing to avoid repetitions, but what are we to make of his double use of a statement by the Polish philologist Tadeusz Lehr-Splawinski (pp. 20 and 68), or of "western" discussions of the origin of Slovak as a literazy language (pp . 18-19 and 52-53)? This is also a problem in books in · which the essays of multiple authors are collected, but one wishes Prof. Kirschbaum had been more diligent in overcoming it. Why, though , when such a golden opportunity presented itself, didn't Prof. Kirschbaum give us a synthetic survey of Slovak literature? There would have been no fear of his repeating himself, and the scholars and students, for whom he says he is writing, would have had an overall view of the evolving Slovak language and literature. Kirschbaum himself remarks on the particular importance of Slovak literature between the wars, but he allows as that would require too much space to discuss, and so he skips the subject. Similarly, his discussion of post1945 literary development is a bare outline of the 1945-1956 period, with only a couple of paragraphs given over to the extremely important dozen years after that, a period so necessary for an understanding of the events of 1968 and after. Kirschbaum alludes to a few important matters after 1956, such as the rapidly growing research on Slovak language and literature in the early 1960s (pp. 35-36). He suggests that this development resulted from the Communist Party's perception of language and literature as being a neutral field. The reader is left wondering why it was, then, that manifestations of Slovak nationalism developed precisely in those areas. The plea of complexity is inadequate. The inclusion of the two chapters of Slovak emigre literature is puzzling, since Kirschbaum tells us twice that only about 50 writers are involved. He does cite their availablity to the reader in the West, but in fact, after the passage of three decades, they now belong more among Slovak ethnic writers in the United States and Canada (or wherever else they live) than to continuing Slovak literary trends in Czecho-Slovakia. Sad as it might be, these authors are writing for a decreasing number of readers. The interesting aspect of these chapters is the report of the publication in post-February Czecho-Slovakia of works · by :Cudo Besenovsky and Milos Mlynarovic. Prof. Kirschbaum should be cautioned in his use of Robert Kann's praise of Slovak cultural development in the whole of the nineteenth century (pp. 147-8). It is clear from Kann's context that he includes Kollar, Safarik, Stefanik, and Masaryk in his kudos, a quartet who are usually ascribed major roles in the Czecho-Slovak movement, a concept Prof. Kirschbaum would certainly take strong offense to. 128 SLOVAKIA The number of printing errors is atrocious . Thus, R. W. SetonWatson becomes Seton-Weston (p. 9), Nicholas Spulber is Spuller (p. 9), Jan Tibensky comes out T. Tibeasky (p . 119) , the Spolok sv. Vojtecha is said to have been founded in 1780, rather than 1870 (p. 206), Timrava and Podjavorinska become Timarava and Podajavorisnka (also p. 206), Cyrillic is spelled in at least 5 or 6 different ways, ad infinitum. The French resume fares no better. I counted at least a half dozen errors in the first paragraph on page 286. An inserted errata catches a small number of errors, but tells us, "The word 'Slovensky' in Chapter III should have an accent on the letter e (! ) unavailable to the printers.' ' A couple of other minor carps: (1) the use of Loe. cit., op. cit., etc., is functional for article-length material, but not very feasible in a monograph. A reference to Robert Auty, loc. cit., on page 117 requires the reader to go all the way back to page 21. A reference to Noge, op. cit. on page 203 lacks any earlier reference whatsoever. It belongs to Julius Noge, An Outline of Slovakian Literature (Bratislava, 1968) which certainly also belongs in the bibliography. (2) In Chapter XII we suddenly have titles of Slovak works given only in English, making them harder to locate. In sum, a book whose title held so much promise turns out to be a disappointment. I share Prof. J. B. Rudnyckyj's prefaced complaint that there is far too little scholarly material available in English about Slovak literature, and I would add, about Slovak history, and Slovakia in general. Unfortunately, this compendium has not improved the situation. - OWENV. JOHNSON \ Our Contributors Edward J. Behuncik, J.D., attorney; America, Stratford, Connecticut president, Slovak League of John Bodnar, Ph.D., historian, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Andrew Cincura, Ph.D., author; professor, Riverside, California Owen V. Johnson, Ph.D., historian, University of Michigan Joseph M. Kirschbaum, LLD., Ph.D., historian; author, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Margaret Matus, student, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Michael Novak, Ph.D., author; lecturer; professor, Bayville, New York Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B., M.A., historian; author, Cleveland, Ohio M. Mark Stolarik, Ph.D., historian; professor, Cleveland, Ohio Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D., historian, Stony Point, New York Daniel F. Tanzone, 8.A., author; fraternalist, Yonkers, New York Francis Vnuk, M.A., author; historian, Broadview, Australia OFFICERS OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Honorary President: Stephen J. Tkach, K.H.S. JOHN A. HOLY Secretary 870 Rifle Camp Road West Paterson, N.J. 07424 EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK President 178 Elliott Street Stratford, Conn. 06497 Vice Presidents: Milan V. Blazek Frances L. Mizenko Daniel F. Tanzone Executive Committee: Edward J . Behuncik, John A. Holy, Louise Yash, Irma A. Vrbancic, John A. Sabol, George J. Kostelnik, Stephen J. Kavulich, Andrew Hudak, Jr., Dr. Joseph Mikula Anna E. Hletko Auditors: Dr. Stanislav Duris George N. Kantor SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership 104,000 THE FIRST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES ASSOCIATION Beachwood, Ohio - Membership 100,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N.J. - Membership 53,000 THE LADIES PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 16,500 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Membership 15,000 SLOVAK NEWSPAPERMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA John C. Sciranka, President SLOVAK AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA (circulation 40,000) SLOVAK v AMERIKE (circulation 3,000) ZENS KA JEDNOTA (circulation 35,000) ZORNICKA (circulation 5,000) KATOLICKY SOKOL (circulation 20,000) BRATSTVO (circulation 7,000) PR IA TEL DIETOK (circulation 9,000) SLOVAKIA $4.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $5.00 elsewhere Printed by JEDNOTA PRINTERY Middletown, Pennsylvania U.S.A.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49) Description An account of the resource includes Book Reviews; Our Contributors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/734da316e42e6264501f7cb440a5134b.pdf 6948b17707269467d8b0ad0619d4b1b7 PDF Text Text �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXV •• 1975 • NO. 48 Editor JOSEPH PA UCO _. Ph.D. Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 �PRINTED BY JEDNOTA PRESS, MIDD•LETOWN, PA. 17057, U.S.A. �3 SLOVAKIA Contents Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents Grebert - 5 Good Times and Love - Sonya Jason - 18 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party Ph.D. - Joseph Pauco , 28 Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia - - Dr. Arved Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M. 36 Good Slovak Republic - Konstantin Culen - 41 Juraj Fandly : An Introduction to His Life and Work - X. Sutherland, Ph.D. - 59 Slovak Fraternal Organizations 68 Daniel F. Tanzone - Praised-be in the Coal Region - - Anthony Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS .C.M . 71 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio Pier, O.S.B. - Andrew V. 73 Slovak Piano Composition - Antonia Maza.nova - 80 Incarnation and Resurrection in the Last Poems of Milos K. Mlynarovic - Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - The Slovak Dilemma in Austria-Hungary - 99 Gabor Vermes - 105 Centennial of Slovak Health Spas in the Tatra Mountains Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. - Slovak Contributions to the American Cultural Mosaic F. Tanzone - St. Cyril in Love - Rev. 117 Daniel 119 Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - f.udovit Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism Sutherland, Ph.D. 134 Anthony X. Before Life's Stirring . . . and Beyond the Grave Scientific Literature by Slovaks Abroad - 128 148 J. M. Kirschbaum - History and Tradition of Wooden Houses of Slovakia Fialkovic 160 Paul 151 �SLOVAKIA 4 Milan Rastislav Stefanik and the Tragedy of the Slovak People Robert Pojer - 168 Slovakia Before the Czechs As Others See it Book Reviews - John Berta - 190 194 Slovak American Bicentennial Commission Who 's Who Among Slovak Americans Our Contributors - 180 208 206 207 � �SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXV •• 1975 • NO. 48 Editor JOSEPH PA UCO _. Ph.D. Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 �PRINTED BY JEDNOTA PRESS, MIDD•LETOWN, PA. 17057, U.S.A. �3 SLOVAKIA Contents Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents Grebert - 5 Good Times and Love - Sonya Jason - 18 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party Ph.D. - Joseph Pauco , 28 Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia - - Dr. Arved Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M. 36 Good Slovak Republic - Konstantin Culen - 41 Juraj Fandly : An Introduction to His Life and Work - X. Sutherland, Ph.D. - 59 Slovak Fraternal Organizations 68 Daniel F. Tanzone - Praised-be in the Coal Region - - Anthony Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS .C.M . 71 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio Pier, O.S.B. - Andrew V. 73 Slovak Piano Composition - Antonia Maza.nova - 80 Incarnation and Resurrection in the Last Poems of Milos K. Mlynarovic - Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - The Slovak Dilemma in Austria-Hungary - 99 Gabor Vermes - 105 Centennial of Slovak Health Spas in the Tatra Mountains Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. - Slovak Contributions to the American Cultural Mosaic F. Tanzone - St. Cyril in Love - Rev. 117 Daniel 119 Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - f.udovit Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism Sutherland, Ph.D. 134 Anthony X. Before Life's Stirring . . . and Beyond the Grave Scientific Literature by Slovaks Abroad - 128 148 J. M. Kirschbaum - History and Tradition of Wooden Houses of Slovakia Fialkovic 160 Paul 151 �SLOVAKIA 4 Milan Rastislav Stefanik and the Tragedy of the Slovak People Robert Pojer - 168 Slovakia Before the Czechs As Others See it Book Reviews - John Berta - 190 194 Slovak American Bicentennial Commission Who 's Who Among Slovak Americans Our Contributors - 180 208 206 207 � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA VOLUME XXV •• 1975 • NO. 48 Editor JOSEPH PA UCO _. Ph.D. Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue • Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 PRINTED BY JEDNOTA PRESS, MIDD•LETOWN, PA. 17057, U.S.A. 3 SLOVAKIA Contents Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents Grebert - 5 Good Times and Love - Sonya Jason - 18 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party Ph.D. - Joseph Pauco , 28 Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia - - Dr. Arved Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M. 36 Good Slovak Republic - Konstantin Culen - 41 Juraj Fandly : An Introduction to His Life and Work - X. Sutherland, Ph.D. - 59 Slovak Fraternal Organizations 68 Daniel F. Tanzone - Praised-be in the Coal Region - - Anthony Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS .C.M . 71 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio Pier, O.S.B. - Andrew V. 73 Slovak Piano Composition - Antonia Maza.nova - 80 Incarnation and Resurrection in the Last Poems of Milos K. Mlynarovic - Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - The Slovak Dilemma in Austria-Hungary - 99 Gabor Vermes - 105 Centennial of Slovak Health Spas in the Tatra Mountains Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. - Slovak Contributions to the American Cultural Mosaic F. Tanzone - St. Cyril in Love - Rev. 117 Daniel 119 Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. - f.udovit Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism Sutherland, Ph.D. 134 Anthony X. Before Life's Stirring . . . and Beyond the Grave Scientific Literature by Slovaks Abroad - 128 148 J. M. Kirschbaum - History and Tradition of Wooden Houses of Slovakia Fialkovic 160 Paul 151 SLOVAKIA 4 Milan Rastislav Stefanik and the Tragedy of the Slovak People Robert Pojer - 168 Slovakia Before the Czechs As Others See it Book Reviews - John Berta - 190 194 Slovak American Bicentennial Commission Who 's Who Among Slovak Americans Our Contributors - 180 208 206 207  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. 25 (No. 48) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e7d58f0101dc3bc3c7cbd8a77d42cbea.pdf 7e88960ec02df715f56f9bffea6cd373 PDF Text Text SL OVAKIA 5 Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents By Dr. Arved Gr e b e rt Geneva, Switzerland L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily, published (April 27, 1974) an article by Robert A. Graham, S. J., an American Jesuit, on the policy of the Holy See in regard to anti-Jewish legislation during the second World War in Hitler-dominated Europe. (La Santa Sede e le vittime della guerra.) The author based his conclusions exclusively on material in a volume of diplomatic doc~ments published by the Vatican: Actes et documents du Saint Siege relatifs a la seconde guerre mondiale. The aforementioned article touches upon the stand taken by the Slovak government in regulations concerning the Jews which were implemented without exception in all the states that were in the GermanItalian orbit. As a matter of record, neither in Italy, the centuries-old bastion of Catholicism, nor in France, which was headed by Marshal Philippe Petain, a practical Catholic, was the Holy See able to halt discrimination that was officially prescribed by law. The author of the review merely noted the facts relating to the so-called solution of the Jewish problem in Slovakia without taking into account existing circumstances, very often completely unknown to foreign readers. These were influenced by the geopolitical situation of Slovakia caught in the German-Magyar vise or web. Moreover, Hungary enjoyed a privileged position. At this period of history its policy-makers knew how to take advantage of its political anti-semitic regulations under the domination of the Third Reich. One must take into consideration, too, the overwhelming power pressure imposed upon Slovakia by Germany. No less important in this delicate situation was the fact that Bratislava, the Slovak capital and seat of the government, was located on the very borders of Germany. This was �6 SLOVAKIA a precarious position that could have toppled the Slovak government from power at any moment by a military invasion. Without weighing all these basic realities one cannot begin to understand the policy of President Tiso and the Slovak government in this problem of seeking a solution for the Jewish question during the second World War in Slovakia. It is not our intention on this occasion to discuss the circumstances that brought on anti-Jewish regulations by the government in Slovakia at this particular time. An analysis of this phase of the Slovak past will be the role of a free Slovak historical study which will have free access to and complete use of all existing documents on the basis of a comparative study of all the contemporary events in Europe and local circumstances. Things looked entirely different in Bratislava and at the Vatican, for example. And, likewise, the problems of President Tiso were judged quite differently at the Vatican and German headquarters ( and by Nazi reporters) in Berlin or Bratislava. It will not be out of place, therefore, to illustrate our point of view on this historical problem by citing official statements of a Nazi report of February, 1943, in Bratislava itself. This report on the situation in Slovakia together with a proposal for the future destiny of the Slovak nation in the sphere of Nazi Germany after the expected victorious end of the war was presented to the chief of the SS. bureau. It was top secret, dated February 16, 1943, and sent to the SS. Hauptamt headquarters, whose chief was G. Berger. The latter, in a letter to Heinrich Himler (February 19, 1943 ), the chief of SS. and the police in the Third Reich, informed him of the situation in Slovakia with a supplementary note that a detailed report was being sent to the third department of the main office of national security . The text of this communique appeared in a Slovak translation of the documents which Vilem Precan edited in Bratislava in 1965. (Slovenske ndrodne povstanie. Dokumenty. Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, pp . 45-54 ). We will quote only those paragraphs that refer to Dr. Jozef Tiso and his closest political associates . They quite clearly reflect the attitude of the German Nazis toward the Slovak Republic. In the introduction we read: President Dr. Tiso has ranged wid ely in his politics. According to �SLOVAKIA 7 law he is the leader of the nation and the party, and is the top man in the state. This powerful position was secured with the coop eTation of old associates, the strong support of the clergy and leaders of Catholic Action, and also with the aid of Sidor's followers, and apparently, too, by the backing of recruits from neutral or indifferent sources, such as those of Dr. Karvas. Tiso, a realist, declared himself in favor of the Reich. But internally he leans on elements that are fundamentally hosti1e to Germany and opposed to the ideas of the Third Reich. He is endeavoring to build up Slovakia on the principles of the Catholic Action group, and hence his ultimate objective is a Catholic state. In the beginning his intentions were hidden by a mask. Opportunistic references to national socialism seemed that he was favorably disposed to it, but lately he has thrown off the mask and a frontal attack on national socialism is underway. And a Nazi informer writes further: After Sidor's resignation Tiso and his associates have a free hand. Catholic Action and the clergy are in confrontation with the national guard (Hlinka Guards). Their allies are those who felt they had suffered losses as the result of the establishment of the Slovak state those who had lost rights or privileges, those who had always cooperated with the Jews and were dependent on them, and finally by all the Jews who remained in the country. The national guard obviously could not offer sufficient resistance to this •a lignment without outside help. The result was Salzburg, an agreement that Tiso regarded as foroed upon him and which he never respected. Attached to this offjcial report were addenda in the form of written observations about individual aspects of the Slovak problem in 1943. Supplement 6 was labeled: "State President Dr. Jozef Tiso, Bratislava, February 11, 1943." President Tiso's political profile is drawn and the views of his associates recorded. For example, Ravasz and Dr. Polyak ("another cleric-oriented ally of Dr. Tiso, a full fledged minister."). According to Semi-Goth, Polyak was a Jew and a friend of the Jews. cavojsky, Suroviak and Drobny are listed as Tiso's allies. Liberals Stano, Sokol and Sivak are in Tiso's camp as are Stefan Danihel and Dr. Turcek, industrialists, the report sp,id. "All these," the report continued, "on the basis of their life style and urban environment are opposed to the Reich. It is apparent that the clergy and all the forces of Catholic Action are behind Tiso. From 1941 Tiso won over the party affiliation of the erstwhile followers of Sidor." The Nazi informer continues: Three years ago in response to a radio talk by a Catholic priest, �8 SLOVAKIA R , who advocated social security, Tiso told bim that he was thinking of following the example of Salazar of Portugal in Slovakia. (Salazar was looked upon as a civilian Jesuit who leaned towards the idea of a Catholic state.) The book of a theologian (Dr. Polakovic), Tisov a ruiuka, reflects the views and plans of Tiso in bold outlines. They follow the Catholic idea of a state quite clearly as an objective of Catholic Action. The author upholds the absolute primacy of the Church over the state. Proof of Tiso's state-political views are clearly evidenced by hi.s philosophy of education, the establishment of organizations in support of Catholic Action, etc. A former Jesuit, Misik, is his close advisor. Tiso also actively supported the organization of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the initiator was Dr. Novak, a university professor and well known Pan Slav. Tiso's reaction to the Salzburg Agreement is manifested in his statement that he accepted it "with clenched teeth" because it was forced upon him. He said to Mach who handed in his resignation in December, 1942: "You know where I stand. They forced you upon me. Therefore, it will be better if you present your resignation where you received your appointment." This attitude towards the Salzburg Agreement is the inevitable result of Tiso's rejection of national socialism and German influence in general. There are many proofs of this. For example, in the fall of 1942 Tiso told Commander Kubicek of the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen du ring his visit at the president's residence (palace): "We do not need any form of national socialism. We have our own views." In May, 1942, the president received Dr. Elemer Fink from Zvolen, together with Dr. Kovac, Mayor of Bratislava, at which meeting Dr. E. Fink presented a petition in behalf of his brother, Dr. Zoltan Fink. Tiso promised him a position and economic privileges on condition that the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen ceases to demand the implementation of a program of national socialism. And Tiso stated that neither the Church nor the state would tolerate any form of national socialism, and added emphatically that it was in his power to prevent its establishment. At a party conference in the Pohronie region in December, 1942, Tiso declared: "We must strive by our work to achieve what we want. Our nation must manifest its maturity in every phase of life in order to prove that it is capable of self-government. In the future we will not need supervision (this he emphasized) . We must prove to the whole world we do not need enyone to subsidize us." Towards national socialism Tiso expressed his views. openly at a conference of leaders of the Hlinka Guard in Bojnice (July 1-31, 1942). Despite the fact that he was speaking to a number of avowed Slovak national socialists Tiso did not use the term, "national socialism," at all. As a matter of fact, he declared that the Hlinka Guard must not become involved in an ideological struggle. Reaction to his address in which he stated that the Slovaks were not working in the interests of the Germans or any alien nation but only in the interest of the �SLOVAKIA 9 Slovak nation was very much in evidence among the assembly of the Hlinka Guard. For the president, next to his alliance with the clergy, his strength lies in the solid support of the Academic youth (college and university students). On June 2, 1942, Tiso received a tremendous ovation for his speech in the university amphitheatre in Bratislava. The residents of the Lafranconi and Svoradov fraternity houses gave a public demonstration in which they voiced their anti-German but pro Pan Slav and Roman Catholic sympathy during the course of President Tiso's address. This compromised Tiso's policy and was a direct answer to Ambassador Ludin's earlier speech in Kezmarok. In this respect it is necessary to quote from Tiso's speech: "We have our own policies in regard to foreign states, particularly towards the great German Reich with which we are allied by a special agreement. But who could imagine that Germany should wish to direct Slovak politics? We have to direct our own political life under this agi,eement. No thinking German would expect a Slovak to conduct German politics in Slovakia. Frankly, every reasoning German would resent such an attitude. Let us, therefore, conduct our own politics in Slovakia." Furthe.r proof that Tiso does not absolutely follow the pro-German political line we deduce from the words of one of his loyal followers, namely, Father Izakovic. The latter in his speech in August, 1942, in Trnava to some 300 officers, said that it is imperative to adjust to the circumstances of the times, and that if a certain policy is being followed today is does not necessarily mean that it cannot be changed by new circumstances tomorrow. The speaker insisted he was repeating the views of Tiso with whom he had just had an interview. This, then, is the political profile of President Tiso as drawn by a German Nazi informer in his February 11, 1943, report from Bratislava. In reply to Father Graham, the American Jesuit, whose article appeared in the Osservatore Romano, it is enlightening to quote again from the official statement (Par. 7) under the title, "Influence of the Clergy, particularly the Jesuits and Catholic Action in Slovakia." It is dated February 11, 1943. We quote: The privileged position of the clergy in the Slovak nation may be explained on the basis of historical development. While the Slovaks were incorporated in Hungary they did not belong to the upper class. Magyarization was allied with the social oppression of the Slovak nation. Proof of this is in the large number of Magyar clergy and secular leaders of Slovak origin. The lower clergy remained united with the Slovak people. Thus, since the clergy in general was held in high esteem in the kingdom of Hungary and because there was no upper class in Slovakia, the Slovak clergy assumed the role of leadership in their own country rather automatically. Even the establishment of the Slovak Peoples Party at the beginning �10 SLOVAKIA of the 20th century was inspired and greatly influenced by the clergy. Prominent Slovak clergymen like Hlinka became involved with ecclesiastical authorities in a controversy on national issues. During the existence of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic after World War I the Slovak Peoples Party was in constant conflict with the centralistic regime ruling Slovakia from Prague. For Hlinka and Sidor and their adherents the Slovak nation's interests were dominant factors in their political program, the chief objective of which was the fulfillment of the promise of autonomy or self-government for the Slovaks in their own native land. One other vital factor in the relations of the Slovak Peoples Party and the central government of Masaryk and Benes in Prague was the attempt of the politicians in the Czech capital of Prague (most of whom were free-thinkers and opposed to the Church) to separate church and state and secularfae all schools in the country. In contrast to the privileged position of the clergy in Hungary and its endangered future this was a threat to their very existence in the new republic of CzechoSlovakia. This reality was very much in evidence by the fact that the Slovak Peoples Party was predominantly represented by the clergy in Prague. Thus, while Hlinka basically maintained an uncompromising stand towards the Czechs, Tiso and the clerical wing pursued a policy of tactical maneuvering and realistic consideration. Attempts of the Catholic Church after the first World War to adapt itself to the new revolutionary conditions of the times by a dynamic program of Catholic Action found fertile soil for its ideals among the religious Slovak populace. This enabled both th e clergy and the Church in Slovakia to maintain dominant influence. Sivak, Minister of education in the Slovak Republic, was, and is an outspoken party affiliate of Tiso and strongly pro-clerical. Under him the schools we11e re-organized on the basis of the Catholic and Lutheran Evangelical faiths. The local committees for national education are chiefly headed by the pastors of the region. In the denominational schools the chairman of the school-board ex officio is the pastor, who is also ex officio a member of the non-denominational school-board in his district. According to a secret directive the clergy is obligated by all mram possible to secure and maintain control over social life, and wield its influence in all business enterprises, organizations, labor and industry . Even today the largest land-owners in the state are the clergy, and they lead a very feudal life in their episcopal sees and in country parishes. Moreover, many pastors are representatives in parliament and are on various committees. The influence of the Jesuits is obviously wide. It was apparent during Magyar rule and later when Ledochowski, the Jesuit General, offered aid to Hlinka and his party. As it flows from the very substance of the Jesuit style of work, only seldom is one able to detect any signs of their activity. They exert their influence primarily through the clergy. The Jesuits have the training of clerical candidates in their hand s. At �SLOVAKIA 11 monthly meetings of diocesan priests, the Jesuits conducted the conferences mostly by ser,mons. They are also in charge of spiritual exercises for rthe clergy. The restoration of the Jesuit monastery in Ruzomberok is a further sign of the intensification of Jesuit activity. The Jesuits have a direct influence on Slovak politics. For example, in 1941 they had a religious conference for Slovak political leaders in Ruzomberok under the supervision of Father Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. According to reports, some of those present were given quite a going-over, but since these exercises required silence this prevented any open discussions or a request for any questions to be answered publicly. Anyone who had a question or problem could discuss it only privately with a Jesuit priest assigned for individual consultation. Besides, other means for their influence are readily available. For instance, two sisters of Ledochowski, the Jesuit provincial, live in Bratislava. For a time after the dedaration of the independence of the Slovak Republic Tiso resided in a Jesuit monastery where Father Mikus, former Jesuit provincial, was one of his closest advisers. There are Slovak Jesuits in the Vatican, too. Among them there is Father Javorka, director of the Russicum College, and Dr. Kralicek, Hlinka's grand-nephew who is a librarian at the Vatican. Sidor himself revealed in a radio speech on December 16, 1942, that Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, is a frequent guest at the Slovak Embassy at the Vatican. It is entirely unnecessary to point out that the Jesuit position is absolutely anti-German. As ·a n example, we will cite the case of a pastor who was suspended for his national-socialistic writings. During his talk with Mikus (the Jesuit provincial, who visited him) he was admonished and asked not to do anything that would sever his relations with his bishop. Mikus added that the situation would undoubtedly change in a year ar two. To the query he intimated that Germany would not win the war Mikus replied he not only surmised it but he was wholly convinced of it, -and even said that there were many others of the same opinion, evidence that he was voicing an opinion held in high places. Although the youngest group of the Jesuits is not numerically large, there are many among them with a high I.Q. Catholic Action has as its primary role a lay apostolate designated to support the activity of the clergy. Its influence and importance have grown perceptibly in the past few years. Its branches are found everywhere. Dr. Buzalka, director of the seminary in Braitislava, is also the director of Catholic Action. His anti-German sentiments are public knowledge. The press of the Catholic Action movement has great opportunities and is definitely anti-German. In addition to its own internal information service, Catholic Action has its own Catholic Press Bureau whose releases are used by the Catholic periodicals and party publications. Svoradov, the Catholic student center at the Slovak University in Bratislava, is a bulwark of Catholic Action, clericalism and a hotbed of anti-German views. Its director is Dr. Filkorn, a good friend of Tiso. Dr. Kirschbaum, a close follower of Sidor, was active for a long time as a Pan Slav and �12 SLOVAKIA German foe. He was with Sidor in Rome for a long time but was recently transierred to the Slovak Embassy in Switzerland. In his report on Sidor, the informant in Bratislava observes that he and his friends in Slovakia resist German influence. "Their attitude is known and manifests itself at ~very opportunity," he writes. As evidence of this the informer observes: Thus, for example, Culen fails to say one word about German 3id given in the founding of the Slovak state in his introduction to an article in the pictorial book of the Slovak Peoples Party which was published on the second anniversary of Slovak Independence Day (March 14, 1941). Not only does he fail to mention German assistance but he repeatedly claims that the creation of the Slovak state was accomplished by the Slovak nation alone! Then, too, as another glaring example, Carnogursky does not refer to German-Slovak cooperation during his lectures to party members, and at the funeral of Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, he openly expressed hi s pro-Polish sympathies. Sidor in his post at the Slovak Embassy in th e Vatican had every opportunity to renew old acquaintances. Through enemy representatives at th e Vatican there were many such occasions. Although he faithfully reported that he received several letters from Benes, Minister Mach, for one, is firmly convinced that Sidor replied either in writing or through oth er channels on his own. When we take into consideration the increasingly strong desire of the Catholic Church to have the Pope play a role as mediator, and possibly, a decisive role in terminating the present world conflict, and since the Slovak Catholic press in Slovakia constantly emphasizes this point of view, then it is perhaps not a mistake to assume that Sidor seeks to direct Slovak internal politics into other channels through Catholic Action. The mission of Kirschbaum, a fanatical follower of Sidor who has been transferred to the Embassy in Switzerland, means the strengthening of Sidor's position in his foreign political policy outside Slovakia. "The Jews in Slovakia" (under that caption or heading the informer continues): The Jews, 20,000 of them, still occupy positions in government and in various administrative posts and supervising positions, apparently permanent assignments. Jews, whom the Guard seized when they were trying to escape from the country, and who were put into concentration camps, reappeared in their homes soon after being released. These were given the protection of a presidential immunity card as wards of the state. They are more or less impertinent, depending on fluctuating changes in the war. To supplement his report, the Nazi informant adds that culen, a member of the Slovak parliament and trusted �SLOVAKIA 13 friend of President Jozef Tiso, has a half-Jewish wife, that Minister i'.>urcansky intervened for 200 Jews who were released at his command from transport ready to leave the country, that the Mayor of Nitra was the godfather of many Jewish children, that when Minister Mach wanted to remove the above Mayor from office, President Tiso intervened in his behalf, that Msgr. Filkorn spoke openly in parliament in protest against the unchristian methods of disposing of Jewish properties, and finally, that Minister Polyak was a half-Jew. Such was the context of the information supplied his government in Berlin by a Nazi agent living in Bratislava, the Slovak capital. It is, therefore, quite clear that the Nazis did not think that the communists or the "Czechoslovaks" in Slovakia were their dangerous foes, but, strangely enough, the people who were loyal to President Tiso, followers of Sidor, the Catholic clergy, the Jesuits and the majority of the Slovak Peoples Party were feared. From the German viewpoint only Premier Dr. Tuka, Minister Alexander Mach and the Hlinka Guards were their only trusted allies in the Slovak Republic. To comprehend fully and judge conditions in Slovakia during war time it is necessary to study these official German documents. That is what Robert A. Graham, S. J . should have done but failed to do. Many German documents are now available as official records of what transpired from the German point of view. Their policy, their views, reactions and their analysis of President Tiso are all there for anyone who wants to know the truth. Unquestionably, they confirm the negative stand of President Tiso to German national socialism and an appraisal of his realistic approach to the Third Reich in the interest of his own Slovak nation. In conclusion we will cite a part of the official report of SS. Haupsturmftihrer Dr. H. Barsch, chief of the department of III B of the central division security in Vienna. His report of October, 1943, almost a year before the so-called 'Slovak Revolt' was sent to Dr. E . Kaltenbrunner, Nazi chief of security police and safety. (This report appeared in the publication Slovenske ndrodne povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko, 1944, Dokumenty, Nakladatel'stvo Epocha, Bra- �14 SLOVAKIA tislava, 1970. Zostavil Vilem Precan, pp. 40-43.) Aside from other comments this is what the report has to say about Dr. Jozef Tiso's stand towards the Third Reich: Although there do not as yet exist any direct proofs of Tiso's duplicity in his suspected role of double-dealing, nevertheless, his personal politics in recent years have resulted in strengthening forces that are least sympathetic to the Reich. Since he was aware of the political past of these elements, and hence could have easily foreseen their future activity and behaviour towards the Reich, it seems that already then he was thinking of an orientation away from the pro-German position. Besides this, as it happened frequently, whenever German requests were not fulfilled and when there were other deviations from the German line, he could always defend himself by claiming these groups were to blame and thus was able to allay suspicions of personal disloyalty to the German Reich. A further argument in a careful evaluation of Tiso's stand is his position as a priest. In spite of many instances of self-will, Tiso maintains close contacts with higher authorities in the Church. Moreover, his most intimate co-workers are clerics: Msgr. Filkorn, Pastor Izakovic and Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. From this friendship one can conclude more than an indecisive stand on the Jewish question. From the German standpoint this may well be the decisive point that can prove the President's loyalty or disloyalty, the touchstone of his fidelity. Finally, his official appearance, especially in recent times, has not added anything significantly to warrant our trust of Tiso on the German side. Whenever Tiso claims that his speeches (e.g. in Nitra) are addressed to various groups, perhaps one cannot argue against this, for his dialectic is truly excellent. But one cannot overlook the fact that the President knows full well the caliber of his people, and consequently he must be aware of the fact that all political double-talk, even if having reference to other states with an interest in Slovakia, is understood by the populace as being aimed at the Reich, and finally, a keen observer can grasp what is going on in the highest positions of the state and confirm what he has long suspected, and that is the consequence of influence from the enemy side. It is, generally speaking, problematical to depend upon Tiso entirely. Consideration of the party as a factor in the internal political security of the country is a mistaken notion. The leading positions in the party are held by persons with anti-German sentiments. If, for the sake of argument, one considers these people generally without power, and therefore harmless to our cause, it must be noted that then they are not capable of insuring the defense of an internal front to the degree and measure demanded for the interests of the Reich. And even �SLOVAKIA 15 if we assume indifference, the interests of the Reich are not assured since German direction and control are possible under present conditions only with great difficulty. The Nazis were also well informed about the political views of Tiso's political aides. For example, in a detailed and extensive report of November 28, 1944, from Bratislava, addressed to the main office of security in the Reich, III B and III C, which was delivered to both SS-Standardftihrer Dr. Ehrlich and Dr. Spengler in Berlin, among other items, there is reference to the relationship of Hlinka's Slovak Peoples Party and the Hlinka Guards. The German reporter writes that "the Hlinka Guard considers itself national socialist and absolutely pro-German while the party advocates a form of Christian nationalism as a Slovak ideology, and that it looks upon Slovak-German cooperation and friendship as a temporary and not a permanent association, and this opportunism ( certainly not based on a bond of affection) the party spokesmen spread through the Slovak press." After the uprising (the so-called Slovak revolt of August-October, 1944) the Nazi informer writes: "The Party ideologically prepared propaganda favoring a Christian social world view, and Opustil, the general secretary, adopted this as part of his program for immediate implementation. Dr. Jozef Pauco, chief editor of the Slovak daily addressed the members of the 'Domobrana' (National Defense) on the problems of Slovak spiritual orientation and simultaneously declared clearly that for the Slovaks only the Christian national point of view is acceptable. Even more clearly did the member of parliament Cavojsky state this in his radio broadcast of November 8, 1944. He said, to quote : 'As an independent and Christian nation we want to live in freedom in our own free land. A good and selfconscious Slovak never desired a change of masters, he wanted to be master of his own destiny in his own country. In the same way we do not want an exchange of foreign ideologies because these are not for our national interest. As Christians we want to establish our own social, economic and cultural life on the basis of a Christian world view.' Dr. Korper's address had a Sophist tone, the reporter notes, when he said: 'Our agreement with Germany was precious and fundamental because it guaranteed the strong- �16 SLOVAKIA est and freest right for national life which, up to 1939, no other power on earth was willing to recognize as our right to national existence. If there had been another possibility the Slovaks most probably would have chosen to act otherwise.' Dr. Ferdinand t:>urcansky, former foreign minister, spoke in the same vein when he declared: 'I am not a Bolshevik but it is possible I may become one if I can thereby be of service to my nation.' cavojsky, member of the Slovak parliament, in his above mentioned radio address said: 'A bit of egoism in the life of nations is not harmful; in these times we must not forget that alien interests are not always identical with our own national interests.' In other words, he wanted to tell the Slovak people not to subscribe to any wartime party but to work for themselves and to wait for the outcome of events in the future. For the time being the young opposition, encouraged by Opustil, that is, the Mikula-Polakovic wing, the Nazi official informer notes: "Party discipline was imposed upon Mikula for his activity. In the event of this opposition, however, there is no hope of friendly aid to the Germans, but only in the interests of the young Slovak chauvinists who stand uncompromisingly for Slovak independence, and therefore are opposed to any kind of German interference in Slovak internal affairs. This opposition party, first of all, has adherents among university students and may be considered the successor of the former adherents of Ndstup from which emerged activistic elements led by Dr. t:>urcansky, former minister of foreign affairs in the Slovak Republic. By his resolute stand and frequent addresses to the university students, and his association with this opposition movement, Dr. f>urcansky considers this to be a bridge to new political action." German Nazis saw Slovak politicians surrounding President Tiso at the end of November, 1944, in this light. ( See the above mentioned publication, pp. 435-446). These documents, and others in the same way, including the well known Documents on German Foreign Policy published by the British, French and American governments, uniformly place the ·political activity of Dr. Joseph Tiso �SLOVAKIA 17 and his associates during the second World War in an objective light. This means in a practical sense the political rehabilitation of Slovak political policy during this era on the basis of ideological principles. Dr. Tiso was of the opinion that in Slovakia the ideological defense against Nazism and Bolshevist Stalinism can be successfully accomplished only on the basis of a Christian world view derived mainly from Catholicism. All this can be disputed, but Tiso's good intentions cannot be denied. Fundamentally, there is no proof to the contrary. Dr. Joseph Tiso was an extraordinary person. During the second World War his political life was surrounded by obstacles, threats and dangers such as very few statesmen had to face in this epoch. The unique Slovak situation increased and complicated his public life. His tragic death as a punishment for the declaration and successful realization of the independence of the Slovak state, and also as revenge for his opposition to the bolshevik invasion and its subsequent criminal Stalinist establishment of the communist regime in his country, all this forces one to evaluate perhaps even his political mistakes obviously from many different angles. Nevertheless, his political career was subject to criticism during wartime as it is today, and it was not infrequently marked by bitter partisan politics, prejudice, injustice and merciless condemnation. He was subject to hateful attacks by the communists, angry criticism by the Nazis, hatred on the part of those in the service of Czech imperialism, as well as by unjust accusations by contemporary historians and in many details unjustly condemned by the uninformed or highly prejudiced historical writers and journalists of our time. And now the Vatican newspaper! In spite of all this the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso remains revered by the great majority of Slovaks living in their homeland and throughout the world. Few Slovak political leaders, living or dead, enjoy his stature as a statesman, his popularity and enduring fame among his own people. Dr. Joseph Tiso was undoubtedly a foremost political leader on the entire European scene. Lightning strikes only the tallest trees! � SL OVAKIA 5 Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents By Dr. Arved Gr e b e rt Geneva, Switzerland L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily, published (April 27, 1974) an article by Robert A. Graham, S. J., an American Jesuit, on the policy of the Holy See in regard to anti-Jewish legislation during the second World War in Hitler-dominated Europe. (La Santa Sede e le vittime della guerra.) The author based his conclusions exclusively on material in a volume of diplomatic doc~ments published by the Vatican: Actes et documents du Saint Siege relatifs a la seconde guerre mondiale. The aforementioned article touches upon the stand taken by the Slovak government in regulations concerning the Jews which were implemented without exception in all the states that were in the GermanItalian orbit. As a matter of record, neither in Italy, the centuries-old bastion of Catholicism, nor in France, which was headed by Marshal Philippe Petain, a practical Catholic, was the Holy See able to halt discrimination that was officially prescribed by law. The author of the review merely noted the facts relating to the so-called solution of the Jewish problem in Slovakia without taking into account existing circumstances, very often completely unknown to foreign readers. These were influenced by the geopolitical situation of Slovakia caught in the German-Magyar vise or web. Moreover, Hungary enjoyed a privileged position. At this period of history its policy-makers knew how to take advantage of its political anti-semitic regulations under the domination of the Third Reich. One must take into consideration, too, the overwhelming power pressure imposed upon Slovakia by Germany. No less important in this delicate situation was the fact that Bratislava, the Slovak capital and seat of the government, was located on the very borders of Germany. This was �6 SLOVAKIA a precarious position that could have toppled the Slovak government from power at any moment by a military invasion. Without weighing all these basic realities one cannot begin to understand the policy of President Tiso and the Slovak government in this problem of seeking a solution for the Jewish question during the second World War in Slovakia. It is not our intention on this occasion to discuss the circumstances that brought on anti-Jewish regulations by the government in Slovakia at this particular time. An analysis of this phase of the Slovak past will be the role of a free Slovak historical study which will have free access to and complete use of all existing documents on the basis of a comparative study of all the contemporary events in Europe and local circumstances. Things looked entirely different in Bratislava and at the Vatican, for example. And, likewise, the problems of President Tiso were judged quite differently at the Vatican and German headquarters ( and by Nazi reporters) in Berlin or Bratislava. It will not be out of place, therefore, to illustrate our point of view on this historical problem by citing official statements of a Nazi report of February, 1943, in Bratislava itself. This report on the situation in Slovakia together with a proposal for the future destiny of the Slovak nation in the sphere of Nazi Germany after the expected victorious end of the war was presented to the chief of the SS. bureau. It was top secret, dated February 16, 1943, and sent to the SS. Hauptamt headquarters, whose chief was G. Berger. The latter, in a letter to Heinrich Himler (February 19, 1943 ), the chief of SS. and the police in the Third Reich, informed him of the situation in Slovakia with a supplementary note that a detailed report was being sent to the third department of the main office of national security . The text of this communique appeared in a Slovak translation of the documents which Vilem Precan edited in Bratislava in 1965. (Slovenske ndrodne povstanie. Dokumenty. Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, pp . 45-54 ). We will quote only those paragraphs that refer to Dr. Jozef Tiso and his closest political associates . They quite clearly reflect the attitude of the German Nazis toward the Slovak Republic. In the introduction we read: President Dr. Tiso has ranged wid ely in his politics. According to �SLOVAKIA 7 law he is the leader of the nation and the party, and is the top man in the state. This powerful position was secured with the coop eTation of old associates, the strong support of the clergy and leaders of Catholic Action, and also with the aid of Sidor's followers, and apparently, too, by the backing of recruits from neutral or indifferent sources, such as those of Dr. Karvas. Tiso, a realist, declared himself in favor of the Reich. But internally he leans on elements that are fundamentally hosti1e to Germany and opposed to the ideas of the Third Reich. He is endeavoring to build up Slovakia on the principles of the Catholic Action group, and hence his ultimate objective is a Catholic state. In the beginning his intentions were hidden by a mask. Opportunistic references to national socialism seemed that he was favorably disposed to it, but lately he has thrown off the mask and a frontal attack on national socialism is underway. And a Nazi informer writes further: After Sidor's resignation Tiso and his associates have a free hand. Catholic Action and the clergy are in confrontation with the national guard (Hlinka Guards). Their allies are those who felt they had suffered losses as the result of the establishment of the Slovak state those who had lost rights or privileges, those who had always cooperated with the Jews and were dependent on them, and finally by all the Jews who remained in the country. The national guard obviously could not offer sufficient resistance to this •a lignment without outside help. The result was Salzburg, an agreement that Tiso regarded as foroed upon him and which he never respected. Attached to this offjcial report were addenda in the form of written observations about individual aspects of the Slovak problem in 1943. Supplement 6 was labeled: "State President Dr. Jozef Tiso, Bratislava, February 11, 1943." President Tiso's political profile is drawn and the views of his associates recorded. For example, Ravasz and Dr. Polyak ("another cleric-oriented ally of Dr. Tiso, a full fledged minister."). According to Semi-Goth, Polyak was a Jew and a friend of the Jews. cavojsky, Suroviak and Drobny are listed as Tiso's allies. Liberals Stano, Sokol and Sivak are in Tiso's camp as are Stefan Danihel and Dr. Turcek, industrialists, the report sp,id. "All these," the report continued, "on the basis of their life style and urban environment are opposed to the Reich. It is apparent that the clergy and all the forces of Catholic Action are behind Tiso. From 1941 Tiso won over the party affiliation of the erstwhile followers of Sidor." The Nazi informer continues: Three years ago in response to a radio talk by a Catholic priest, �8 SLOVAKIA R , who advocated social security, Tiso told bim that he was thinking of following the example of Salazar of Portugal in Slovakia. (Salazar was looked upon as a civilian Jesuit who leaned towards the idea of a Catholic state.) The book of a theologian (Dr. Polakovic), Tisov a ruiuka, reflects the views and plans of Tiso in bold outlines. They follow the Catholic idea of a state quite clearly as an objective of Catholic Action. The author upholds the absolute primacy of the Church over the state. Proof of Tiso's state-political views are clearly evidenced by hi.s philosophy of education, the establishment of organizations in support of Catholic Action, etc. A former Jesuit, Misik, is his close advisor. Tiso also actively supported the organization of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the initiator was Dr. Novak, a university professor and well known Pan Slav. Tiso's reaction to the Salzburg Agreement is manifested in his statement that he accepted it "with clenched teeth" because it was forced upon him. He said to Mach who handed in his resignation in December, 1942: "You know where I stand. They forced you upon me. Therefore, it will be better if you present your resignation where you received your appointment." This attitude towards the Salzburg Agreement is the inevitable result of Tiso's rejection of national socialism and German influence in general. There are many proofs of this. For example, in the fall of 1942 Tiso told Commander Kubicek of the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen du ring his visit at the president's residence (palace): "We do not need any form of national socialism. We have our own views." In May, 1942, the president received Dr. Elemer Fink from Zvolen, together with Dr. Kovac, Mayor of Bratislava, at which meeting Dr. E. Fink presented a petition in behalf of his brother, Dr. Zoltan Fink. Tiso promised him a position and economic privileges on condition that the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen ceases to demand the implementation of a program of national socialism. And Tiso stated that neither the Church nor the state would tolerate any form of national socialism, and added emphatically that it was in his power to prevent its establishment. At a party conference in the Pohronie region in December, 1942, Tiso declared: "We must strive by our work to achieve what we want. Our nation must manifest its maturity in every phase of life in order to prove that it is capable of self-government. In the future we will not need supervision (this he emphasized) . We must prove to the whole world we do not need enyone to subsidize us." Towards national socialism Tiso expressed his views. openly at a conference of leaders of the Hlinka Guard in Bojnice (July 1-31, 1942). Despite the fact that he was speaking to a number of avowed Slovak national socialists Tiso did not use the term, "national socialism," at all. As a matter of fact, he declared that the Hlinka Guard must not become involved in an ideological struggle. Reaction to his address in which he stated that the Slovaks were not working in the interests of the Germans or any alien nation but only in the interest of the �SLOVAKIA 9 Slovak nation was very much in evidence among the assembly of the Hlinka Guard. For the president, next to his alliance with the clergy, his strength lies in the solid support of the Academic youth (college and university students). On June 2, 1942, Tiso received a tremendous ovation for his speech in the university amphitheatre in Bratislava. The residents of the Lafranconi and Svoradov fraternity houses gave a public demonstration in which they voiced their anti-German but pro Pan Slav and Roman Catholic sympathy during the course of President Tiso's address. This compromised Tiso's policy and was a direct answer to Ambassador Ludin's earlier speech in Kezmarok. In this respect it is necessary to quote from Tiso's speech: "We have our own policies in regard to foreign states, particularly towards the great German Reich with which we are allied by a special agreement. But who could imagine that Germany should wish to direct Slovak politics? We have to direct our own political life under this agi,eement. No thinking German would expect a Slovak to conduct German politics in Slovakia. Frankly, every reasoning German would resent such an attitude. Let us, therefore, conduct our own politics in Slovakia." Furthe.r proof that Tiso does not absolutely follow the pro-German political line we deduce from the words of one of his loyal followers, namely, Father Izakovic. The latter in his speech in August, 1942, in Trnava to some 300 officers, said that it is imperative to adjust to the circumstances of the times, and that if a certain policy is being followed today is does not necessarily mean that it cannot be changed by new circumstances tomorrow. The speaker insisted he was repeating the views of Tiso with whom he had just had an interview. This, then, is the political profile of President Tiso as drawn by a German Nazi informer in his February 11, 1943, report from Bratislava. In reply to Father Graham, the American Jesuit, whose article appeared in the Osservatore Romano, it is enlightening to quote again from the official statement (Par. 7) under the title, "Influence of the Clergy, particularly the Jesuits and Catholic Action in Slovakia." It is dated February 11, 1943. We quote: The privileged position of the clergy in the Slovak nation may be explained on the basis of historical development. While the Slovaks were incorporated in Hungary they did not belong to the upper class. Magyarization was allied with the social oppression of the Slovak nation. Proof of this is in the large number of Magyar clergy and secular leaders of Slovak origin. The lower clergy remained united with the Slovak people. Thus, since the clergy in general was held in high esteem in the kingdom of Hungary and because there was no upper class in Slovakia, the Slovak clergy assumed the role of leadership in their own country rather automatically. Even the establishment of the Slovak Peoples Party at the beginning �10 SLOVAKIA of the 20th century was inspired and greatly influenced by the clergy. Prominent Slovak clergymen like Hlinka became involved with ecclesiastical authorities in a controversy on national issues. During the existence of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic after World War I the Slovak Peoples Party was in constant conflict with the centralistic regime ruling Slovakia from Prague. For Hlinka and Sidor and their adherents the Slovak nation's interests were dominant factors in their political program, the chief objective of which was the fulfillment of the promise of autonomy or self-government for the Slovaks in their own native land. One other vital factor in the relations of the Slovak Peoples Party and the central government of Masaryk and Benes in Prague was the attempt of the politicians in the Czech capital of Prague (most of whom were free-thinkers and opposed to the Church) to separate church and state and secularfae all schools in the country. In contrast to the privileged position of the clergy in Hungary and its endangered future this was a threat to their very existence in the new republic of CzechoSlovakia. This reality was very much in evidence by the fact that the Slovak Peoples Party was predominantly represented by the clergy in Prague. Thus, while Hlinka basically maintained an uncompromising stand towards the Czechs, Tiso and the clerical wing pursued a policy of tactical maneuvering and realistic consideration. Attempts of the Catholic Church after the first World War to adapt itself to the new revolutionary conditions of the times by a dynamic program of Catholic Action found fertile soil for its ideals among the religious Slovak populace. This enabled both th e clergy and the Church in Slovakia to maintain dominant influence. Sivak, Minister of education in the Slovak Republic, was, and is an outspoken party affiliate of Tiso and strongly pro-clerical. Under him the schools we11e re-organized on the basis of the Catholic and Lutheran Evangelical faiths. The local committees for national education are chiefly headed by the pastors of the region. In the denominational schools the chairman of the school-board ex officio is the pastor, who is also ex officio a member of the non-denominational school-board in his district. According to a secret directive the clergy is obligated by all mram possible to secure and maintain control over social life, and wield its influence in all business enterprises, organizations, labor and industry . Even today the largest land-owners in the state are the clergy, and they lead a very feudal life in their episcopal sees and in country parishes. Moreover, many pastors are representatives in parliament and are on various committees. The influence of the Jesuits is obviously wide. It was apparent during Magyar rule and later when Ledochowski, the Jesuit General, offered aid to Hlinka and his party. As it flows from the very substance of the Jesuit style of work, only seldom is one able to detect any signs of their activity. They exert their influence primarily through the clergy. The Jesuits have the training of clerical candidates in their hand s. At �SLOVAKIA 11 monthly meetings of diocesan priests, the Jesuits conducted the conferences mostly by ser,mons. They are also in charge of spiritual exercises for rthe clergy. The restoration of the Jesuit monastery in Ruzomberok is a further sign of the intensification of Jesuit activity. The Jesuits have a direct influence on Slovak politics. For example, in 1941 they had a religious conference for Slovak political leaders in Ruzomberok under the supervision of Father Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. According to reports, some of those present were given quite a going-over, but since these exercises required silence this prevented any open discussions or a request for any questions to be answered publicly. Anyone who had a question or problem could discuss it only privately with a Jesuit priest assigned for individual consultation. Besides, other means for their influence are readily available. For instance, two sisters of Ledochowski, the Jesuit provincial, live in Bratislava. For a time after the dedaration of the independence of the Slovak Republic Tiso resided in a Jesuit monastery where Father Mikus, former Jesuit provincial, was one of his closest advisers. There are Slovak Jesuits in the Vatican, too. Among them there is Father Javorka, director of the Russicum College, and Dr. Kralicek, Hlinka's grand-nephew who is a librarian at the Vatican. Sidor himself revealed in a radio speech on December 16, 1942, that Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, is a frequent guest at the Slovak Embassy at the Vatican. It is entirely unnecessary to point out that the Jesuit position is absolutely anti-German. As ·a n example, we will cite the case of a pastor who was suspended for his national-socialistic writings. During his talk with Mikus (the Jesuit provincial, who visited him) he was admonished and asked not to do anything that would sever his relations with his bishop. Mikus added that the situation would undoubtedly change in a year ar two. To the query he intimated that Germany would not win the war Mikus replied he not only surmised it but he was wholly convinced of it, -and even said that there were many others of the same opinion, evidence that he was voicing an opinion held in high places. Although the youngest group of the Jesuits is not numerically large, there are many among them with a high I.Q. Catholic Action has as its primary role a lay apostolate designated to support the activity of the clergy. Its influence and importance have grown perceptibly in the past few years. Its branches are found everywhere. Dr. Buzalka, director of the seminary in Braitislava, is also the director of Catholic Action. His anti-German sentiments are public knowledge. The press of the Catholic Action movement has great opportunities and is definitely anti-German. In addition to its own internal information service, Catholic Action has its own Catholic Press Bureau whose releases are used by the Catholic periodicals and party publications. Svoradov, the Catholic student center at the Slovak University in Bratislava, is a bulwark of Catholic Action, clericalism and a hotbed of anti-German views. Its director is Dr. Filkorn, a good friend of Tiso. Dr. Kirschbaum, a close follower of Sidor, was active for a long time as a Pan Slav and �12 SLOVAKIA German foe. He was with Sidor in Rome for a long time but was recently transierred to the Slovak Embassy in Switzerland. In his report on Sidor, the informant in Bratislava observes that he and his friends in Slovakia resist German influence. "Their attitude is known and manifests itself at ~very opportunity," he writes. As evidence of this the informer observes: Thus, for example, Culen fails to say one word about German 3id given in the founding of the Slovak state in his introduction to an article in the pictorial book of the Slovak Peoples Party which was published on the second anniversary of Slovak Independence Day (March 14, 1941). Not only does he fail to mention German assistance but he repeatedly claims that the creation of the Slovak state was accomplished by the Slovak nation alone! Then, too, as another glaring example, Carnogursky does not refer to German-Slovak cooperation during his lectures to party members, and at the funeral of Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, he openly expressed hi s pro-Polish sympathies. Sidor in his post at the Slovak Embassy in th e Vatican had every opportunity to renew old acquaintances. Through enemy representatives at th e Vatican there were many such occasions. Although he faithfully reported that he received several letters from Benes, Minister Mach, for one, is firmly convinced that Sidor replied either in writing or through oth er channels on his own. When we take into consideration the increasingly strong desire of the Catholic Church to have the Pope play a role as mediator, and possibly, a decisive role in terminating the present world conflict, and since the Slovak Catholic press in Slovakia constantly emphasizes this point of view, then it is perhaps not a mistake to assume that Sidor seeks to direct Slovak internal politics into other channels through Catholic Action. The mission of Kirschbaum, a fanatical follower of Sidor who has been transferred to the Embassy in Switzerland, means the strengthening of Sidor's position in his foreign political policy outside Slovakia. "The Jews in Slovakia" (under that caption or heading the informer continues): The Jews, 20,000 of them, still occupy positions in government and in various administrative posts and supervising positions, apparently permanent assignments. Jews, whom the Guard seized when they were trying to escape from the country, and who were put into concentration camps, reappeared in their homes soon after being released. These were given the protection of a presidential immunity card as wards of the state. They are more or less impertinent, depending on fluctuating changes in the war. To supplement his report, the Nazi informant adds that culen, a member of the Slovak parliament and trusted �SLOVAKIA 13 friend of President Jozef Tiso, has a half-Jewish wife, that Minister i'.>urcansky intervened for 200 Jews who were released at his command from transport ready to leave the country, that the Mayor of Nitra was the godfather of many Jewish children, that when Minister Mach wanted to remove the above Mayor from office, President Tiso intervened in his behalf, that Msgr. Filkorn spoke openly in parliament in protest against the unchristian methods of disposing of Jewish properties, and finally, that Minister Polyak was a half-Jew. Such was the context of the information supplied his government in Berlin by a Nazi agent living in Bratislava, the Slovak capital. It is, therefore, quite clear that the Nazis did not think that the communists or the "Czechoslovaks" in Slovakia were their dangerous foes, but, strangely enough, the people who were loyal to President Tiso, followers of Sidor, the Catholic clergy, the Jesuits and the majority of the Slovak Peoples Party were feared. From the German viewpoint only Premier Dr. Tuka, Minister Alexander Mach and the Hlinka Guards were their only trusted allies in the Slovak Republic. To comprehend fully and judge conditions in Slovakia during war time it is necessary to study these official German documents. That is what Robert A. Graham, S. J . should have done but failed to do. Many German documents are now available as official records of what transpired from the German point of view. Their policy, their views, reactions and their analysis of President Tiso are all there for anyone who wants to know the truth. Unquestionably, they confirm the negative stand of President Tiso to German national socialism and an appraisal of his realistic approach to the Third Reich in the interest of his own Slovak nation. In conclusion we will cite a part of the official report of SS. Haupsturmftihrer Dr. H. Barsch, chief of the department of III B of the central division security in Vienna. His report of October, 1943, almost a year before the so-called 'Slovak Revolt' was sent to Dr. E . Kaltenbrunner, Nazi chief of security police and safety. (This report appeared in the publication Slovenske ndrodne povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko, 1944, Dokumenty, Nakladatel'stvo Epocha, Bra- �14 SLOVAKIA tislava, 1970. Zostavil Vilem Precan, pp. 40-43.) Aside from other comments this is what the report has to say about Dr. Jozef Tiso's stand towards the Third Reich: Although there do not as yet exist any direct proofs of Tiso's duplicity in his suspected role of double-dealing, nevertheless, his personal politics in recent years have resulted in strengthening forces that are least sympathetic to the Reich. Since he was aware of the political past of these elements, and hence could have easily foreseen their future activity and behaviour towards the Reich, it seems that already then he was thinking of an orientation away from the pro-German position. Besides this, as it happened frequently, whenever German requests were not fulfilled and when there were other deviations from the German line, he could always defend himself by claiming these groups were to blame and thus was able to allay suspicions of personal disloyalty to the German Reich. A further argument in a careful evaluation of Tiso's stand is his position as a priest. In spite of many instances of self-will, Tiso maintains close contacts with higher authorities in the Church. Moreover, his most intimate co-workers are clerics: Msgr. Filkorn, Pastor Izakovic and Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. From this friendship one can conclude more than an indecisive stand on the Jewish question. From the German standpoint this may well be the decisive point that can prove the President's loyalty or disloyalty, the touchstone of his fidelity. Finally, his official appearance, especially in recent times, has not added anything significantly to warrant our trust of Tiso on the German side. Whenever Tiso claims that his speeches (e.g. in Nitra) are addressed to various groups, perhaps one cannot argue against this, for his dialectic is truly excellent. But one cannot overlook the fact that the President knows full well the caliber of his people, and consequently he must be aware of the fact that all political double-talk, even if having reference to other states with an interest in Slovakia, is understood by the populace as being aimed at the Reich, and finally, a keen observer can grasp what is going on in the highest positions of the state and confirm what he has long suspected, and that is the consequence of influence from the enemy side. It is, generally speaking, problematical to depend upon Tiso entirely. Consideration of the party as a factor in the internal political security of the country is a mistaken notion. The leading positions in the party are held by persons with anti-German sentiments. If, for the sake of argument, one considers these people generally without power, and therefore harmless to our cause, it must be noted that then they are not capable of insuring the defense of an internal front to the degree and measure demanded for the interests of the Reich. And even �SLOVAKIA 15 if we assume indifference, the interests of the Reich are not assured since German direction and control are possible under present conditions only with great difficulty. The Nazis were also well informed about the political views of Tiso's political aides. For example, in a detailed and extensive report of November 28, 1944, from Bratislava, addressed to the main office of security in the Reich, III B and III C, which was delivered to both SS-Standardftihrer Dr. Ehrlich and Dr. Spengler in Berlin, among other items, there is reference to the relationship of Hlinka's Slovak Peoples Party and the Hlinka Guards. The German reporter writes that "the Hlinka Guard considers itself national socialist and absolutely pro-German while the party advocates a form of Christian nationalism as a Slovak ideology, and that it looks upon Slovak-German cooperation and friendship as a temporary and not a permanent association, and this opportunism ( certainly not based on a bond of affection) the party spokesmen spread through the Slovak press." After the uprising (the so-called Slovak revolt of August-October, 1944) the Nazi informer writes: "The Party ideologically prepared propaganda favoring a Christian social world view, and Opustil, the general secretary, adopted this as part of his program for immediate implementation. Dr. Jozef Pauco, chief editor of the Slovak daily addressed the members of the 'Domobrana' (National Defense) on the problems of Slovak spiritual orientation and simultaneously declared clearly that for the Slovaks only the Christian national point of view is acceptable. Even more clearly did the member of parliament Cavojsky state this in his radio broadcast of November 8, 1944. He said, to quote : 'As an independent and Christian nation we want to live in freedom in our own free land. A good and selfconscious Slovak never desired a change of masters, he wanted to be master of his own destiny in his own country. In the same way we do not want an exchange of foreign ideologies because these are not for our national interest. As Christians we want to establish our own social, economic and cultural life on the basis of a Christian world view.' Dr. Korper's address had a Sophist tone, the reporter notes, when he said: 'Our agreement with Germany was precious and fundamental because it guaranteed the strong- �16 SLOVAKIA est and freest right for national life which, up to 1939, no other power on earth was willing to recognize as our right to national existence. If there had been another possibility the Slovaks most probably would have chosen to act otherwise.' Dr. Ferdinand t:>urcansky, former foreign minister, spoke in the same vein when he declared: 'I am not a Bolshevik but it is possible I may become one if I can thereby be of service to my nation.' cavojsky, member of the Slovak parliament, in his above mentioned radio address said: 'A bit of egoism in the life of nations is not harmful; in these times we must not forget that alien interests are not always identical with our own national interests.' In other words, he wanted to tell the Slovak people not to subscribe to any wartime party but to work for themselves and to wait for the outcome of events in the future. For the time being the young opposition, encouraged by Opustil, that is, the Mikula-Polakovic wing, the Nazi official informer notes: "Party discipline was imposed upon Mikula for his activity. In the event of this opposition, however, there is no hope of friendly aid to the Germans, but only in the interests of the young Slovak chauvinists who stand uncompromisingly for Slovak independence, and therefore are opposed to any kind of German interference in Slovak internal affairs. This opposition party, first of all, has adherents among university students and may be considered the successor of the former adherents of Ndstup from which emerged activistic elements led by Dr. t:>urcansky, former minister of foreign affairs in the Slovak Republic. By his resolute stand and frequent addresses to the university students, and his association with this opposition movement, Dr. f>urcansky considers this to be a bridge to new political action." German Nazis saw Slovak politicians surrounding President Tiso at the end of November, 1944, in this light. ( See the above mentioned publication, pp. 435-446). These documents, and others in the same way, including the well known Documents on German Foreign Policy published by the British, French and American governments, uniformly place the ·political activity of Dr. Joseph Tiso �SLOVAKIA 17 and his associates during the second World War in an objective light. This means in a practical sense the political rehabilitation of Slovak political policy during this era on the basis of ideological principles. Dr. Tiso was of the opinion that in Slovakia the ideological defense against Nazism and Bolshevist Stalinism can be successfully accomplished only on the basis of a Christian world view derived mainly from Catholicism. All this can be disputed, but Tiso's good intentions cannot be denied. Fundamentally, there is no proof to the contrary. Dr. Joseph Tiso was an extraordinary person. During the second World War his political life was surrounded by obstacles, threats and dangers such as very few statesmen had to face in this epoch. The unique Slovak situation increased and complicated his public life. His tragic death as a punishment for the declaration and successful realization of the independence of the Slovak state, and also as revenge for his opposition to the bolshevik invasion and its subsequent criminal Stalinist establishment of the communist regime in his country, all this forces one to evaluate perhaps even his political mistakes obviously from many different angles. Nevertheless, his political career was subject to criticism during wartime as it is today, and it was not infrequently marked by bitter partisan politics, prejudice, injustice and merciless condemnation. He was subject to hateful attacks by the communists, angry criticism by the Nazis, hatred on the part of those in the service of Czech imperialism, as well as by unjust accusations by contemporary historians and in many details unjustly condemned by the uninformed or highly prejudiced historical writers and journalists of our time. And now the Vatican newspaper! In spite of all this the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso remains revered by the great majority of Slovaks living in their homeland and throughout the world. Few Slovak political leaders, living or dead, enjoy his stature as a statesman, his popularity and enduring fame among his own people. Dr. Joseph Tiso was undoubtedly a foremost political leader on the entire European scene. Lightning strikes only the tallest trees! � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 SL OVAKIA 5 Dr. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents By Dr. Arved Gr e b e rt Geneva, Switzerland L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily, published (April 27, 1974) an article by Robert A. Graham, S. J., an American Jesuit, on the policy of the Holy See in regard to anti-Jewish legislation during the second World War in Hitler-dominated Europe. (La Santa Sede e le vittime della guerra.) The author based his conclusions exclusively on material in a volume of diplomatic doc~ments published by the Vatican: Actes et documents du Saint Siege relatifs a la seconde guerre mondiale. The aforementioned article touches upon the stand taken by the Slovak government in regulations concerning the Jews which were implemented without exception in all the states that were in the GermanItalian orbit. As a matter of record, neither in Italy, the centuries-old bastion of Catholicism, nor in France, which was headed by Marshal Philippe Petain, a practical Catholic, was the Holy See able to halt discrimination that was officially prescribed by law. The author of the review merely noted the facts relating to the so-called solution of the Jewish problem in Slovakia without taking into account existing circumstances, very often completely unknown to foreign readers. These were influenced by the geopolitical situation of Slovakia caught in the German-Magyar vise or web. Moreover, Hungary enjoyed a privileged position. At this period of history its policy-makers knew how to take advantage of its political anti-semitic regulations under the domination of the Third Reich. One must take into consideration, too, the overwhelming power pressure imposed upon Slovakia by Germany. No less important in this delicate situation was the fact that Bratislava, the Slovak capital and seat of the government, was located on the very borders of Germany. This was 6 SLOVAKIA a precarious position that could have toppled the Slovak government from power at any moment by a military invasion. Without weighing all these basic realities one cannot begin to understand the policy of President Tiso and the Slovak government in this problem of seeking a solution for the Jewish question during the second World War in Slovakia. It is not our intention on this occasion to discuss the circumstances that brought on anti-Jewish regulations by the government in Slovakia at this particular time. An analysis of this phase of the Slovak past will be the role of a free Slovak historical study which will have free access to and complete use of all existing documents on the basis of a comparative study of all the contemporary events in Europe and local circumstances. Things looked entirely different in Bratislava and at the Vatican, for example. And, likewise, the problems of President Tiso were judged quite differently at the Vatican and German headquarters ( and by Nazi reporters) in Berlin or Bratislava. It will not be out of place, therefore, to illustrate our point of view on this historical problem by citing official statements of a Nazi report of February, 1943, in Bratislava itself. This report on the situation in Slovakia together with a proposal for the future destiny of the Slovak nation in the sphere of Nazi Germany after the expected victorious end of the war was presented to the chief of the SS. bureau. It was top secret, dated February 16, 1943, and sent to the SS. Hauptamt headquarters, whose chief was G. Berger. The latter, in a letter to Heinrich Himler (February 19, 1943 ), the chief of SS. and the police in the Third Reich, informed him of the situation in Slovakia with a supplementary note that a detailed report was being sent to the third department of the main office of national security . The text of this communique appeared in a Slovak translation of the documents which Vilem Precan edited in Bratislava in 1965. (Slovenske ndrodne povstanie. Dokumenty. Vydavatel'stvo politickej literatury, pp . 45-54 ). We will quote only those paragraphs that refer to Dr. Jozef Tiso and his closest political associates . They quite clearly reflect the attitude of the German Nazis toward the Slovak Republic. In the introduction we read: President Dr. Tiso has ranged wid ely in his politics. According to SLOVAKIA 7 law he is the leader of the nation and the party, and is the top man in the state. This powerful position was secured with the coop eTation of old associates, the strong support of the clergy and leaders of Catholic Action, and also with the aid of Sidor's followers, and apparently, too, by the backing of recruits from neutral or indifferent sources, such as those of Dr. Karvas. Tiso, a realist, declared himself in favor of the Reich. But internally he leans on elements that are fundamentally hosti1e to Germany and opposed to the ideas of the Third Reich. He is endeavoring to build up Slovakia on the principles of the Catholic Action group, and hence his ultimate objective is a Catholic state. In the beginning his intentions were hidden by a mask. Opportunistic references to national socialism seemed that he was favorably disposed to it, but lately he has thrown off the mask and a frontal attack on national socialism is underway. And a Nazi informer writes further: After Sidor's resignation Tiso and his associates have a free hand. Catholic Action and the clergy are in confrontation with the national guard (Hlinka Guards). Their allies are those who felt they had suffered losses as the result of the establishment of the Slovak state those who had lost rights or privileges, those who had always cooperated with the Jews and were dependent on them, and finally by all the Jews who remained in the country. The national guard obviously could not offer sufficient resistance to this •a lignment without outside help. The result was Salzburg, an agreement that Tiso regarded as foroed upon him and which he never respected. Attached to this offjcial report were addenda in the form of written observations about individual aspects of the Slovak problem in 1943. Supplement 6 was labeled: "State President Dr. Jozef Tiso, Bratislava, February 11, 1943." President Tiso's political profile is drawn and the views of his associates recorded. For example, Ravasz and Dr. Polyak ("another cleric-oriented ally of Dr. Tiso, a full fledged minister."). According to Semi-Goth, Polyak was a Jew and a friend of the Jews. cavojsky, Suroviak and Drobny are listed as Tiso's allies. Liberals Stano, Sokol and Sivak are in Tiso's camp as are Stefan Danihel and Dr. Turcek, industrialists, the report sp,id. "All these," the report continued, "on the basis of their life style and urban environment are opposed to the Reich. It is apparent that the clergy and all the forces of Catholic Action are behind Tiso. From 1941 Tiso won over the party affiliation of the erstwhile followers of Sidor." The Nazi informer continues: Three years ago in response to a radio talk by a Catholic priest, 8 SLOVAKIA R , who advocated social security, Tiso told bim that he was thinking of following the example of Salazar of Portugal in Slovakia. (Salazar was looked upon as a civilian Jesuit who leaned towards the idea of a Catholic state.) The book of a theologian (Dr. Polakovic), Tisov a ruiuka, reflects the views and plans of Tiso in bold outlines. They follow the Catholic idea of a state quite clearly as an objective of Catholic Action. The author upholds the absolute primacy of the Church over the state. Proof of Tiso's state-political views are clearly evidenced by hi.s philosophy of education, the establishment of organizations in support of Catholic Action, etc. A former Jesuit, Misik, is his close advisor. Tiso also actively supported the organization of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the initiator was Dr. Novak, a university professor and well known Pan Slav. Tiso's reaction to the Salzburg Agreement is manifested in his statement that he accepted it "with clenched teeth" because it was forced upon him. He said to Mach who handed in his resignation in December, 1942: "You know where I stand. They forced you upon me. Therefore, it will be better if you present your resignation where you received your appointment." This attitude towards the Salzburg Agreement is the inevitable result of Tiso's rejection of national socialism and German influence in general. There are many proofs of this. For example, in the fall of 1942 Tiso told Commander Kubicek of the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen du ring his visit at the president's residence (palace): "We do not need any form of national socialism. We have our own views." In May, 1942, the president received Dr. Elemer Fink from Zvolen, together with Dr. Kovac, Mayor of Bratislava, at which meeting Dr. E. Fink presented a petition in behalf of his brother, Dr. Zoltan Fink. Tiso promised him a position and economic privileges on condition that the Hlinka Guard in Zvolen ceases to demand the implementation of a program of national socialism. And Tiso stated that neither the Church nor the state would tolerate any form of national socialism, and added emphatically that it was in his power to prevent its establishment. At a party conference in the Pohronie region in December, 1942, Tiso declared: "We must strive by our work to achieve what we want. Our nation must manifest its maturity in every phase of life in order to prove that it is capable of self-government. In the future we will not need supervision (this he emphasized) . We must prove to the whole world we do not need enyone to subsidize us." Towards national socialism Tiso expressed his views. openly at a conference of leaders of the Hlinka Guard in Bojnice (July 1-31, 1942). Despite the fact that he was speaking to a number of avowed Slovak national socialists Tiso did not use the term, "national socialism," at all. As a matter of fact, he declared that the Hlinka Guard must not become involved in an ideological struggle. Reaction to his address in which he stated that the Slovaks were not working in the interests of the Germans or any alien nation but only in the interest of the SLOVAKIA 9 Slovak nation was very much in evidence among the assembly of the Hlinka Guard. For the president, next to his alliance with the clergy, his strength lies in the solid support of the Academic youth (college and university students). On June 2, 1942, Tiso received a tremendous ovation for his speech in the university amphitheatre in Bratislava. The residents of the Lafranconi and Svoradov fraternity houses gave a public demonstration in which they voiced their anti-German but pro Pan Slav and Roman Catholic sympathy during the course of President Tiso's address. This compromised Tiso's policy and was a direct answer to Ambassador Ludin's earlier speech in Kezmarok. In this respect it is necessary to quote from Tiso's speech: "We have our own policies in regard to foreign states, particularly towards the great German Reich with which we are allied by a special agreement. But who could imagine that Germany should wish to direct Slovak politics? We have to direct our own political life under this agi,eement. No thinking German would expect a Slovak to conduct German politics in Slovakia. Frankly, every reasoning German would resent such an attitude. Let us, therefore, conduct our own politics in Slovakia." Furthe.r proof that Tiso does not absolutely follow the pro-German political line we deduce from the words of one of his loyal followers, namely, Father Izakovic. The latter in his speech in August, 1942, in Trnava to some 300 officers, said that it is imperative to adjust to the circumstances of the times, and that if a certain policy is being followed today is does not necessarily mean that it cannot be changed by new circumstances tomorrow. The speaker insisted he was repeating the views of Tiso with whom he had just had an interview. This, then, is the political profile of President Tiso as drawn by a German Nazi informer in his February 11, 1943, report from Bratislava. In reply to Father Graham, the American Jesuit, whose article appeared in the Osservatore Romano, it is enlightening to quote again from the official statement (Par. 7) under the title, "Influence of the Clergy, particularly the Jesuits and Catholic Action in Slovakia." It is dated February 11, 1943. We quote: The privileged position of the clergy in the Slovak nation may be explained on the basis of historical development. While the Slovaks were incorporated in Hungary they did not belong to the upper class. Magyarization was allied with the social oppression of the Slovak nation. Proof of this is in the large number of Magyar clergy and secular leaders of Slovak origin. The lower clergy remained united with the Slovak people. Thus, since the clergy in general was held in high esteem in the kingdom of Hungary and because there was no upper class in Slovakia, the Slovak clergy assumed the role of leadership in their own country rather automatically. Even the establishment of the Slovak Peoples Party at the beginning 10 SLOVAKIA of the 20th century was inspired and greatly influenced by the clergy. Prominent Slovak clergymen like Hlinka became involved with ecclesiastical authorities in a controversy on national issues. During the existence of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic after World War I the Slovak Peoples Party was in constant conflict with the centralistic regime ruling Slovakia from Prague. For Hlinka and Sidor and their adherents the Slovak nation's interests were dominant factors in their political program, the chief objective of which was the fulfillment of the promise of autonomy or self-government for the Slovaks in their own native land. One other vital factor in the relations of the Slovak Peoples Party and the central government of Masaryk and Benes in Prague was the attempt of the politicians in the Czech capital of Prague (most of whom were free-thinkers and opposed to the Church) to separate church and state and secularfae all schools in the country. In contrast to the privileged position of the clergy in Hungary and its endangered future this was a threat to their very existence in the new republic of CzechoSlovakia. This reality was very much in evidence by the fact that the Slovak Peoples Party was predominantly represented by the clergy in Prague. Thus, while Hlinka basically maintained an uncompromising stand towards the Czechs, Tiso and the clerical wing pursued a policy of tactical maneuvering and realistic consideration. Attempts of the Catholic Church after the first World War to adapt itself to the new revolutionary conditions of the times by a dynamic program of Catholic Action found fertile soil for its ideals among the religious Slovak populace. This enabled both th e clergy and the Church in Slovakia to maintain dominant influence. Sivak, Minister of education in the Slovak Republic, was, and is an outspoken party affiliate of Tiso and strongly pro-clerical. Under him the schools we11e re-organized on the basis of the Catholic and Lutheran Evangelical faiths. The local committees for national education are chiefly headed by the pastors of the region. In the denominational schools the chairman of the school-board ex officio is the pastor, who is also ex officio a member of the non-denominational school-board in his district. According to a secret directive the clergy is obligated by all mram possible to secure and maintain control over social life, and wield its influence in all business enterprises, organizations, labor and industry . Even today the largest land-owners in the state are the clergy, and they lead a very feudal life in their episcopal sees and in country parishes. Moreover, many pastors are representatives in parliament and are on various committees. The influence of the Jesuits is obviously wide. It was apparent during Magyar rule and later when Ledochowski, the Jesuit General, offered aid to Hlinka and his party. As it flows from the very substance of the Jesuit style of work, only seldom is one able to detect any signs of their activity. They exert their influence primarily through the clergy. The Jesuits have the training of clerical candidates in their hand s. At SLOVAKIA 11 monthly meetings of diocesan priests, the Jesuits conducted the conferences mostly by ser,mons. They are also in charge of spiritual exercises for rthe clergy. The restoration of the Jesuit monastery in Ruzomberok is a further sign of the intensification of Jesuit activity. The Jesuits have a direct influence on Slovak politics. For example, in 1941 they had a religious conference for Slovak political leaders in Ruzomberok under the supervision of Father Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. According to reports, some of those present were given quite a going-over, but since these exercises required silence this prevented any open discussions or a request for any questions to be answered publicly. Anyone who had a question or problem could discuss it only privately with a Jesuit priest assigned for individual consultation. Besides, other means for their influence are readily available. For instance, two sisters of Ledochowski, the Jesuit provincial, live in Bratislava. For a time after the dedaration of the independence of the Slovak Republic Tiso resided in a Jesuit monastery where Father Mikus, former Jesuit provincial, was one of his closest advisers. There are Slovak Jesuits in the Vatican, too. Among them there is Father Javorka, director of the Russicum College, and Dr. Kralicek, Hlinka's grand-nephew who is a librarian at the Vatican. Sidor himself revealed in a radio speech on December 16, 1942, that Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, is a frequent guest at the Slovak Embassy at the Vatican. It is entirely unnecessary to point out that the Jesuit position is absolutely anti-German. As ·a n example, we will cite the case of a pastor who was suspended for his national-socialistic writings. During his talk with Mikus (the Jesuit provincial, who visited him) he was admonished and asked not to do anything that would sever his relations with his bishop. Mikus added that the situation would undoubtedly change in a year ar two. To the query he intimated that Germany would not win the war Mikus replied he not only surmised it but he was wholly convinced of it, -and even said that there were many others of the same opinion, evidence that he was voicing an opinion held in high places. Although the youngest group of the Jesuits is not numerically large, there are many among them with a high I.Q. Catholic Action has as its primary role a lay apostolate designated to support the activity of the clergy. Its influence and importance have grown perceptibly in the past few years. Its branches are found everywhere. Dr. Buzalka, director of the seminary in Braitislava, is also the director of Catholic Action. His anti-German sentiments are public knowledge. The press of the Catholic Action movement has great opportunities and is definitely anti-German. In addition to its own internal information service, Catholic Action has its own Catholic Press Bureau whose releases are used by the Catholic periodicals and party publications. Svoradov, the Catholic student center at the Slovak University in Bratislava, is a bulwark of Catholic Action, clericalism and a hotbed of anti-German views. Its director is Dr. Filkorn, a good friend of Tiso. Dr. Kirschbaum, a close follower of Sidor, was active for a long time as a Pan Slav and 12 SLOVAKIA German foe. He was with Sidor in Rome for a long time but was recently transierred to the Slovak Embassy in Switzerland. In his report on Sidor, the informant in Bratislava observes that he and his friends in Slovakia resist German influence. "Their attitude is known and manifests itself at ~very opportunity," he writes. As evidence of this the informer observes: Thus, for example, Culen fails to say one word about German 3id given in the founding of the Slovak state in his introduction to an article in the pictorial book of the Slovak Peoples Party which was published on the second anniversary of Slovak Independence Day (March 14, 1941). Not only does he fail to mention German assistance but he repeatedly claims that the creation of the Slovak state was accomplished by the Slovak nation alone! Then, too, as another glaring example, Carnogursky does not refer to German-Slovak cooperation during his lectures to party members, and at the funeral of Ledochowski, the Jesuit general, he openly expressed hi s pro-Polish sympathies. Sidor in his post at the Slovak Embassy in th e Vatican had every opportunity to renew old acquaintances. Through enemy representatives at th e Vatican there were many such occasions. Although he faithfully reported that he received several letters from Benes, Minister Mach, for one, is firmly convinced that Sidor replied either in writing or through oth er channels on his own. When we take into consideration the increasingly strong desire of the Catholic Church to have the Pope play a role as mediator, and possibly, a decisive role in terminating the present world conflict, and since the Slovak Catholic press in Slovakia constantly emphasizes this point of view, then it is perhaps not a mistake to assume that Sidor seeks to direct Slovak internal politics into other channels through Catholic Action. The mission of Kirschbaum, a fanatical follower of Sidor who has been transferred to the Embassy in Switzerland, means the strengthening of Sidor's position in his foreign political policy outside Slovakia. "The Jews in Slovakia" (under that caption or heading the informer continues): The Jews, 20,000 of them, still occupy positions in government and in various administrative posts and supervising positions, apparently permanent assignments. Jews, whom the Guard seized when they were trying to escape from the country, and who were put into concentration camps, reappeared in their homes soon after being released. These were given the protection of a presidential immunity card as wards of the state. They are more or less impertinent, depending on fluctuating changes in the war. To supplement his report, the Nazi informant adds that culen, a member of the Slovak parliament and trusted SLOVAKIA 13 friend of President Jozef Tiso, has a half-Jewish wife, that Minister i'.>urcansky intervened for 200 Jews who were released at his command from transport ready to leave the country, that the Mayor of Nitra was the godfather of many Jewish children, that when Minister Mach wanted to remove the above Mayor from office, President Tiso intervened in his behalf, that Msgr. Filkorn spoke openly in parliament in protest against the unchristian methods of disposing of Jewish properties, and finally, that Minister Polyak was a half-Jew. Such was the context of the information supplied his government in Berlin by a Nazi agent living in Bratislava, the Slovak capital. It is, therefore, quite clear that the Nazis did not think that the communists or the "Czechoslovaks" in Slovakia were their dangerous foes, but, strangely enough, the people who were loyal to President Tiso, followers of Sidor, the Catholic clergy, the Jesuits and the majority of the Slovak Peoples Party were feared. From the German viewpoint only Premier Dr. Tuka, Minister Alexander Mach and the Hlinka Guards were their only trusted allies in the Slovak Republic. To comprehend fully and judge conditions in Slovakia during war time it is necessary to study these official German documents. That is what Robert A. Graham, S. J . should have done but failed to do. Many German documents are now available as official records of what transpired from the German point of view. Their policy, their views, reactions and their analysis of President Tiso are all there for anyone who wants to know the truth. Unquestionably, they confirm the negative stand of President Tiso to German national socialism and an appraisal of his realistic approach to the Third Reich in the interest of his own Slovak nation. In conclusion we will cite a part of the official report of SS. Haupsturmftihrer Dr. H. Barsch, chief of the department of III B of the central division security in Vienna. His report of October, 1943, almost a year before the so-called 'Slovak Revolt' was sent to Dr. E . Kaltenbrunner, Nazi chief of security police and safety. (This report appeared in the publication Slovenske ndrodne povstanie, Nemci a Slovensko, 1944, Dokumenty, Nakladatel'stvo Epocha, Bra- 14 SLOVAKIA tislava, 1970. Zostavil Vilem Precan, pp. 40-43.) Aside from other comments this is what the report has to say about Dr. Jozef Tiso's stand towards the Third Reich: Although there do not as yet exist any direct proofs of Tiso's duplicity in his suspected role of double-dealing, nevertheless, his personal politics in recent years have resulted in strengthening forces that are least sympathetic to the Reich. Since he was aware of the political past of these elements, and hence could have easily foreseen their future activity and behaviour towards the Reich, it seems that already then he was thinking of an orientation away from the pro-German position. Besides this, as it happened frequently, whenever German requests were not fulfilled and when there were other deviations from the German line, he could always defend himself by claiming these groups were to blame and thus was able to allay suspicions of personal disloyalty to the German Reich. A further argument in a careful evaluation of Tiso's stand is his position as a priest. In spite of many instances of self-will, Tiso maintains close contacts with higher authorities in the Church. Moreover, his most intimate co-workers are clerics: Msgr. Filkorn, Pastor Izakovic and Mikus, the Jesuit provincial. From this friendship one can conclude more than an indecisive stand on the Jewish question. From the German standpoint this may well be the decisive point that can prove the President's loyalty or disloyalty, the touchstone of his fidelity. Finally, his official appearance, especially in recent times, has not added anything significantly to warrant our trust of Tiso on the German side. Whenever Tiso claims that his speeches (e.g. in Nitra) are addressed to various groups, perhaps one cannot argue against this, for his dialectic is truly excellent. But one cannot overlook the fact that the President knows full well the caliber of his people, and consequently he must be aware of the fact that all political double-talk, even if having reference to other states with an interest in Slovakia, is understood by the populace as being aimed at the Reich, and finally, a keen observer can grasp what is going on in the highest positions of the state and confirm what he has long suspected, and that is the consequence of influence from the enemy side. It is, generally speaking, problematical to depend upon Tiso entirely. Consideration of the party as a factor in the internal political security of the country is a mistaken notion. The leading positions in the party are held by persons with anti-German sentiments. If, for the sake of argument, one considers these people generally without power, and therefore harmless to our cause, it must be noted that then they are not capable of insuring the defense of an internal front to the degree and measure demanded for the interests of the Reich. And even SLOVAKIA 15 if we assume indifference, the interests of the Reich are not assured since German direction and control are possible under present conditions only with great difficulty. The Nazis were also well informed about the political views of Tiso's political aides. For example, in a detailed and extensive report of November 28, 1944, from Bratislava, addressed to the main office of security in the Reich, III B and III C, which was delivered to both SS-Standardftihrer Dr. Ehrlich and Dr. Spengler in Berlin, among other items, there is reference to the relationship of Hlinka's Slovak Peoples Party and the Hlinka Guards. The German reporter writes that "the Hlinka Guard considers itself national socialist and absolutely pro-German while the party advocates a form of Christian nationalism as a Slovak ideology, and that it looks upon Slovak-German cooperation and friendship as a temporary and not a permanent association, and this opportunism ( certainly not based on a bond of affection) the party spokesmen spread through the Slovak press." After the uprising (the so-called Slovak revolt of August-October, 1944) the Nazi informer writes: "The Party ideologically prepared propaganda favoring a Christian social world view, and Opustil, the general secretary, adopted this as part of his program for immediate implementation. Dr. Jozef Pauco, chief editor of the Slovak daily addressed the members of the 'Domobrana' (National Defense) on the problems of Slovak spiritual orientation and simultaneously declared clearly that for the Slovaks only the Christian national point of view is acceptable. Even more clearly did the member of parliament Cavojsky state this in his radio broadcast of November 8, 1944. He said, to quote : 'As an independent and Christian nation we want to live in freedom in our own free land. A good and selfconscious Slovak never desired a change of masters, he wanted to be master of his own destiny in his own country. In the same way we do not want an exchange of foreign ideologies because these are not for our national interest. As Christians we want to establish our own social, economic and cultural life on the basis of a Christian world view.' Dr. Korper's address had a Sophist tone, the reporter notes, when he said: 'Our agreement with Germany was precious and fundamental because it guaranteed the strong- 16 SLOVAKIA est and freest right for national life which, up to 1939, no other power on earth was willing to recognize as our right to national existence. If there had been another possibility the Slovaks most probably would have chosen to act otherwise.' Dr. Ferdinand t:>urcansky, former foreign minister, spoke in the same vein when he declared: 'I am not a Bolshevik but it is possible I may become one if I can thereby be of service to my nation.' cavojsky, member of the Slovak parliament, in his above mentioned radio address said: 'A bit of egoism in the life of nations is not harmful; in these times we must not forget that alien interests are not always identical with our own national interests.' In other words, he wanted to tell the Slovak people not to subscribe to any wartime party but to work for themselves and to wait for the outcome of events in the future. For the time being the young opposition, encouraged by Opustil, that is, the Mikula-Polakovic wing, the Nazi official informer notes: "Party discipline was imposed upon Mikula for his activity. In the event of this opposition, however, there is no hope of friendly aid to the Germans, but only in the interests of the young Slovak chauvinists who stand uncompromisingly for Slovak independence, and therefore are opposed to any kind of German interference in Slovak internal affairs. This opposition party, first of all, has adherents among university students and may be considered the successor of the former adherents of Ndstup from which emerged activistic elements led by Dr. t:>urcansky, former minister of foreign affairs in the Slovak Republic. By his resolute stand and frequent addresses to the university students, and his association with this opposition movement, Dr. f>urcansky considers this to be a bridge to new political action." German Nazis saw Slovak politicians surrounding President Tiso at the end of November, 1944, in this light. ( See the above mentioned publication, pp. 435-446). These documents, and others in the same way, including the well known Documents on German Foreign Policy published by the British, French and American governments, uniformly place the ·political activity of Dr. Joseph Tiso SLOVAKIA 17 and his associates during the second World War in an objective light. This means in a practical sense the political rehabilitation of Slovak political policy during this era on the basis of ideological principles. Dr. Tiso was of the opinion that in Slovakia the ideological defense against Nazism and Bolshevist Stalinism can be successfully accomplished only on the basis of a Christian world view derived mainly from Catholicism. All this can be disputed, but Tiso's good intentions cannot be denied. Fundamentally, there is no proof to the contrary. Dr. Joseph Tiso was an extraordinary person. During the second World War his political life was surrounded by obstacles, threats and dangers such as very few statesmen had to face in this epoch. The unique Slovak situation increased and complicated his public life. His tragic death as a punishment for the declaration and successful realization of the independence of the Slovak state, and also as revenge for his opposition to the bolshevik invasion and its subsequent criminal Stalinist establishment of the communist regime in his country, all this forces one to evaluate perhaps even his political mistakes obviously from many different angles. Nevertheless, his political career was subject to criticism during wartime as it is today, and it was not infrequently marked by bitter partisan politics, prejudice, injustice and merciless condemnation. He was subject to hateful attacks by the communists, angry criticism by the Nazis, hatred on the part of those in the service of Czech imperialism, as well as by unjust accusations by contemporary historians and in many details unjustly condemned by the uninformed or highly prejudiced historical writers and journalists of our time. And now the Vatican newspaper! In spite of all this the memory of Dr. Joseph Tiso remains revered by the great majority of Slovaks living in their homeland and throughout the world. Few Slovak political leaders, living or dead, enjoy his stature as a statesman, his popularity and enduring fame among his own people. Dr. Joseph Tiso was undoubtedly a foremost political leader on the entire European scene. Lightning strikes only the tallest trees!  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. Joseph Tiso in the Light of Nazi Documents Description An account of the resource Dr. Arvéd Grébert Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 5-17 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 1975 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/914a3c943f39263a5e15ed271c40ffe2.pdf 15f77a7c54bc66f1bb8c31940c077068 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 18 Sonya Jason Good Times and Love THE LIFE OF THOMAS AND MARIE BELL One learns a great deal about any person by the mate he or she chooses. This is especially pertinent for a writer. I had been most fortunate in reading the last of Thomas Bell's books first and while reading In the Midst of Life, became well acquainted with a man of integrity, courage and honesty to the very end. But beyond Bell the man and writer, I caught deep glimpses of the tender love and regard he held for his wife, Marie, and later discovered that these qualities weave in and out like a golden thread through all his works. Now, I could only know Bell by his written memorials. But happily, I could still learn to know the woman he loved and thus I sought out to investigate her, what manner of woman this was that has been loved as few women have, and what was the meter of their life together that produced such affection. She stood in the doorway of her house in Santa Cruz, a tiny, dark haired lady in a chic pantssuit. A glance, a warm embrace and she led me into the kitchen for a chicken sandwich and coffee before she would talk of anything or anyone, even Bell. Marie Bell summarized her life with her husband as full of "good times and love." And for several hours we talked of some of those good times and the love. Thomas Belejcak was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on March 7, 1903. His father was an immigrant Slovak but his mother was a first generation American of Slovak parents. He was the oldest of four children and was trained in the Roman Catholic religion, but later repudiated all religions. He also regretted the Anglicizing of his name to Bell but understood the necessity at the time it was done out of economic urgency. Bell's father died on his 11th birthday and he became the man of the family and at 15, was working in a glass �SLOVAKIA 19 company in Glassport, Pennsylvania. When he was 16 and working as an apprentice electrician in Donora, Pennsylvania, his mother died of tuberculosis in a sanitarium. His brother and sisters were shifted about to various relatives to care for. At 19, with the sum of $15.00 in his pocket, Bell went to New York, sleeping in subways until he found a job. He worked for a time as a mechanic in a Long Island Railroad shop before he shipped out to sea as seaman for two years. Upon his return, he found a job as salesman for Schulte's Book Store and then sent for his brother and two sisters to live with him. He wrote his first novel in his spare time, The Breed of Basil, which was neither a great literary nor financial success but revealed a sensitive talent for feeling and words. It was shortly after that he first met Marie Benedetti, the laughing, dark eyed, dark haired Marie whose characteristics were to appear in the woman in his books and stories. It was a traditional meeting but never again was this couple to follow tradition. Bell's sister, Evelyn, worked for Norcross Greeting Card Co., as did Marie, and she asked Marie and another girl for dinner. Marie arrived with a copy of a P. G. Wodehouse book under her arm. After dinner, Bell took her to the subway but accompanied the other girl all the way home across town. Later, he confided to Marie that he lost interest in the other girl when she tried to impress him with her encyclopedia. He then wrote a note to her asking for a date and arrived with a corsage of three yellow roses that were not quite appropriate for the date spent playing ball in the park. But they dated regularly after that day until he felt he should state his intentions. "I want you to know that I am not the marrying kind," Bell announced, not long after that first date in April 1931. "Then we had better call the whole thing off, because I am," she countered. Happily, they did not call it off and on January 2, 1932, 28-year-old Thomas Bell took for his bride the lovely 19year-old Marie to begin twenty-seven years of that life of good times and love. The beginning was hardly auspicious as an astrologer �20 SLOVAKIA might put it. During their first year of marriage, Bell became ill with pneumonia. After his recovery, he was forced to make a choice. Write or work. Not both. Years later, his widow stated unequivocally, that had he attempted to work and write that "it would have killed him," and noted that "A writer gives and gives, you see, never takes, and very quickly expends himself." But she refuses credit for the fact that without her or a wife just like her, there would have been few other or maybe no other books by Bell. He might well have lapsed into another frustrated creative writer whose talent is buried in the cares of the workaday world out of the necessity of earning a living for his family. But there was another destiny for Bell. And Marie was the focal point in it. She became the breadwinner of the family when he made his choice to write. "We had the perfect arrangement," she says now. "Tom wrote from 9 until 4. Then he straightened the house, cooked dinner, ordinary things for me he thought I needed and the strict diet things for him. Then we read, played games, visited and just enjoyed our hours together." Marie worked her way up from 17-year-old messenger to a $10,0000 a year art director when she left Norcross in 1955 to move to Santa Cruz. After his crucial decision, Bell wrote his second book, The Second Prince, published in England under the title, Striker Godown. In this, he utilizes many of his own experiences and expounds his views of striking out against a life of conformity-whatever risk such rebellion entails. Marie says it was during this period that he was finding himself as a person and a writer. His third novel was probably the most financially successful, Marie recalls that when he dropped by her office after a visit to his agent and swung her in the air, she caught a whiff of alcohol, something he almost never touched. "I knew something big had happened," she smiled. He showed her the one year screen writer contract that All Brides Are Beautiful had brought and swung her high again. "We're on our way to Hollywood," as they both laughed with joy. �SLOVAKIA 21 She remembers that year of 1937 in Hollywood when the book was made into the movie, From This Day Forward. as one of the most carefree in their lives. But when it came to an end, Bell refused to sign another contract. "I have other books to write," he decided, and they returned to New York. In 1940 he became seriously ill and for two years, underwent tests before a malignancy in the ilium was discovered. Ever after, he had to adhere to a stringent diet which placed limitations upon mobility and life style. Marie credits her parents for Bell's recovery from the surgery for malignancy. They owned a farm in New Jersey and it was there that Bell went to recuperate. When she saw him three weeks later, she hardly recognized the emaciated husband she had left there. Her mother had cared for Bell, cooking and coaxing him to eat until fifteen pounds were added to the spare frame. "He loved my parents and they loved him. In fact, my whole family loved him," Marie says. "They asked his advice and called him Al. In them, he found the love from a family and parents that he was not able to get from his own." After recovery, their life resumed its peaceful routine. Writing, reading, cooking and photography for Bell. Working, reading, planning their trips to Coney Island, Nantucket, and plays and family for Marie. It was then that Bell wrote his most powerful novel. Out of This Furnace is the saga of three generations of Slovak Americans with all the societal changes and the part they played. But here, he reveals at his best the varying relationships of men and women and how they changed generation by generation. At the end, the relatively independent young wife of Dobie may be the new era of more individual relationships of man-wife of the present and of the Bells themselves. Till I Come Back to You followed. Made into a play, it was badly received by Bell and the public and closed after a brief run on Broadway. During this period he wrote short stories. "That was fun ... " Marie chuckles now: "He would take a week to write one of these romantic boy-girl things and sell it for �22 SLOVAKIA two thousand dollars or more. We had lots of money then." Out of the 25 stories he wrote, one serious effort, The Man Who Made Good in America, was about the Slovak workers in the mills and republished in Our Lives, American Labor Stories in 1948. It is still acclaimed for its poignant example of the exploitation of the Slovak mill workers. The last of Bell's novels shows the refined technique of research blended with perception until the reader is certain that the writer of There Comes A Time had worked as a bank teller. Actually, Marie reveals that the union permitted him to work briefly as a teller and in other bank functions for this story of the formation of a labor union in the bank and its unification with the larger union. As in all his honest works, Bell never falls into the trap of "good guys versus bad guys, or even not so good guys." There are no heroes or heroines. There are people, real people, like Joel Pane who responds to that cross road in everyone's life when one must choose to do more with his life than just exist, or ignore that resurgence of life's beckoning at the price of beginning to decline in spirit as the physiological counterpart begins its descent. Joel Pane, however, like Bell himself, opts for life and its risks and wins his moment of peace with himself. In 1950, nearing fifty years of age, Bell developed a writing block. In exploring the reason for it with his widow, the traditional questions were asked. Was it due to the severe emotional deprivation? Being the man of the family at age eleven? The fact that there never had been a childhood? The harshness of his father? Any and all of these were enough to decimate the strongest psychological constitution. Three years of analysis followed and Bell learned to understand and accept that the tragedy of his early life was also the tragedy of his parents and an entire two or three generations of immigrants who shared in and shaped the upheaval of America, as much too gradually the shackles of poverty and exploitation were thrown off. At the end of three years, he brought Marie to meet his analyst. After a long conference, Dr. Rustin laughingly told him, "With a wife like yours, you don't need analysis. Just �SLOVAKIA 23 don't ever use it to mistreat her in any way ..." Thus ended the inner journey to the psyche, at least with the help of an analyst. For he traveled the rest of his way alone but travel he did. And he traveled outwardly, too, for this now freed him to do something he had long wanted, move to California. But it was not until he was certain that his beloved motherin-law would be all right as his father-in-law had died two years before, and she could adjust to Marie moving far away and leaving her with Marie's two sisters in New York. In his journal, In the Midst of Life, he poignantly describes that last long plane trip that ushered in a new life of being shopkeepers of a stationery and book store. "Tom had five more years of life out here. I never gave up ... when we knew he had an inoperable tumor, we tried every chemical known to science . . . every treatment ... until the very last day, I never gave up hope." And those five years were good ones although Bell wrote only on note pads and in his journal. A poor sleeper, he utilized this time for jotting down ideas and thoughts that came to an active mind. The question of childlessness had to be asked and it was. Marie pondered this for a time before she replied in her direct way. "I never minded not having children as I didn't have much of a maternal instinct. But I regretted it for Tom. He would have been a wonderful father ... " she reflected with tenderness. "He was one of those unusual people who can play with children and yet approach them with the sense of dignity of their being a distinct individual. Children loved him. My nieces and nephews loved him and when grown, often talked and still do of how he played with them and talked with them ... " The shortsightedness of adoption agencies was never a subject that Bell mentioned in his writing, perhaps too sensitive an area for exploration. But Marie tE>lls how they were refused a child--even an older child not too easily adoptable-because she worked outside the house and Bell would have been the one to remain in the home to care �24 SLOVAKIA for the child. This was an arrangement very suspect and considered abnormal at that time. But he refused to let it blight their lives. "Don't worry about it, Marie," he assured her. "We will just have to be a little bit closer to each other, that's all." Whatever else he felt, he carried it to the ocean grave with his ashes, but one suspects he would never write anything that might even slightly hurt the woman he loved. Again and again the thought of how far ahead of their time the Bells were would intrude in the middle of a statement by Marie or in reading passages from his books. How complete was his acceptance of his woman, how spontaneous the expressions of affection; notes pinned on a mirror, a hand scrawled message for "16 years with the right woman" to accompany the birthday lapel pin, a kiss in the middle of Broadway for no reason other than "I just thought how glad I am that you are with me." He recorded some of these moments with his photographic hobby. Nudes of his wife enjoying a waterfall, strolling the beach in shorts, playing with animals or pensively reading. He recorded them also in words in all his books, but particularly that last journal. One is particularly touched by his account of those last few months when he knew he was dying. One is even more scored with poignancy in the account of those last days by his widow. When he knew his end was imminent, he asked his brother to take him to the hospital so "Marie won't come · home from the store and find me dead." There, he lived one day, a day that she still hoped would not be his last, that a miracle would happen. On the last visit, she was able to tell him that In the Midst of Life was to be published by Atheneum Publishers. He patted her hand and murmured "Good publishers, Marie." She left, hoping that this would spark some new life into his wasted body. But a few hours later, he was dead. Later, she learned of how painstakingly he had planned all details of the funeral to spare her; the arrangements for cremation, the brief service, and even the outfit she would �SLOVAKIA 25 wear, the beige coat and dress rather than dark colors he hated to see her in. It was a rare funeral for California, where people avoid funerals at all costs if they can. But over 220 of his friends, customers, business acquaintances, nurses and doctors from the hospital, neighbors, all gathered for the short service. It was concluded by Marie placing a corsage of three yellow roses on his coffin, then closing it forever. In August 1961, the cardboard cakebox containing his ashes was dropped into the bay at Santa Cruz, and only the corsage of three yellow roses marked the spot for moments before it, too, floated downwards into that deep ocean of foreverness, leaving behind the two things he loved best, his "wife and typewriter" as he put it so starkly in those last words he wrote. Several months later, his widow showed that his instinct in choosing her for mate was right for she revealed integrity to match his own. Offered a huge sum of money to sell the book to Readers' Digest Condensed Book Club, she refused. She could not "bear to have Tom's last work, all of him that was in that book, cut up and changed until it was no longer him. He would not have liked that." Instead, she consented to the sale of two chapters that would be published as he wrote them. They appeared in the July issue of the Digest, with the title, Six Months to Live. Bell began his life with impatience as if he realized that it would not span the traditional three score and ten. He sat up at six months, and fearing something amiss, his parents consulted a doctor who assured them there was not. From then on, he seemed to always be in a hurry, to live, to love, to understand and to express it all. Reading his way through the local library in his teens, he cut his writing eye teeth on the real meat of Montaigne, Seneca, Keats, Russell, and Thoreau as well as all the classics. He worked at various jobs until he had no choice but to write only. When that seemed ended, he made his choice again and returned to the community life as a shopkeeper �26 SLOVAKIA and enjoyed those that he loved most, his wife, brother and sister-in-law, the beach and the solitude of reading and jotting ideas and thoughts. So sure his writing days were ended, he told no one of his past successes but it was only when they came to pay those last respects did most the mourners learn that he was a writer. "He was fascinated with people," Marie explained, "and he wanted them to talk to him as a person, not a writer." To the last, he took care of the woman he loved, planning her income and living arrangements and for that final act of dropping his ashes into the ocean, he had arranged for his brother to perform that function, not her. Bell was a third generation Slovak-American, and with his generation, the family of the Bells have ended. Curiously, none of his siblings had offspring as did neither he and his Marie. And yet, that life instinct was transmuted into his writing creativity, telling us years later about the immigrants and people of his time, more so than if he had had children who may have failed to perceive and pass on the truths about that life in that time and that place. Without his Marie it is doubtful that his mission would have been accomplished, although she refuses to see.. it other than in terms of the good fortune of having been the·· recipient of immeasurable tenderness and love, from her parents first and then from Bell. She felt that the score is even, he owed her nothing nor did she him. Ironically, Bell owned no property in his lifetime. But only three years ago, after selling the store, his widow bought the first house she ever owned and is living in it, pretty much as she always did, filling the days with friends, relatives, reading as much as she can and attending plays. She has no regrets except that Bell did not live his normal life span to share these years with her, but aside from that understandable one, her erect figure, easy and lilting laugh and bright brown eyes are the heritage of sharing a life of 27 years of "good times and love." In evaluating Bell and his books, I learned of a man of no pretense, hypocrisy and of great integrity. He told of the joys, fears and disappointmets in what the most recent �SLOVAKIA 27 psychological terminology would term "real" that has no denials of his true feelings. How much of this was his Slovak inheritance and how much individual Bell, who can say. But the destiny of his life was a good one. He produced good, very good, work and the affectionate qualities of his life were good indeed. Parents-in-law who filled the long void of a loveless childhood, a wife who fitted her life to his easily and with no complaint, and countless friends and acquaintances to enjoy the good times and finally, the courage to endure that last bitter time at the end. Although Bell disbelieved in a life after death, this is beyond his power and it appears that the strong spirit expressed in his writing is having a resurgence. One understands, as one of his doctors wrote Marie after his death, "that he was a most unusual man whose facing of the suffering of the transfusions and taps and pain was with courage we seldom see." More than that, the reader senses, as did the literary critics who received his last book, the basic decency and goodness of the man and his life and therefore celebrate their continuance, in whatever form perceived. For of all the eternal qualities, that of goodness may be the most valuable. Without it, nothing else is quite palatable; success or failure, joy or grief, even life or death, · and certainly no human relationship of a lasting nature can exist without a measure of it. For goodness is the great leavener that brings all . things in perspective, as wrote Dostoevski in his novel, The Idiot. It is the quality perhaps most derided but still, the one most yearned for-in others -and when present, is remembered long after all else is forgotten. One wishes with Bell's widow that the quantity of his years may have been greater, at least the three score and ten of the Bible he doubted or disbelieved, in the assumption that more books would have been forthcoming. And yet, in the final summation, one accepts reluctantly, as no doubt did Bell, that for the man and for t:q_e -writer, that surely one could do worse. Much worse, indeed. � SLOVAKIA 18 Sonya Jason Good Times and Love THE LIFE OF THOMAS AND MARIE BELL One learns a great deal about any person by the mate he or she chooses. This is especially pertinent for a writer. I had been most fortunate in reading the last of Thomas Bell's books first and while reading In the Midst of Life, became well acquainted with a man of integrity, courage and honesty to the very end. But beyond Bell the man and writer, I caught deep glimpses of the tender love and regard he held for his wife, Marie, and later discovered that these qualities weave in and out like a golden thread through all his works. Now, I could only know Bell by his written memorials. But happily, I could still learn to know the woman he loved and thus I sought out to investigate her, what manner of woman this was that has been loved as few women have, and what was the meter of their life together that produced such affection. She stood in the doorway of her house in Santa Cruz, a tiny, dark haired lady in a chic pantssuit. A glance, a warm embrace and she led me into the kitchen for a chicken sandwich and coffee before she would talk of anything or anyone, even Bell. Marie Bell summarized her life with her husband as full of "good times and love." And for several hours we talked of some of those good times and the love. Thomas Belejcak was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on March 7, 1903. His father was an immigrant Slovak but his mother was a first generation American of Slovak parents. He was the oldest of four children and was trained in the Roman Catholic religion, but later repudiated all religions. He also regretted the Anglicizing of his name to Bell but understood the necessity at the time it was done out of economic urgency. Bell's father died on his 11th birthday and he became the man of the family and at 15, was working in a glass �SLOVAKIA 19 company in Glassport, Pennsylvania. When he was 16 and working as an apprentice electrician in Donora, Pennsylvania, his mother died of tuberculosis in a sanitarium. His brother and sisters were shifted about to various relatives to care for. At 19, with the sum of $15.00 in his pocket, Bell went to New York, sleeping in subways until he found a job. He worked for a time as a mechanic in a Long Island Railroad shop before he shipped out to sea as seaman for two years. Upon his return, he found a job as salesman for Schulte's Book Store and then sent for his brother and two sisters to live with him. He wrote his first novel in his spare time, The Breed of Basil, which was neither a great literary nor financial success but revealed a sensitive talent for feeling and words. It was shortly after that he first met Marie Benedetti, the laughing, dark eyed, dark haired Marie whose characteristics were to appear in the woman in his books and stories. It was a traditional meeting but never again was this couple to follow tradition. Bell's sister, Evelyn, worked for Norcross Greeting Card Co., as did Marie, and she asked Marie and another girl for dinner. Marie arrived with a copy of a P. G. Wodehouse book under her arm. After dinner, Bell took her to the subway but accompanied the other girl all the way home across town. Later, he confided to Marie that he lost interest in the other girl when she tried to impress him with her encyclopedia. He then wrote a note to her asking for a date and arrived with a corsage of three yellow roses that were not quite appropriate for the date spent playing ball in the park. But they dated regularly after that day until he felt he should state his intentions. "I want you to know that I am not the marrying kind," Bell announced, not long after that first date in April 1931. "Then we had better call the whole thing off, because I am," she countered. Happily, they did not call it off and on January 2, 1932, 28-year-old Thomas Bell took for his bride the lovely 19year-old Marie to begin twenty-seven years of that life of good times and love. The beginning was hardly auspicious as an astrologer �20 SLOVAKIA might put it. During their first year of marriage, Bell became ill with pneumonia. After his recovery, he was forced to make a choice. Write or work. Not both. Years later, his widow stated unequivocally, that had he attempted to work and write that "it would have killed him," and noted that "A writer gives and gives, you see, never takes, and very quickly expends himself." But she refuses credit for the fact that without her or a wife just like her, there would have been few other or maybe no other books by Bell. He might well have lapsed into another frustrated creative writer whose talent is buried in the cares of the workaday world out of the necessity of earning a living for his family. But there was another destiny for Bell. And Marie was the focal point in it. She became the breadwinner of the family when he made his choice to write. "We had the perfect arrangement," she says now. "Tom wrote from 9 until 4. Then he straightened the house, cooked dinner, ordinary things for me he thought I needed and the strict diet things for him. Then we read, played games, visited and just enjoyed our hours together." Marie worked her way up from 17-year-old messenger to a $10,0000 a year art director when she left Norcross in 1955 to move to Santa Cruz. After his crucial decision, Bell wrote his second book, The Second Prince, published in England under the title, Striker Godown. In this, he utilizes many of his own experiences and expounds his views of striking out against a life of conformity-whatever risk such rebellion entails. Marie says it was during this period that he was finding himself as a person and a writer. His third novel was probably the most financially successful, Marie recalls that when he dropped by her office after a visit to his agent and swung her in the air, she caught a whiff of alcohol, something he almost never touched. "I knew something big had happened," she smiled. He showed her the one year screen writer contract that All Brides Are Beautiful had brought and swung her high again. "We're on our way to Hollywood," as they both laughed with joy. �SLOVAKIA 21 She remembers that year of 1937 in Hollywood when the book was made into the movie, From This Day Forward. as one of the most carefree in their lives. But when it came to an end, Bell refused to sign another contract. "I have other books to write," he decided, and they returned to New York. In 1940 he became seriously ill and for two years, underwent tests before a malignancy in the ilium was discovered. Ever after, he had to adhere to a stringent diet which placed limitations upon mobility and life style. Marie credits her parents for Bell's recovery from the surgery for malignancy. They owned a farm in New Jersey and it was there that Bell went to recuperate. When she saw him three weeks later, she hardly recognized the emaciated husband she had left there. Her mother had cared for Bell, cooking and coaxing him to eat until fifteen pounds were added to the spare frame. "He loved my parents and they loved him. In fact, my whole family loved him," Marie says. "They asked his advice and called him Al. In them, he found the love from a family and parents that he was not able to get from his own." After recovery, their life resumed its peaceful routine. Writing, reading, cooking and photography for Bell. Working, reading, planning their trips to Coney Island, Nantucket, and plays and family for Marie. It was then that Bell wrote his most powerful novel. Out of This Furnace is the saga of three generations of Slovak Americans with all the societal changes and the part they played. But here, he reveals at his best the varying relationships of men and women and how they changed generation by generation. At the end, the relatively independent young wife of Dobie may be the new era of more individual relationships of man-wife of the present and of the Bells themselves. Till I Come Back to You followed. Made into a play, it was badly received by Bell and the public and closed after a brief run on Broadway. During this period he wrote short stories. "That was fun ... " Marie chuckles now: "He would take a week to write one of these romantic boy-girl things and sell it for �22 SLOVAKIA two thousand dollars or more. We had lots of money then." Out of the 25 stories he wrote, one serious effort, The Man Who Made Good in America, was about the Slovak workers in the mills and republished in Our Lives, American Labor Stories in 1948. It is still acclaimed for its poignant example of the exploitation of the Slovak mill workers. The last of Bell's novels shows the refined technique of research blended with perception until the reader is certain that the writer of There Comes A Time had worked as a bank teller. Actually, Marie reveals that the union permitted him to work briefly as a teller and in other bank functions for this story of the formation of a labor union in the bank and its unification with the larger union. As in all his honest works, Bell never falls into the trap of "good guys versus bad guys, or even not so good guys." There are no heroes or heroines. There are people, real people, like Joel Pane who responds to that cross road in everyone's life when one must choose to do more with his life than just exist, or ignore that resurgence of life's beckoning at the price of beginning to decline in spirit as the physiological counterpart begins its descent. Joel Pane, however, like Bell himself, opts for life and its risks and wins his moment of peace with himself. In 1950, nearing fifty years of age, Bell developed a writing block. In exploring the reason for it with his widow, the traditional questions were asked. Was it due to the severe emotional deprivation? Being the man of the family at age eleven? The fact that there never had been a childhood? The harshness of his father? Any and all of these were enough to decimate the strongest psychological constitution. Three years of analysis followed and Bell learned to understand and accept that the tragedy of his early life was also the tragedy of his parents and an entire two or three generations of immigrants who shared in and shaped the upheaval of America, as much too gradually the shackles of poverty and exploitation were thrown off. At the end of three years, he brought Marie to meet his analyst. After a long conference, Dr. Rustin laughingly told him, "With a wife like yours, you don't need analysis. Just �SLOVAKIA 23 don't ever use it to mistreat her in any way ..." Thus ended the inner journey to the psyche, at least with the help of an analyst. For he traveled the rest of his way alone but travel he did. And he traveled outwardly, too, for this now freed him to do something he had long wanted, move to California. But it was not until he was certain that his beloved motherin-law would be all right as his father-in-law had died two years before, and she could adjust to Marie moving far away and leaving her with Marie's two sisters in New York. In his journal, In the Midst of Life, he poignantly describes that last long plane trip that ushered in a new life of being shopkeepers of a stationery and book store. "Tom had five more years of life out here. I never gave up ... when we knew he had an inoperable tumor, we tried every chemical known to science . . . every treatment ... until the very last day, I never gave up hope." And those five years were good ones although Bell wrote only on note pads and in his journal. A poor sleeper, he utilized this time for jotting down ideas and thoughts that came to an active mind. The question of childlessness had to be asked and it was. Marie pondered this for a time before she replied in her direct way. "I never minded not having children as I didn't have much of a maternal instinct. But I regretted it for Tom. He would have been a wonderful father ... " she reflected with tenderness. "He was one of those unusual people who can play with children and yet approach them with the sense of dignity of their being a distinct individual. Children loved him. My nieces and nephews loved him and when grown, often talked and still do of how he played with them and talked with them ... " The shortsightedness of adoption agencies was never a subject that Bell mentioned in his writing, perhaps too sensitive an area for exploration. But Marie tE>lls how they were refused a child--even an older child not too easily adoptable-because she worked outside the house and Bell would have been the one to remain in the home to care �24 SLOVAKIA for the child. This was an arrangement very suspect and considered abnormal at that time. But he refused to let it blight their lives. "Don't worry about it, Marie," he assured her. "We will just have to be a little bit closer to each other, that's all." Whatever else he felt, he carried it to the ocean grave with his ashes, but one suspects he would never write anything that might even slightly hurt the woman he loved. Again and again the thought of how far ahead of their time the Bells were would intrude in the middle of a statement by Marie or in reading passages from his books. How complete was his acceptance of his woman, how spontaneous the expressions of affection; notes pinned on a mirror, a hand scrawled message for "16 years with the right woman" to accompany the birthday lapel pin, a kiss in the middle of Broadway for no reason other than "I just thought how glad I am that you are with me." He recorded some of these moments with his photographic hobby. Nudes of his wife enjoying a waterfall, strolling the beach in shorts, playing with animals or pensively reading. He recorded them also in words in all his books, but particularly that last journal. One is particularly touched by his account of those last few months when he knew he was dying. One is even more scored with poignancy in the account of those last days by his widow. When he knew his end was imminent, he asked his brother to take him to the hospital so "Marie won't come · home from the store and find me dead." There, he lived one day, a day that she still hoped would not be his last, that a miracle would happen. On the last visit, she was able to tell him that In the Midst of Life was to be published by Atheneum Publishers. He patted her hand and murmured "Good publishers, Marie." She left, hoping that this would spark some new life into his wasted body. But a few hours later, he was dead. Later, she learned of how painstakingly he had planned all details of the funeral to spare her; the arrangements for cremation, the brief service, and even the outfit she would �SLOVAKIA 25 wear, the beige coat and dress rather than dark colors he hated to see her in. It was a rare funeral for California, where people avoid funerals at all costs if they can. But over 220 of his friends, customers, business acquaintances, nurses and doctors from the hospital, neighbors, all gathered for the short service. It was concluded by Marie placing a corsage of three yellow roses on his coffin, then closing it forever. In August 1961, the cardboard cakebox containing his ashes was dropped into the bay at Santa Cruz, and only the corsage of three yellow roses marked the spot for moments before it, too, floated downwards into that deep ocean of foreverness, leaving behind the two things he loved best, his "wife and typewriter" as he put it so starkly in those last words he wrote. Several months later, his widow showed that his instinct in choosing her for mate was right for she revealed integrity to match his own. Offered a huge sum of money to sell the book to Readers' Digest Condensed Book Club, she refused. She could not "bear to have Tom's last work, all of him that was in that book, cut up and changed until it was no longer him. He would not have liked that." Instead, she consented to the sale of two chapters that would be published as he wrote them. They appeared in the July issue of the Digest, with the title, Six Months to Live. Bell began his life with impatience as if he realized that it would not span the traditional three score and ten. He sat up at six months, and fearing something amiss, his parents consulted a doctor who assured them there was not. From then on, he seemed to always be in a hurry, to live, to love, to understand and to express it all. Reading his way through the local library in his teens, he cut his writing eye teeth on the real meat of Montaigne, Seneca, Keats, Russell, and Thoreau as well as all the classics. He worked at various jobs until he had no choice but to write only. When that seemed ended, he made his choice again and returned to the community life as a shopkeeper �26 SLOVAKIA and enjoyed those that he loved most, his wife, brother and sister-in-law, the beach and the solitude of reading and jotting ideas and thoughts. So sure his writing days were ended, he told no one of his past successes but it was only when they came to pay those last respects did most the mourners learn that he was a writer. "He was fascinated with people," Marie explained, "and he wanted them to talk to him as a person, not a writer." To the last, he took care of the woman he loved, planning her income and living arrangements and for that final act of dropping his ashes into the ocean, he had arranged for his brother to perform that function, not her. Bell was a third generation Slovak-American, and with his generation, the family of the Bells have ended. Curiously, none of his siblings had offspring as did neither he and his Marie. And yet, that life instinct was transmuted into his writing creativity, telling us years later about the immigrants and people of his time, more so than if he had had children who may have failed to perceive and pass on the truths about that life in that time and that place. Without his Marie it is doubtful that his mission would have been accomplished, although she refuses to see.. it other than in terms of the good fortune of having been the·· recipient of immeasurable tenderness and love, from her parents first and then from Bell. She felt that the score is even, he owed her nothing nor did she him. Ironically, Bell owned no property in his lifetime. But only three years ago, after selling the store, his widow bought the first house she ever owned and is living in it, pretty much as she always did, filling the days with friends, relatives, reading as much as she can and attending plays. She has no regrets except that Bell did not live his normal life span to share these years with her, but aside from that understandable one, her erect figure, easy and lilting laugh and bright brown eyes are the heritage of sharing a life of 27 years of "good times and love." In evaluating Bell and his books, I learned of a man of no pretense, hypocrisy and of great integrity. He told of the joys, fears and disappointmets in what the most recent �SLOVAKIA 27 psychological terminology would term "real" that has no denials of his true feelings. How much of this was his Slovak inheritance and how much individual Bell, who can say. But the destiny of his life was a good one. He produced good, very good, work and the affectionate qualities of his life were good indeed. Parents-in-law who filled the long void of a loveless childhood, a wife who fitted her life to his easily and with no complaint, and countless friends and acquaintances to enjoy the good times and finally, the courage to endure that last bitter time at the end. Although Bell disbelieved in a life after death, this is beyond his power and it appears that the strong spirit expressed in his writing is having a resurgence. One understands, as one of his doctors wrote Marie after his death, "that he was a most unusual man whose facing of the suffering of the transfusions and taps and pain was with courage we seldom see." More than that, the reader senses, as did the literary critics who received his last book, the basic decency and goodness of the man and his life and therefore celebrate their continuance, in whatever form perceived. For of all the eternal qualities, that of goodness may be the most valuable. Without it, nothing else is quite palatable; success or failure, joy or grief, even life or death, · and certainly no human relationship of a lasting nature can exist without a measure of it. For goodness is the great leavener that brings all . things in perspective, as wrote Dostoevski in his novel, The Idiot. It is the quality perhaps most derided but still, the one most yearned for-in others -and when present, is remembered long after all else is forgotten. One wishes with Bell's widow that the quantity of his years may have been greater, at least the three score and ten of the Bible he doubted or disbelieved, in the assumption that more books would have been forthcoming. And yet, in the final summation, one accepts reluctantly, as no doubt did Bell, that for the man and for t:q_e -writer, that surely one could do worse. Much worse, indeed. � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 18 Sonya Jason Good Times and Love THE LIFE OF THOMAS AND MARIE BELL One learns a great deal about any person by the mate he or she chooses. This is especially pertinent for a writer. I had been most fortunate in reading the last of Thomas Bell's books first and while reading In the Midst of Life, became well acquainted with a man of integrity, courage and honesty to the very end. But beyond Bell the man and writer, I caught deep glimpses of the tender love and regard he held for his wife, Marie, and later discovered that these qualities weave in and out like a golden thread through all his works. Now, I could only know Bell by his written memorials. But happily, I could still learn to know the woman he loved and thus I sought out to investigate her, what manner of woman this was that has been loved as few women have, and what was the meter of their life together that produced such affection. She stood in the doorway of her house in Santa Cruz, a tiny, dark haired lady in a chic pantssuit. A glance, a warm embrace and she led me into the kitchen for a chicken sandwich and coffee before she would talk of anything or anyone, even Bell. Marie Bell summarized her life with her husband as full of "good times and love." And for several hours we talked of some of those good times and the love. Thomas Belejcak was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on March 7, 1903. His father was an immigrant Slovak but his mother was a first generation American of Slovak parents. He was the oldest of four children and was trained in the Roman Catholic religion, but later repudiated all religions. He also regretted the Anglicizing of his name to Bell but understood the necessity at the time it was done out of economic urgency. Bell's father died on his 11th birthday and he became the man of the family and at 15, was working in a glass SLOVAKIA 19 company in Glassport, Pennsylvania. When he was 16 and working as an apprentice electrician in Donora, Pennsylvania, his mother died of tuberculosis in a sanitarium. His brother and sisters were shifted about to various relatives to care for. At 19, with the sum of $15.00 in his pocket, Bell went to New York, sleeping in subways until he found a job. He worked for a time as a mechanic in a Long Island Railroad shop before he shipped out to sea as seaman for two years. Upon his return, he found a job as salesman for Schulte's Book Store and then sent for his brother and two sisters to live with him. He wrote his first novel in his spare time, The Breed of Basil, which was neither a great literary nor financial success but revealed a sensitive talent for feeling and words. It was shortly after that he first met Marie Benedetti, the laughing, dark eyed, dark haired Marie whose characteristics were to appear in the woman in his books and stories. It was a traditional meeting but never again was this couple to follow tradition. Bell's sister, Evelyn, worked for Norcross Greeting Card Co., as did Marie, and she asked Marie and another girl for dinner. Marie arrived with a copy of a P. G. Wodehouse book under her arm. After dinner, Bell took her to the subway but accompanied the other girl all the way home across town. Later, he confided to Marie that he lost interest in the other girl when she tried to impress him with her encyclopedia. He then wrote a note to her asking for a date and arrived with a corsage of three yellow roses that were not quite appropriate for the date spent playing ball in the park. But they dated regularly after that day until he felt he should state his intentions. "I want you to know that I am not the marrying kind," Bell announced, not long after that first date in April 1931. "Then we had better call the whole thing off, because I am," she countered. Happily, they did not call it off and on January 2, 1932, 28-year-old Thomas Bell took for his bride the lovely 19year-old Marie to begin twenty-seven years of that life of good times and love. The beginning was hardly auspicious as an astrologer 20 SLOVAKIA might put it. During their first year of marriage, Bell became ill with pneumonia. After his recovery, he was forced to make a choice. Write or work. Not both. Years later, his widow stated unequivocally, that had he attempted to work and write that "it would have killed him," and noted that "A writer gives and gives, you see, never takes, and very quickly expends himself." But she refuses credit for the fact that without her or a wife just like her, there would have been few other or maybe no other books by Bell. He might well have lapsed into another frustrated creative writer whose talent is buried in the cares of the workaday world out of the necessity of earning a living for his family. But there was another destiny for Bell. And Marie was the focal point in it. She became the breadwinner of the family when he made his choice to write. "We had the perfect arrangement," she says now. "Tom wrote from 9 until 4. Then he straightened the house, cooked dinner, ordinary things for me he thought I needed and the strict diet things for him. Then we read, played games, visited and just enjoyed our hours together." Marie worked her way up from 17-year-old messenger to a $10,0000 a year art director when she left Norcross in 1955 to move to Santa Cruz. After his crucial decision, Bell wrote his second book, The Second Prince, published in England under the title, Striker Godown. In this, he utilizes many of his own experiences and expounds his views of striking out against a life of conformity-whatever risk such rebellion entails. Marie says it was during this period that he was finding himself as a person and a writer. His third novel was probably the most financially successful, Marie recalls that when he dropped by her office after a visit to his agent and swung her in the air, she caught a whiff of alcohol, something he almost never touched. "I knew something big had happened," she smiled. He showed her the one year screen writer contract that All Brides Are Beautiful had brought and swung her high again. "We're on our way to Hollywood," as they both laughed with joy. SLOVAKIA 21 She remembers that year of 1937 in Hollywood when the book was made into the movie, From This Day Forward. as one of the most carefree in their lives. But when it came to an end, Bell refused to sign another contract. "I have other books to write," he decided, and they returned to New York. In 1940 he became seriously ill and for two years, underwent tests before a malignancy in the ilium was discovered. Ever after, he had to adhere to a stringent diet which placed limitations upon mobility and life style. Marie credits her parents for Bell's recovery from the surgery for malignancy. They owned a farm in New Jersey and it was there that Bell went to recuperate. When she saw him three weeks later, she hardly recognized the emaciated husband she had left there. Her mother had cared for Bell, cooking and coaxing him to eat until fifteen pounds were added to the spare frame. "He loved my parents and they loved him. In fact, my whole family loved him," Marie says. "They asked his advice and called him Al. In them, he found the love from a family and parents that he was not able to get from his own." After recovery, their life resumed its peaceful routine. Writing, reading, cooking and photography for Bell. Working, reading, planning their trips to Coney Island, Nantucket, and plays and family for Marie. It was then that Bell wrote his most powerful novel. Out of This Furnace is the saga of three generations of Slovak Americans with all the societal changes and the part they played. But here, he reveals at his best the varying relationships of men and women and how they changed generation by generation. At the end, the relatively independent young wife of Dobie may be the new era of more individual relationships of man-wife of the present and of the Bells themselves. Till I Come Back to You followed. Made into a play, it was badly received by Bell and the public and closed after a brief run on Broadway. During this period he wrote short stories. "That was fun ... " Marie chuckles now: "He would take a week to write one of these romantic boy-girl things and sell it for 22 SLOVAKIA two thousand dollars or more. We had lots of money then." Out of the 25 stories he wrote, one serious effort, The Man Who Made Good in America, was about the Slovak workers in the mills and republished in Our Lives, American Labor Stories in 1948. It is still acclaimed for its poignant example of the exploitation of the Slovak mill workers. The last of Bell's novels shows the refined technique of research blended with perception until the reader is certain that the writer of There Comes A Time had worked as a bank teller. Actually, Marie reveals that the union permitted him to work briefly as a teller and in other bank functions for this story of the formation of a labor union in the bank and its unification with the larger union. As in all his honest works, Bell never falls into the trap of "good guys versus bad guys, or even not so good guys." There are no heroes or heroines. There are people, real people, like Joel Pane who responds to that cross road in everyone's life when one must choose to do more with his life than just exist, or ignore that resurgence of life's beckoning at the price of beginning to decline in spirit as the physiological counterpart begins its descent. Joel Pane, however, like Bell himself, opts for life and its risks and wins his moment of peace with himself. In 1950, nearing fifty years of age, Bell developed a writing block. In exploring the reason for it with his widow, the traditional questions were asked. Was it due to the severe emotional deprivation? Being the man of the family at age eleven? The fact that there never had been a childhood? The harshness of his father? Any and all of these were enough to decimate the strongest psychological constitution. Three years of analysis followed and Bell learned to understand and accept that the tragedy of his early life was also the tragedy of his parents and an entire two or three generations of immigrants who shared in and shaped the upheaval of America, as much too gradually the shackles of poverty and exploitation were thrown off. At the end of three years, he brought Marie to meet his analyst. After a long conference, Dr. Rustin laughingly told him, "With a wife like yours, you don't need analysis. Just SLOVAKIA 23 don't ever use it to mistreat her in any way ..." Thus ended the inner journey to the psyche, at least with the help of an analyst. For he traveled the rest of his way alone but travel he did. And he traveled outwardly, too, for this now freed him to do something he had long wanted, move to California. But it was not until he was certain that his beloved motherin-law would be all right as his father-in-law had died two years before, and she could adjust to Marie moving far away and leaving her with Marie's two sisters in New York. In his journal, In the Midst of Life, he poignantly describes that last long plane trip that ushered in a new life of being shopkeepers of a stationery and book store. "Tom had five more years of life out here. I never gave up ... when we knew he had an inoperable tumor, we tried every chemical known to science . . . every treatment ... until the very last day, I never gave up hope." And those five years were good ones although Bell wrote only on note pads and in his journal. A poor sleeper, he utilized this time for jotting down ideas and thoughts that came to an active mind. The question of childlessness had to be asked and it was. Marie pondered this for a time before she replied in her direct way. "I never minded not having children as I didn't have much of a maternal instinct. But I regretted it for Tom. He would have been a wonderful father ... " she reflected with tenderness. "He was one of those unusual people who can play with children and yet approach them with the sense of dignity of their being a distinct individual. Children loved him. My nieces and nephews loved him and when grown, often talked and still do of how he played with them and talked with them ... " The shortsightedness of adoption agencies was never a subject that Bell mentioned in his writing, perhaps too sensitive an area for exploration. But Marie tE>lls how they were refused a child--even an older child not too easily adoptable-because she worked outside the house and Bell would have been the one to remain in the home to care 24 SLOVAKIA for the child. This was an arrangement very suspect and considered abnormal at that time. But he refused to let it blight their lives. "Don't worry about it, Marie," he assured her. "We will just have to be a little bit closer to each other, that's all." Whatever else he felt, he carried it to the ocean grave with his ashes, but one suspects he would never write anything that might even slightly hurt the woman he loved. Again and again the thought of how far ahead of their time the Bells were would intrude in the middle of a statement by Marie or in reading passages from his books. How complete was his acceptance of his woman, how spontaneous the expressions of affection; notes pinned on a mirror, a hand scrawled message for "16 years with the right woman" to accompany the birthday lapel pin, a kiss in the middle of Broadway for no reason other than "I just thought how glad I am that you are with me." He recorded some of these moments with his photographic hobby. Nudes of his wife enjoying a waterfall, strolling the beach in shorts, playing with animals or pensively reading. He recorded them also in words in all his books, but particularly that last journal. One is particularly touched by his account of those last few months when he knew he was dying. One is even more scored with poignancy in the account of those last days by his widow. When he knew his end was imminent, he asked his brother to take him to the hospital so "Marie won't come · home from the store and find me dead." There, he lived one day, a day that she still hoped would not be his last, that a miracle would happen. On the last visit, she was able to tell him that In the Midst of Life was to be published by Atheneum Publishers. He patted her hand and murmured "Good publishers, Marie." She left, hoping that this would spark some new life into his wasted body. But a few hours later, he was dead. Later, she learned of how painstakingly he had planned all details of the funeral to spare her; the arrangements for cremation, the brief service, and even the outfit she would SLOVAKIA 25 wear, the beige coat and dress rather than dark colors he hated to see her in. It was a rare funeral for California, where people avoid funerals at all costs if they can. But over 220 of his friends, customers, business acquaintances, nurses and doctors from the hospital, neighbors, all gathered for the short service. It was concluded by Marie placing a corsage of three yellow roses on his coffin, then closing it forever. In August 1961, the cardboard cakebox containing his ashes was dropped into the bay at Santa Cruz, and only the corsage of three yellow roses marked the spot for moments before it, too, floated downwards into that deep ocean of foreverness, leaving behind the two things he loved best, his "wife and typewriter" as he put it so starkly in those last words he wrote. Several months later, his widow showed that his instinct in choosing her for mate was right for she revealed integrity to match his own. Offered a huge sum of money to sell the book to Readers' Digest Condensed Book Club, she refused. She could not "bear to have Tom's last work, all of him that was in that book, cut up and changed until it was no longer him. He would not have liked that." Instead, she consented to the sale of two chapters that would be published as he wrote them. They appeared in the July issue of the Digest, with the title, Six Months to Live. Bell began his life with impatience as if he realized that it would not span the traditional three score and ten. He sat up at six months, and fearing something amiss, his parents consulted a doctor who assured them there was not. From then on, he seemed to always be in a hurry, to live, to love, to understand and to express it all. Reading his way through the local library in his teens, he cut his writing eye teeth on the real meat of Montaigne, Seneca, Keats, Russell, and Thoreau as well as all the classics. He worked at various jobs until he had no choice but to write only. When that seemed ended, he made his choice again and returned to the community life as a shopkeeper 26 SLOVAKIA and enjoyed those that he loved most, his wife, brother and sister-in-law, the beach and the solitude of reading and jotting ideas and thoughts. So sure his writing days were ended, he told no one of his past successes but it was only when they came to pay those last respects did most the mourners learn that he was a writer. "He was fascinated with people," Marie explained, "and he wanted them to talk to him as a person, not a writer." To the last, he took care of the woman he loved, planning her income and living arrangements and for that final act of dropping his ashes into the ocean, he had arranged for his brother to perform that function, not her. Bell was a third generation Slovak-American, and with his generation, the family of the Bells have ended. Curiously, none of his siblings had offspring as did neither he and his Marie. And yet, that life instinct was transmuted into his writing creativity, telling us years later about the immigrants and people of his time, more so than if he had had children who may have failed to perceive and pass on the truths about that life in that time and that place. Without his Marie it is doubtful that his mission would have been accomplished, although she refuses to see.. it other than in terms of the good fortune of having been the·· recipient of immeasurable tenderness and love, from her parents first and then from Bell. She felt that the score is even, he owed her nothing nor did she him. Ironically, Bell owned no property in his lifetime. But only three years ago, after selling the store, his widow bought the first house she ever owned and is living in it, pretty much as she always did, filling the days with friends, relatives, reading as much as she can and attending plays. She has no regrets except that Bell did not live his normal life span to share these years with her, but aside from that understandable one, her erect figure, easy and lilting laugh and bright brown eyes are the heritage of sharing a life of 27 years of "good times and love." In evaluating Bell and his books, I learned of a man of no pretense, hypocrisy and of great integrity. He told of the joys, fears and disappointmets in what the most recent SLOVAKIA 27 psychological terminology would term "real" that has no denials of his true feelings. How much of this was his Slovak inheritance and how much individual Bell, who can say. But the destiny of his life was a good one. He produced good, very good, work and the affectionate qualities of his life were good indeed. Parents-in-law who filled the long void of a loveless childhood, a wife who fitted her life to his easily and with no complaint, and countless friends and acquaintances to enjoy the good times and finally, the courage to endure that last bitter time at the end. Although Bell disbelieved in a life after death, this is beyond his power and it appears that the strong spirit expressed in his writing is having a resurgence. One understands, as one of his doctors wrote Marie after his death, "that he was a most unusual man whose facing of the suffering of the transfusions and taps and pain was with courage we seldom see." More than that, the reader senses, as did the literary critics who received his last book, the basic decency and goodness of the man and his life and therefore celebrate their continuance, in whatever form perceived. For of all the eternal qualities, that of goodness may be the most valuable. Without it, nothing else is quite palatable; success or failure, joy or grief, even life or death, · and certainly no human relationship of a lasting nature can exist without a measure of it. For goodness is the great leavener that brings all . things in perspective, as wrote Dostoevski in his novel, The Idiot. It is the quality perhaps most derided but still, the one most yearned for-in others -and when present, is remembered long after all else is forgotten. One wishes with Bell's widow that the quantity of his years may have been greater, at least the three score and ten of the Bible he doubted or disbelieved, in the assumption that more books would have been forthcoming. And yet, in the final summation, one accepts reluctantly, as no doubt did Bell, that for the man and for t:q_e -writer, that surely one could do worse. Much worse, indeed.  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 Good Times and Love: The Life of Thomas and Marie Bell Description An account of the resource Sonya Jason Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 18-27 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jason, Sonya, 1924- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/10a79fa5440b0a074f48c5bfe4dca5ce.pdf 1c0016b37d210ef68e238bf3a3d5796a PDF Text Text 28 SLOVAKIA 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party By Joseph Pa u co, Ph.D. Ferko Skycak, a prominent and able Slovak political leader before World War I, announced that he was dropping out of the Magyar Popular Party on December 5, 1905, and simultaneously called upon his Slovak colleagues to organize a new Slovak political party to serve the best interests of the Slovak nation. Immediate response to Skycak's proposal came from Andrej Hlinka, Ferdis Juriga, Frantisek Jehlicka, Jozef Kubina, Milan Hodza, Martin Kollar, Pavol Blaho and others. All supported and approved his political program. In 1906 the newly-formed Slovak People's Party (Slovenska l'udova strana) entered the political arena in Hungary and, despite bitter official government opposition, the Slovaks elected seven representatives to the Hungarian diet in Budapest. The political platform of the Slovak People's Party of 1906 consisted of the following points: 1) Cc,ndemnation of Communism and Socialism 2) Support of the issue for equal rights and a secret ballot 3) Demand for free assembly and the right to organize societies 4) Reduction of taxes 5) Laws to prevent economic road-blocks to industry in Slovakia 6) An increased number of schools an d a guarantee of positions and equitable salaries for qualified Slovak teachers 7) Subsidy for special commercial, trade and agricultural schools 8) Assurance to workers against capitalistic exploitation 9) Reduction of working-hours and an increase of wages �SLOVAKIA 29 Although limited by circumstances of time and place, the new Slovak political party activated the program and continued its activities. Andrej Hlinka, the chairman of the party from 1913, reorganized it on December 19, 1918, and announced the publication of the Slovak as the official party newspaper. Chief opposition to the party came from the Socialists who attacked Hlinka and his followers by charges that they all belonged to the Magyar-Jesuit camp. They stopped at nothing to destroy the Slovak People's Party. They instigated plots and violently broke up meetings of the party. The government insidiously collaborated with them by censoring the publication of the Slovak daily, by stopping delivery to subscribers, by police raids and confiscation of material for publication, and by secret instigation of riots to break up meetings and rallies of the Slovak People's Party. Mobs received help from the police and constabulary in dispersing meetings of the party throughout the country. Two of Hlinka's adherents were killed in the Rumanova riot and many were wounded elsewhere in riots instigated by the enemies of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party through the 1920's and early 1930's. Hlinka was seized by the police on October, 1919, and imprisoned because he had dared to attend the Paris peace conference (without government approval). This obviously was a subterfuge to cover up the government's plan to destroy his party by removing its stalwart champion. Precisely 17 days before the first national elections in the country (1920) a Socialist mob invaded Hlinka's 'Lev' printery in Ruzomberok and damaged the plant. In spite of all these attempts to destroy the Slovak party of the people led by Hlinka, the Slovak People's Party received 12 mandates in the general elections. After the elections Hlinka declared that he would work day and night until Slovakia became white instead of red, until Slovakia would be Slovak and Christian. On the whole, the temporary Socialist victory was due not only to the terroristic tactics employed but also to the fact that approximately 200,000 Czech soldiers voted the Socialist ticket in Slovakia! Leaders of the Slovak People's Party readily perceived, therefore, the danger of an anti- �30 SLOVAKIA Slovak movement in the Socialist program. Therefore, the representatives of the Slovak People's Party denounced the results of the vote as undemocratic and in no way representative of the will of the Slovak nation and its electorate. Nonetheless, the Socialists, intoxicated by their questionable triumph for the moment, proceeded to take steps for the complete subjugation of Slovakia. But their greatest tactical error was their personal vendetta against Hlinka and his associates. Accordingly, on May 1, 1920, a Socialist mob attacked Hlinka in Ruzomberok. Forewarned, Hlinka was protected by a strong bodyguard that warded off the attack on his life. Other violent clashes followed this dastardly attempt on the life of the great Slovak leader. In August, 1920, a Slovak party member was killed in Pruske; Hlinka was stoned in sastin on September 26 that same year, and on October 10, two of Hlinka's followers were murdered in Namestovo. From 1920 on, as Karol Sidor noted, the radical leftists of the Socialist party and its allies vowed to kill Hlinka at the first opportunity. Bloody incidents occurred repeatedly through the early 1920's. On March 25, 1921, one more Hlinka follower in Trnava paid with his life for his convictions. In Krupina on June 12, 1921, shooting occured in Hlinka's presence. Fortunately, no one was seriously wounded. A riot in Trencianske Teplice on July 4, 1921, was followed by an outbreak in Malacky on September 4, 1921, and on May 25, 1922, a mob broke into the editorial offices of the Slovak daily and destroyed everything. Government censorship and pressure were so powerful that Hlinka was forced to suspend the publication of the Slovak temporarily in 1923. Anti-Slovak elements on August 28, 1923, in Presov, and in Kosice on September 22 of that year attacked a Hlinka rally. Czech officials displayed their opposition and enmity to Hlinka openly, and criminal characters were planted in the front ranks of mobs incited to destroy Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. Another Hlinka follower was killed in Kosice during a demonstration. Such terroristic methods of the leftists against Hlinka, however, served to wake up the Slovak people who rallied behind their dynamic leader and succeeded in electing half �SLOVAKIA 31 of the local officials who were members of the Slovak People's Party in the elections of September 30, 1923. Once again the Socialists rose up in fury against Hlinka, but this time the Slovak people were thoroughly aroused so that on September 6, 1924, on the eve of Hlinka's 60th birthday, his party had become powerful enough to win respect from its violent opponents. Dr. Vavro i:;robar, one of Hlinka's most outspoken opponents, was forced to admit on October 28, of that year, that "the Slovak People's Party was a national party in which the spirit of nationalism was a rejuvenated and vigorous force." A final tally of 489,027 votes was garnered by the Slovak People's Party in the parliamentary elections of 1925. This strong vote made the party the most dominant Slovak party among the total of 29 political parties in Slovakia and Bohemia. Beginning in 1927, the tactics of the Slovak People's Party were changed in the hope that a coalition inside the government would bring about better results. But by October, 1929, after a series of failures, it became apparent its hope for success in obtaining just rights for the Slovak nation rested solely upon its own individual action. The decision to proceed on its course without any ties with the government in Prague met with an increase in membership at home and a series of successes followed under the new policy. From 1925 on, the Slovak People's Party succeeded in gaining at least 50 % of the votes in the parliamentary campaigns in Slovakia. It is a well known fact that Hlinka's political strength lay in the vote of the farmers, but he had a strong '.following among the workers, too, and his influence among educated young Slovaks increased steadily. Turbulent, indeed, were the meetings and political rallies that attracted five to ten thousand members of the Slovak People's Party in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in the 1920's. As overflow crowd of Slovaks came to Nitra in 1933 for the 11th centennial Pribina celebration. There more than 100,000 demonstrated that the people's choice was unquestionably Hlinka, and not the official government representatives flanked by hundreds of police and soldiers. �32 SLOVAKIA Piest'any in 1936 was the host city to an outpouring of 30,000 members of the Slovak People's Party for a conference, and on June 4 and 5, 1938, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pact, over a hundred thousand people came from all parts of Slovakia to Bratislava to welcome the American Slovak delegation that brought the original of the Pittsburgh Pact for the national celebration. The reading of the document was met with a resounding cheer of approval from the great crowd in the Slovak capital. Andrej Hlinka, on the basis of this historic document for the self-government or autonomy of Slovakia, expressed his unequivocal approval of the Pittsburgh Pact in the spirit of the American Slovaks who drew it up on the one side, and signed by Thomas G. Masaryk on the other, on May 30, 1918. There was no doubt that the absolute majority of American Slovaks were in favor of Hlinka's movement that was dedicated to win freedom for the Slovak nation, freedom in its self-government or autonomous state. At this time the first generation of Slovak immigrants controlled the Slovak organizations and periodicals in America. One can safely assume that the number of Hlinka's followers in America was at least 400,000. It was natural for the American Slovaks under the leadership of the Slovak League of America to work hand in hand with Hlinka. They were intensely proud of their creation of the Pittsburgh Pact which was the expression of their aspirations and the first step towards realizing the right of the Slovak nation to self-government. Slovak emigrants who returned to their native homeland from America were imbued with the American spirit of freedom and democracy. Not one of these opposed Hlinka. At least I never heard of such a person. On the contrary, they became his most ardent and loyal followers. Perhaps that is why even the internal structure of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party differed basically from all the other political parties inside Czecho-Slovakia. While the Czech political parties represented classes, various trades or occupations, etc., the Slovak People's Party and its associate, the Slovak National Party, success- �SLOVAKIA 33 fully recruited party members from all walks of life. Hence, is was truly representative of the entire Slovak nation. One of the blessings of the influence of the Slovak People's Party accrued to the Matica Slovenska ( Slovak Institute) in Turciansky Svaty Martin, which was able to get rid of all foreign elements in its administration. At the Slovak University in Bratislava, too, the growing power of the Slovak People's Party was felt as the positions of Czech professors became shaky. Slovak college and university students there became enthusiastic ( and sometimes radical J members of the Slovak People's Party in which they formed the nucleus of the most loyal followers of Hlinka and Razus. Hlinka's sincere attempt to cooperate with Czech Catholics ended in failure. He abandoned the idea and proceeded to concentrate on his own program that was vital to the interests of the Slovak nation. In the early 1930's the Slovak National Party under Razus joined Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. This was a solid bloc for Slovak autonomy established in agreement with the view of Dr. Tiso who declared that in Slovak politics a Slovak Lutheran was closer to a Slovak Catholic than a Czech Catholic. Autonomy was the primary and ultimate goal of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. True, however, it was but another small step from there to statehood.'In March, 1939, it would have been a crime, and as an aftermath, national suicide, to have acted otherwise than did the Slovak leaders who declared national independence and set up an independent Slovak Republic. The alternative was to let the Slovak nation become a victim of several alien protectorates, reduced to complete slavery under the complete control of no less than three different states. As a direct consequence of the heroic decision ( and fateful personally to many who were courageous and bold enough to make it for the welfare of the Slovak nation) the Slovak People's Party gave the Slovak nation a long list of national martyrs, headed by President Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka. But their brave action saved the Slovak nation from enslavement at the hands of several foreign powers. Before the end of the second World War the first to die because of their alliance with the heroic men who held �34 SLOVAKIA the Slovak rtation intact durin~ the entire worldwide conflict were two Slovak parliament members, namely, Frantisek Slamen and Fr. Anton salat. They died at the hahds of the apocalyptic forces of the East and their traitorous allies during the pro-Communist rebellion in the fall of 1944. Many more suffered and died for the self-same sacred cause of faith and freedom in the years that followed the so-called Soviet liberation of the country. Although the Slovak People's Party was completely liquidated after the second World War by the communist regime, the communists and their allies continued to blame all anti-state activities upon a party that no longer existed. Of course, the underlying reason was on both sides. What Karel Svetlik, a Czech commubist, declared Jn 1922 was applied in the postwar years because "We are a political party," Svetlik stated, "that is farthest removed from the people's party." Marly examples of Christian fortitude were g1ven in past decades atnong the ·ranks of the Slovak People's Party that 6ontributed much n'lbre than the mere Winning of votes or the victory of partisan politics. Hundreds suffered and died fdr their honest convictions at the hands of theit undemocratic foes. In the process of developing the Slovak nation to full maturity the final stages may be attributed largely to the efforts of the Slovak Peop!e's Party. As a matter of fact, the handful of communists would not have dared to ask for anything in the Kosice Agreement at the end of the second World War had not the Slovak People's Party in the Slovak Republic held the Slovak nation united during the war. To tell the truth, however, the agreement documented between the Slovak communists and the postwar government of Czecho-Slovakia was a long cry frotn the Pittsburgh Pact, but it at least basically recognized the existence or the Slovak nation! That essentially was the outcome of Hlinka's struggle and the result of the Slovak Republic, a final culmination of the internal conflicts between two World Wars. If in the free world today those who were on Iflinka's side as active participants, or merely sympathizers, discuss the Slovak problem as an international problem, they give voice to one of the first objectives of the reorganized Slovak �SLOVAKIA 35 People's Party in 1922. Its program opened with the following declaration: The Slovak problem c-zased being merely an internal problem of one state a long time ago. It has become actually a critical internati onal problem in our time. Whoever would defend his views with such a "reactionary" program could truly congratulate himself. It is time that we pay tribute to Andrej Hlinka for his vision and sacrifice in behalf of the Slovak nation and to Dr. Jozef Tiso who died for his resolute decision to bring the Slovak problem into the international sphere and before the world forum. The Slovak People's Party played an honorable role in the political life of the Slovak nation, and its place in history ranks high in the light of incontestable evidence that remains as a permanent record of achievement and an inspiration for all who seek great ideals and permanent values in Slovak politics of that era. SOURCES Jozef Pauco, Politicko-narodny program HS~S (The national political program of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party ), Brati,lava, 1944. Slovaci a komunizmus (Slovaks and Communism), Middletown, Pa., 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union), Cleveland, Ohio, 1955. Andrej Hlinka v Amerike (Andrej Hlinka in America), Kalendar J ednota, Middletown, Pa ., 1927. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (Andre w Hlinka), Bratislava, 1934 . . I recently found myself again reading the No. 47 issue of your annual Slovakia in an effort to gain more informational material on Slovak life and culture. Slovakia is the only really authoritative source for information on this region. It is useful in research, studies, teachin ~ and documentary and lecture preparation. I am most pleased to be able to receive Slovakia. Finally, I have had occasion to use Slovakia in lecturing to student3 and other interested groups on Slovak life and culture, and also in research. Several associates havl! read Slovakia issues of the past and they tell me they have gained new and interesting insights and knowledge into Slovakia's history, political development, the Slovak people and their customs, culture, and life. Earl J. Bornschein, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin � 28 SLOVAKIA 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party By Joseph Pa u co, Ph.D. Ferko Skycak, a prominent and able Slovak political leader before World War I, announced that he was dropping out of the Magyar Popular Party on December 5, 1905, and simultaneously called upon his Slovak colleagues to organize a new Slovak political party to serve the best interests of the Slovak nation. Immediate response to Skycak's proposal came from Andrej Hlinka, Ferdis Juriga, Frantisek Jehlicka, Jozef Kubina, Milan Hodza, Martin Kollar, Pavol Blaho and others. All supported and approved his political program. In 1906 the newly-formed Slovak People's Party (Slovenska l'udova strana) entered the political arena in Hungary and, despite bitter official government opposition, the Slovaks elected seven representatives to the Hungarian diet in Budapest. The political platform of the Slovak People's Party of 1906 consisted of the following points: 1) Cc,ndemnation of Communism and Socialism 2) Support of the issue for equal rights and a secret ballot 3) Demand for free assembly and the right to organize societies 4) Reduction of taxes 5) Laws to prevent economic road-blocks to industry in Slovakia 6) An increased number of schools an d a guarantee of positions and equitable salaries for qualified Slovak teachers 7) Subsidy for special commercial, trade and agricultural schools 8) Assurance to workers against capitalistic exploitation 9) Reduction of working-hours and an increase of wages �SLOVAKIA 29 Although limited by circumstances of time and place, the new Slovak political party activated the program and continued its activities. Andrej Hlinka, the chairman of the party from 1913, reorganized it on December 19, 1918, and announced the publication of the Slovak as the official party newspaper. Chief opposition to the party came from the Socialists who attacked Hlinka and his followers by charges that they all belonged to the Magyar-Jesuit camp. They stopped at nothing to destroy the Slovak People's Party. They instigated plots and violently broke up meetings of the party. The government insidiously collaborated with them by censoring the publication of the Slovak daily, by stopping delivery to subscribers, by police raids and confiscation of material for publication, and by secret instigation of riots to break up meetings and rallies of the Slovak People's Party. Mobs received help from the police and constabulary in dispersing meetings of the party throughout the country. Two of Hlinka's adherents were killed in the Rumanova riot and many were wounded elsewhere in riots instigated by the enemies of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party through the 1920's and early 1930's. Hlinka was seized by the police on October, 1919, and imprisoned because he had dared to attend the Paris peace conference (without government approval). This obviously was a subterfuge to cover up the government's plan to destroy his party by removing its stalwart champion. Precisely 17 days before the first national elections in the country (1920) a Socialist mob invaded Hlinka's 'Lev' printery in Ruzomberok and damaged the plant. In spite of all these attempts to destroy the Slovak party of the people led by Hlinka, the Slovak People's Party received 12 mandates in the general elections. After the elections Hlinka declared that he would work day and night until Slovakia became white instead of red, until Slovakia would be Slovak and Christian. On the whole, the temporary Socialist victory was due not only to the terroristic tactics employed but also to the fact that approximately 200,000 Czech soldiers voted the Socialist ticket in Slovakia! Leaders of the Slovak People's Party readily perceived, therefore, the danger of an anti- �30 SLOVAKIA Slovak movement in the Socialist program. Therefore, the representatives of the Slovak People's Party denounced the results of the vote as undemocratic and in no way representative of the will of the Slovak nation and its electorate. Nonetheless, the Socialists, intoxicated by their questionable triumph for the moment, proceeded to take steps for the complete subjugation of Slovakia. But their greatest tactical error was their personal vendetta against Hlinka and his associates. Accordingly, on May 1, 1920, a Socialist mob attacked Hlinka in Ruzomberok. Forewarned, Hlinka was protected by a strong bodyguard that warded off the attack on his life. Other violent clashes followed this dastardly attempt on the life of the great Slovak leader. In August, 1920, a Slovak party member was killed in Pruske; Hlinka was stoned in sastin on September 26 that same year, and on October 10, two of Hlinka's followers were murdered in Namestovo. From 1920 on, as Karol Sidor noted, the radical leftists of the Socialist party and its allies vowed to kill Hlinka at the first opportunity. Bloody incidents occurred repeatedly through the early 1920's. On March 25, 1921, one more Hlinka follower in Trnava paid with his life for his convictions. In Krupina on June 12, 1921, shooting occured in Hlinka's presence. Fortunately, no one was seriously wounded. A riot in Trencianske Teplice on July 4, 1921, was followed by an outbreak in Malacky on September 4, 1921, and on May 25, 1922, a mob broke into the editorial offices of the Slovak daily and destroyed everything. Government censorship and pressure were so powerful that Hlinka was forced to suspend the publication of the Slovak temporarily in 1923. Anti-Slovak elements on August 28, 1923, in Presov, and in Kosice on September 22 of that year attacked a Hlinka rally. Czech officials displayed their opposition and enmity to Hlinka openly, and criminal characters were planted in the front ranks of mobs incited to destroy Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. Another Hlinka follower was killed in Kosice during a demonstration. Such terroristic methods of the leftists against Hlinka, however, served to wake up the Slovak people who rallied behind their dynamic leader and succeeded in electing half �SLOVAKIA 31 of the local officials who were members of the Slovak People's Party in the elections of September 30, 1923. Once again the Socialists rose up in fury against Hlinka, but this time the Slovak people were thoroughly aroused so that on September 6, 1924, on the eve of Hlinka's 60th birthday, his party had become powerful enough to win respect from its violent opponents. Dr. Vavro i:;robar, one of Hlinka's most outspoken opponents, was forced to admit on October 28, of that year, that "the Slovak People's Party was a national party in which the spirit of nationalism was a rejuvenated and vigorous force." A final tally of 489,027 votes was garnered by the Slovak People's Party in the parliamentary elections of 1925. This strong vote made the party the most dominant Slovak party among the total of 29 political parties in Slovakia and Bohemia. Beginning in 1927, the tactics of the Slovak People's Party were changed in the hope that a coalition inside the government would bring about better results. But by October, 1929, after a series of failures, it became apparent its hope for success in obtaining just rights for the Slovak nation rested solely upon its own individual action. The decision to proceed on its course without any ties with the government in Prague met with an increase in membership at home and a series of successes followed under the new policy. From 1925 on, the Slovak People's Party succeeded in gaining at least 50 % of the votes in the parliamentary campaigns in Slovakia. It is a well known fact that Hlinka's political strength lay in the vote of the farmers, but he had a strong '.following among the workers, too, and his influence among educated young Slovaks increased steadily. Turbulent, indeed, were the meetings and political rallies that attracted five to ten thousand members of the Slovak People's Party in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in the 1920's. As overflow crowd of Slovaks came to Nitra in 1933 for the 11th centennial Pribina celebration. There more than 100,000 demonstrated that the people's choice was unquestionably Hlinka, and not the official government representatives flanked by hundreds of police and soldiers. �32 SLOVAKIA Piest'any in 1936 was the host city to an outpouring of 30,000 members of the Slovak People's Party for a conference, and on June 4 and 5, 1938, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pact, over a hundred thousand people came from all parts of Slovakia to Bratislava to welcome the American Slovak delegation that brought the original of the Pittsburgh Pact for the national celebration. The reading of the document was met with a resounding cheer of approval from the great crowd in the Slovak capital. Andrej Hlinka, on the basis of this historic document for the self-government or autonomy of Slovakia, expressed his unequivocal approval of the Pittsburgh Pact in the spirit of the American Slovaks who drew it up on the one side, and signed by Thomas G. Masaryk on the other, on May 30, 1918. There was no doubt that the absolute majority of American Slovaks were in favor of Hlinka's movement that was dedicated to win freedom for the Slovak nation, freedom in its self-government or autonomous state. At this time the first generation of Slovak immigrants controlled the Slovak organizations and periodicals in America. One can safely assume that the number of Hlinka's followers in America was at least 400,000. It was natural for the American Slovaks under the leadership of the Slovak League of America to work hand in hand with Hlinka. They were intensely proud of their creation of the Pittsburgh Pact which was the expression of their aspirations and the first step towards realizing the right of the Slovak nation to self-government. Slovak emigrants who returned to their native homeland from America were imbued with the American spirit of freedom and democracy. Not one of these opposed Hlinka. At least I never heard of such a person. On the contrary, they became his most ardent and loyal followers. Perhaps that is why even the internal structure of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party differed basically from all the other political parties inside Czecho-Slovakia. While the Czech political parties represented classes, various trades or occupations, etc., the Slovak People's Party and its associate, the Slovak National Party, success- �SLOVAKIA 33 fully recruited party members from all walks of life. Hence, is was truly representative of the entire Slovak nation. One of the blessings of the influence of the Slovak People's Party accrued to the Matica Slovenska ( Slovak Institute) in Turciansky Svaty Martin, which was able to get rid of all foreign elements in its administration. At the Slovak University in Bratislava, too, the growing power of the Slovak People's Party was felt as the positions of Czech professors became shaky. Slovak college and university students there became enthusiastic ( and sometimes radical J members of the Slovak People's Party in which they formed the nucleus of the most loyal followers of Hlinka and Razus. Hlinka's sincere attempt to cooperate with Czech Catholics ended in failure. He abandoned the idea and proceeded to concentrate on his own program that was vital to the interests of the Slovak nation. In the early 1930's the Slovak National Party under Razus joined Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. This was a solid bloc for Slovak autonomy established in agreement with the view of Dr. Tiso who declared that in Slovak politics a Slovak Lutheran was closer to a Slovak Catholic than a Czech Catholic. Autonomy was the primary and ultimate goal of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. True, however, it was but another small step from there to statehood.'In March, 1939, it would have been a crime, and as an aftermath, national suicide, to have acted otherwise than did the Slovak leaders who declared national independence and set up an independent Slovak Republic. The alternative was to let the Slovak nation become a victim of several alien protectorates, reduced to complete slavery under the complete control of no less than three different states. As a direct consequence of the heroic decision ( and fateful personally to many who were courageous and bold enough to make it for the welfare of the Slovak nation) the Slovak People's Party gave the Slovak nation a long list of national martyrs, headed by President Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka. But their brave action saved the Slovak nation from enslavement at the hands of several foreign powers. Before the end of the second World War the first to die because of their alliance with the heroic men who held �34 SLOVAKIA the Slovak rtation intact durin~ the entire worldwide conflict were two Slovak parliament members, namely, Frantisek Slamen and Fr. Anton salat. They died at the hahds of the apocalyptic forces of the East and their traitorous allies during the pro-Communist rebellion in the fall of 1944. Many more suffered and died for the self-same sacred cause of faith and freedom in the years that followed the so-called Soviet liberation of the country. Although the Slovak People's Party was completely liquidated after the second World War by the communist regime, the communists and their allies continued to blame all anti-state activities upon a party that no longer existed. Of course, the underlying reason was on both sides. What Karel Svetlik, a Czech commubist, declared Jn 1922 was applied in the postwar years because "We are a political party," Svetlik stated, "that is farthest removed from the people's party." Marly examples of Christian fortitude were g1ven in past decades atnong the ·ranks of the Slovak People's Party that 6ontributed much n'lbre than the mere Winning of votes or the victory of partisan politics. Hundreds suffered and died fdr their honest convictions at the hands of theit undemocratic foes. In the process of developing the Slovak nation to full maturity the final stages may be attributed largely to the efforts of the Slovak Peop!e's Party. As a matter of fact, the handful of communists would not have dared to ask for anything in the Kosice Agreement at the end of the second World War had not the Slovak People's Party in the Slovak Republic held the Slovak nation united during the war. To tell the truth, however, the agreement documented between the Slovak communists and the postwar government of Czecho-Slovakia was a long cry frotn the Pittsburgh Pact, but it at least basically recognized the existence or the Slovak nation! That essentially was the outcome of Hlinka's struggle and the result of the Slovak Republic, a final culmination of the internal conflicts between two World Wars. If in the free world today those who were on Iflinka's side as active participants, or merely sympathizers, discuss the Slovak problem as an international problem, they give voice to one of the first objectives of the reorganized Slovak �SLOVAKIA 35 People's Party in 1922. Its program opened with the following declaration: The Slovak problem c-zased being merely an internal problem of one state a long time ago. It has become actually a critical internati onal problem in our time. Whoever would defend his views with such a "reactionary" program could truly congratulate himself. It is time that we pay tribute to Andrej Hlinka for his vision and sacrifice in behalf of the Slovak nation and to Dr. Jozef Tiso who died for his resolute decision to bring the Slovak problem into the international sphere and before the world forum. The Slovak People's Party played an honorable role in the political life of the Slovak nation, and its place in history ranks high in the light of incontestable evidence that remains as a permanent record of achievement and an inspiration for all who seek great ideals and permanent values in Slovak politics of that era. SOURCES Jozef Pauco, Politicko-narodny program HS~S (The national political program of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party ), Brati,lava, 1944. Slovaci a komunizmus (Slovaks and Communism), Middletown, Pa., 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union), Cleveland, Ohio, 1955. Andrej Hlinka v Amerike (Andrej Hlinka in America), Kalendar J ednota, Middletown, Pa ., 1927. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (Andre w Hlinka), Bratislava, 1934 . . I recently found myself again reading the No. 47 issue of your annual Slovakia in an effort to gain more informational material on Slovak life and culture. Slovakia is the only really authoritative source for information on this region. It is useful in research, studies, teachin ~ and documentary and lecture preparation. I am most pleased to be able to receive Slovakia. Finally, I have had occasion to use Slovakia in lecturing to student3 and other interested groups on Slovak life and culture, and also in research. Several associates havl! read Slovakia issues of the past and they tell me they have gained new and interesting insights and knowledge into Slovakia's history, political development, the Slovak people and their customs, culture, and life. Earl J. Bornschein, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 28 SLOVAKIA 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party By Joseph Pa u co, Ph.D. Ferko Skycak, a prominent and able Slovak political leader before World War I, announced that he was dropping out of the Magyar Popular Party on December 5, 1905, and simultaneously called upon his Slovak colleagues to organize a new Slovak political party to serve the best interests of the Slovak nation. Immediate response to Skycak's proposal came from Andrej Hlinka, Ferdis Juriga, Frantisek Jehlicka, Jozef Kubina, Milan Hodza, Martin Kollar, Pavol Blaho and others. All supported and approved his political program. In 1906 the newly-formed Slovak People's Party (Slovenska l'udova strana) entered the political arena in Hungary and, despite bitter official government opposition, the Slovaks elected seven representatives to the Hungarian diet in Budapest. The political platform of the Slovak People's Party of 1906 consisted of the following points: 1) Cc,ndemnation of Communism and Socialism 2) Support of the issue for equal rights and a secret ballot 3) Demand for free assembly and the right to organize societies 4) Reduction of taxes 5) Laws to prevent economic road-blocks to industry in Slovakia 6) An increased number of schools an d a guarantee of positions and equitable salaries for qualified Slovak teachers 7) Subsidy for special commercial, trade and agricultural schools 8) Assurance to workers against capitalistic exploitation 9) Reduction of working-hours and an increase of wages SLOVAKIA 29 Although limited by circumstances of time and place, the new Slovak political party activated the program and continued its activities. Andrej Hlinka, the chairman of the party from 1913, reorganized it on December 19, 1918, and announced the publication of the Slovak as the official party newspaper. Chief opposition to the party came from the Socialists who attacked Hlinka and his followers by charges that they all belonged to the Magyar-Jesuit camp. They stopped at nothing to destroy the Slovak People's Party. They instigated plots and violently broke up meetings of the party. The government insidiously collaborated with them by censoring the publication of the Slovak daily, by stopping delivery to subscribers, by police raids and confiscation of material for publication, and by secret instigation of riots to break up meetings and rallies of the Slovak People's Party. Mobs received help from the police and constabulary in dispersing meetings of the party throughout the country. Two of Hlinka's adherents were killed in the Rumanova riot and many were wounded elsewhere in riots instigated by the enemies of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party through the 1920's and early 1930's. Hlinka was seized by the police on October, 1919, and imprisoned because he had dared to attend the Paris peace conference (without government approval). This obviously was a subterfuge to cover up the government's plan to destroy his party by removing its stalwart champion. Precisely 17 days before the first national elections in the country (1920) a Socialist mob invaded Hlinka's 'Lev' printery in Ruzomberok and damaged the plant. In spite of all these attempts to destroy the Slovak party of the people led by Hlinka, the Slovak People's Party received 12 mandates in the general elections. After the elections Hlinka declared that he would work day and night until Slovakia became white instead of red, until Slovakia would be Slovak and Christian. On the whole, the temporary Socialist victory was due not only to the terroristic tactics employed but also to the fact that approximately 200,000 Czech soldiers voted the Socialist ticket in Slovakia! Leaders of the Slovak People's Party readily perceived, therefore, the danger of an anti- 30 SLOVAKIA Slovak movement in the Socialist program. Therefore, the representatives of the Slovak People's Party denounced the results of the vote as undemocratic and in no way representative of the will of the Slovak nation and its electorate. Nonetheless, the Socialists, intoxicated by their questionable triumph for the moment, proceeded to take steps for the complete subjugation of Slovakia. But their greatest tactical error was their personal vendetta against Hlinka and his associates. Accordingly, on May 1, 1920, a Socialist mob attacked Hlinka in Ruzomberok. Forewarned, Hlinka was protected by a strong bodyguard that warded off the attack on his life. Other violent clashes followed this dastardly attempt on the life of the great Slovak leader. In August, 1920, a Slovak party member was killed in Pruske; Hlinka was stoned in sastin on September 26 that same year, and on October 10, two of Hlinka's followers were murdered in Namestovo. From 1920 on, as Karol Sidor noted, the radical leftists of the Socialist party and its allies vowed to kill Hlinka at the first opportunity. Bloody incidents occurred repeatedly through the early 1920's. On March 25, 1921, one more Hlinka follower in Trnava paid with his life for his convictions. In Krupina on June 12, 1921, shooting occured in Hlinka's presence. Fortunately, no one was seriously wounded. A riot in Trencianske Teplice on July 4, 1921, was followed by an outbreak in Malacky on September 4, 1921, and on May 25, 1922, a mob broke into the editorial offices of the Slovak daily and destroyed everything. Government censorship and pressure were so powerful that Hlinka was forced to suspend the publication of the Slovak temporarily in 1923. Anti-Slovak elements on August 28, 1923, in Presov, and in Kosice on September 22 of that year attacked a Hlinka rally. Czech officials displayed their opposition and enmity to Hlinka openly, and criminal characters were planted in the front ranks of mobs incited to destroy Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. Another Hlinka follower was killed in Kosice during a demonstration. Such terroristic methods of the leftists against Hlinka, however, served to wake up the Slovak people who rallied behind their dynamic leader and succeeded in electing half SLOVAKIA 31 of the local officials who were members of the Slovak People's Party in the elections of September 30, 1923. Once again the Socialists rose up in fury against Hlinka, but this time the Slovak people were thoroughly aroused so that on September 6, 1924, on the eve of Hlinka's 60th birthday, his party had become powerful enough to win respect from its violent opponents. Dr. Vavro i:;robar, one of Hlinka's most outspoken opponents, was forced to admit on October 28, of that year, that "the Slovak People's Party was a national party in which the spirit of nationalism was a rejuvenated and vigorous force." A final tally of 489,027 votes was garnered by the Slovak People's Party in the parliamentary elections of 1925. This strong vote made the party the most dominant Slovak party among the total of 29 political parties in Slovakia and Bohemia. Beginning in 1927, the tactics of the Slovak People's Party were changed in the hope that a coalition inside the government would bring about better results. But by October, 1929, after a series of failures, it became apparent its hope for success in obtaining just rights for the Slovak nation rested solely upon its own individual action. The decision to proceed on its course without any ties with the government in Prague met with an increase in membership at home and a series of successes followed under the new policy. From 1925 on, the Slovak People's Party succeeded in gaining at least 50 % of the votes in the parliamentary campaigns in Slovakia. It is a well known fact that Hlinka's political strength lay in the vote of the farmers, but he had a strong '.following among the workers, too, and his influence among educated young Slovaks increased steadily. Turbulent, indeed, were the meetings and political rallies that attracted five to ten thousand members of the Slovak People's Party in the first years of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in the 1920's. As overflow crowd of Slovaks came to Nitra in 1933 for the 11th centennial Pribina celebration. There more than 100,000 demonstrated that the people's choice was unquestionably Hlinka, and not the official government representatives flanked by hundreds of police and soldiers. 32 SLOVAKIA Piest'any in 1936 was the host city to an outpouring of 30,000 members of the Slovak People's Party for a conference, and on June 4 and 5, 1938, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pact, over a hundred thousand people came from all parts of Slovakia to Bratislava to welcome the American Slovak delegation that brought the original of the Pittsburgh Pact for the national celebration. The reading of the document was met with a resounding cheer of approval from the great crowd in the Slovak capital. Andrej Hlinka, on the basis of this historic document for the self-government or autonomy of Slovakia, expressed his unequivocal approval of the Pittsburgh Pact in the spirit of the American Slovaks who drew it up on the one side, and signed by Thomas G. Masaryk on the other, on May 30, 1918. There was no doubt that the absolute majority of American Slovaks were in favor of Hlinka's movement that was dedicated to win freedom for the Slovak nation, freedom in its self-government or autonomous state. At this time the first generation of Slovak immigrants controlled the Slovak organizations and periodicals in America. One can safely assume that the number of Hlinka's followers in America was at least 400,000. It was natural for the American Slovaks under the leadership of the Slovak League of America to work hand in hand with Hlinka. They were intensely proud of their creation of the Pittsburgh Pact which was the expression of their aspirations and the first step towards realizing the right of the Slovak nation to self-government. Slovak emigrants who returned to their native homeland from America were imbued with the American spirit of freedom and democracy. Not one of these opposed Hlinka. At least I never heard of such a person. On the contrary, they became his most ardent and loyal followers. Perhaps that is why even the internal structure of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party differed basically from all the other political parties inside Czecho-Slovakia. While the Czech political parties represented classes, various trades or occupations, etc., the Slovak People's Party and its associate, the Slovak National Party, success- SLOVAKIA 33 fully recruited party members from all walks of life. Hence, is was truly representative of the entire Slovak nation. One of the blessings of the influence of the Slovak People's Party accrued to the Matica Slovenska ( Slovak Institute) in Turciansky Svaty Martin, which was able to get rid of all foreign elements in its administration. At the Slovak University in Bratislava, too, the growing power of the Slovak People's Party was felt as the positions of Czech professors became shaky. Slovak college and university students there became enthusiastic ( and sometimes radical J members of the Slovak People's Party in which they formed the nucleus of the most loyal followers of Hlinka and Razus. Hlinka's sincere attempt to cooperate with Czech Catholics ended in failure. He abandoned the idea and proceeded to concentrate on his own program that was vital to the interests of the Slovak nation. In the early 1930's the Slovak National Party under Razus joined Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. This was a solid bloc for Slovak autonomy established in agreement with the view of Dr. Tiso who declared that in Slovak politics a Slovak Lutheran was closer to a Slovak Catholic than a Czech Catholic. Autonomy was the primary and ultimate goal of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. True, however, it was but another small step from there to statehood.'In March, 1939, it would have been a crime, and as an aftermath, national suicide, to have acted otherwise than did the Slovak leaders who declared national independence and set up an independent Slovak Republic. The alternative was to let the Slovak nation become a victim of several alien protectorates, reduced to complete slavery under the complete control of no less than three different states. As a direct consequence of the heroic decision ( and fateful personally to many who were courageous and bold enough to make it for the welfare of the Slovak nation) the Slovak People's Party gave the Slovak nation a long list of national martyrs, headed by President Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka. But their brave action saved the Slovak nation from enslavement at the hands of several foreign powers. Before the end of the second World War the first to die because of their alliance with the heroic men who held 34 SLOVAKIA the Slovak rtation intact durin~ the entire worldwide conflict were two Slovak parliament members, namely, Frantisek Slamen and Fr. Anton salat. They died at the hahds of the apocalyptic forces of the East and their traitorous allies during the pro-Communist rebellion in the fall of 1944. Many more suffered and died for the self-same sacred cause of faith and freedom in the years that followed the so-called Soviet liberation of the country. Although the Slovak People's Party was completely liquidated after the second World War by the communist regime, the communists and their allies continued to blame all anti-state activities upon a party that no longer existed. Of course, the underlying reason was on both sides. What Karel Svetlik, a Czech commubist, declared Jn 1922 was applied in the postwar years because "We are a political party," Svetlik stated, "that is farthest removed from the people's party." Marly examples of Christian fortitude were g1ven in past decades atnong the ·ranks of the Slovak People's Party that 6ontributed much n'lbre than the mere Winning of votes or the victory of partisan politics. Hundreds suffered and died fdr their honest convictions at the hands of theit undemocratic foes. In the process of developing the Slovak nation to full maturity the final stages may be attributed largely to the efforts of the Slovak Peop!e's Party. As a matter of fact, the handful of communists would not have dared to ask for anything in the Kosice Agreement at the end of the second World War had not the Slovak People's Party in the Slovak Republic held the Slovak nation united during the war. To tell the truth, however, the agreement documented between the Slovak communists and the postwar government of Czecho-Slovakia was a long cry frotn the Pittsburgh Pact, but it at least basically recognized the existence or the Slovak nation! That essentially was the outcome of Hlinka's struggle and the result of the Slovak Republic, a final culmination of the internal conflicts between two World Wars. If in the free world today those who were on Iflinka's side as active participants, or merely sympathizers, discuss the Slovak problem as an international problem, they give voice to one of the first objectives of the reorganized Slovak SLOVAKIA 35 People's Party in 1922. Its program opened with the following declaration: The Slovak problem c-zased being merely an internal problem of one state a long time ago. It has become actually a critical internati onal problem in our time. Whoever would defend his views with such a "reactionary" program could truly congratulate himself. It is time that we pay tribute to Andrej Hlinka for his vision and sacrifice in behalf of the Slovak nation and to Dr. Jozef Tiso who died for his resolute decision to bring the Slovak problem into the international sphere and before the world forum. The Slovak People's Party played an honorable role in the political life of the Slovak nation, and its place in history ranks high in the light of incontestable evidence that remains as a permanent record of achievement and an inspiration for all who seek great ideals and permanent values in Slovak politics of that era. SOURCES Jozef Pauco, Politicko-narodny program HS~S (The national political program of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party ), Brati,lava, 1944. Slovaci a komunizmus (Slovaks and Communism), Middletown, Pa., 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union), Cleveland, Ohio, 1955. Andrej Hlinka v Amerike (Andrej Hlinka in America), Kalendar J ednota, Middletown, Pa ., 1927. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (Andre w Hlinka), Bratislava, 1934 . . I recently found myself again reading the No. 47 issue of your annual Slovakia in an effort to gain more informational material on Slovak life and culture. Slovakia is the only really authoritative source for information on this region. It is useful in research, studies, teachin ~ and documentary and lecture preparation. I am most pleased to be able to receive Slovakia. Finally, I have had occasion to use Slovakia in lecturing to student3 and other interested groups on Slovak life and culture, and also in research. Several associates havl! read Slovakia issues of the past and they tell me they have gained new and interesting insights and knowledge into Slovakia's history, political development, the Slovak people and their customs, culture, and life. Earl J. Bornschein, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin  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 70th Anniversary of the Slovak People's Party Description An account of the resource Joseph Paučo, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 28-35 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 1975 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/82efa56c7bee59fa9fb4ec1ba55521d4.pdf 0007048043183d6c353791f1a5db6802 PDF Text Text 36 SLOVAKIA Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia After the shock of the Russian invasion of CzechoSlovakia on August 21, 1968, the first task of Moscow and its collaborators in that country was to "normalize" the situation. The term "normalization" in communist jargon meant the abrogation of all civil liberties gained during the Dubcek regime and the imposition of rigid control on public and private life of all citizens. After Alexander Dubcek fell in disgrace of Moscow, Gustav Eusak, his former right hand, used all available methods to get to the top of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia and to stay there with the blessing of Moscow. He did not hesitate to renege on all the principles of Dubcek's "Communism with human face". Under the supervision of Moscow's emissaries it did not take long before the country returned to the brutal Stalinist era of Antonin Novotny. The so-called "normalization" applies to all sections of life in Czecho-Slovakia, including religious life. Since 1969 the atheistic propaganda is steadily increasing in printed publications and in broadcasting. The teachers are pressed to spread anti-religious indoctrination on all levels of education, in all subject-matters taught in schools. It is permissible for the priests to teach religion in school buildings after the regular curriculum in grade schoolsone hour weekly for lower grades and one hour bi-weekly for upper grades. But it can be done only with a written petition of both parents who must come personally to the principal of the school. In such an interview, the principal, as a rule, tries to influence even to intimidate the parents. Children who have attended religious classes are not admitted to higher education and their parents are branded as unreliable to the Communist regime. Public servants are dissuaded from attending Masses and receiving the sacraments. �SLOVAKIA 37 Freedom of press, so much enjoyed during the short period of Dubcek regime, was again suppressed. The only Slovak Catholic weekly newspaper, Katolicke noviny ( Catholic News) is under strict Communist control. The editor of this newspaper since September 1973 is Rev. Francis Marko. The newspaper prints only selected religious news, and the readers of the paper are fed with Communist Party line editorials and articles. The same applies to the monthly priestly magazine Duchovny pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) under the editorship of Rev. Michal Krovina, and to the almanac Putnik svatovojtessky (Pilgrim of St. Vojtech), published annually. All these publications appear under the sponsorship of the Society of St. Vojtech. The Society of St. Vojtech played a unique role in the history of Slovak Catholics and of the Slovak nation. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Radlinsky in the time of great magyarization of the Slovak nation. By its large membership and publications this Society kept alive the faith in the souls of Slovak people and the hope for better future . From 1918 till 1945 it made a great progress in its scope and activity. The Society of St. Vojtech became the heart of the Slovak Catholic culture. The Communists after the take-over in 1948 put the Society under their control. They took away its printery and book bindery, discarded its membership and completely changed its structure and mission. Besides the three above mentioned regular publications they permitted to publish under the name of the Society of St. Vojtech some prayer and liturgical books and parish administration forms. The main purpose of the "nationalized" Society of St. Vojtech became the selling of liturgical and devotional objects and the distribution of Mass wine to all the parishes of Slovakia. Since 1948 the new Society of St. Vojtech was managed by an Executive Committee, headed by Rev. Alexander Horak, a well known pro-Communist priest. With the arrival of Dubcek thaw, this Executive Committee was replaced by two representatives from each diocese of Slovakia. Msgr. John Postenyi, administrative manager of the Society for several decades, was elected president of the Society of St. Vojtech. Under Postenyi's leadership the Society, during the short period of more favorable condi- �38 SLOVAKIA tions, published a series of much needed liturgical books and the whole new Slovak translation of the Bible. Msgr. Postenyi also began preparations for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Society to be held in 1970. But, meanwhile, the situation worsened again. Msgr. Postenyi was replaced by Rev. Alexander Horak as the president of the Society, and the principal centenary celebrations on September 24, 1970 were held in the pro-government spirit under the supervision of Communist big wheels. During the years 1968-1969, the new spirit came also to the Catholic seminary in Bratislava. So many candidates for the priesthood enrolled to the seminary that there was a serious talk about asking permission for opening another one in eastern Slovakia. The barriers in accepting seminarians were broken and in 1968-1969 more than a hundred candidates were accepted into the seminary. But here too the "normalization" took place. In later years many of these candidates for the priesthood were dismissed. And those who were ordained in 1973 and 1974, were sent to military service. The "numerus clausus" and strict selection of candidates were reinforced. Sixty newly ordained priests in one year seemed much too many for the communist supervisors of religious life. On the other hand, several priests who showed extraordinary zeal in performing their ministry, were deprived of state permission to perform parish work and were sent to non-priestly employment or were forced to retire. Some were sentenced to imprisonment on various pretexts. How could the religious situation worsen so rapidly after all the signs of hope in 1968? During the years 1950-1968 the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia was kept in firm grips by the Communist government with the help of priests-collaborators organized in the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". Priests of this organization closely cooperated with the Communist Agencies for Ecclesiastical Affairs and practically dominated the institutional Church in Czecho-Slovakia. Only priests active in this association had some measure of security and possibility of being promoted to higher positions in Church hierarchy, and thus getting higher state salaries. In the �SLOVAKIA 39 early sixties "The Peace Movement" h~d ample following among the priests, thougb. not all of them were collaborat~g with Communist governm~nt in equal degree. On March 21, 1968, in the general of anti-Stalinjst mood in all spheres of life, the pro-Communist "Peace MPVlement of the Catholic Clergy" was forced to disband. The :vriests loyal to the Church and unburdened by tJ'}e past organiied themselves in a new association called "The Task for the Council Renewal". They began the difficult work of correcting the evils of the precedent ·era, trymg to get rid of the strict control of thi Church by Communist agenctes and to purge the Church -administration from, t~ most compromised collaborators 'Yith the former regime. The most meritorious fruit of these efforts were the re,tqration of the Greek Catholic Diocese of Prespv, Slovakia, which has been forcibly made Orthodpx in April 1950. Whe~ in 1968 two collaborating vicars capitulars, namely Rev. John Dechet and Rev. Andrew Scheffer died, two $Olid priests were appointed by Slovak bishop 4mbrose Lazik, namely Rev. Joseph Ligos to take place of Scheffer as administrator of Spis Diocese and Rev. Francis Haspra as acuninistrator of Banska Bystrica Diocese. T~re were hope(ul signs of restoration of some monasteries and convents ~uppressed in 1950, as well as of establishing more normal COild,itions for religious life in general. But the Russian invasion of August 1968 shattered all premature hopes. New enslavement of the Church was the order of the day of the new post-Dubcek regime. Since Septeµib13r 1969, the government was set up to restore the status quo before 1968 in the Church-State relations. For this goal an organization of collaborating priest.5, similar to the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Cler~" was a~solutely necessary. It was pretty difficult to re-organize iji~ discredited priestly pro-Communist orga~ati9n of "Peace Movements". Finally, on August 31, 1971, the society was resurrected under the n&me of "The Fede~tion of the Catholic Clergy - Pacem ·in Terris". The same;old collaborators from the ranks of th~ clergy worked on the reyival of the ill-famed priestly "Peace Movement" and are now leading it, namely, Rev. Nicholas Visnovsky, Rev. Stephen Onderko, Rev. Alexan~er Horak �40 SLOVAKIA et al. They openly claim the continuity with the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". The new organization has the same structure, the same goals and means as the previous one. In close collaboration with State and Provincial agencies for the ecclesiastical affairs the members of this organization gradually took over the Society of St. Vojtech, the residual Catholic press, Catholic Charity, diocesan chanceries, the Cyrilo-Methodian Theological Faculty in Bratislava and whatever Catholic institutions still exist. They pretend to be spokesmen for the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia. After long discussions between the representative of the Holy See (Agostino Casaroli) and the Czecho-Slovak government four new bishops were appointed, three for Slovakia, and one for Moravia in March 1973. The leaders of the "Pacem in Terris" claim that they took part in these negotiations and that the new bishops were members of the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy" and two of them are active members of the "Pacem in Terris". They also claim that all newly appointed canons are active members of the new "Federation of the Catholic Clergy"; that members of this organization have preference in getting free board and room in spas and recreation centers reserved for priest.* It is quite shameful that the same discredited priests, who were swept away by the dawn of freedom during the Dubcek era, did not hesitate to get involved in collaborating with the atheistic Communism for the second time. If Catholic priests stood unified and not let their ranks infiltrate by collaborators, the Communist aims for enslaving the Church again would have been much more difficult. New set of priests, not burdened with the stained past, probably would have withstood the Communist pressure and preserved at least some measure of independence which the Church gained during the Dubcek era. Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M. *) Duchovni pastyr, 1974, pp. 30-32; Duchovny pastier, 1974, pp. 145-146. � 36 SLOVAKIA Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia After the shock of the Russian invasion of CzechoSlovakia on August 21, 1968, the first task of Moscow and its collaborators in that country was to "normalize" the situation. The term "normalization" in communist jargon meant the abrogation of all civil liberties gained during the Dubcek regime and the imposition of rigid control on public and private life of all citizens. After Alexander Dubcek fell in disgrace of Moscow, Gustav Eusak, his former right hand, used all available methods to get to the top of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia and to stay there with the blessing of Moscow. He did not hesitate to renege on all the principles of Dubcek's "Communism with human face". Under the supervision of Moscow's emissaries it did not take long before the country returned to the brutal Stalinist era of Antonin Novotny. The so-called "normalization" applies to all sections of life in Czecho-Slovakia, including religious life. Since 1969 the atheistic propaganda is steadily increasing in printed publications and in broadcasting. The teachers are pressed to spread anti-religious indoctrination on all levels of education, in all subject-matters taught in schools. It is permissible for the priests to teach religion in school buildings after the regular curriculum in grade schoolsone hour weekly for lower grades and one hour bi-weekly for upper grades. But it can be done only with a written petition of both parents who must come personally to the principal of the school. In such an interview, the principal, as a rule, tries to influence even to intimidate the parents. Children who have attended religious classes are not admitted to higher education and their parents are branded as unreliable to the Communist regime. Public servants are dissuaded from attending Masses and receiving the sacraments. �SLOVAKIA 37 Freedom of press, so much enjoyed during the short period of Dubcek regime, was again suppressed. The only Slovak Catholic weekly newspaper, Katolicke noviny ( Catholic News) is under strict Communist control. The editor of this newspaper since September 1973 is Rev. Francis Marko. The newspaper prints only selected religious news, and the readers of the paper are fed with Communist Party line editorials and articles. The same applies to the monthly priestly magazine Duchovny pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) under the editorship of Rev. Michal Krovina, and to the almanac Putnik svatovojtessky (Pilgrim of St. Vojtech), published annually. All these publications appear under the sponsorship of the Society of St. Vojtech. The Society of St. Vojtech played a unique role in the history of Slovak Catholics and of the Slovak nation. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Radlinsky in the time of great magyarization of the Slovak nation. By its large membership and publications this Society kept alive the faith in the souls of Slovak people and the hope for better future . From 1918 till 1945 it made a great progress in its scope and activity. The Society of St. Vojtech became the heart of the Slovak Catholic culture. The Communists after the take-over in 1948 put the Society under their control. They took away its printery and book bindery, discarded its membership and completely changed its structure and mission. Besides the three above mentioned regular publications they permitted to publish under the name of the Society of St. Vojtech some prayer and liturgical books and parish administration forms. The main purpose of the "nationalized" Society of St. Vojtech became the selling of liturgical and devotional objects and the distribution of Mass wine to all the parishes of Slovakia. Since 1948 the new Society of St. Vojtech was managed by an Executive Committee, headed by Rev. Alexander Horak, a well known pro-Communist priest. With the arrival of Dubcek thaw, this Executive Committee was replaced by two representatives from each diocese of Slovakia. Msgr. John Postenyi, administrative manager of the Society for several decades, was elected president of the Society of St. Vojtech. Under Postenyi's leadership the Society, during the short period of more favorable condi- �38 SLOVAKIA tions, published a series of much needed liturgical books and the whole new Slovak translation of the Bible. Msgr. Postenyi also began preparations for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Society to be held in 1970. But, meanwhile, the situation worsened again. Msgr. Postenyi was replaced by Rev. Alexander Horak as the president of the Society, and the principal centenary celebrations on September 24, 1970 were held in the pro-government spirit under the supervision of Communist big wheels. During the years 1968-1969, the new spirit came also to the Catholic seminary in Bratislava. So many candidates for the priesthood enrolled to the seminary that there was a serious talk about asking permission for opening another one in eastern Slovakia. The barriers in accepting seminarians were broken and in 1968-1969 more than a hundred candidates were accepted into the seminary. But here too the "normalization" took place. In later years many of these candidates for the priesthood were dismissed. And those who were ordained in 1973 and 1974, were sent to military service. The "numerus clausus" and strict selection of candidates were reinforced. Sixty newly ordained priests in one year seemed much too many for the communist supervisors of religious life. On the other hand, several priests who showed extraordinary zeal in performing their ministry, were deprived of state permission to perform parish work and were sent to non-priestly employment or were forced to retire. Some were sentenced to imprisonment on various pretexts. How could the religious situation worsen so rapidly after all the signs of hope in 1968? During the years 1950-1968 the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia was kept in firm grips by the Communist government with the help of priests-collaborators organized in the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". Priests of this organization closely cooperated with the Communist Agencies for Ecclesiastical Affairs and practically dominated the institutional Church in Czecho-Slovakia. Only priests active in this association had some measure of security and possibility of being promoted to higher positions in Church hierarchy, and thus getting higher state salaries. In the �SLOVAKIA 39 early sixties "The Peace Movement" h~d ample following among the priests, thougb. not all of them were collaborat~g with Communist governm~nt in equal degree. On March 21, 1968, in the general of anti-Stalinjst mood in all spheres of life, the pro-Communist "Peace MPVlement of the Catholic Clergy" was forced to disband. The :vriests loyal to the Church and unburdened by tJ'}e past organiied themselves in a new association called "The Task for the Council Renewal". They began the difficult work of correcting the evils of the precedent ·era, trymg to get rid of the strict control of thi Church by Communist agenctes and to purge the Church -administration from, t~ most compromised collaborators 'Yith the former regime. The most meritorious fruit of these efforts were the re,tqration of the Greek Catholic Diocese of Prespv, Slovakia, which has been forcibly made Orthodpx in April 1950. Whe~ in 1968 two collaborating vicars capitulars, namely Rev. John Dechet and Rev. Andrew Scheffer died, two $Olid priests were appointed by Slovak bishop 4mbrose Lazik, namely Rev. Joseph Ligos to take place of Scheffer as administrator of Spis Diocese and Rev. Francis Haspra as acuninistrator of Banska Bystrica Diocese. T~re were hope(ul signs of restoration of some monasteries and convents ~uppressed in 1950, as well as of establishing more normal COild,itions for religious life in general. But the Russian invasion of August 1968 shattered all premature hopes. New enslavement of the Church was the order of the day of the new post-Dubcek regime. Since Septeµib13r 1969, the government was set up to restore the status quo before 1968 in the Church-State relations. For this goal an organization of collaborating priest.5, similar to the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Cler~" was a~solutely necessary. It was pretty difficult to re-organize iji~ discredited priestly pro-Communist orga~ati9n of "Peace Movements". Finally, on August 31, 1971, the society was resurrected under the n&me of "The Fede~tion of the Catholic Clergy - Pacem ·in Terris". The same;old collaborators from the ranks of th~ clergy worked on the reyival of the ill-famed priestly "Peace Movement" and are now leading it, namely, Rev. Nicholas Visnovsky, Rev. Stephen Onderko, Rev. Alexan~er Horak �40 SLOVAKIA et al. They openly claim the continuity with the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". The new organization has the same structure, the same goals and means as the previous one. In close collaboration with State and Provincial agencies for the ecclesiastical affairs the members of this organization gradually took over the Society of St. Vojtech, the residual Catholic press, Catholic Charity, diocesan chanceries, the Cyrilo-Methodian Theological Faculty in Bratislava and whatever Catholic institutions still exist. They pretend to be spokesmen for the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia. After long discussions between the representative of the Holy See (Agostino Casaroli) and the Czecho-Slovak government four new bishops were appointed, three for Slovakia, and one for Moravia in March 1973. The leaders of the "Pacem in Terris" claim that they took part in these negotiations and that the new bishops were members of the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy" and two of them are active members of the "Pacem in Terris". They also claim that all newly appointed canons are active members of the new "Federation of the Catholic Clergy"; that members of this organization have preference in getting free board and room in spas and recreation centers reserved for priest.* It is quite shameful that the same discredited priests, who were swept away by the dawn of freedom during the Dubcek era, did not hesitate to get involved in collaborating with the atheistic Communism for the second time. If Catholic priests stood unified and not let their ranks infiltrate by collaborators, the Communist aims for enslaving the Church again would have been much more difficult. New set of priests, not burdened with the stained past, probably would have withstood the Communist pressure and preserved at least some measure of independence which the Church gained during the Dubcek era. Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M. *) Duchovni pastyr, 1974, pp. 30-32; Duchovny pastier, 1974, pp. 145-146. � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 36 SLOVAKIA Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia After the shock of the Russian invasion of CzechoSlovakia on August 21, 1968, the first task of Moscow and its collaborators in that country was to "normalize" the situation. The term "normalization" in communist jargon meant the abrogation of all civil liberties gained during the Dubcek regime and the imposition of rigid control on public and private life of all citizens. After Alexander Dubcek fell in disgrace of Moscow, Gustav Eusak, his former right hand, used all available methods to get to the top of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia and to stay there with the blessing of Moscow. He did not hesitate to renege on all the principles of Dubcek's "Communism with human face". Under the supervision of Moscow's emissaries it did not take long before the country returned to the brutal Stalinist era of Antonin Novotny. The so-called "normalization" applies to all sections of life in Czecho-Slovakia, including religious life. Since 1969 the atheistic propaganda is steadily increasing in printed publications and in broadcasting. The teachers are pressed to spread anti-religious indoctrination on all levels of education, in all subject-matters taught in schools. It is permissible for the priests to teach religion in school buildings after the regular curriculum in grade schoolsone hour weekly for lower grades and one hour bi-weekly for upper grades. But it can be done only with a written petition of both parents who must come personally to the principal of the school. In such an interview, the principal, as a rule, tries to influence even to intimidate the parents. Children who have attended religious classes are not admitted to higher education and their parents are branded as unreliable to the Communist regime. Public servants are dissuaded from attending Masses and receiving the sacraments. SLOVAKIA 37 Freedom of press, so much enjoyed during the short period of Dubcek regime, was again suppressed. The only Slovak Catholic weekly newspaper, Katolicke noviny ( Catholic News) is under strict Communist control. The editor of this newspaper since September 1973 is Rev. Francis Marko. The newspaper prints only selected religious news, and the readers of the paper are fed with Communist Party line editorials and articles. The same applies to the monthly priestly magazine Duchovny pastier (Spiritual Shepherd) under the editorship of Rev. Michal Krovina, and to the almanac Putnik svatovojtessky (Pilgrim of St. Vojtech), published annually. All these publications appear under the sponsorship of the Society of St. Vojtech. The Society of St. Vojtech played a unique role in the history of Slovak Catholics and of the Slovak nation. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Radlinsky in the time of great magyarization of the Slovak nation. By its large membership and publications this Society kept alive the faith in the souls of Slovak people and the hope for better future . From 1918 till 1945 it made a great progress in its scope and activity. The Society of St. Vojtech became the heart of the Slovak Catholic culture. The Communists after the take-over in 1948 put the Society under their control. They took away its printery and book bindery, discarded its membership and completely changed its structure and mission. Besides the three above mentioned regular publications they permitted to publish under the name of the Society of St. Vojtech some prayer and liturgical books and parish administration forms. The main purpose of the "nationalized" Society of St. Vojtech became the selling of liturgical and devotional objects and the distribution of Mass wine to all the parishes of Slovakia. Since 1948 the new Society of St. Vojtech was managed by an Executive Committee, headed by Rev. Alexander Horak, a well known pro-Communist priest. With the arrival of Dubcek thaw, this Executive Committee was replaced by two representatives from each diocese of Slovakia. Msgr. John Postenyi, administrative manager of the Society for several decades, was elected president of the Society of St. Vojtech. Under Postenyi's leadership the Society, during the short period of more favorable condi- 38 SLOVAKIA tions, published a series of much needed liturgical books and the whole new Slovak translation of the Bible. Msgr. Postenyi also began preparations for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Society to be held in 1970. But, meanwhile, the situation worsened again. Msgr. Postenyi was replaced by Rev. Alexander Horak as the president of the Society, and the principal centenary celebrations on September 24, 1970 were held in the pro-government spirit under the supervision of Communist big wheels. During the years 1968-1969, the new spirit came also to the Catholic seminary in Bratislava. So many candidates for the priesthood enrolled to the seminary that there was a serious talk about asking permission for opening another one in eastern Slovakia. The barriers in accepting seminarians were broken and in 1968-1969 more than a hundred candidates were accepted into the seminary. But here too the "normalization" took place. In later years many of these candidates for the priesthood were dismissed. And those who were ordained in 1973 and 1974, were sent to military service. The "numerus clausus" and strict selection of candidates were reinforced. Sixty newly ordained priests in one year seemed much too many for the communist supervisors of religious life. On the other hand, several priests who showed extraordinary zeal in performing their ministry, were deprived of state permission to perform parish work and were sent to non-priestly employment or were forced to retire. Some were sentenced to imprisonment on various pretexts. How could the religious situation worsen so rapidly after all the signs of hope in 1968? During the years 1950-1968 the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia was kept in firm grips by the Communist government with the help of priests-collaborators organized in the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". Priests of this organization closely cooperated with the Communist Agencies for Ecclesiastical Affairs and practically dominated the institutional Church in Czecho-Slovakia. Only priests active in this association had some measure of security and possibility of being promoted to higher positions in Church hierarchy, and thus getting higher state salaries. In the SLOVAKIA 39 early sixties "The Peace Movement" h~d ample following among the priests, thougb. not all of them were collaborat~g with Communist governm~nt in equal degree. On March 21, 1968, in the general of anti-Stalinjst mood in all spheres of life, the pro-Communist "Peace MPVlement of the Catholic Clergy" was forced to disband. The :vriests loyal to the Church and unburdened by tJ'}e past organiied themselves in a new association called "The Task for the Council Renewal". They began the difficult work of correcting the evils of the precedent ·era, trymg to get rid of the strict control of thi Church by Communist agenctes and to purge the Church -administration from, t~ most compromised collaborators 'Yith the former regime. The most meritorious fruit of these efforts were the re,tqration of the Greek Catholic Diocese of Prespv, Slovakia, which has been forcibly made Orthodpx in April 1950. Whe~ in 1968 two collaborating vicars capitulars, namely Rev. John Dechet and Rev. Andrew Scheffer died, two $Olid priests were appointed by Slovak bishop 4mbrose Lazik, namely Rev. Joseph Ligos to take place of Scheffer as administrator of Spis Diocese and Rev. Francis Haspra as acuninistrator of Banska Bystrica Diocese. T~re were hope(ul signs of restoration of some monasteries and convents ~uppressed in 1950, as well as of establishing more normal COild,itions for religious life in general. But the Russian invasion of August 1968 shattered all premature hopes. New enslavement of the Church was the order of the day of the new post-Dubcek regime. Since Septeµib13r 1969, the government was set up to restore the status quo before 1968 in the Church-State relations. For this goal an organization of collaborating priest.5, similar to the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Cler~" was a~solutely necessary. It was pretty difficult to re-organize iji~ discredited priestly pro-Communist orga~ati9n of "Peace Movements". Finally, on August 31, 1971, the society was resurrected under the n&me of "The Fede~tion of the Catholic Clergy - Pacem ·in Terris". The same;old collaborators from the ranks of th~ clergy worked on the reyival of the ill-famed priestly "Peace Movement" and are now leading it, namely, Rev. Nicholas Visnovsky, Rev. Stephen Onderko, Rev. Alexan~er Horak 40 SLOVAKIA et al. They openly claim the continuity with the defunct "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy". The new organization has the same structure, the same goals and means as the previous one. In close collaboration with State and Provincial agencies for the ecclesiastical affairs the members of this organization gradually took over the Society of St. Vojtech, the residual Catholic press, Catholic Charity, diocesan chanceries, the Cyrilo-Methodian Theological Faculty in Bratislava and whatever Catholic institutions still exist. They pretend to be spokesmen for the Catholic Church in Czecho-Slovakia. After long discussions between the representative of the Holy See (Agostino Casaroli) and the Czecho-Slovak government four new bishops were appointed, three for Slovakia, and one for Moravia in March 1973. The leaders of the "Pacem in Terris" claim that they took part in these negotiations and that the new bishops were members of the "Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy" and two of them are active members of the "Pacem in Terris". They also claim that all newly appointed canons are active members of the new "Federation of the Catholic Clergy"; that members of this organization have preference in getting free board and room in spas and recreation centers reserved for priest.* It is quite shameful that the same discredited priests, who were swept away by the dawn of freedom during the Dubcek era, did not hesitate to get involved in collaborating with the atheistic Communism for the second time. If Catholic priests stood unified and not let their ranks infiltrate by collaborators, the Communist aims for enslaving the Church again would have been much more difficult. New set of priests, not burdened with the stained past, probably would have withstood the Communist pressure and preserved at least some measure of independence which the Church gained during the Dubcek era. Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M. *) Duchovni pastyr, 1974, pp. 30-32; Duchovny pastier, 1974, pp. 145-146.  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 Dark Hours of the Church in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Theodoric J. Zúbek, O.F.M. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 36-40 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zúbek, Teodorik J., 1914-1988 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8432117ce31dcf25dea601b1d8b24549.pdf eec6c6389871a17e6c1eba125bbfabaf PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 41 Good Slovak Republic By Konstantin cul en It was March 14, 1945. I was scheduled to be the main speaker in a certain Slovak city which was known chiefly for the strange fact that people disliked to go there for celebrations and lectures. The population consisted generally of teachers, professors, students and officials. In short, they lived there because they had to. To my great surprise, the auditorium was filled to capacity ten minutes before the program was slated to start. This was unusual because the town had the reputation of starting all of its programs late in order to give stragglers time to come and give the speaker some encouragement in a sparsely filled hall. On this occasion, however, many had to be turned away but they waited outside during the entire program. After the program I asked what had brought such a great crowd to the affair. A small landowner explained it this way: "We all feel that our enemies are about to destroy our Slovak Republic. Now we realize more than ever before what we shall lose. I tell you never was the idea of the Slovak Republic as strong as at this very moment, and it will be even stronger when we don't have it any more. But we shall revive it again ... at the very first opportunity, mind my words," he concluded. In later years I often recalled what this genuine Slovak patriot had said. Many agreed with him wholeheartedly then, and many still do today. I am fully aware of this, for the idea is very much alive today and stronger, too, for in the passing years people have witnessed the contrast between what was and what is the situation in our time. Czech politicians, alone, like to think that the Slovak Republic vanished forever. They are convinced that "the Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only plausible solution and way of life for the Slovak nation." The newspapermen spread this propaganda. They ignore the obvious fact that for six years the Slovaks proved this thesis wrong ... the reality of the Slovak Republic is proof positive of the �42 SLOVAKIA self-reliance of the Slovak nation. The Czech people do not accept this view. If their political leaders do not see the writing on the wall let them live with their illusions. Is there a nation in the whole wide world which has surrendered its right for a self-governing state, especially after demonstrating, as did the Slovak nation, that it can govern itself successfully? We know of no such nation. Nations have lost their self-governing states but always by force, by defeat, by treason, but never by a voluntary surrender of their natural right to govern themselves. Well, the Czechs always did consider us to be inferior ... no wonder they have such a low opinion of us anyway. "The Slovaks have gloriously given up their inglorious past," a Czech newspaper gloated. "Still, though they have given up their Slovak state, they repeatedly sigh how good they had it under Tiso," the same article noted. ( Cas, November 17, 1946) If someone voluntarily and gloriously gives up something, he will not want it back. I am not alone in this opinion. The general secretary of the Socialist-Democratic Party declared in parliament: "In Slovakia there are forces to preserve an independent Slovakia inside the framework of Czecho-Slovakia. It is imperative for the Slovaks to realize that the patience of Czech public opinion has its limits." (Slaboda, December 19, 1946). Too bad the above mentioned speaker did not venture to predict what would happen the moment those limits of Czech patience were reached. It would be interesting to see if war would follow ... or would the Czechs declare their independence? When we consider this Czech spokesman had in mind the Slovak Democratic Party ( which had 62 % of the votes and the Slovak Freedom Party 4 %, this adds up to 66 % of the Slovak people) that favored, as he rightfully suspected, a Slovak state. Another Czech observer who studied the situation in Slovakia after the Slovaks reportedly 'gave up their right to self-government' declared: "The average Czech considers the existence of the �SLOVAKIA 43 Czecho-Slovak Republic as self-evident. He talks Czech but feels like a Czechoslovak, thinks like a Czechoslovak and on state occasions flies the Czechoslovak Flag. It is different in Slovakia, however. "This is quite obvious as one approaches Bratislava by train. The first tobacco store he sees from the window displays a Slovak emblem. At the railroad station the Slovak Flag is displayed side by side with the Czechoslovak banner . . . and when the national court is in session the Slovak Flag waves proudly above the bulding. The internal dissension, though not so apparent, is perhaps more or less intense. Sensitiveness in the linguistic sphere, constant vigilance and an air of mistrust, in fact, an atmosphere of expectation, reserve and expediency seems to be everywhere. Actually there are people who find it distasteful to utter the word, 'Czecho-Slovakia'." (Engineer Teyssler, Svobodny zitfek, October 17, 1946). What does all this signify? Simply that the Slovak nation awaits the opportunity of declaring its freedom. It has not renounced its national destiny. Many others observe the same thing and there are plenty of signs to confirm this view. Today's situation the Slovak nation regards as a temporary one, one that was forced upon it. To be forced into a state against its will when it is powerless, at the moment, to resist does not mean the Slovak nation has surrendered its natural right to self-government in its own national state. Archbishop Charles Kmet'ko publicly expressed his conviction under oath on the subject of President Tiso's politics: To Dr. sujan's question: "What did the Slovak state give the Slovak nation, morally or otherwise?" The reply by the highest ecclesiastic-Ordinary in Slovakia was spontaneous: "First of all," he said, "what Hlinka affirmed is an internationally acknowledged principle. Can anyone imagine a nation that does not want self-government? Is it possible that a poor man never dreams of owning his own home some day? Obviously, there is no such nation or person that does not want to be independent and to be master of his own household." �44 SLOVAKIA sujan interposed: "But that independence was dependence!" Kmet'ko: "Nonetheless, it was ten times better than a protectorate," the archbishop responded. sujan: "You denounced the direction of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party at the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic because you foresaw an unhappy outcome. How could you abandon so many of your better principles in relationship to the Czecho-Slovak Republic after Munich?" Kmet'ko: "The Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only form in which the Slovak nation can live peaceably and progressively. Yet, if, theoretically, we could have a self-governing Slovak state, we could be independent. I say, if it is possible, we are for it. If impossible, we are for the Czecho-Slovak Republic." (Katolicke noviny, March 2, 1947). If the Czechs were convinced that the Slovak state is theoretically and practically impossible, then they could have used Kmet'ko's arguments as favorable propaganda. But actually they believe that an independent Slovakia is a possibility, not only theoretically but practically because they witnessed its realization. No wonder this statement caused a furore. Benes himself retorted: "This means that if the situation warranted a change the Slovaks tomorrow or the day after tomorrow would be for it. I will never accept this argument. I refuse to consider it in principle. I want a simple solution, clear-cut and definitive. Both of us must speak plainly: yes, yes, no, no!" (March 13, 1947). The Slovaks must speak out, Benes says, but first and last on his terms. In other words, they must agree with him, whether they feel that way or not. Since he spoke so vociferously in this tone, he knew that Slovak public opinion opposed his views. That is why he categorically announced he rejected Kmet'ko's opinion. What virtually is Benes's attitude towards the Slovak nation? By what right has a foreigner the power to direct the destiny of our ·nation to its own detriment? Benes has the right to dictate to us what policy we should follow and what views we are to have? Then any Hungarian. Russian. �SLOVAKIA 45 Polish or Austrian ruler has that right, too, for these are our neighbors ... a logical deduction from Benes' line of reasoning. Archbishop Kmet'ko was not Hlinka's follower. Certainly, he was not against Czecho-Slovakia, as such, because he believed as many of us believed, too, that this was the only way for our existence at the time. But he became more and more convinced in time that he was wrong, and that is why he proclaimed his belief in national independence as a better solution. The spirit of the Slovak Republic proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Slovak nation is vitally strong enough to sustain a self-governing state. The idea is very much alive and will once again give life to a new, revived free Slovakia in the future. This is inevitably the final solution to the aspirations of a freedom-loving Slovak people. A loyal citizen and patriot must support the best solution for his country, not foreign interests that are detrimental to its national interest. Benes in this struggle represents alien Czech interests, Kmet'ko and Tiso are representatives of the Slovak nation whose interests they defend as leaders of their people who are in full agreement with them. Schmidtke, a communist, once said: "There are people who find it difficult to renounce their sympathy for the fascist Slovak state." (Pravda, September 6, 1946). In short, it seems to us that 'the glorious renunciation of the Slovak Republic' is such that neither the Czechs, nor the communists, believe this, on the contrary, at every turn they discover a clear-cut expression of the desire for restoration of the Slovak Republic, and the desire for its renewal is manifested in word and deed on every side. A government, however, that gives its people a larger loaf of bread, that invests just taxes in its own development, that gives priority to the native language of its people and places it where it rightfully belongs, that builds roads, railways, hospitals, schools, etc., etc., and that emanates from the nation and rules the nation for its best interests, is a good government. Such a government the nation does not renounce. �46 SLOVAKIA On the other hand, a nation gives up on a government that takes away the best part of an honestly-earned loaf of bread, that deprives it of using its own language, that attempts to rob it of its nationality, that does not recognize its national identity. Such a government is not good and a nation gladly renounces it. What government ruled Slovakia in the first and second instance? It is needless to respond to this question, for we have many authentic reports from contemporary ministers and representatives how inept were the various administrations in the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Further, it is well to cite testimony of fereigners, not at all friendly to us, about how good the Slovak Republic really was. One could publish a book filled with their favorable quotations and observations. Perhaps ihe following statement will suffice to indicate what others thought of the Slovak Republic: 1) "The average, simple and intelligent Slovak lived in an oasis for six years of prosperity in a free Slovak state under the leadership of Tiso. "It is true, as we often repeated, that the Slovaks had it good during wartime, not so much because of German kindness but because of their own native skill. In Slovakia there are still signs of this so-called 'German goodness' in contrast to Czech lands." (Osvobozeny nasinec, December 1, 1946). 2) "Slovakia among the small European nations up to the autumn of 1944 remained unaffected directly by the war. Relative security, prosperity brought on, for this or that reason, the growth of national culture and art, national self-consciousness and other circumstances seemed to indicate that the Slovak Republic would not become involved actively in the war at all." (Obzory, E. Komorovsky: Slovensko vcera a dnes-Slovakia yesterday and today, 1946). 3) "Six years during World War II for the Czechs were cruel and retrogressive, for the Slovaks up to 1944 they were economically and socially successful, internationally and politically, however, problematical. During this time Czech industry, although partially dislocated and paralyzed, due to air bombardments, managed to survive and in some instances made progress. �SLOVAKIA 47 "Meanwhile, the Slovaks for fully five years progressed immensely on all fronts ... they had the great advantage of ruling themselves, which we did not have ... they not only caught up to us, but even forged ahead." (Obzory, 1946, page 815: My narod ceskoslovensky). 4) "Slovakia in wartime enjoyed prosperity and relatively great freedom. It was, as a matter of fact, a showcase state which the German used for propaganda purposes to show how they treated a good obedient child." (Obzory, 1945, page 262). 5) Dr. Vavro srobar said: "During the war Slovakia had the best situation on the continent. There were no executions, no concentration camps. There was plenty of bread, food, potatoes. Anyone could purchase a goose, or pork, and any kind of meat was available at relatively cheap prices." (Eudovy dennik, July 19, 1945). 6) "We do not deny, either the upli~t of religious life or the growth of spiritual and civilizing influence in the country. Under favorable conditions Slovakia was completely free on the religious side." Osvobozeny nasinec). 7) "Even after the breakthrough on the fighting-front the amount of goods was greater in Slovakia than on January 1, 1939." (Dr. Matura v Zat'kovom procese. Ndrodna obrbda, September 12, 1946). 8) "Frequently in studying conditions in Slovakia one concludes that the average citizen did not have it bad at all, in fact, he was not bad off during the entire war." (Cas, December 18, 1946). 9) "Economically, Slovakia was in very good shape. Government officials admit this and write about it openly. There were no exceptions, everyone was well off, whether he was a worker, an official or farmer. While the Germans exploited the Czechs, our government officials cleverly arranged to give the Germans a minimum of their national output." (Kanadsky Slovak. A letter from Kosice, August 6, 1946). Unaoubtedly, these few quotations from various sources indicate that the Slovak Republic was not bad at all. Fereign �48 SLOVAKIA newspapers, such as the London T i mes, wrote in the same vein. In wartime Benes propaganda sought to convince the Slovaks of their 'bad plight.' After war Czechs had this to say: "The years of the independent Slovak state were marked by rapidly increasing prosperity with the result of a high standard of living. This changed considerably after the war. "It was a period of building, progress and communication, and relative internal freedom, though not definitely democratic, yet it was free of any so-called fascist terror, particularly in the Hitlerian sense of the word. "While Czech schools were closed, the Slovak university received hundreds of highly qualified and intelligent students year after year. These can now be employed in various positions. Cultural life reached a new high level. "All this was not the work of the ruling regime-it was a national evolution of a people who seized the opportunity to get ahead. Slovak youth, according to personal testimony, was determined to advance at all costs. Slovak autonomists do not consider themselves to be discredited but rather exonerated for their policies by the events of their time ... which proved them to be right in pursuing those policies." (Obzory, "cesi a Slovaci", 1946, p. 774). So these were the so-called 'crimes' of the Slovak Republic! Obviously, a Czech, admitting the facts, must try in every way, however, to discredit the regime of the Slovak Republic. For him, it is only true that it was a natural evolution impelled by a new opportunity. But a people enjoys such an opportunity only in its own state. It is not a crime to seek such an opportunity ... it is only a natural evolution. Furthermore, that the Slovaks themselves might have some merit for their own economic well-being as a consequence of their wise and judicious politics a Czech finds it difficult to admit. On their side of the ledger, while the Czechs reluctantly admit they made mistakes, they claim these were not malicious. Well, was it not malicious to dismantle Slovak factories? This 'mistake' they attribute not to their government but to the "zivnobanka" administration. �SLOVAKIA 49 At present, finally when all the facts are in and when any objective-minded person must admit that conditions in Slovakia during the war were ideal, we are continually hearing from various quarters that the situation was unnatural, unchristian and immoral, completely wrong from every angle, because conditions were bad everywhere, and that must include Slovakia, it could not have been an exception, and so Czechs generally try to debunk the government of the Slovak Republic. Dr. Kozeluhova (a Czech) after lauding wartime conditions in Slovakia concludes : "Since in Slovakia much of the national wealth was in the forests, lumber exports were greatly excessive. Actually, we have to note that it will be a long, long time before the exorbitant cutting-down of trees will be replaced by new growth. Although the Germans did not impoverish the Slovaks by demands for food, there was prosperity, but future generations will have to suffer. It is clear that after years of abundance the postwar consequences would result in many lean years." (Obzory, 1945, p. 263). She was not alone in this view, for another Czech, Engineer J. Rotnagel expressed the same opinion in his book, cesi a Slovdci ( Czechs and Slovaks): "And the Slovaks? Let no one be deceived by the claim of a sounder and better financial status and higher living standards in Slovakia in contrast to Czech lands. The so-called prosperity was brought on by undue exploitation of the country's natural resources, particularly by the harvesting of the luxuriant Slovak forests by the Slovak: government." (page 275). What he is trying to say is that prosperity in Slovakia was at the expense of future generations. The Czechs talk about the exploitation of Slovak forests just like the Venetians of ancient times in Dalmatia and neighboring lands. Never in the history of Slovaks was there such economic exploitation on all sides as occurred under Czech domination in the old Czecho-Slovak Republic. The proof is in the records of the parliament in Prague, especially in the records of various companies operating in eastern Slovakia. How was this operation effected during the regime of the Slovak Republic? Reference to this was made in Zat'ko's �50 SLOVAKIA process, and not only as a mere statement but backed up by statistics. An authority on natural resources, Zat'ko reported as follows: "The Germans established a quota for the Czechs to produce 50 % more lumber than normally. In contrast to this, the normal capacity of lumber produced in Slovakia was not even reached so that the Slovak Republic actually saved 15,000,000 cubic metres of wood valued at 3,000,000,00 crowns." (N<irodnd obroda, September 12, 1946). This, then, is the truth based on facts. Simply stated, this action preserved millions of cubic metres of lumber for future generations. From this, one must conclude that the government was far-sighted, and far better than its predecessors. The government of the Slovak Republic planned and regulated the prosperity of its era while at the same time provided for the future. Least known and unpublicized is the fact that at the end of the war the Slovak Republic had a surplus of more than a billion crowns, which the Prague government confiscated, spent in less than two years and plunged the country into a deficit of 4 billion crowns by 1947. A treasure trove of fine lumber estimated in value of more than 3 billion crowns was left intact for future generations by the Slovak Republic. Industrial expansion was greatly augmented, too. The Slovaks had an abundance of food. What more material goods does one need aside from shelter and clothing? And the Slovak Republic provided these vital needs, too, for its people. After such derogatory statements about so-called exploitation by the Slovak Republic it sounds rather strange to hear a radio broadcast in Bratislava: "Czecho-Slovakia has a surplus of lumber in the eastern part of the country for extensive export." (Praha, January 8, 1947). It is easy to manipulate words, sentences and conclusions in an effort to hide the truth, but eventually the truth will uncover the lie, and cold statistics will further confirm what is true. It would be extremely difficult to find a nation whose officials were so guilty of deceit as those on the Czech side. One of these glaring examples is their shameless attempt to explain away Slovak prosperity. �SLOVAKIA 51 Exploitation of Slovak forests attributed falsely to the Slovak Republic is now followed by a strange sequel: the official order to cut down no less than five million cubic metres in 1947, and that for export. So, the postwar Czechoslovak government is following the example of the Slovak Republic's 'exploitation' by cutting down lumber in Slovakia, not in Czech lands, however. Every lie or falsehood sooner or later is detected. And so it is in this case. The lie levelled against the Slovak Republic comes to roost in Prague. Factually, the Slovak state was governed wisely and honestly. Such a state only a primitive and stupid people would voluntarily renounce. The Slovak nation has not renounced its right to a selfgoverning state but denounces every attempt to falsify the genuine record of good government and achievement of its Slovak Republic. From experience down through the ages that saw the Slovaks survive many regimes, they have come to realize that by far the best, the most beneficial was the regime of the Slovak Republic. No need to hide its imperfections, but what regime is perfect? Nevertheless, there is no comparison between Czecho-Slovakia and the Slovak Republic as far as its benefits go when one looks at the record that is indelibly imprinted on the pages of history. All of these events lead us to the obvious conclusion, namely, that the Slovaks are not satisfied with the present state of affairs, and that they aspire to renew their own Slovak state. None of the leading Slovak cultural or political leaders joined Benes when he left the country. In 1939 the Slovak wholeheartedly and unanimously took the oath of allegiance to the Slovak Republic. Why? Because they did not love Czecho-Slovakia. At the conclusion of the war when President Tiso was persuaded to leave the country thousands of Slovaks, intellectuals as well as average citizens, followed him into exile. Why? Because they wanted to work for the restoration of the Slovak Republic. The people at home are united in spirit with their Slovak countrymen abroad in the struggle to restore their self-governing state at the earliest opportunity. To this they are committed and dedicated as freedomloving men who aspire to a life of national freedom for their �52 SLOVAKIA people who for too long a time have been forced to live in servitude. Slovaks at home and throughout the entire world are of one mind, namely, that eventually and inevitably their eternal struggle for freedom and statehood must become a reality again. This dream is in keeping with the finest Slovak traditions of the past and a sacred legacy of our forefathers . It is in the spirit of Jjudovit stur who, after bitter experience and disappointments, declared: "We must liberate ourselves once and forever from the unendurable yoke of foreign rule if we are to take our rightful place that belongs to us on the strength of our abilities, and that means we must attain the ultimate goal of self-governing statehood because a nation that is enslaved has its bands bound, its spirit depressed and faces the danger of ultimate extinction." (Slovanstvo a svet buducnosti). To engage and negotiate in politics with anyone who is willing to help us was the slogan of the American Slovaks a half century ago. "We must pursue a political course," wrote Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, " that will bring us eventually to our national independence." (Slovensky dennik, February 27, 1909). In another article Vel'kostiavnicky wrote: "We Slovaks must have an honorable political program that will permit us to adopt a policy or unite with a nation with which we will be able to cooperate mutually, with positive assurance and a guarantee of our national independence. We must be a fully and independent and selfgoverning nation because this is according to the natural law, and a principle of an individual entity that belongs to every nation. "Every nation like every person upon reaching maturity desires to be free, and a nation aspires to have its own individual self-governing state. Thus it is with our Slovak nation, for we do not want to be infants iorever, nor dependents or slaves. We are impelled to this not only by the spirit of the age but by nature and every conceivable political experience of the past. "We Slovaks declare to the whole world that we are �SLOVAKIA 53 a nation that wants to be free, and therefore, must have its own free self-governing state in Europe." Our forebears spoke distinctly in this manner and spirit when all they had was the historic fact of the existence of Slovak statehood more than a thousand years ago, and of course, the basis for their claim the universally accepted principle that all nations aspire to independence. We had it a thousand years ago. We lost it because of overwhelming force but we did not surrender the right to be independent. That right belongs to us today and forever. Holly, stur and Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, and their followers believed this firmly. Should we who saw with our own eyes the happy reality of an independent Slovak state believe less? Should we after having witnessed what our Slovak state accomplished in six short years willingly bow our heads and place them in the Czech yoke? "No, never!" Let us unite with anyone who wants to help us, as Tholt wrote once, and oppose anyone and everyone who is against Slovak statehood. There are vital material resources that a nation needs but more importantly a nation has need of strong enduring moral values without which a nation cannot exist or long endure. Foremost among the characteristics that make a nation what it is is national consciousness. Both the Magyars and Czechs concentrated their attacks on this central point. Slovaks who possessed a conviction of their own national identity were recognized as inimical to their plans of assimilating the Slovaks. Accordingly they sought to destroy all self-consciousness by bribery, force and imprisonment. For all time renegades from the Slovak nation are listed as "mad'ar6ni" and "cechoslovaci." They degraded themselves by abandoning their Slovak nation because of an inferiority complex, and so they became satraps first of Magyar and subsequently of Czech overlords. Self-consciousness is an acquired virtue and strengthened by one's own conviction that he is his own man, and an individual person who is equal to any man, and he proves �54 SLOVAKIA it to himself and others by his actions in practical life. He stands proudly on his own two feet, so to speak. As in the experience of a child taking his first step which requires courage and effort, so it is with a nation taking its first step towards going ahead without any assistance. The Slovaks took their first step in modern times in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, but soon learned to stand and walk with confidence on their own two feet in the Slovak Republic. Slovak self-consciousness reached such a stage that even erstwhile "Czecho-Slovaks" changed and became convinced of their equality with the Czechs! Quite a transformation. And today they proudly assert they are Slovaks . . . not "Czechoslovaks", as once upon a time they timidly imagined themselves to be. This new spirit of self-reliance is the direct result of the successful development that led to Slovak statehood in our times. Czechs returning to Slovakia after the war, or those who meet Slovak visitors in Prague, are made aware immediately that these are not the old type Slovaks but a new generation or race of self-conscious members of the Slovak nation. This self-consciousness of the average Slovak, and of the intellectual as well, causes great consternation in the Czech camp. A certain 'Moravus' dealing with this natural phenomenon declared this to be absolutely 'insufferable.' With the exception of communist periodicals the Slovak press unanimously attacked him. Moravus got a stinging reply in Slaboda, October 26, 1948: "Awareness of the Slovak nation's abilities and possibilities is the source of the current self-consciousness," insufferable, indeed! cas (Time) replied in kind: "Thank God, Slovakia today is not the Slovakia of yesterday when the country had fewer than five hundred intellectuals.'' Ndrodnd obroda (National Renewal) added on October 26, 1946: "There is no resemblance between the Slovak nation that awoke from a long slumber in 1918 and the Slovak nation today.'' Where did this self-consciousness emanate from? �SLOVAKIA 55 To a large degree, from the Slovak Republic. It does not exist today as it did then, but the spirit has survived because we proved to ourselves and the whole world that we could rule our own country better and more efficiently than any alien master ... and because the average Slovak received more for his efforts, he became convinced of his ability to stand on his own two feet as a proud individual of the Slovak nation and as a loyal citizen of the SlovakRepublic. Some politicians who formerly did not dare to have an opinion of their own, relying entirely on Prague wrote: "Slovak affairs can be conducted best right here in Slovakia without interference from Prague, as has been amply demonstrated in recent years. "Slovakia stands firmly on its own feet and is progressing nicely without needless Czech supervision that may now concentrate on solving problems close to home in Prague itself." ( Cas) Under pressure of this new development even Benes changed his tune about his familiar theme, "one nation" i.e., only a Czechoslovak nation (sic), when he said in Kosice: "Since 1918 Slovakia has become stronger and more prosperous, and it has advanced culturally, politically and organizationally so that its rights must be respected. That was self-evident to me in 1938 when I proposed decentralization in the republic." Benes' statement is not true, however. The Czech president addressed a similar proposal on October 4, 1938, to Tiso but he had it recalled from the post office because he was suddenly forced to resign from the presidency. The fact is that in 1938 Benes declared: "No Slovak problem exists. Therefore, there is no need for a solution." Since even Benes admits Slovakia's maturity and progress, why was it denied a Slovak national council, a board of commissioners and other agencies on the basis of the Kosice Agreement? Let us search for the source of the best qualities of every nation. We shall find clues in the following: "The intensive and extensive experience of Slovak statehood produced a new Slovak personality whose political �56 SLOVAKIA spirit and abilities astonished observers who could not help but admire real achievements of the era." (Dr. V. Busek, Svobodny zitfek, No. 36, 1946). One Czech finally admits that it was the Slovak Republic that accomplished wonders. Then why judge Slovak politicians for their achievements? Benes brought them to trial precisely because they were responsible for the rise and growth of Slovak national self-consciousness, because they gave testimony to their own nation of their effective leadership in utilizing their innate talents and skills in establishing independence and statehood. Benes no longer can repeat what he once said to Razus: "You Slovaks have nowhere to go." The Slovaks do not have to go anywhere. All they have to do and they want to do is to stay in their own historic homeland and manage their own affairs in their national household. In the eyes of Benes who attempted to make Slovakia a Czech colony there was no greater crime in all history than that of Tiso and his governmental staff that dared to take off and soar high on their wings like Slovak eagles in the blue sky high above a free land. "Never again will dictatorship rule the Slovaks, for one learns once ancl. for all from his personal experience," writes Slaboda, November 12, 1946. Quotations of this new popular view were often repeated in the postwar era when Prague seized political control of Slovakia after the war. One heard statements like the following: "We have outgrown our infant clothes, we will not take orders from Praha. We lived without Czechs and we can live without them; we were burned once, never again, etc." Dr. Kulhanek advised his Czech countrymen to face the facts, reminding them at long last this (Slovak nation) was not a primitive tribe of sheepherders whiling away the hours blowing the fujara (a musical instrument which may be described as a giant cousin of the saxophone), nor a group of migrant tinkers. "This is a very capable nation comprising seriousminded people of realism. They seek to solve contemporary problems with greater calm and keener perspicacity than we do." (Svobodny zitfek, October 4, 1946). �SLOVAKIA 57 Another Czech periodical observed: "Czechs have to be aware of the great re-birth in Slovakia since 1938, and that there is a great difference between Slovaks of yesterday and today. The Slovaks have matured politically and have grown up culturally, their national self-consciousness has been strengthened and ripened. The great majority of Slovaks, not excluding former 'Hlasist' devotees who preached a Czechoslovak form of national unity, feel they are members of an independent nation, and they will not tolerate either political or cultural overlordship, nor economic domination. (Zemedelske listy). Reacting to these tributes to the Slovak Republic from even hitherto hostile quarters an American Slovak journalist wrote: "What great miraculous powers of national liberty and independent statehood must have been at work that in less than six years of the regime of the Slovak Republic these transformed many in the former 'Hlasist' Czechoslovak camp into self-conscious Slovak Patriots." ( Osadne Hlasy, August 9, 1946). No political regime in the world ever gave its people as much as the administration of the Slovak Republic gave the Slovak nation. Self-pride, independence, the spirit of conscientious work, national consciousness, as well as the conversion of Czechoslovak factions, those unbelieving Thomases, all this was inspired by the Slovak Republic. Nevertheless, we are faced with the paradox of all paradoxes, namely, the persecution, imprisonment and execution of the very persons who accomplished all these things. What irony of fate that propagators of noble ideals are now being hounded, tried in court and sentenced to prison and death in the country they served so nobly and so well! Despite this tragedy enemies of the Slovak nation have lost the fight, for the fanatical movement to absorb the Slovaks in a conglomerate of a "Czechoslovak" people was crushed. This was genocide long before it was labelled as such after the war. Hlinka, Tiso and Sidor and their colleagues won the good fight and saved the Slovak nation in a crisis that saw their domestic enemies, the Hlasists, converted to the cause of Slovak national freedom. Ideologically, Benes was defeated. He asserted that he �58 SLOVAKIA recognized only a "Czechoslovak" nation-Hlinka triumphed hy 'declaring he did not recognize such a nation because it never existed. Today Benes, the Bolsheviks and their collaborators may condemn, imprison and hang the creators of the Slovak Republic, they may confiscate their properties and seek to erase their names from history, but they will never succeed in stamping out the self-consciousness of the Slovak nation that came to full maturity in the Slovak Republic. No power in the world can eradicate the aspiration of the Slovak nation for its own free, independent statehood. Attempts to educate a new generation of Slovaks to repudiate the achievements of the brave men ,a nd women who created the Slovak state will be in vain, as will be the terroristic methods designed to intimidate the Slovak people into acknowledging that they have lost their will to be free. Slovak coins with the image of the immortal Slovak president, the banner of the Slovak army, photographs from the Slovak state remain, all reminders of the Slovak Republic. Most important of all, however, is the abiding conviction that we are equals with the civilized and cultured nations of Europe, that we have enough intelligence, that we have a nation that is alert and wide-awake, and particularly that we have a will strong enough to renew our Slovak state at the earliest opportunity. Clearly and unequivocally we declare again: The Slovak nation is ready to accept a helping hand from every great power on earth. Echoes and re-echoes will be heard incessantly throughout Slovakia until the restoration of a free Slovak state. Times have changed and today's situation is not the same as it was when we had our own Slovak Republic. Unpleasant and unbearable though the truth is to some Czechs of the past, the wise ones admit it must be respected, and they are reconciled to the inevitable gennination of a free Slovak state that must come into being again for a self-conscious Slovak nation in the near future. Such is the destiny of a nation determined to have its own self-governing state. (A translation by Andrew Pier from unpublished book of Konstantin culen.) � SLOVAKIA 41 Good Slovak Republic By Konstantin cul en It was March 14, 1945. I was scheduled to be the main speaker in a certain Slovak city which was known chiefly for the strange fact that people disliked to go there for celebrations and lectures. The population consisted generally of teachers, professors, students and officials. In short, they lived there because they had to. To my great surprise, the auditorium was filled to capacity ten minutes before the program was slated to start. This was unusual because the town had the reputation of starting all of its programs late in order to give stragglers time to come and give the speaker some encouragement in a sparsely filled hall. On this occasion, however, many had to be turned away but they waited outside during the entire program. After the program I asked what had brought such a great crowd to the affair. A small landowner explained it this way: "We all feel that our enemies are about to destroy our Slovak Republic. Now we realize more than ever before what we shall lose. I tell you never was the idea of the Slovak Republic as strong as at this very moment, and it will be even stronger when we don't have it any more. But we shall revive it again ... at the very first opportunity, mind my words," he concluded. In later years I often recalled what this genuine Slovak patriot had said. Many agreed with him wholeheartedly then, and many still do today. I am fully aware of this, for the idea is very much alive today and stronger, too, for in the passing years people have witnessed the contrast between what was and what is the situation in our time. Czech politicians, alone, like to think that the Slovak Republic vanished forever. They are convinced that "the Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only plausible solution and way of life for the Slovak nation." The newspapermen spread this propaganda. They ignore the obvious fact that for six years the Slovaks proved this thesis wrong ... the reality of the Slovak Republic is proof positive of the �42 SLOVAKIA self-reliance of the Slovak nation. The Czech people do not accept this view. If their political leaders do not see the writing on the wall let them live with their illusions. Is there a nation in the whole wide world which has surrendered its right for a self-governing state, especially after demonstrating, as did the Slovak nation, that it can govern itself successfully? We know of no such nation. Nations have lost their self-governing states but always by force, by defeat, by treason, but never by a voluntary surrender of their natural right to govern themselves. Well, the Czechs always did consider us to be inferior ... no wonder they have such a low opinion of us anyway. "The Slovaks have gloriously given up their inglorious past," a Czech newspaper gloated. "Still, though they have given up their Slovak state, they repeatedly sigh how good they had it under Tiso," the same article noted. ( Cas, November 17, 1946) If someone voluntarily and gloriously gives up something, he will not want it back. I am not alone in this opinion. The general secretary of the Socialist-Democratic Party declared in parliament: "In Slovakia there are forces to preserve an independent Slovakia inside the framework of Czecho-Slovakia. It is imperative for the Slovaks to realize that the patience of Czech public opinion has its limits." (Slaboda, December 19, 1946). Too bad the above mentioned speaker did not venture to predict what would happen the moment those limits of Czech patience were reached. It would be interesting to see if war would follow ... or would the Czechs declare their independence? When we consider this Czech spokesman had in mind the Slovak Democratic Party ( which had 62 % of the votes and the Slovak Freedom Party 4 %, this adds up to 66 % of the Slovak people) that favored, as he rightfully suspected, a Slovak state. Another Czech observer who studied the situation in Slovakia after the Slovaks reportedly 'gave up their right to self-government' declared: "The average Czech considers the existence of the �SLOVAKIA 43 Czecho-Slovak Republic as self-evident. He talks Czech but feels like a Czechoslovak, thinks like a Czechoslovak and on state occasions flies the Czechoslovak Flag. It is different in Slovakia, however. "This is quite obvious as one approaches Bratislava by train. The first tobacco store he sees from the window displays a Slovak emblem. At the railroad station the Slovak Flag is displayed side by side with the Czechoslovak banner . . . and when the national court is in session the Slovak Flag waves proudly above the bulding. The internal dissension, though not so apparent, is perhaps more or less intense. Sensitiveness in the linguistic sphere, constant vigilance and an air of mistrust, in fact, an atmosphere of expectation, reserve and expediency seems to be everywhere. Actually there are people who find it distasteful to utter the word, 'Czecho-Slovakia'." (Engineer Teyssler, Svobodny zitfek, October 17, 1946). What does all this signify? Simply that the Slovak nation awaits the opportunity of declaring its freedom. It has not renounced its national destiny. Many others observe the same thing and there are plenty of signs to confirm this view. Today's situation the Slovak nation regards as a temporary one, one that was forced upon it. To be forced into a state against its will when it is powerless, at the moment, to resist does not mean the Slovak nation has surrendered its natural right to self-government in its own national state. Archbishop Charles Kmet'ko publicly expressed his conviction under oath on the subject of President Tiso's politics: To Dr. sujan's question: "What did the Slovak state give the Slovak nation, morally or otherwise?" The reply by the highest ecclesiastic-Ordinary in Slovakia was spontaneous: "First of all," he said, "what Hlinka affirmed is an internationally acknowledged principle. Can anyone imagine a nation that does not want self-government? Is it possible that a poor man never dreams of owning his own home some day? Obviously, there is no such nation or person that does not want to be independent and to be master of his own household." �44 SLOVAKIA sujan interposed: "But that independence was dependence!" Kmet'ko: "Nonetheless, it was ten times better than a protectorate," the archbishop responded. sujan: "You denounced the direction of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party at the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic because you foresaw an unhappy outcome. How could you abandon so many of your better principles in relationship to the Czecho-Slovak Republic after Munich?" Kmet'ko: "The Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only form in which the Slovak nation can live peaceably and progressively. Yet, if, theoretically, we could have a self-governing Slovak state, we could be independent. I say, if it is possible, we are for it. If impossible, we are for the Czecho-Slovak Republic." (Katolicke noviny, March 2, 1947). If the Czechs were convinced that the Slovak state is theoretically and practically impossible, then they could have used Kmet'ko's arguments as favorable propaganda. But actually they believe that an independent Slovakia is a possibility, not only theoretically but practically because they witnessed its realization. No wonder this statement caused a furore. Benes himself retorted: "This means that if the situation warranted a change the Slovaks tomorrow or the day after tomorrow would be for it. I will never accept this argument. I refuse to consider it in principle. I want a simple solution, clear-cut and definitive. Both of us must speak plainly: yes, yes, no, no!" (March 13, 1947). The Slovaks must speak out, Benes says, but first and last on his terms. In other words, they must agree with him, whether they feel that way or not. Since he spoke so vociferously in this tone, he knew that Slovak public opinion opposed his views. That is why he categorically announced he rejected Kmet'ko's opinion. What virtually is Benes's attitude towards the Slovak nation? By what right has a foreigner the power to direct the destiny of our ·nation to its own detriment? Benes has the right to dictate to us what policy we should follow and what views we are to have? Then any Hungarian. Russian. �SLOVAKIA 45 Polish or Austrian ruler has that right, too, for these are our neighbors ... a logical deduction from Benes' line of reasoning. Archbishop Kmet'ko was not Hlinka's follower. Certainly, he was not against Czecho-Slovakia, as such, because he believed as many of us believed, too, that this was the only way for our existence at the time. But he became more and more convinced in time that he was wrong, and that is why he proclaimed his belief in national independence as a better solution. The spirit of the Slovak Republic proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Slovak nation is vitally strong enough to sustain a self-governing state. The idea is very much alive and will once again give life to a new, revived free Slovakia in the future. This is inevitably the final solution to the aspirations of a freedom-loving Slovak people. A loyal citizen and patriot must support the best solution for his country, not foreign interests that are detrimental to its national interest. Benes in this struggle represents alien Czech interests, Kmet'ko and Tiso are representatives of the Slovak nation whose interests they defend as leaders of their people who are in full agreement with them. Schmidtke, a communist, once said: "There are people who find it difficult to renounce their sympathy for the fascist Slovak state." (Pravda, September 6, 1946). In short, it seems to us that 'the glorious renunciation of the Slovak Republic' is such that neither the Czechs, nor the communists, believe this, on the contrary, at every turn they discover a clear-cut expression of the desire for restoration of the Slovak Republic, and the desire for its renewal is manifested in word and deed on every side. A government, however, that gives its people a larger loaf of bread, that invests just taxes in its own development, that gives priority to the native language of its people and places it where it rightfully belongs, that builds roads, railways, hospitals, schools, etc., etc., and that emanates from the nation and rules the nation for its best interests, is a good government. Such a government the nation does not renounce. �46 SLOVAKIA On the other hand, a nation gives up on a government that takes away the best part of an honestly-earned loaf of bread, that deprives it of using its own language, that attempts to rob it of its nationality, that does not recognize its national identity. Such a government is not good and a nation gladly renounces it. What government ruled Slovakia in the first and second instance? It is needless to respond to this question, for we have many authentic reports from contemporary ministers and representatives how inept were the various administrations in the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Further, it is well to cite testimony of fereigners, not at all friendly to us, about how good the Slovak Republic really was. One could publish a book filled with their favorable quotations and observations. Perhaps ihe following statement will suffice to indicate what others thought of the Slovak Republic: 1) "The average, simple and intelligent Slovak lived in an oasis for six years of prosperity in a free Slovak state under the leadership of Tiso. "It is true, as we often repeated, that the Slovaks had it good during wartime, not so much because of German kindness but because of their own native skill. In Slovakia there are still signs of this so-called 'German goodness' in contrast to Czech lands." (Osvobozeny nasinec, December 1, 1946). 2) "Slovakia among the small European nations up to the autumn of 1944 remained unaffected directly by the war. Relative security, prosperity brought on, for this or that reason, the growth of national culture and art, national self-consciousness and other circumstances seemed to indicate that the Slovak Republic would not become involved actively in the war at all." (Obzory, E. Komorovsky: Slovensko vcera a dnes-Slovakia yesterday and today, 1946). 3) "Six years during World War II for the Czechs were cruel and retrogressive, for the Slovaks up to 1944 they were economically and socially successful, internationally and politically, however, problematical. During this time Czech industry, although partially dislocated and paralyzed, due to air bombardments, managed to survive and in some instances made progress. �SLOVAKIA 47 "Meanwhile, the Slovaks for fully five years progressed immensely on all fronts ... they had the great advantage of ruling themselves, which we did not have ... they not only caught up to us, but even forged ahead." (Obzory, 1946, page 815: My narod ceskoslovensky). 4) "Slovakia in wartime enjoyed prosperity and relatively great freedom. It was, as a matter of fact, a showcase state which the German used for propaganda purposes to show how they treated a good obedient child." (Obzory, 1945, page 262). 5) Dr. Vavro srobar said: "During the war Slovakia had the best situation on the continent. There were no executions, no concentration camps. There was plenty of bread, food, potatoes. Anyone could purchase a goose, or pork, and any kind of meat was available at relatively cheap prices." (Eudovy dennik, July 19, 1945). 6) "We do not deny, either the upli~t of religious life or the growth of spiritual and civilizing influence in the country. Under favorable conditions Slovakia was completely free on the religious side." Osvobozeny nasinec). 7) "Even after the breakthrough on the fighting-front the amount of goods was greater in Slovakia than on January 1, 1939." (Dr. Matura v Zat'kovom procese. Ndrodna obrbda, September 12, 1946). 8) "Frequently in studying conditions in Slovakia one concludes that the average citizen did not have it bad at all, in fact, he was not bad off during the entire war." (Cas, December 18, 1946). 9) "Economically, Slovakia was in very good shape. Government officials admit this and write about it openly. There were no exceptions, everyone was well off, whether he was a worker, an official or farmer. While the Germans exploited the Czechs, our government officials cleverly arranged to give the Germans a minimum of their national output." (Kanadsky Slovak. A letter from Kosice, August 6, 1946). Unaoubtedly, these few quotations from various sources indicate that the Slovak Republic was not bad at all. Fereign �48 SLOVAKIA newspapers, such as the London T i mes, wrote in the same vein. In wartime Benes propaganda sought to convince the Slovaks of their 'bad plight.' After war Czechs had this to say: "The years of the independent Slovak state were marked by rapidly increasing prosperity with the result of a high standard of living. This changed considerably after the war. "It was a period of building, progress and communication, and relative internal freedom, though not definitely democratic, yet it was free of any so-called fascist terror, particularly in the Hitlerian sense of the word. "While Czech schools were closed, the Slovak university received hundreds of highly qualified and intelligent students year after year. These can now be employed in various positions. Cultural life reached a new high level. "All this was not the work of the ruling regime-it was a national evolution of a people who seized the opportunity to get ahead. Slovak youth, according to personal testimony, was determined to advance at all costs. Slovak autonomists do not consider themselves to be discredited but rather exonerated for their policies by the events of their time ... which proved them to be right in pursuing those policies." (Obzory, "cesi a Slovaci", 1946, p. 774). So these were the so-called 'crimes' of the Slovak Republic! Obviously, a Czech, admitting the facts, must try in every way, however, to discredit the regime of the Slovak Republic. For him, it is only true that it was a natural evolution impelled by a new opportunity. But a people enjoys such an opportunity only in its own state. It is not a crime to seek such an opportunity ... it is only a natural evolution. Furthermore, that the Slovaks themselves might have some merit for their own economic well-being as a consequence of their wise and judicious politics a Czech finds it difficult to admit. On their side of the ledger, while the Czechs reluctantly admit they made mistakes, they claim these were not malicious. Well, was it not malicious to dismantle Slovak factories? This 'mistake' they attribute not to their government but to the "zivnobanka" administration. �SLOVAKIA 49 At present, finally when all the facts are in and when any objective-minded person must admit that conditions in Slovakia during the war were ideal, we are continually hearing from various quarters that the situation was unnatural, unchristian and immoral, completely wrong from every angle, because conditions were bad everywhere, and that must include Slovakia, it could not have been an exception, and so Czechs generally try to debunk the government of the Slovak Republic. Dr. Kozeluhova (a Czech) after lauding wartime conditions in Slovakia concludes : "Since in Slovakia much of the national wealth was in the forests, lumber exports were greatly excessive. Actually, we have to note that it will be a long, long time before the exorbitant cutting-down of trees will be replaced by new growth. Although the Germans did not impoverish the Slovaks by demands for food, there was prosperity, but future generations will have to suffer. It is clear that after years of abundance the postwar consequences would result in many lean years." (Obzory, 1945, p. 263). She was not alone in this view, for another Czech, Engineer J. Rotnagel expressed the same opinion in his book, cesi a Slovdci ( Czechs and Slovaks): "And the Slovaks? Let no one be deceived by the claim of a sounder and better financial status and higher living standards in Slovakia in contrast to Czech lands. The so-called prosperity was brought on by undue exploitation of the country's natural resources, particularly by the harvesting of the luxuriant Slovak forests by the Slovak: government." (page 275). What he is trying to say is that prosperity in Slovakia was at the expense of future generations. The Czechs talk about the exploitation of Slovak forests just like the Venetians of ancient times in Dalmatia and neighboring lands. Never in the history of Slovaks was there such economic exploitation on all sides as occurred under Czech domination in the old Czecho-Slovak Republic. The proof is in the records of the parliament in Prague, especially in the records of various companies operating in eastern Slovakia. How was this operation effected during the regime of the Slovak Republic? Reference to this was made in Zat'ko's �50 SLOVAKIA process, and not only as a mere statement but backed up by statistics. An authority on natural resources, Zat'ko reported as follows: "The Germans established a quota for the Czechs to produce 50 % more lumber than normally. In contrast to this, the normal capacity of lumber produced in Slovakia was not even reached so that the Slovak Republic actually saved 15,000,000 cubic metres of wood valued at 3,000,000,00 crowns." (N<irodnd obroda, September 12, 1946). This, then, is the truth based on facts. Simply stated, this action preserved millions of cubic metres of lumber for future generations. From this, one must conclude that the government was far-sighted, and far better than its predecessors. The government of the Slovak Republic planned and regulated the prosperity of its era while at the same time provided for the future. Least known and unpublicized is the fact that at the end of the war the Slovak Republic had a surplus of more than a billion crowns, which the Prague government confiscated, spent in less than two years and plunged the country into a deficit of 4 billion crowns by 1947. A treasure trove of fine lumber estimated in value of more than 3 billion crowns was left intact for future generations by the Slovak Republic. Industrial expansion was greatly augmented, too. The Slovaks had an abundance of food. What more material goods does one need aside from shelter and clothing? And the Slovak Republic provided these vital needs, too, for its people. After such derogatory statements about so-called exploitation by the Slovak Republic it sounds rather strange to hear a radio broadcast in Bratislava: "Czecho-Slovakia has a surplus of lumber in the eastern part of the country for extensive export." (Praha, January 8, 1947). It is easy to manipulate words, sentences and conclusions in an effort to hide the truth, but eventually the truth will uncover the lie, and cold statistics will further confirm what is true. It would be extremely difficult to find a nation whose officials were so guilty of deceit as those on the Czech side. One of these glaring examples is their shameless attempt to explain away Slovak prosperity. �SLOVAKIA 51 Exploitation of Slovak forests attributed falsely to the Slovak Republic is now followed by a strange sequel: the official order to cut down no less than five million cubic metres in 1947, and that for export. So, the postwar Czechoslovak government is following the example of the Slovak Republic's 'exploitation' by cutting down lumber in Slovakia, not in Czech lands, however. Every lie or falsehood sooner or later is detected. And so it is in this case. The lie levelled against the Slovak Republic comes to roost in Prague. Factually, the Slovak state was governed wisely and honestly. Such a state only a primitive and stupid people would voluntarily renounce. The Slovak nation has not renounced its right to a selfgoverning state but denounces every attempt to falsify the genuine record of good government and achievement of its Slovak Republic. From experience down through the ages that saw the Slovaks survive many regimes, they have come to realize that by far the best, the most beneficial was the regime of the Slovak Republic. No need to hide its imperfections, but what regime is perfect? Nevertheless, there is no comparison between Czecho-Slovakia and the Slovak Republic as far as its benefits go when one looks at the record that is indelibly imprinted on the pages of history. All of these events lead us to the obvious conclusion, namely, that the Slovaks are not satisfied with the present state of affairs, and that they aspire to renew their own Slovak state. None of the leading Slovak cultural or political leaders joined Benes when he left the country. In 1939 the Slovak wholeheartedly and unanimously took the oath of allegiance to the Slovak Republic. Why? Because they did not love Czecho-Slovakia. At the conclusion of the war when President Tiso was persuaded to leave the country thousands of Slovaks, intellectuals as well as average citizens, followed him into exile. Why? Because they wanted to work for the restoration of the Slovak Republic. The people at home are united in spirit with their Slovak countrymen abroad in the struggle to restore their self-governing state at the earliest opportunity. To this they are committed and dedicated as freedomloving men who aspire to a life of national freedom for their �52 SLOVAKIA people who for too long a time have been forced to live in servitude. Slovaks at home and throughout the entire world are of one mind, namely, that eventually and inevitably their eternal struggle for freedom and statehood must become a reality again. This dream is in keeping with the finest Slovak traditions of the past and a sacred legacy of our forefathers . It is in the spirit of Jjudovit stur who, after bitter experience and disappointments, declared: "We must liberate ourselves once and forever from the unendurable yoke of foreign rule if we are to take our rightful place that belongs to us on the strength of our abilities, and that means we must attain the ultimate goal of self-governing statehood because a nation that is enslaved has its bands bound, its spirit depressed and faces the danger of ultimate extinction." (Slovanstvo a svet buducnosti). To engage and negotiate in politics with anyone who is willing to help us was the slogan of the American Slovaks a half century ago. "We must pursue a political course," wrote Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, " that will bring us eventually to our national independence." (Slovensky dennik, February 27, 1909). In another article Vel'kostiavnicky wrote: "We Slovaks must have an honorable political program that will permit us to adopt a policy or unite with a nation with which we will be able to cooperate mutually, with positive assurance and a guarantee of our national independence. We must be a fully and independent and selfgoverning nation because this is according to the natural law, and a principle of an individual entity that belongs to every nation. "Every nation like every person upon reaching maturity desires to be free, and a nation aspires to have its own individual self-governing state. Thus it is with our Slovak nation, for we do not want to be infants iorever, nor dependents or slaves. We are impelled to this not only by the spirit of the age but by nature and every conceivable political experience of the past. "We Slovaks declare to the whole world that we are �SLOVAKIA 53 a nation that wants to be free, and therefore, must have its own free self-governing state in Europe." Our forebears spoke distinctly in this manner and spirit when all they had was the historic fact of the existence of Slovak statehood more than a thousand years ago, and of course, the basis for their claim the universally accepted principle that all nations aspire to independence. We had it a thousand years ago. We lost it because of overwhelming force but we did not surrender the right to be independent. That right belongs to us today and forever. Holly, stur and Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, and their followers believed this firmly. Should we who saw with our own eyes the happy reality of an independent Slovak state believe less? Should we after having witnessed what our Slovak state accomplished in six short years willingly bow our heads and place them in the Czech yoke? "No, never!" Let us unite with anyone who wants to help us, as Tholt wrote once, and oppose anyone and everyone who is against Slovak statehood. There are vital material resources that a nation needs but more importantly a nation has need of strong enduring moral values without which a nation cannot exist or long endure. Foremost among the characteristics that make a nation what it is is national consciousness. Both the Magyars and Czechs concentrated their attacks on this central point. Slovaks who possessed a conviction of their own national identity were recognized as inimical to their plans of assimilating the Slovaks. Accordingly they sought to destroy all self-consciousness by bribery, force and imprisonment. For all time renegades from the Slovak nation are listed as "mad'ar6ni" and "cechoslovaci." They degraded themselves by abandoning their Slovak nation because of an inferiority complex, and so they became satraps first of Magyar and subsequently of Czech overlords. Self-consciousness is an acquired virtue and strengthened by one's own conviction that he is his own man, and an individual person who is equal to any man, and he proves �54 SLOVAKIA it to himself and others by his actions in practical life. He stands proudly on his own two feet, so to speak. As in the experience of a child taking his first step which requires courage and effort, so it is with a nation taking its first step towards going ahead without any assistance. The Slovaks took their first step in modern times in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, but soon learned to stand and walk with confidence on their own two feet in the Slovak Republic. Slovak self-consciousness reached such a stage that even erstwhile "Czecho-Slovaks" changed and became convinced of their equality with the Czechs! Quite a transformation. And today they proudly assert they are Slovaks . . . not "Czechoslovaks", as once upon a time they timidly imagined themselves to be. This new spirit of self-reliance is the direct result of the successful development that led to Slovak statehood in our times. Czechs returning to Slovakia after the war, or those who meet Slovak visitors in Prague, are made aware immediately that these are not the old type Slovaks but a new generation or race of self-conscious members of the Slovak nation. This self-consciousness of the average Slovak, and of the intellectual as well, causes great consternation in the Czech camp. A certain 'Moravus' dealing with this natural phenomenon declared this to be absolutely 'insufferable.' With the exception of communist periodicals the Slovak press unanimously attacked him. Moravus got a stinging reply in Slaboda, October 26, 1948: "Awareness of the Slovak nation's abilities and possibilities is the source of the current self-consciousness," insufferable, indeed! cas (Time) replied in kind: "Thank God, Slovakia today is not the Slovakia of yesterday when the country had fewer than five hundred intellectuals.'' Ndrodnd obroda (National Renewal) added on October 26, 1946: "There is no resemblance between the Slovak nation that awoke from a long slumber in 1918 and the Slovak nation today.'' Where did this self-consciousness emanate from? �SLOVAKIA 55 To a large degree, from the Slovak Republic. It does not exist today as it did then, but the spirit has survived because we proved to ourselves and the whole world that we could rule our own country better and more efficiently than any alien master ... and because the average Slovak received more for his efforts, he became convinced of his ability to stand on his own two feet as a proud individual of the Slovak nation and as a loyal citizen of the SlovakRepublic. Some politicians who formerly did not dare to have an opinion of their own, relying entirely on Prague wrote: "Slovak affairs can be conducted best right here in Slovakia without interference from Prague, as has been amply demonstrated in recent years. "Slovakia stands firmly on its own feet and is progressing nicely without needless Czech supervision that may now concentrate on solving problems close to home in Prague itself." ( Cas) Under pressure of this new development even Benes changed his tune about his familiar theme, "one nation" i.e., only a Czechoslovak nation (sic), when he said in Kosice: "Since 1918 Slovakia has become stronger and more prosperous, and it has advanced culturally, politically and organizationally so that its rights must be respected. That was self-evident to me in 1938 when I proposed decentralization in the republic." Benes' statement is not true, however. The Czech president addressed a similar proposal on October 4, 1938, to Tiso but he had it recalled from the post office because he was suddenly forced to resign from the presidency. The fact is that in 1938 Benes declared: "No Slovak problem exists. Therefore, there is no need for a solution." Since even Benes admits Slovakia's maturity and progress, why was it denied a Slovak national council, a board of commissioners and other agencies on the basis of the Kosice Agreement? Let us search for the source of the best qualities of every nation. We shall find clues in the following: "The intensive and extensive experience of Slovak statehood produced a new Slovak personality whose political �56 SLOVAKIA spirit and abilities astonished observers who could not help but admire real achievements of the era." (Dr. V. Busek, Svobodny zitfek, No. 36, 1946). One Czech finally admits that it was the Slovak Republic that accomplished wonders. Then why judge Slovak politicians for their achievements? Benes brought them to trial precisely because they were responsible for the rise and growth of Slovak national self-consciousness, because they gave testimony to their own nation of their effective leadership in utilizing their innate talents and skills in establishing independence and statehood. Benes no longer can repeat what he once said to Razus: "You Slovaks have nowhere to go." The Slovaks do not have to go anywhere. All they have to do and they want to do is to stay in their own historic homeland and manage their own affairs in their national household. In the eyes of Benes who attempted to make Slovakia a Czech colony there was no greater crime in all history than that of Tiso and his governmental staff that dared to take off and soar high on their wings like Slovak eagles in the blue sky high above a free land. "Never again will dictatorship rule the Slovaks, for one learns once ancl. for all from his personal experience," writes Slaboda, November 12, 1946. Quotations of this new popular view were often repeated in the postwar era when Prague seized political control of Slovakia after the war. One heard statements like the following: "We have outgrown our infant clothes, we will not take orders from Praha. We lived without Czechs and we can live without them; we were burned once, never again, etc." Dr. Kulhanek advised his Czech countrymen to face the facts, reminding them at long last this (Slovak nation) was not a primitive tribe of sheepherders whiling away the hours blowing the fujara (a musical instrument which may be described as a giant cousin of the saxophone), nor a group of migrant tinkers. "This is a very capable nation comprising seriousminded people of realism. They seek to solve contemporary problems with greater calm and keener perspicacity than we do." (Svobodny zitfek, October 4, 1946). �SLOVAKIA 57 Another Czech periodical observed: "Czechs have to be aware of the great re-birth in Slovakia since 1938, and that there is a great difference between Slovaks of yesterday and today. The Slovaks have matured politically and have grown up culturally, their national self-consciousness has been strengthened and ripened. The great majority of Slovaks, not excluding former 'Hlasist' devotees who preached a Czechoslovak form of national unity, feel they are members of an independent nation, and they will not tolerate either political or cultural overlordship, nor economic domination. (Zemedelske listy). Reacting to these tributes to the Slovak Republic from even hitherto hostile quarters an American Slovak journalist wrote: "What great miraculous powers of national liberty and independent statehood must have been at work that in less than six years of the regime of the Slovak Republic these transformed many in the former 'Hlasist' Czechoslovak camp into self-conscious Slovak Patriots." ( Osadne Hlasy, August 9, 1946). No political regime in the world ever gave its people as much as the administration of the Slovak Republic gave the Slovak nation. Self-pride, independence, the spirit of conscientious work, national consciousness, as well as the conversion of Czechoslovak factions, those unbelieving Thomases, all this was inspired by the Slovak Republic. Nevertheless, we are faced with the paradox of all paradoxes, namely, the persecution, imprisonment and execution of the very persons who accomplished all these things. What irony of fate that propagators of noble ideals are now being hounded, tried in court and sentenced to prison and death in the country they served so nobly and so well! Despite this tragedy enemies of the Slovak nation have lost the fight, for the fanatical movement to absorb the Slovaks in a conglomerate of a "Czechoslovak" people was crushed. This was genocide long before it was labelled as such after the war. Hlinka, Tiso and Sidor and their colleagues won the good fight and saved the Slovak nation in a crisis that saw their domestic enemies, the Hlasists, converted to the cause of Slovak national freedom. Ideologically, Benes was defeated. He asserted that he �58 SLOVAKIA recognized only a "Czechoslovak" nation-Hlinka triumphed hy 'declaring he did not recognize such a nation because it never existed. Today Benes, the Bolsheviks and their collaborators may condemn, imprison and hang the creators of the Slovak Republic, they may confiscate their properties and seek to erase their names from history, but they will never succeed in stamping out the self-consciousness of the Slovak nation that came to full maturity in the Slovak Republic. No power in the world can eradicate the aspiration of the Slovak nation for its own free, independent statehood. Attempts to educate a new generation of Slovaks to repudiate the achievements of the brave men ,a nd women who created the Slovak state will be in vain, as will be the terroristic methods designed to intimidate the Slovak people into acknowledging that they have lost their will to be free. Slovak coins with the image of the immortal Slovak president, the banner of the Slovak army, photographs from the Slovak state remain, all reminders of the Slovak Republic. Most important of all, however, is the abiding conviction that we are equals with the civilized and cultured nations of Europe, that we have enough intelligence, that we have a nation that is alert and wide-awake, and particularly that we have a will strong enough to renew our Slovak state at the earliest opportunity. Clearly and unequivocally we declare again: The Slovak nation is ready to accept a helping hand from every great power on earth. Echoes and re-echoes will be heard incessantly throughout Slovakia until the restoration of a free Slovak state. Times have changed and today's situation is not the same as it was when we had our own Slovak Republic. Unpleasant and unbearable though the truth is to some Czechs of the past, the wise ones admit it must be respected, and they are reconciled to the inevitable gennination of a free Slovak state that must come into being again for a self-conscious Slovak nation in the near future. Such is the destiny of a nation determined to have its own self-governing state. (A translation by Andrew Pier from unpublished book of Konstantin culen.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 41 Good Slovak Republic By Konstantin cul en It was March 14, 1945. I was scheduled to be the main speaker in a certain Slovak city which was known chiefly for the strange fact that people disliked to go there for celebrations and lectures. The population consisted generally of teachers, professors, students and officials. In short, they lived there because they had to. To my great surprise, the auditorium was filled to capacity ten minutes before the program was slated to start. This was unusual because the town had the reputation of starting all of its programs late in order to give stragglers time to come and give the speaker some encouragement in a sparsely filled hall. On this occasion, however, many had to be turned away but they waited outside during the entire program. After the program I asked what had brought such a great crowd to the affair. A small landowner explained it this way: "We all feel that our enemies are about to destroy our Slovak Republic. Now we realize more than ever before what we shall lose. I tell you never was the idea of the Slovak Republic as strong as at this very moment, and it will be even stronger when we don't have it any more. But we shall revive it again ... at the very first opportunity, mind my words," he concluded. In later years I often recalled what this genuine Slovak patriot had said. Many agreed with him wholeheartedly then, and many still do today. I am fully aware of this, for the idea is very much alive today and stronger, too, for in the passing years people have witnessed the contrast between what was and what is the situation in our time. Czech politicians, alone, like to think that the Slovak Republic vanished forever. They are convinced that "the Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only plausible solution and way of life for the Slovak nation." The newspapermen spread this propaganda. They ignore the obvious fact that for six years the Slovaks proved this thesis wrong ... the reality of the Slovak Republic is proof positive of the 42 SLOVAKIA self-reliance of the Slovak nation. The Czech people do not accept this view. If their political leaders do not see the writing on the wall let them live with their illusions. Is there a nation in the whole wide world which has surrendered its right for a self-governing state, especially after demonstrating, as did the Slovak nation, that it can govern itself successfully? We know of no such nation. Nations have lost their self-governing states but always by force, by defeat, by treason, but never by a voluntary surrender of their natural right to govern themselves. Well, the Czechs always did consider us to be inferior ... no wonder they have such a low opinion of us anyway. "The Slovaks have gloriously given up their inglorious past," a Czech newspaper gloated. "Still, though they have given up their Slovak state, they repeatedly sigh how good they had it under Tiso," the same article noted. ( Cas, November 17, 1946) If someone voluntarily and gloriously gives up something, he will not want it back. I am not alone in this opinion. The general secretary of the Socialist-Democratic Party declared in parliament: "In Slovakia there are forces to preserve an independent Slovakia inside the framework of Czecho-Slovakia. It is imperative for the Slovaks to realize that the patience of Czech public opinion has its limits." (Slaboda, December 19, 1946). Too bad the above mentioned speaker did not venture to predict what would happen the moment those limits of Czech patience were reached. It would be interesting to see if war would follow ... or would the Czechs declare their independence? When we consider this Czech spokesman had in mind the Slovak Democratic Party ( which had 62 % of the votes and the Slovak Freedom Party 4 %, this adds up to 66 % of the Slovak people) that favored, as he rightfully suspected, a Slovak state. Another Czech observer who studied the situation in Slovakia after the Slovaks reportedly 'gave up their right to self-government' declared: "The average Czech considers the existence of the SLOVAKIA 43 Czecho-Slovak Republic as self-evident. He talks Czech but feels like a Czechoslovak, thinks like a Czechoslovak and on state occasions flies the Czechoslovak Flag. It is different in Slovakia, however. "This is quite obvious as one approaches Bratislava by train. The first tobacco store he sees from the window displays a Slovak emblem. At the railroad station the Slovak Flag is displayed side by side with the Czechoslovak banner . . . and when the national court is in session the Slovak Flag waves proudly above the bulding. The internal dissension, though not so apparent, is perhaps more or less intense. Sensitiveness in the linguistic sphere, constant vigilance and an air of mistrust, in fact, an atmosphere of expectation, reserve and expediency seems to be everywhere. Actually there are people who find it distasteful to utter the word, 'Czecho-Slovakia'." (Engineer Teyssler, Svobodny zitfek, October 17, 1946). What does all this signify? Simply that the Slovak nation awaits the opportunity of declaring its freedom. It has not renounced its national destiny. Many others observe the same thing and there are plenty of signs to confirm this view. Today's situation the Slovak nation regards as a temporary one, one that was forced upon it. To be forced into a state against its will when it is powerless, at the moment, to resist does not mean the Slovak nation has surrendered its natural right to self-government in its own national state. Archbishop Charles Kmet'ko publicly expressed his conviction under oath on the subject of President Tiso's politics: To Dr. sujan's question: "What did the Slovak state give the Slovak nation, morally or otherwise?" The reply by the highest ecclesiastic-Ordinary in Slovakia was spontaneous: "First of all," he said, "what Hlinka affirmed is an internationally acknowledged principle. Can anyone imagine a nation that does not want self-government? Is it possible that a poor man never dreams of owning his own home some day? Obviously, there is no such nation or person that does not want to be independent and to be master of his own household." 44 SLOVAKIA sujan interposed: "But that independence was dependence!" Kmet'ko: "Nonetheless, it was ten times better than a protectorate," the archbishop responded. sujan: "You denounced the direction of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party at the beginning of the Czecho-Slovak Republic because you foresaw an unhappy outcome. How could you abandon so many of your better principles in relationship to the Czecho-Slovak Republic after Munich?" Kmet'ko: "The Czecho-Slovak Republic is the only form in which the Slovak nation can live peaceably and progressively. Yet, if, theoretically, we could have a self-governing Slovak state, we could be independent. I say, if it is possible, we are for it. If impossible, we are for the Czecho-Slovak Republic." (Katolicke noviny, March 2, 1947). If the Czechs were convinced that the Slovak state is theoretically and practically impossible, then they could have used Kmet'ko's arguments as favorable propaganda. But actually they believe that an independent Slovakia is a possibility, not only theoretically but practically because they witnessed its realization. No wonder this statement caused a furore. Benes himself retorted: "This means that if the situation warranted a change the Slovaks tomorrow or the day after tomorrow would be for it. I will never accept this argument. I refuse to consider it in principle. I want a simple solution, clear-cut and definitive. Both of us must speak plainly: yes, yes, no, no!" (March 13, 1947). The Slovaks must speak out, Benes says, but first and last on his terms. In other words, they must agree with him, whether they feel that way or not. Since he spoke so vociferously in this tone, he knew that Slovak public opinion opposed his views. That is why he categorically announced he rejected Kmet'ko's opinion. What virtually is Benes's attitude towards the Slovak nation? By what right has a foreigner the power to direct the destiny of our ·nation to its own detriment? Benes has the right to dictate to us what policy we should follow and what views we are to have? Then any Hungarian. Russian. SLOVAKIA 45 Polish or Austrian ruler has that right, too, for these are our neighbors ... a logical deduction from Benes' line of reasoning. Archbishop Kmet'ko was not Hlinka's follower. Certainly, he was not against Czecho-Slovakia, as such, because he believed as many of us believed, too, that this was the only way for our existence at the time. But he became more and more convinced in time that he was wrong, and that is why he proclaimed his belief in national independence as a better solution. The spirit of the Slovak Republic proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Slovak nation is vitally strong enough to sustain a self-governing state. The idea is very much alive and will once again give life to a new, revived free Slovakia in the future. This is inevitably the final solution to the aspirations of a freedom-loving Slovak people. A loyal citizen and patriot must support the best solution for his country, not foreign interests that are detrimental to its national interest. Benes in this struggle represents alien Czech interests, Kmet'ko and Tiso are representatives of the Slovak nation whose interests they defend as leaders of their people who are in full agreement with them. Schmidtke, a communist, once said: "There are people who find it difficult to renounce their sympathy for the fascist Slovak state." (Pravda, September 6, 1946). In short, it seems to us that 'the glorious renunciation of the Slovak Republic' is such that neither the Czechs, nor the communists, believe this, on the contrary, at every turn they discover a clear-cut expression of the desire for restoration of the Slovak Republic, and the desire for its renewal is manifested in word and deed on every side. A government, however, that gives its people a larger loaf of bread, that invests just taxes in its own development, that gives priority to the native language of its people and places it where it rightfully belongs, that builds roads, railways, hospitals, schools, etc., etc., and that emanates from the nation and rules the nation for its best interests, is a good government. Such a government the nation does not renounce. 46 SLOVAKIA On the other hand, a nation gives up on a government that takes away the best part of an honestly-earned loaf of bread, that deprives it of using its own language, that attempts to rob it of its nationality, that does not recognize its national identity. Such a government is not good and a nation gladly renounces it. What government ruled Slovakia in the first and second instance? It is needless to respond to this question, for we have many authentic reports from contemporary ministers and representatives how inept were the various administrations in the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Further, it is well to cite testimony of fereigners, not at all friendly to us, about how good the Slovak Republic really was. One could publish a book filled with their favorable quotations and observations. Perhaps ihe following statement will suffice to indicate what others thought of the Slovak Republic: 1) "The average, simple and intelligent Slovak lived in an oasis for six years of prosperity in a free Slovak state under the leadership of Tiso. "It is true, as we often repeated, that the Slovaks had it good during wartime, not so much because of German kindness but because of their own native skill. In Slovakia there are still signs of this so-called 'German goodness' in contrast to Czech lands." (Osvobozeny nasinec, December 1, 1946). 2) "Slovakia among the small European nations up to the autumn of 1944 remained unaffected directly by the war. Relative security, prosperity brought on, for this or that reason, the growth of national culture and art, national self-consciousness and other circumstances seemed to indicate that the Slovak Republic would not become involved actively in the war at all." (Obzory, E. Komorovsky: Slovensko vcera a dnes-Slovakia yesterday and today, 1946). 3) "Six years during World War II for the Czechs were cruel and retrogressive, for the Slovaks up to 1944 they were economically and socially successful, internationally and politically, however, problematical. During this time Czech industry, although partially dislocated and paralyzed, due to air bombardments, managed to survive and in some instances made progress. SLOVAKIA 47 "Meanwhile, the Slovaks for fully five years progressed immensely on all fronts ... they had the great advantage of ruling themselves, which we did not have ... they not only caught up to us, but even forged ahead." (Obzory, 1946, page 815: My narod ceskoslovensky). 4) "Slovakia in wartime enjoyed prosperity and relatively great freedom. It was, as a matter of fact, a showcase state which the German used for propaganda purposes to show how they treated a good obedient child." (Obzory, 1945, page 262). 5) Dr. Vavro srobar said: "During the war Slovakia had the best situation on the continent. There were no executions, no concentration camps. There was plenty of bread, food, potatoes. Anyone could purchase a goose, or pork, and any kind of meat was available at relatively cheap prices." (Eudovy dennik, July 19, 1945). 6) "We do not deny, either the upli~t of religious life or the growth of spiritual and civilizing influence in the country. Under favorable conditions Slovakia was completely free on the religious side." Osvobozeny nasinec). 7) "Even after the breakthrough on the fighting-front the amount of goods was greater in Slovakia than on January 1, 1939." (Dr. Matura v Zat'kovom procese. Ndrodna obrbda, September 12, 1946). 8) "Frequently in studying conditions in Slovakia one concludes that the average citizen did not have it bad at all, in fact, he was not bad off during the entire war." (Cas, December 18, 1946). 9) "Economically, Slovakia was in very good shape. Government officials admit this and write about it openly. There were no exceptions, everyone was well off, whether he was a worker, an official or farmer. While the Germans exploited the Czechs, our government officials cleverly arranged to give the Germans a minimum of their national output." (Kanadsky Slovak. A letter from Kosice, August 6, 1946). Unaoubtedly, these few quotations from various sources indicate that the Slovak Republic was not bad at all. Fereign 48 SLOVAKIA newspapers, such as the London T i mes, wrote in the same vein. In wartime Benes propaganda sought to convince the Slovaks of their 'bad plight.' After war Czechs had this to say: "The years of the independent Slovak state were marked by rapidly increasing prosperity with the result of a high standard of living. This changed considerably after the war. "It was a period of building, progress and communication, and relative internal freedom, though not definitely democratic, yet it was free of any so-called fascist terror, particularly in the Hitlerian sense of the word. "While Czech schools were closed, the Slovak university received hundreds of highly qualified and intelligent students year after year. These can now be employed in various positions. Cultural life reached a new high level. "All this was not the work of the ruling regime-it was a national evolution of a people who seized the opportunity to get ahead. Slovak youth, according to personal testimony, was determined to advance at all costs. Slovak autonomists do not consider themselves to be discredited but rather exonerated for their policies by the events of their time ... which proved them to be right in pursuing those policies." (Obzory, "cesi a Slovaci", 1946, p. 774). So these were the so-called 'crimes' of the Slovak Republic! Obviously, a Czech, admitting the facts, must try in every way, however, to discredit the regime of the Slovak Republic. For him, it is only true that it was a natural evolution impelled by a new opportunity. But a people enjoys such an opportunity only in its own state. It is not a crime to seek such an opportunity ... it is only a natural evolution. Furthermore, that the Slovaks themselves might have some merit for their own economic well-being as a consequence of their wise and judicious politics a Czech finds it difficult to admit. On their side of the ledger, while the Czechs reluctantly admit they made mistakes, they claim these were not malicious. Well, was it not malicious to dismantle Slovak factories? This 'mistake' they attribute not to their government but to the "zivnobanka" administration. SLOVAKIA 49 At present, finally when all the facts are in and when any objective-minded person must admit that conditions in Slovakia during the war were ideal, we are continually hearing from various quarters that the situation was unnatural, unchristian and immoral, completely wrong from every angle, because conditions were bad everywhere, and that must include Slovakia, it could not have been an exception, and so Czechs generally try to debunk the government of the Slovak Republic. Dr. Kozeluhova (a Czech) after lauding wartime conditions in Slovakia concludes : "Since in Slovakia much of the national wealth was in the forests, lumber exports were greatly excessive. Actually, we have to note that it will be a long, long time before the exorbitant cutting-down of trees will be replaced by new growth. Although the Germans did not impoverish the Slovaks by demands for food, there was prosperity, but future generations will have to suffer. It is clear that after years of abundance the postwar consequences would result in many lean years." (Obzory, 1945, p. 263). She was not alone in this view, for another Czech, Engineer J. Rotnagel expressed the same opinion in his book, cesi a Slovdci ( Czechs and Slovaks): "And the Slovaks? Let no one be deceived by the claim of a sounder and better financial status and higher living standards in Slovakia in contrast to Czech lands. The so-called prosperity was brought on by undue exploitation of the country's natural resources, particularly by the harvesting of the luxuriant Slovak forests by the Slovak: government." (page 275). What he is trying to say is that prosperity in Slovakia was at the expense of future generations. The Czechs talk about the exploitation of Slovak forests just like the Venetians of ancient times in Dalmatia and neighboring lands. Never in the history of Slovaks was there such economic exploitation on all sides as occurred under Czech domination in the old Czecho-Slovak Republic. The proof is in the records of the parliament in Prague, especially in the records of various companies operating in eastern Slovakia. How was this operation effected during the regime of the Slovak Republic? Reference to this was made in Zat'ko's 50 SLOVAKIA process, and not only as a mere statement but backed up by statistics. An authority on natural resources, Zat'ko reported as follows: "The Germans established a quota for the Czechs to produce 50 % more lumber than normally. In contrast to this, the normal capacity of lumber produced in Slovakia was not even reached so that the Slovak Republic actually saved 15,000,000 cubic metres of wood valued at 3,000,000,00 crowns." (N<irodnd obroda, September 12, 1946). This, then, is the truth based on facts. Simply stated, this action preserved millions of cubic metres of lumber for future generations. From this, one must conclude that the government was far-sighted, and far better than its predecessors. The government of the Slovak Republic planned and regulated the prosperity of its era while at the same time provided for the future. Least known and unpublicized is the fact that at the end of the war the Slovak Republic had a surplus of more than a billion crowns, which the Prague government confiscated, spent in less than two years and plunged the country into a deficit of 4 billion crowns by 1947. A treasure trove of fine lumber estimated in value of more than 3 billion crowns was left intact for future generations by the Slovak Republic. Industrial expansion was greatly augmented, too. The Slovaks had an abundance of food. What more material goods does one need aside from shelter and clothing? And the Slovak Republic provided these vital needs, too, for its people. After such derogatory statements about so-called exploitation by the Slovak Republic it sounds rather strange to hear a radio broadcast in Bratislava: "Czecho-Slovakia has a surplus of lumber in the eastern part of the country for extensive export." (Praha, January 8, 1947). It is easy to manipulate words, sentences and conclusions in an effort to hide the truth, but eventually the truth will uncover the lie, and cold statistics will further confirm what is true. It would be extremely difficult to find a nation whose officials were so guilty of deceit as those on the Czech side. One of these glaring examples is their shameless attempt to explain away Slovak prosperity. SLOVAKIA 51 Exploitation of Slovak forests attributed falsely to the Slovak Republic is now followed by a strange sequel: the official order to cut down no less than five million cubic metres in 1947, and that for export. So, the postwar Czechoslovak government is following the example of the Slovak Republic's 'exploitation' by cutting down lumber in Slovakia, not in Czech lands, however. Every lie or falsehood sooner or later is detected. And so it is in this case. The lie levelled against the Slovak Republic comes to roost in Prague. Factually, the Slovak state was governed wisely and honestly. Such a state only a primitive and stupid people would voluntarily renounce. The Slovak nation has not renounced its right to a selfgoverning state but denounces every attempt to falsify the genuine record of good government and achievement of its Slovak Republic. From experience down through the ages that saw the Slovaks survive many regimes, they have come to realize that by far the best, the most beneficial was the regime of the Slovak Republic. No need to hide its imperfections, but what regime is perfect? Nevertheless, there is no comparison between Czecho-Slovakia and the Slovak Republic as far as its benefits go when one looks at the record that is indelibly imprinted on the pages of history. All of these events lead us to the obvious conclusion, namely, that the Slovaks are not satisfied with the present state of affairs, and that they aspire to renew their own Slovak state. None of the leading Slovak cultural or political leaders joined Benes when he left the country. In 1939 the Slovak wholeheartedly and unanimously took the oath of allegiance to the Slovak Republic. Why? Because they did not love Czecho-Slovakia. At the conclusion of the war when President Tiso was persuaded to leave the country thousands of Slovaks, intellectuals as well as average citizens, followed him into exile. Why? Because they wanted to work for the restoration of the Slovak Republic. The people at home are united in spirit with their Slovak countrymen abroad in the struggle to restore their self-governing state at the earliest opportunity. To this they are committed and dedicated as freedomloving men who aspire to a life of national freedom for their 52 SLOVAKIA people who for too long a time have been forced to live in servitude. Slovaks at home and throughout the entire world are of one mind, namely, that eventually and inevitably their eternal struggle for freedom and statehood must become a reality again. This dream is in keeping with the finest Slovak traditions of the past and a sacred legacy of our forefathers . It is in the spirit of Jjudovit stur who, after bitter experience and disappointments, declared: "We must liberate ourselves once and forever from the unendurable yoke of foreign rule if we are to take our rightful place that belongs to us on the strength of our abilities, and that means we must attain the ultimate goal of self-governing statehood because a nation that is enslaved has its bands bound, its spirit depressed and faces the danger of ultimate extinction." (Slovanstvo a svet buducnosti). To engage and negotiate in politics with anyone who is willing to help us was the slogan of the American Slovaks a half century ago. "We must pursue a political course," wrote Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, " that will bring us eventually to our national independence." (Slovensky dennik, February 27, 1909). In another article Vel'kostiavnicky wrote: "We Slovaks must have an honorable political program that will permit us to adopt a policy or unite with a nation with which we will be able to cooperate mutually, with positive assurance and a guarantee of our national independence. We must be a fully and independent and selfgoverning nation because this is according to the natural law, and a principle of an individual entity that belongs to every nation. "Every nation like every person upon reaching maturity desires to be free, and a nation aspires to have its own individual self-governing state. Thus it is with our Slovak nation, for we do not want to be infants iorever, nor dependents or slaves. We are impelled to this not only by the spirit of the age but by nature and every conceivable political experience of the past. "We Slovaks declare to the whole world that we are SLOVAKIA 53 a nation that wants to be free, and therefore, must have its own free self-governing state in Europe." Our forebears spoke distinctly in this manner and spirit when all they had was the historic fact of the existence of Slovak statehood more than a thousand years ago, and of course, the basis for their claim the universally accepted principle that all nations aspire to independence. We had it a thousand years ago. We lost it because of overwhelming force but we did not surrender the right to be independent. That right belongs to us today and forever. Holly, stur and Tholt-Vel'kostiavnicky, and their followers believed this firmly. Should we who saw with our own eyes the happy reality of an independent Slovak state believe less? Should we after having witnessed what our Slovak state accomplished in six short years willingly bow our heads and place them in the Czech yoke? "No, never!" Let us unite with anyone who wants to help us, as Tholt wrote once, and oppose anyone and everyone who is against Slovak statehood. There are vital material resources that a nation needs but more importantly a nation has need of strong enduring moral values without which a nation cannot exist or long endure. Foremost among the characteristics that make a nation what it is is national consciousness. Both the Magyars and Czechs concentrated their attacks on this central point. Slovaks who possessed a conviction of their own national identity were recognized as inimical to their plans of assimilating the Slovaks. Accordingly they sought to destroy all self-consciousness by bribery, force and imprisonment. For all time renegades from the Slovak nation are listed as "mad'ar6ni" and "cechoslovaci." They degraded themselves by abandoning their Slovak nation because of an inferiority complex, and so they became satraps first of Magyar and subsequently of Czech overlords. Self-consciousness is an acquired virtue and strengthened by one's own conviction that he is his own man, and an individual person who is equal to any man, and he proves 54 SLOVAKIA it to himself and others by his actions in practical life. He stands proudly on his own two feet, so to speak. As in the experience of a child taking his first step which requires courage and effort, so it is with a nation taking its first step towards going ahead without any assistance. The Slovaks took their first step in modern times in the Czecho-Slovak Republic, but soon learned to stand and walk with confidence on their own two feet in the Slovak Republic. Slovak self-consciousness reached such a stage that even erstwhile "Czecho-Slovaks" changed and became convinced of their equality with the Czechs! Quite a transformation. And today they proudly assert they are Slovaks . . . not "Czechoslovaks", as once upon a time they timidly imagined themselves to be. This new spirit of self-reliance is the direct result of the successful development that led to Slovak statehood in our times. Czechs returning to Slovakia after the war, or those who meet Slovak visitors in Prague, are made aware immediately that these are not the old type Slovaks but a new generation or race of self-conscious members of the Slovak nation. This self-consciousness of the average Slovak, and of the intellectual as well, causes great consternation in the Czech camp. A certain 'Moravus' dealing with this natural phenomenon declared this to be absolutely 'insufferable.' With the exception of communist periodicals the Slovak press unanimously attacked him. Moravus got a stinging reply in Slaboda, October 26, 1948: "Awareness of the Slovak nation's abilities and possibilities is the source of the current self-consciousness," insufferable, indeed! cas (Time) replied in kind: "Thank God, Slovakia today is not the Slovakia of yesterday when the country had fewer than five hundred intellectuals.'' Ndrodnd obroda (National Renewal) added on October 26, 1946: "There is no resemblance between the Slovak nation that awoke from a long slumber in 1918 and the Slovak nation today.'' Where did this self-consciousness emanate from? SLOVAKIA 55 To a large degree, from the Slovak Republic. It does not exist today as it did then, but the spirit has survived because we proved to ourselves and the whole world that we could rule our own country better and more efficiently than any alien master ... and because the average Slovak received more for his efforts, he became convinced of his ability to stand on his own two feet as a proud individual of the Slovak nation and as a loyal citizen of the SlovakRepublic. Some politicians who formerly did not dare to have an opinion of their own, relying entirely on Prague wrote: "Slovak affairs can be conducted best right here in Slovakia without interference from Prague, as has been amply demonstrated in recent years. "Slovakia stands firmly on its own feet and is progressing nicely without needless Czech supervision that may now concentrate on solving problems close to home in Prague itself." ( Cas) Under pressure of this new development even Benes changed his tune about his familiar theme, "one nation" i.e., only a Czechoslovak nation (sic), when he said in Kosice: "Since 1918 Slovakia has become stronger and more prosperous, and it has advanced culturally, politically and organizationally so that its rights must be respected. That was self-evident to me in 1938 when I proposed decentralization in the republic." Benes' statement is not true, however. The Czech president addressed a similar proposal on October 4, 1938, to Tiso but he had it recalled from the post office because he was suddenly forced to resign from the presidency. The fact is that in 1938 Benes declared: "No Slovak problem exists. Therefore, there is no need for a solution." Since even Benes admits Slovakia's maturity and progress, why was it denied a Slovak national council, a board of commissioners and other agencies on the basis of the Kosice Agreement? Let us search for the source of the best qualities of every nation. We shall find clues in the following: "The intensive and extensive experience of Slovak statehood produced a new Slovak personality whose political 56 SLOVAKIA spirit and abilities astonished observers who could not help but admire real achievements of the era." (Dr. V. Busek, Svobodny zitfek, No. 36, 1946). One Czech finally admits that it was the Slovak Republic that accomplished wonders. Then why judge Slovak politicians for their achievements? Benes brought them to trial precisely because they were responsible for the rise and growth of Slovak national self-consciousness, because they gave testimony to their own nation of their effective leadership in utilizing their innate talents and skills in establishing independence and statehood. Benes no longer can repeat what he once said to Razus: "You Slovaks have nowhere to go." The Slovaks do not have to go anywhere. All they have to do and they want to do is to stay in their own historic homeland and manage their own affairs in their national household. In the eyes of Benes who attempted to make Slovakia a Czech colony there was no greater crime in all history than that of Tiso and his governmental staff that dared to take off and soar high on their wings like Slovak eagles in the blue sky high above a free land. "Never again will dictatorship rule the Slovaks, for one learns once ancl. for all from his personal experience," writes Slaboda, November 12, 1946. Quotations of this new popular view were often repeated in the postwar era when Prague seized political control of Slovakia after the war. One heard statements like the following: "We have outgrown our infant clothes, we will not take orders from Praha. We lived without Czechs and we can live without them; we were burned once, never again, etc." Dr. Kulhanek advised his Czech countrymen to face the facts, reminding them at long last this (Slovak nation) was not a primitive tribe of sheepherders whiling away the hours blowing the fujara (a musical instrument which may be described as a giant cousin of the saxophone), nor a group of migrant tinkers. "This is a very capable nation comprising seriousminded people of realism. They seek to solve contemporary problems with greater calm and keener perspicacity than we do." (Svobodny zitfek, October 4, 1946). SLOVAKIA 57 Another Czech periodical observed: "Czechs have to be aware of the great re-birth in Slovakia since 1938, and that there is a great difference between Slovaks of yesterday and today. The Slovaks have matured politically and have grown up culturally, their national self-consciousness has been strengthened and ripened. The great majority of Slovaks, not excluding former 'Hlasist' devotees who preached a Czechoslovak form of national unity, feel they are members of an independent nation, and they will not tolerate either political or cultural overlordship, nor economic domination. (Zemedelske listy). Reacting to these tributes to the Slovak Republic from even hitherto hostile quarters an American Slovak journalist wrote: "What great miraculous powers of national liberty and independent statehood must have been at work that in less than six years of the regime of the Slovak Republic these transformed many in the former 'Hlasist' Czechoslovak camp into self-conscious Slovak Patriots." ( Osadne Hlasy, August 9, 1946). No political regime in the world ever gave its people as much as the administration of the Slovak Republic gave the Slovak nation. Self-pride, independence, the spirit of conscientious work, national consciousness, as well as the conversion of Czechoslovak factions, those unbelieving Thomases, all this was inspired by the Slovak Republic. Nevertheless, we are faced with the paradox of all paradoxes, namely, the persecution, imprisonment and execution of the very persons who accomplished all these things. What irony of fate that propagators of noble ideals are now being hounded, tried in court and sentenced to prison and death in the country they served so nobly and so well! Despite this tragedy enemies of the Slovak nation have lost the fight, for the fanatical movement to absorb the Slovaks in a conglomerate of a "Czechoslovak" people was crushed. This was genocide long before it was labelled as such after the war. Hlinka, Tiso and Sidor and their colleagues won the good fight and saved the Slovak nation in a crisis that saw their domestic enemies, the Hlasists, converted to the cause of Slovak national freedom. Ideologically, Benes was defeated. He asserted that he 58 SLOVAKIA recognized only a "Czechoslovak" nation-Hlinka triumphed hy 'declaring he did not recognize such a nation because it never existed. Today Benes, the Bolsheviks and their collaborators may condemn, imprison and hang the creators of the Slovak Republic, they may confiscate their properties and seek to erase their names from history, but they will never succeed in stamping out the self-consciousness of the Slovak nation that came to full maturity in the Slovak Republic. No power in the world can eradicate the aspiration of the Slovak nation for its own free, independent statehood. Attempts to educate a new generation of Slovaks to repudiate the achievements of the brave men ,a nd women who created the Slovak state will be in vain, as will be the terroristic methods designed to intimidate the Slovak people into acknowledging that they have lost their will to be free. Slovak coins with the image of the immortal Slovak president, the banner of the Slovak army, photographs from the Slovak state remain, all reminders of the Slovak Republic. Most important of all, however, is the abiding conviction that we are equals with the civilized and cultured nations of Europe, that we have enough intelligence, that we have a nation that is alert and wide-awake, and particularly that we have a will strong enough to renew our Slovak state at the earliest opportunity. Clearly and unequivocally we declare again: The Slovak nation is ready to accept a helping hand from every great power on earth. Echoes and re-echoes will be heard incessantly throughout Slovakia until the restoration of a free Slovak state. Times have changed and today's situation is not the same as it was when we had our own Slovak Republic. Unpleasant and unbearable though the truth is to some Czechs of the past, the wise ones admit it must be respected, and they are reconciled to the inevitable gennination of a free Slovak state that must come into being again for a self-conscious Slovak nation in the near future. Such is the destiny of a nation determined to have its own self-governing state. (A translation by Andrew Pier from unpublished book of Konstantin culen.)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Good Slovak Republic Description An account of the resource Konštantín Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 41-58 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 1975 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a0356df7d5acc926bee53942a5e7e969.pdf d5b14100e3148a65d1eb9b0e3cd93226 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 59 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. �60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power �SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using �62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its �SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: �64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. �SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. �SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. �SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964. � SLOVAKIA 59 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. �60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power �SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using �62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its �SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: �64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. �SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. �SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. �SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964. � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. 60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using 62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: 64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964.  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 Juraj Fándly: An Introduction to His Life and Work Description An account of the resource Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 59-67 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sutherland, Anthony X. (Anthony Xavier) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8bff0062ce6f837cb54405e30d7dd4dc.pdf dbe6d73eb70c45cc2a51179d2cb350e1 PDF Text Text 68 S L O V A KIA Slovak Fraternal Organizations Daniel F. T a n z o n e Slovak fraternalism had its origins in the mining and mill towns of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. It was a product of the need to provide financial assistance to the victims of mine and mill disasters and their dependants; to provide a nucleus for social and religious activity among Slovak immigrants. Local groups began to develop in the early years of the 1880's and the first Slovak fraternal-benefit society was founded in New York City on March 3, 1883 under the name of the First Hungarian Slovak Fraternal Society. Soon other societies mushroomed in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Houtzdale, Pennsylvania; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and in 1885 the St. Stephen Society was established in Cleveland, Ohio, by the late Rev. Stephen Furdek. In 1887 the Society of Prince Rudolph in Bayone, New Jersey was established and a touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of this lodge when it had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Habsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Although each Slovak society had basically similar objectives it was not until 1890 that 9, concerted effort was made to organize these various loosely knit societies into a national organization. It can be said that two distinct philosophies developed in these early efforts at unification. One camp was totally nationalistic and desired to maintain the Slovak language, culture and traditions among its members regardless of religious affiliation. The second camp was staunchly religious and although it held similar objectives regarding Slovak language, culture and traditions it added the important element of religion. Peter P. Rovnianek, known as the stormy petrel because of his bitter objection to Slovak oppression at the hands �SLOVAKIA 69 of the Austria-Hungarian monarchy, was the leader of the former camp and on February 15, 1890 he organized a group of Slovak societies with similar beliefs into the National Slovak Society. Similarily the Rev. Stephen Furdek gather representatives of eight Slovak Catholic societies in Cleveland on September 4, 1890 and the First Catholic Slovak Union commonly known as Jednota, which means Union, was established. The objectives of this society were to preserve the Catholic faith, to support fellow members, widows, and orphans in need, to preserve and extend the use of the Slovak language and nationality. Soon Slovak women organized societies. In 1891 Slovak women organized the zivena Beneti.cial Society in Pittsburgh. In 1892 Slovak Catholic women under the leadership of Anna Hurban with the assistance of Father Furdek organized the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union in Cleveland. Divisions in these societies found the establishment of the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union in 1893 by societies in Pennsylvania. In 1900 a break in the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union saw the establishment of the Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Slovak Byzantine Catholics joined hands with their Rutl;lenian brothers and organized the Greek Catholic Union, although not a Greek was among them. The Slovaks' love for gymnastics saw the establishment of Slovak Sokol organizations. In 1896 in the city of Chicago the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol was born and promoted gymnastics and athletics among its members. In 1905, because of religious differences a group of 43 members of the National Sokol, as it is known, organized the Slovak Catholic Sokol in the city of Passaic, New Jersey. Although similar in its objectives the Catholic Sokol remained faithful to the Catholic faith and has over the years been among the most out~tanding Slovak Catholic societies in the world. Slovak Lutherans mganized the Slovak Evangelical Union in 1893. The Slovak Lutheran women followed with the establishment of the Slovak Evangelical Ladies Union. These two societies merged together in 1962 and are today known as the United Lutheran Brethren. Slov<:tk Calvinists organized the Slovak Calvinistic Union in 1894. �70 SLOVAKIA Smaller Slovak organizations developed such as the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union which merged with the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; tl\e First Slovak Wreath of the Free Eagle which still exists today and other smaller societies which eventually merged with larger societies. It was these societies which developed a sense of pride and love for Slovak things among the early immigrants and which today still encourages that goal. Over the years these sccieties played a monumental role in the life of the Slovaks not only in America but also played an important role in the life of the Slovaks in Slovakia. Hundreds of churches both Catholic and Protestant were established by these societies. Noteworthy is the fact that almost every one of the more than three hundred Slovak Catholic churches in America were established by a local branch of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Millions of dollars have been spent for the Slovak cultural, civic and fraternal activities. In Cleveland where we have the headquarters of the two largest Slovak fraternal societies the First Catholic Slovak Union and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association the many churches, schools, convents and religious institutions were established and supported by these societies. One need only look at the list of benefactors of St. Andrew's Abbey of the Slovak Benedictines here and one will see that it was and is the Slovak fraternals which have and are still supporting this great institution. Today these societies provide not only the opportunity of excellent financial planning but also provide the impetus to belong to a society where one's Slovak culture and heritage is promoted and supported. These societies are as relevant as they were in the mine or mill town of the nineteenth century. These societies are second to none in their benefits. When it comes to insurance you will find that these societies are the best investment for your money. One need only look at the statistics of some of these societies. Did you know that the Jednota has a membership of 100,000 with assets of over thirty-six million dollars? Did you know that the Jednota has given over fifty million dollars in benefits to its membership, or the fact that it has given over eight million dollars to works of charity and cultural endeavors? Are you aware of the fact that the First Catholic Slovak �SLOVAKIA 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails, � 68 S L O V A KIA Slovak Fraternal Organizations Daniel F. T a n z o n e Slovak fraternalism had its origins in the mining and mill towns of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. It was a product of the need to provide financial assistance to the victims of mine and mill disasters and their dependants; to provide a nucleus for social and religious activity among Slovak immigrants. Local groups began to develop in the early years of the 1880's and the first Slovak fraternal-benefit society was founded in New York City on March 3, 1883 under the name of the First Hungarian Slovak Fraternal Society. Soon other societies mushroomed in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Houtzdale, Pennsylvania; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and in 1885 the St. Stephen Society was established in Cleveland, Ohio, by the late Rev. Stephen Furdek. In 1887 the Society of Prince Rudolph in Bayone, New Jersey was established and a touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of this lodge when it had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Habsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Although each Slovak society had basically similar objectives it was not until 1890 that 9, concerted effort was made to organize these various loosely knit societies into a national organization. It can be said that two distinct philosophies developed in these early efforts at unification. One camp was totally nationalistic and desired to maintain the Slovak language, culture and traditions among its members regardless of religious affiliation. The second camp was staunchly religious and although it held similar objectives regarding Slovak language, culture and traditions it added the important element of religion. Peter P. Rovnianek, known as the stormy petrel because of his bitter objection to Slovak oppression at the hands �SLOVAKIA 69 of the Austria-Hungarian monarchy, was the leader of the former camp and on February 15, 1890 he organized a group of Slovak societies with similar beliefs into the National Slovak Society. Similarily the Rev. Stephen Furdek gather representatives of eight Slovak Catholic societies in Cleveland on September 4, 1890 and the First Catholic Slovak Union commonly known as Jednota, which means Union, was established. The objectives of this society were to preserve the Catholic faith, to support fellow members, widows, and orphans in need, to preserve and extend the use of the Slovak language and nationality. Soon Slovak women organized societies. In 1891 Slovak women organized the zivena Beneti.cial Society in Pittsburgh. In 1892 Slovak Catholic women under the leadership of Anna Hurban with the assistance of Father Furdek organized the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union in Cleveland. Divisions in these societies found the establishment of the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union in 1893 by societies in Pennsylvania. In 1900 a break in the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union saw the establishment of the Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Slovak Byzantine Catholics joined hands with their Rutl;lenian brothers and organized the Greek Catholic Union, although not a Greek was among them. The Slovaks' love for gymnastics saw the establishment of Slovak Sokol organizations. In 1896 in the city of Chicago the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol was born and promoted gymnastics and athletics among its members. In 1905, because of religious differences a group of 43 members of the National Sokol, as it is known, organized the Slovak Catholic Sokol in the city of Passaic, New Jersey. Although similar in its objectives the Catholic Sokol remained faithful to the Catholic faith and has over the years been among the most out~tanding Slovak Catholic societies in the world. Slovak Lutherans mganized the Slovak Evangelical Union in 1893. The Slovak Lutheran women followed with the establishment of the Slovak Evangelical Ladies Union. These two societies merged together in 1962 and are today known as the United Lutheran Brethren. Slov<:tk Calvinists organized the Slovak Calvinistic Union in 1894. �70 SLOVAKIA Smaller Slovak organizations developed such as the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union which merged with the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; tl\e First Slovak Wreath of the Free Eagle which still exists today and other smaller societies which eventually merged with larger societies. It was these societies which developed a sense of pride and love for Slovak things among the early immigrants and which today still encourages that goal. Over the years these sccieties played a monumental role in the life of the Slovaks not only in America but also played an important role in the life of the Slovaks in Slovakia. Hundreds of churches both Catholic and Protestant were established by these societies. Noteworthy is the fact that almost every one of the more than three hundred Slovak Catholic churches in America were established by a local branch of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Millions of dollars have been spent for the Slovak cultural, civic and fraternal activities. In Cleveland where we have the headquarters of the two largest Slovak fraternal societies the First Catholic Slovak Union and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association the many churches, schools, convents and religious institutions were established and supported by these societies. One need only look at the list of benefactors of St. Andrew's Abbey of the Slovak Benedictines here and one will see that it was and is the Slovak fraternals which have and are still supporting this great institution. Today these societies provide not only the opportunity of excellent financial planning but also provide the impetus to belong to a society where one's Slovak culture and heritage is promoted and supported. These societies are as relevant as they were in the mine or mill town of the nineteenth century. These societies are second to none in their benefits. When it comes to insurance you will find that these societies are the best investment for your money. One need only look at the statistics of some of these societies. Did you know that the Jednota has a membership of 100,000 with assets of over thirty-six million dollars? Did you know that the Jednota has given over fifty million dollars in benefits to its membership, or the fact that it has given over eight million dollars to works of charity and cultural endeavors? Are you aware of the fact that the First Catholic Slovak �SLOVAKIA 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails, � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 68 S L O V A KIA Slovak Fraternal Organizations Daniel F. T a n z o n e Slovak fraternalism had its origins in the mining and mill towns of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. It was a product of the need to provide financial assistance to the victims of mine and mill disasters and their dependants; to provide a nucleus for social and religious activity among Slovak immigrants. Local groups began to develop in the early years of the 1880's and the first Slovak fraternal-benefit society was founded in New York City on March 3, 1883 under the name of the First Hungarian Slovak Fraternal Society. Soon other societies mushroomed in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Houtzdale, Pennsylvania; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and in 1885 the St. Stephen Society was established in Cleveland, Ohio, by the late Rev. Stephen Furdek. In 1887 the Society of Prince Rudolph in Bayone, New Jersey was established and a touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of this lodge when it had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Habsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Although each Slovak society had basically similar objectives it was not until 1890 that 9, concerted effort was made to organize these various loosely knit societies into a national organization. It can be said that two distinct philosophies developed in these early efforts at unification. One camp was totally nationalistic and desired to maintain the Slovak language, culture and traditions among its members regardless of religious affiliation. The second camp was staunchly religious and although it held similar objectives regarding Slovak language, culture and traditions it added the important element of religion. Peter P. Rovnianek, known as the stormy petrel because of his bitter objection to Slovak oppression at the hands SLOVAKIA 69 of the Austria-Hungarian monarchy, was the leader of the former camp and on February 15, 1890 he organized a group of Slovak societies with similar beliefs into the National Slovak Society. Similarily the Rev. Stephen Furdek gather representatives of eight Slovak Catholic societies in Cleveland on September 4, 1890 and the First Catholic Slovak Union commonly known as Jednota, which means Union, was established. The objectives of this society were to preserve the Catholic faith, to support fellow members, widows, and orphans in need, to preserve and extend the use of the Slovak language and nationality. Soon Slovak women organized societies. In 1891 Slovak women organized the zivena Beneti.cial Society in Pittsburgh. In 1892 Slovak Catholic women under the leadership of Anna Hurban with the assistance of Father Furdek organized the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union in Cleveland. Divisions in these societies found the establishment of the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union in 1893 by societies in Pennsylvania. In 1900 a break in the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union saw the establishment of the Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Slovak Byzantine Catholics joined hands with their Rutl;lenian brothers and organized the Greek Catholic Union, although not a Greek was among them. The Slovaks' love for gymnastics saw the establishment of Slovak Sokol organizations. In 1896 in the city of Chicago the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol was born and promoted gymnastics and athletics among its members. In 1905, because of religious differences a group of 43 members of the National Sokol, as it is known, organized the Slovak Catholic Sokol in the city of Passaic, New Jersey. Although similar in its objectives the Catholic Sokol remained faithful to the Catholic faith and has over the years been among the most out~tanding Slovak Catholic societies in the world. Slovak Lutherans mganized the Slovak Evangelical Union in 1893. The Slovak Lutheran women followed with the establishment of the Slovak Evangelical Ladies Union. These two societies merged together in 1962 and are today known as the United Lutheran Brethren. Slov<:tk Calvinists organized the Slovak Calvinistic Union in 1894. 70 SLOVAKIA Smaller Slovak organizations developed such as the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union which merged with the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union; tl\e First Slovak Wreath of the Free Eagle which still exists today and other smaller societies which eventually merged with larger societies. It was these societies which developed a sense of pride and love for Slovak things among the early immigrants and which today still encourages that goal. Over the years these sccieties played a monumental role in the life of the Slovaks not only in America but also played an important role in the life of the Slovaks in Slovakia. Hundreds of churches both Catholic and Protestant were established by these societies. Noteworthy is the fact that almost every one of the more than three hundred Slovak Catholic churches in America were established by a local branch of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Millions of dollars have been spent for the Slovak cultural, civic and fraternal activities. In Cleveland where we have the headquarters of the two largest Slovak fraternal societies the First Catholic Slovak Union and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association the many churches, schools, convents and religious institutions were established and supported by these societies. One need only look at the list of benefactors of St. Andrew's Abbey of the Slovak Benedictines here and one will see that it was and is the Slovak fraternals which have and are still supporting this great institution. Today these societies provide not only the opportunity of excellent financial planning but also provide the impetus to belong to a society where one's Slovak culture and heritage is promoted and supported. These societies are as relevant as they were in the mine or mill town of the nineteenth century. These societies are second to none in their benefits. When it comes to insurance you will find that these societies are the best investment for your money. One need only look at the statistics of some of these societies. Did you know that the Jednota has a membership of 100,000 with assets of over thirty-six million dollars? Did you know that the Jednota has given over fifty million dollars in benefits to its membership, or the fact that it has given over eight million dollars to works of charity and cultural endeavors? Are you aware of the fact that the First Catholic Slovak SLOVAKIA 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails,  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 Fraternal Organizations Description An account of the resource Daniel F. Tanzone Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 68-71 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tanzone, Daniel F. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b82ed8c61ed3319932e3d806c6540f03.pdf 2e72961d4ce3f6b710526c3db9d5b85a PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails, �72 SLOVAKIA down before daybreak and up at night, blackfaced and hacking, blessing the waterpumps, the coal cars, the breaker, the sky, pochvdleny bud' jezis kristus for the fuhrmann-schmidt brewery and polka parties, the "anthratones" at barbershop song and beer-barrel accordian, for the long, cool chug-a-lug and a quick, hot, footstomping cardas, jezis kristus for christmas eve vilija supper, matka and babicka rolling bobal'ky (mother, grandma, doughballs), baking kolac, poppy seed or black walnut, boiling saurkraut soup, then breaking the wafers, oblatky, spread with honey, praised be work, play, and the family ( though stefan pavelko wheezed himself to coaldust and cyril dorko was buried alive in a cave-in landslide), praised be jesus christ, now and forever (bittersweet) jezis kristus a ten-year old boy in a ski-jacket and a cossack hat pelts a freight with snowballs from a footbridge over the railroad tracks, a coal truck dripping water down its mudflaps fumes up the red ash road where the blessed mother, st. joseph, and the infant reside enshrined in the slovensky window of run-down company houses and two old ladies in babushkas huff and hobble arm-in-arm down a hill naveky (naveky) (naveky) amen. Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. � SLOVAKIA 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails, �72 SLOVAKIA down before daybreak and up at night, blackfaced and hacking, blessing the waterpumps, the coal cars, the breaker, the sky, pochvdleny bud' jezis kristus for the fuhrmann-schmidt brewery and polka parties, the "anthratones" at barbershop song and beer-barrel accordian, for the long, cool chug-a-lug and a quick, hot, footstomping cardas, jezis kristus for christmas eve vilija supper, matka and babicka rolling bobal'ky (mother, grandma, doughballs), baking kolac, poppy seed or black walnut, boiling saurkraut soup, then breaking the wafers, oblatky, spread with honey, praised be work, play, and the family ( though stefan pavelko wheezed himself to coaldust and cyril dorko was buried alive in a cave-in landslide), praised be jesus christ, now and forever (bittersweet) jezis kristus a ten-year old boy in a ski-jacket and a cossack hat pelts a freight with snowballs from a footbridge over the railroad tracks, a coal truck dripping water down its mudflaps fumes up the red ash road where the blessed mother, st. joseph, and the infant reside enshrined in the slovensky window of run-down company houses and two old ladies in babushkas huff and hobble arm-in-arm down a hill naveky (naveky) (naveky) amen. Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 71 Ladies Association assets are approaching fifty-five million dollars with over 95,000 members ranking as the largest ethnic society of women in America? Did you realize that the Slovak Catholic Sokol, with its over 51,000 members and assets of over twenty-five million dollars spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on gymnastic and athletic activities for its members annually? There is no better way of saying that I am proud to be of Slovak ancestry than to become a member of one of these organizations. I have faith in our Slovak societies because of what they represented in the past and I am optimistic that in the future they will continue to be the valiant supporters of a gallant Slovak nation. The Slovak fraternals have been very much a part of my life and I know that if you show some interest they will enlighten and enliven each one of you to become better Americans, better humanitarians and better Slovaks. The finest thing I can say is that I am a member of the Jednota, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, the zenska Jednota and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Praised-be in the Coal Region ( though a hardcoal fire simmers through the tunnels and shafts of the mine year in and year out, though on rainy days the culm bank steams and on the stillest, humid days the sulfur-fog chokes, and the governor investigates by helicopter; though the slovak papa dies of black lung, and his widow files for benefits when the congressman comes) pochvdleny bud' shamokin creek and furnace run, the colliery and cranes, the slag piled mountain-high, the oldtime coalminers in boots, overalls, helmets with headlamps who shouldered pickaxes and lugged lunchpails, 72 SLOVAKIA down before daybreak and up at night, blackfaced and hacking, blessing the waterpumps, the coal cars, the breaker, the sky, pochvdleny bud' jezis kristus for the fuhrmann-schmidt brewery and polka parties, the "anthratones" at barbershop song and beer-barrel accordian, for the long, cool chug-a-lug and a quick, hot, footstomping cardas, jezis kristus for christmas eve vilija supper, matka and babicka rolling bobal'ky (mother, grandma, doughballs), baking kolac, poppy seed or black walnut, boiling saurkraut soup, then breaking the wafers, oblatky, spread with honey, praised be work, play, and the family ( though stefan pavelko wheezed himself to coaldust and cyril dorko was buried alive in a cave-in landslide), praised be jesus christ, now and forever (bittersweet) jezis kristus a ten-year old boy in a ski-jacket and a cossack hat pelts a freight with snowballs from a footbridge over the railroad tracks, a coal truck dripping water down its mudflaps fumes up the red ash road where the blessed mother, st. joseph, and the infant reside enshrined in the slovensky window of run-down company houses and two old ladies in babushkas huff and hobble arm-in-arm down a hill naveky (naveky) (naveky) amen. Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Praised-be in the Coal Region Description An account of the resource Sister M. Pamela Smith, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 71-72 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Smith, Sister M. Pamela, SS.C.M. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b0b9fcc0ef3ffcdedb66668b444ba4d1.pdf e3dbe12388d02ef68c79c21f5f380d31 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 73 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio By Andrew P i e r , O.S.B. During World War II a popular calling card that was left mysteriously in many parts of the embattled areas was the scribbled message, "Kilroy was here," as if to say, 'Hello there, welcome.' Throughout the Cleveland area from the inner city to the outlying suburbs there are many indications that the Slovaks were not only there but continue to live, work and pray as integral social units in our variegated municipal society that has drawn human recruits from as many as fifty countries from all over the world. Slovakia, for centuries a royal province in the conglomerate kingdom of Hungary, then incorporated in CzechoSlovakia after World War I, Slovak Republic before and during World War II, and re-incorporated arbitrarily after the second World War inside Czecho-Slovakia again, has given the United States close to a million of her people who migrated to the new world in the past hundred years. Today in greater Cleveland it is conservatively estimated that there are at least 80,000 American citizens who trace their national origin to the Slovak nation that numbers approximately five million in its historic homeland, and an equal or even greater number of countrymen and their descendants around the globe. Signs that Slovaks settled in the Cleveland metropolis are many. Foremost among these are the church edifices and schools which they themselves built, maintained and staffed without benefit of church or state aid. Undoubtedly, early Slovaks deserve fully to be recognized and registered among most enterprising Americans of all time. The first and foremost indications of the presence of the Slovaks are their churches where they not only wor- �74 SLOVAKIA shipped but gathered socially in adjoining halls, and where they built parochial schools for their children's education. St. Martin and St. Ladislaus, no longer existing, were the first religious and social and cultural centers. There remain St. Wendelin's and Our Lady of Mercy on the west side, SS. Cyril and Methodius in Lakewood, St. Andrew's, Nativity and St. Benedict's on the east side, as well as several Lutheran parishes both in Cleveland and Lakewood. Around these parochial institutions various societies were organized, clubs were formed and newspapers began to be published. An assorted group of societies in the early 1890's was the nucleus for Father Stephen Furdek to establish the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) which was destined to become a 100,000-member fraternal organization to be followed soon by a sister fraternal society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union of which Father Furdek was co-founder with Mrs. Anna Hurban. Central headquarters of both fraternals ( each with a membership of a hundred thousand) are still here in Cleveland. In 1907 Father Furdek and his associates founded the Slovak League of America. A number of smaller organizations, such as the Cleveland Jednota and the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union, sprang up, but in recent years these were absorbed by larger organizations. Both the Slovak Catholic Sokol and the Slovak Sokol, though not originating here, and the National Slovak Society have substantial membership in the Cleveland area, also Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union, the 2:ivena and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Nationwide influence of the Slovaks in Cleveland was highlighted by the issuance of the Cleveland Agreement in 1915 (which has been publicized by the famous Theodore Andrica of the Cleveland Press). The document outlined the democratic framework for a self-governing Slovak national state in central Europe. This was later revised and became the basis of the ill-starred Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 shamelessly repudiated by its most famous signer, Thomas G. Masaryk. A number of Slovak newspapers and periodicals were �SLOVAKIA 75 published here at one time or another, namely, the Cleveland Hlas (Voice) edited by Jan Pankuch, Sr., Father Liscinsky's Kritika (purchased by Michal Bosak in 1920 and re-named Slovenskd Obrana in Scranton, Penna.), and the Slovenske Noviny, edited by a staff o f ~ at St. Andrew's Abbey: by Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, Ph.D., Karol Strmen and Rev. Andrew Pier, O.S.B. from 1949 to 1959, the Ave Maria monthly published since 1929 by the Slovak Benedictines is still being published and has a world-wide circulation. John C. Cieker, editor of the zivena monthly ,:nagazine lives in Parma. On the air waves for the past forty years Slovak broadcasts have been heard weekly or daily on the fallowing programs: The Cleveland Slovak radio club's Slovak Hour on Stations WADC and WERE-AM and WZAK-FM, Joseph Pales' Slovak Hour on Stations WDOK and WXEN-FM, Alex Mikula on Station WZAK-FM, Michael Beno on WXEN-FM with Viktor Nesnadny. John J. Biro and J. J . Kascak are currently the announcers on Station WERE's Slovak Hour. In the past Jan Majzler and Kolman Lajcak were pioneer announcers, then Judge Stephen A. Zona and Vladimir Mlynek. Politically, the Slovaks have had the following in various offices in public life: Judge George Tenesy and Judge Stephen A. Zona, State Representatives John Smolka, Stephen A. Zona, George E . Fedor, Andrew C. Putka, Jerome Stano, Mayors Stephen A. Zona and John Petruska in Parma, Assistant County Prosecutors: Attorneys Julius Badzik, John Kulka, John Urbancik and John Leonard, Stephen Suhajcik, Mary Sotak, Richard Harmondy in City Council, City Law Director George E . Fedor in Lakewood, Attorneys Andrew Sarisky, Andrew C. Putka and William Petro in the Mayor's cabinet at City Hall, Stephen Suhajcik, Commissioner of fiscal control in the Cleveland Water Department, Andrew G. Putka, sports' commissioner in the city. George Szell, famed conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, was of Slovak origin on his mother's side, as is Paul Newman, cinema star, whose mother was Slovak, too. Sammy Kaye comes from a well known Slovak family in �76 SLOVAKIA Lakewood, Ohio. Opera Singer Rudolf Petrak appeared in a special concert in the Public Auditorium here in May, 1952. Two Slovak composers, Orsagh and Francisci, lived here during the World War I era. Various Slovak clubs that were active at one time were: Bratislavsky knizok, Trenciansky klub, Oravsky klub (now the Cleveland Slovak Social Club and still active), also such active clubs as the American Slovak Zemplin Club, the General Milan R. stefanik Dramatic Circle, the Slovak Dramatic Society, the Vansova Literary Guild, the Lakewood Slovak Civic Club and the Cleveland Slovak Civic Club. John Rozboril was director of a popular marching band at St. Ladislaus parish in the World War I era and Ray Zamiska organized the well known Post 381 St. Benedict's military band after World War II. Popular orchestras that circulated in the Slovak community were: Sedlak's, Golden's, Beno's and Pales' orchestras, and now still active are Kopcho's Cavalier s and the Pastirik Combo Five, both of which specialize in Slovak folk music. George Lukac, Sr. was a typical representative of Church organists who not only played liturgical music but trained singing groups through the years, and often produced plays and musicals. His son, Matthew, has been the organist and choir director at St. John's Cathedral for the past 30 years. Visits from abroad by dignitaries were the following: Msgr. Andrej Hlinka in 1926, the Matica Slovenska (Slovak Institute) from Turciansky Sv. Martin in Slovakia in 1935 and the Spolok sv. Vojtecha delegation in 1937 (with Dr. Joseph Tiso as a member). Police Chief George Matowic of Nativity parish was a highly respected member of the Cleveland Police Department for more than 40 years. Johnny Risko, Cleveland's "Baker Boy" was a perennial contender for the heavyweight boxing crown in the 1920's and early 1930's. �SLOVAKIA 77 In art the best known was Steve Sarisky of the Cleveland Institute of Art and George Krispinsky, a former art instructor at Benedictine High School. Photography has an expert in the person of Tibor Gasparik who is the chief photographer in the municipal photo laboratory at City Hall. Outstanding in the field of Slovak literature are two eminent Slovak poets and authors: Rev. Mikulas sprinc, professor of Modern Languages at Borromeo College in Wickliffe, Ohio and Dr. Karol Strmen, Ph.D., professor of French, Italian and Latin at Cleveland State University. Successful Slovak industrialists are the following machine-shop owners: Wendell sarmir and Sons, Michael Olle and Sons, Wendell Lorence and Son and the Bobinchuk Father and Sons Company. Travel agencies under Slovak management are: John Olds' Atlas, Andrew Hudak's Adventure International, Groger's Travel Service (Groger and Friedman), and LihaniNemecek Travel Bureau. Financial Institutions founded and managed by Slovaks are: State Savings (Joseph Sotak, Sr. and Sons, also Mrs. Anna Sotak), formerly Tatra Savings, and Home Federal Savings in Lakewood Ohio (formerly Orol Savings founded by Martin Slimak and associates). On the cultural side, there is the Slovak Institute and its library at St. Andrew's Abbey. The Slovak Institute was founded by Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. who appointed as its first director Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, author of the first history of Slovakia, in 1952. Benedictine High School, founded in 1927, staffed and administered by the Slovak Benedictine Fathers of St. Andrew's Abbey, is perhaps the best known of Slovak sponsored educational institutions in the country. Its counterpart, the Lumen Cordium High School for girls, is administered and staffed by the Slovak Vincentian Sisters in Bedford, Ohio. They also have charge of the well known Slovak shrine there, Our Lady of Levoca. Under the sponsorship of the Cleveland Press and �78 SLOVAKIA directed by Theodore Andrica ( the well known nationality news editor for the daily over a period of forty years) a series of festival-pageants were produced annually. In the first years the Slovaks appeared with a la_rge group under the direction of Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. The Stefanik Dramatic Circle also participated. Among the most noteworthy books emanating from Cleveland directly were : 1) Poems by M. sprinc, 2) Poems by K. Strmen, 3) The History of Slovak Religious Orders in the U.S. by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., 4) Slovak Christmas by Jozef Duris, 5) Two works on ancient Slovak art and architecture by Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D., 6) A small volume on childhood in a Slovak family in Pennsylvania by A. V. Pier, O.S.B. Undoubtedly the most impor tant of these publications are Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders in the U.S., Dr. Strmen's anthology of world literature in the Slovak language and Mr. Duris' Slovak Christmas (in English). Most popular of the Slovak productions in Cleveland has been the Slovak Cook Book published by the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. The book is in its 17th edition. Nat far behind in nationwide popularity among the Slovaks of America is the map of Slovakia which was originally drawn up with meticulous and scientific care by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. and Engineer Kalocsay at the Slovak Institute more than twenty years ago. The map which shows approximately 3,500 Slovak towns, villages, etc. has been in increasing demand as more and more people visit Slovakia each year. The map is in its third edition. The Slovak Institute sponsored a special cultural exhibit under the auspices of the Slovak League of America at the Benedictine High School in 1957 under the co- chairmanship of Konstantin culen and Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D. A three-day Slovak Book Exhibit at the Benedictine High School gym in the early 1960's was sponsored by the Slovak Institute. It was the first Nationality Book Fair in the history of Cleveland. Chief landmarks in Cleveland as unmistakable monu- �SLOVAKIA 79 ments of Slovak endeavor are : 1) The bronze statue of General Milan R. Stefanik, erected in Wade Park in 1924 under the sponsorship of the Slovak League of America and associated Slovak societies in Cleveland. The cost was $25,000, and the sculptor was Frico Motoska from Slovakia. 2) The Slovak Cultural Garden, one of a score of nationality garden centers in Rockefeller Park. Peter Mokris and his wife, as well as Msgr. Francis Dubosh, were instrumental in establishing this Slovak link in the chain of gardens by the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation. Mrs. Tillie Bacik is currently the president of the Slovak Cultural Garden Association. Villa Sancta Anna is a home for the aged in Beachwood under the management of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. Slovak historic shrines that trace their origin to Slovakia where they have a history that goes back for centuries have their counterparts in Cleveland. The best known is the unique Our Lady of Levoca pilgrimage site in Bedford, Ohio. Little known here but equally famous are the Mother of Sorrows shrine from sastin and the Mother and Child Mariatal statue enshrined in St. Benedict's Church. Proposing a list of leading personalities in Slovak life in Cleveland during the past hundred years is risky business, but one must begin somewhere, and so I submit the following to be enrolled in the Slovak Hall of Fame: Stefan Furdek, Matthew Benko, Matthew Gruss, John Liscinsky, John Pankuch, Sr., Johnny Risko, George Szell, Mrs. Anna Hurban, John Sabol, Mrs. Anna Sotak, Gregory Vaniscak, Mother M. Berchmans, V.S.C., Martin Slimak, Joseph Dubnicka, Paschal Kavulic, Susan Matuschak, John Rozboril, Philip A. Hrobak, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., and Msgr. Francis Dubosh. There are undoubtedly more who can be added to the group of our eminent Slovak leaders in various fields . Those who are still active have not been submitted as candidates for this honor. � SLOVAKIA 73 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio By Andrew P i e r , O.S.B. During World War II a popular calling card that was left mysteriously in many parts of the embattled areas was the scribbled message, "Kilroy was here," as if to say, 'Hello there, welcome.' Throughout the Cleveland area from the inner city to the outlying suburbs there are many indications that the Slovaks were not only there but continue to live, work and pray as integral social units in our variegated municipal society that has drawn human recruits from as many as fifty countries from all over the world. Slovakia, for centuries a royal province in the conglomerate kingdom of Hungary, then incorporated in CzechoSlovakia after World War I, Slovak Republic before and during World War II, and re-incorporated arbitrarily after the second World War inside Czecho-Slovakia again, has given the United States close to a million of her people who migrated to the new world in the past hundred years. Today in greater Cleveland it is conservatively estimated that there are at least 80,000 American citizens who trace their national origin to the Slovak nation that numbers approximately five million in its historic homeland, and an equal or even greater number of countrymen and their descendants around the globe. Signs that Slovaks settled in the Cleveland metropolis are many. Foremost among these are the church edifices and schools which they themselves built, maintained and staffed without benefit of church or state aid. Undoubtedly, early Slovaks deserve fully to be recognized and registered among most enterprising Americans of all time. The first and foremost indications of the presence of the Slovaks are their churches where they not only wor- �74 SLOVAKIA shipped but gathered socially in adjoining halls, and where they built parochial schools for their children's education. St. Martin and St. Ladislaus, no longer existing, were the first religious and social and cultural centers. There remain St. Wendelin's and Our Lady of Mercy on the west side, SS. Cyril and Methodius in Lakewood, St. Andrew's, Nativity and St. Benedict's on the east side, as well as several Lutheran parishes both in Cleveland and Lakewood. Around these parochial institutions various societies were organized, clubs were formed and newspapers began to be published. An assorted group of societies in the early 1890's was the nucleus for Father Stephen Furdek to establish the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) which was destined to become a 100,000-member fraternal organization to be followed soon by a sister fraternal society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union of which Father Furdek was co-founder with Mrs. Anna Hurban. Central headquarters of both fraternals ( each with a membership of a hundred thousand) are still here in Cleveland. In 1907 Father Furdek and his associates founded the Slovak League of America. A number of smaller organizations, such as the Cleveland Jednota and the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union, sprang up, but in recent years these were absorbed by larger organizations. Both the Slovak Catholic Sokol and the Slovak Sokol, though not originating here, and the National Slovak Society have substantial membership in the Cleveland area, also Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union, the 2:ivena and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Nationwide influence of the Slovaks in Cleveland was highlighted by the issuance of the Cleveland Agreement in 1915 (which has been publicized by the famous Theodore Andrica of the Cleveland Press). The document outlined the democratic framework for a self-governing Slovak national state in central Europe. This was later revised and became the basis of the ill-starred Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 shamelessly repudiated by its most famous signer, Thomas G. Masaryk. A number of Slovak newspapers and periodicals were �SLOVAKIA 75 published here at one time or another, namely, the Cleveland Hlas (Voice) edited by Jan Pankuch, Sr., Father Liscinsky's Kritika (purchased by Michal Bosak in 1920 and re-named Slovenskd Obrana in Scranton, Penna.), and the Slovenske Noviny, edited by a staff o f ~ at St. Andrew's Abbey: by Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, Ph.D., Karol Strmen and Rev. Andrew Pier, O.S.B. from 1949 to 1959, the Ave Maria monthly published since 1929 by the Slovak Benedictines is still being published and has a world-wide circulation. John C. Cieker, editor of the zivena monthly ,:nagazine lives in Parma. On the air waves for the past forty years Slovak broadcasts have been heard weekly or daily on the fallowing programs: The Cleveland Slovak radio club's Slovak Hour on Stations WADC and WERE-AM and WZAK-FM, Joseph Pales' Slovak Hour on Stations WDOK and WXEN-FM, Alex Mikula on Station WZAK-FM, Michael Beno on WXEN-FM with Viktor Nesnadny. John J. Biro and J. J . Kascak are currently the announcers on Station WERE's Slovak Hour. In the past Jan Majzler and Kolman Lajcak were pioneer announcers, then Judge Stephen A. Zona and Vladimir Mlynek. Politically, the Slovaks have had the following in various offices in public life: Judge George Tenesy and Judge Stephen A. Zona, State Representatives John Smolka, Stephen A. Zona, George E . Fedor, Andrew C. Putka, Jerome Stano, Mayors Stephen A. Zona and John Petruska in Parma, Assistant County Prosecutors: Attorneys Julius Badzik, John Kulka, John Urbancik and John Leonard, Stephen Suhajcik, Mary Sotak, Richard Harmondy in City Council, City Law Director George E . Fedor in Lakewood, Attorneys Andrew Sarisky, Andrew C. Putka and William Petro in the Mayor's cabinet at City Hall, Stephen Suhajcik, Commissioner of fiscal control in the Cleveland Water Department, Andrew G. Putka, sports' commissioner in the city. George Szell, famed conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, was of Slovak origin on his mother's side, as is Paul Newman, cinema star, whose mother was Slovak, too. Sammy Kaye comes from a well known Slovak family in �76 SLOVAKIA Lakewood, Ohio. Opera Singer Rudolf Petrak appeared in a special concert in the Public Auditorium here in May, 1952. Two Slovak composers, Orsagh and Francisci, lived here during the World War I era. Various Slovak clubs that were active at one time were: Bratislavsky knizok, Trenciansky klub, Oravsky klub (now the Cleveland Slovak Social Club and still active), also such active clubs as the American Slovak Zemplin Club, the General Milan R. stefanik Dramatic Circle, the Slovak Dramatic Society, the Vansova Literary Guild, the Lakewood Slovak Civic Club and the Cleveland Slovak Civic Club. John Rozboril was director of a popular marching band at St. Ladislaus parish in the World War I era and Ray Zamiska organized the well known Post 381 St. Benedict's military band after World War II. Popular orchestras that circulated in the Slovak community were: Sedlak's, Golden's, Beno's and Pales' orchestras, and now still active are Kopcho's Cavalier s and the Pastirik Combo Five, both of which specialize in Slovak folk music. George Lukac, Sr. was a typical representative of Church organists who not only played liturgical music but trained singing groups through the years, and often produced plays and musicals. His son, Matthew, has been the organist and choir director at St. John's Cathedral for the past 30 years. Visits from abroad by dignitaries were the following: Msgr. Andrej Hlinka in 1926, the Matica Slovenska (Slovak Institute) from Turciansky Sv. Martin in Slovakia in 1935 and the Spolok sv. Vojtecha delegation in 1937 (with Dr. Joseph Tiso as a member). Police Chief George Matowic of Nativity parish was a highly respected member of the Cleveland Police Department for more than 40 years. Johnny Risko, Cleveland's "Baker Boy" was a perennial contender for the heavyweight boxing crown in the 1920's and early 1930's. �SLOVAKIA 77 In art the best known was Steve Sarisky of the Cleveland Institute of Art and George Krispinsky, a former art instructor at Benedictine High School. Photography has an expert in the person of Tibor Gasparik who is the chief photographer in the municipal photo laboratory at City Hall. Outstanding in the field of Slovak literature are two eminent Slovak poets and authors: Rev. Mikulas sprinc, professor of Modern Languages at Borromeo College in Wickliffe, Ohio and Dr. Karol Strmen, Ph.D., professor of French, Italian and Latin at Cleveland State University. Successful Slovak industrialists are the following machine-shop owners: Wendell sarmir and Sons, Michael Olle and Sons, Wendell Lorence and Son and the Bobinchuk Father and Sons Company. Travel agencies under Slovak management are: John Olds' Atlas, Andrew Hudak's Adventure International, Groger's Travel Service (Groger and Friedman), and LihaniNemecek Travel Bureau. Financial Institutions founded and managed by Slovaks are: State Savings (Joseph Sotak, Sr. and Sons, also Mrs. Anna Sotak), formerly Tatra Savings, and Home Federal Savings in Lakewood Ohio (formerly Orol Savings founded by Martin Slimak and associates). On the cultural side, there is the Slovak Institute and its library at St. Andrew's Abbey. The Slovak Institute was founded by Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. who appointed as its first director Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, author of the first history of Slovakia, in 1952. Benedictine High School, founded in 1927, staffed and administered by the Slovak Benedictine Fathers of St. Andrew's Abbey, is perhaps the best known of Slovak sponsored educational institutions in the country. Its counterpart, the Lumen Cordium High School for girls, is administered and staffed by the Slovak Vincentian Sisters in Bedford, Ohio. They also have charge of the well known Slovak shrine there, Our Lady of Levoca. Under the sponsorship of the Cleveland Press and �78 SLOVAKIA directed by Theodore Andrica ( the well known nationality news editor for the daily over a period of forty years) a series of festival-pageants were produced annually. In the first years the Slovaks appeared with a la_rge group under the direction of Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. The Stefanik Dramatic Circle also participated. Among the most noteworthy books emanating from Cleveland directly were : 1) Poems by M. sprinc, 2) Poems by K. Strmen, 3) The History of Slovak Religious Orders in the U.S. by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., 4) Slovak Christmas by Jozef Duris, 5) Two works on ancient Slovak art and architecture by Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D., 6) A small volume on childhood in a Slovak family in Pennsylvania by A. V. Pier, O.S.B. Undoubtedly the most impor tant of these publications are Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders in the U.S., Dr. Strmen's anthology of world literature in the Slovak language and Mr. Duris' Slovak Christmas (in English). Most popular of the Slovak productions in Cleveland has been the Slovak Cook Book published by the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. The book is in its 17th edition. Nat far behind in nationwide popularity among the Slovaks of America is the map of Slovakia which was originally drawn up with meticulous and scientific care by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. and Engineer Kalocsay at the Slovak Institute more than twenty years ago. The map which shows approximately 3,500 Slovak towns, villages, etc. has been in increasing demand as more and more people visit Slovakia each year. The map is in its third edition. The Slovak Institute sponsored a special cultural exhibit under the auspices of the Slovak League of America at the Benedictine High School in 1957 under the co- chairmanship of Konstantin culen and Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D. A three-day Slovak Book Exhibit at the Benedictine High School gym in the early 1960's was sponsored by the Slovak Institute. It was the first Nationality Book Fair in the history of Cleveland. Chief landmarks in Cleveland as unmistakable monu- �SLOVAKIA 79 ments of Slovak endeavor are : 1) The bronze statue of General Milan R. Stefanik, erected in Wade Park in 1924 under the sponsorship of the Slovak League of America and associated Slovak societies in Cleveland. The cost was $25,000, and the sculptor was Frico Motoska from Slovakia. 2) The Slovak Cultural Garden, one of a score of nationality garden centers in Rockefeller Park. Peter Mokris and his wife, as well as Msgr. Francis Dubosh, were instrumental in establishing this Slovak link in the chain of gardens by the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation. Mrs. Tillie Bacik is currently the president of the Slovak Cultural Garden Association. Villa Sancta Anna is a home for the aged in Beachwood under the management of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. Slovak historic shrines that trace their origin to Slovakia where they have a history that goes back for centuries have their counterparts in Cleveland. The best known is the unique Our Lady of Levoca pilgrimage site in Bedford, Ohio. Little known here but equally famous are the Mother of Sorrows shrine from sastin and the Mother and Child Mariatal statue enshrined in St. Benedict's Church. Proposing a list of leading personalities in Slovak life in Cleveland during the past hundred years is risky business, but one must begin somewhere, and so I submit the following to be enrolled in the Slovak Hall of Fame: Stefan Furdek, Matthew Benko, Matthew Gruss, John Liscinsky, John Pankuch, Sr., Johnny Risko, George Szell, Mrs. Anna Hurban, John Sabol, Mrs. Anna Sotak, Gregory Vaniscak, Mother M. Berchmans, V.S.C., Martin Slimak, Joseph Dubnicka, Paschal Kavulic, Susan Matuschak, John Rozboril, Philip A. Hrobak, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., and Msgr. Francis Dubosh. There are undoubtedly more who can be added to the group of our eminent Slovak leaders in various fields . Those who are still active have not been submitted as candidates for this honor. � 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 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. 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 1975 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 73 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio By Andrew P i e r , O.S.B. During World War II a popular calling card that was left mysteriously in many parts of the embattled areas was the scribbled message, "Kilroy was here," as if to say, 'Hello there, welcome.' Throughout the Cleveland area from the inner city to the outlying suburbs there are many indications that the Slovaks were not only there but continue to live, work and pray as integral social units in our variegated municipal society that has drawn human recruits from as many as fifty countries from all over the world. Slovakia, for centuries a royal province in the conglomerate kingdom of Hungary, then incorporated in CzechoSlovakia after World War I, Slovak Republic before and during World War II, and re-incorporated arbitrarily after the second World War inside Czecho-Slovakia again, has given the United States close to a million of her people who migrated to the new world in the past hundred years. Today in greater Cleveland it is conservatively estimated that there are at least 80,000 American citizens who trace their national origin to the Slovak nation that numbers approximately five million in its historic homeland, and an equal or even greater number of countrymen and their descendants around the globe. Signs that Slovaks settled in the Cleveland metropolis are many. Foremost among these are the church edifices and schools which they themselves built, maintained and staffed without benefit of church or state aid. Undoubtedly, early Slovaks deserve fully to be recognized and registered among most enterprising Americans of all time. The first and foremost indications of the presence of the Slovaks are their churches where they not only wor- 74 SLOVAKIA shipped but gathered socially in adjoining halls, and where they built parochial schools for their children's education. St. Martin and St. Ladislaus, no longer existing, were the first religious and social and cultural centers. There remain St. Wendelin's and Our Lady of Mercy on the west side, SS. Cyril and Methodius in Lakewood, St. Andrew's, Nativity and St. Benedict's on the east side, as well as several Lutheran parishes both in Cleveland and Lakewood. Around these parochial institutions various societies were organized, clubs were formed and newspapers began to be published. An assorted group of societies in the early 1890's was the nucleus for Father Stephen Furdek to establish the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) which was destined to become a 100,000-member fraternal organization to be followed soon by a sister fraternal society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union of which Father Furdek was co-founder with Mrs. Anna Hurban. Central headquarters of both fraternals ( each with a membership of a hundred thousand) are still here in Cleveland. In 1907 Father Furdek and his associates founded the Slovak League of America. A number of smaller organizations, such as the Cleveland Jednota and the Slovak Catholic Cadet Union, sprang up, but in recent years these were absorbed by larger organizations. Both the Slovak Catholic Sokol and the Slovak Sokol, though not originating here, and the National Slovak Society have substantial membership in the Cleveland area, also Ladies Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union, the 2:ivena and the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union. Nationwide influence of the Slovaks in Cleveland was highlighted by the issuance of the Cleveland Agreement in 1915 (which has been publicized by the famous Theodore Andrica of the Cleveland Press). The document outlined the democratic framework for a self-governing Slovak national state in central Europe. This was later revised and became the basis of the ill-starred Pittsburgh Pact in 1918 shamelessly repudiated by its most famous signer, Thomas G. Masaryk. A number of Slovak newspapers and periodicals were SLOVAKIA 75 published here at one time or another, namely, the Cleveland Hlas (Voice) edited by Jan Pankuch, Sr., Father Liscinsky's Kritika (purchased by Michal Bosak in 1920 and re-named Slovenskd Obrana in Scranton, Penna.), and the Slovenske Noviny, edited by a staff o f ~ at St. Andrew's Abbey: by Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, Ph.D., Karol Strmen and Rev. Andrew Pier, O.S.B. from 1949 to 1959, the Ave Maria monthly published since 1929 by the Slovak Benedictines is still being published and has a world-wide circulation. John C. Cieker, editor of the zivena monthly ,:nagazine lives in Parma. On the air waves for the past forty years Slovak broadcasts have been heard weekly or daily on the fallowing programs: The Cleveland Slovak radio club's Slovak Hour on Stations WADC and WERE-AM and WZAK-FM, Joseph Pales' Slovak Hour on Stations WDOK and WXEN-FM, Alex Mikula on Station WZAK-FM, Michael Beno on WXEN-FM with Viktor Nesnadny. John J. Biro and J. J . Kascak are currently the announcers on Station WERE's Slovak Hour. In the past Jan Majzler and Kolman Lajcak were pioneer announcers, then Judge Stephen A. Zona and Vladimir Mlynek. Politically, the Slovaks have had the following in various offices in public life: Judge George Tenesy and Judge Stephen A. Zona, State Representatives John Smolka, Stephen A. Zona, George E . Fedor, Andrew C. Putka, Jerome Stano, Mayors Stephen A. Zona and John Petruska in Parma, Assistant County Prosecutors: Attorneys Julius Badzik, John Kulka, John Urbancik and John Leonard, Stephen Suhajcik, Mary Sotak, Richard Harmondy in City Council, City Law Director George E . Fedor in Lakewood, Attorneys Andrew Sarisky, Andrew C. Putka and William Petro in the Mayor's cabinet at City Hall, Stephen Suhajcik, Commissioner of fiscal control in the Cleveland Water Department, Andrew G. Putka, sports' commissioner in the city. George Szell, famed conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, was of Slovak origin on his mother's side, as is Paul Newman, cinema star, whose mother was Slovak, too. Sammy Kaye comes from a well known Slovak family in 76 SLOVAKIA Lakewood, Ohio. Opera Singer Rudolf Petrak appeared in a special concert in the Public Auditorium here in May, 1952. Two Slovak composers, Orsagh and Francisci, lived here during the World War I era. Various Slovak clubs that were active at one time were: Bratislavsky knizok, Trenciansky klub, Oravsky klub (now the Cleveland Slovak Social Club and still active), also such active clubs as the American Slovak Zemplin Club, the General Milan R. stefanik Dramatic Circle, the Slovak Dramatic Society, the Vansova Literary Guild, the Lakewood Slovak Civic Club and the Cleveland Slovak Civic Club. John Rozboril was director of a popular marching band at St. Ladislaus parish in the World War I era and Ray Zamiska organized the well known Post 381 St. Benedict's military band after World War II. Popular orchestras that circulated in the Slovak community were: Sedlak's, Golden's, Beno's and Pales' orchestras, and now still active are Kopcho's Cavalier s and the Pastirik Combo Five, both of which specialize in Slovak folk music. George Lukac, Sr. was a typical representative of Church organists who not only played liturgical music but trained singing groups through the years, and often produced plays and musicals. His son, Matthew, has been the organist and choir director at St. John's Cathedral for the past 30 years. Visits from abroad by dignitaries were the following: Msgr. Andrej Hlinka in 1926, the Matica Slovenska (Slovak Institute) from Turciansky Sv. Martin in Slovakia in 1935 and the Spolok sv. Vojtecha delegation in 1937 (with Dr. Joseph Tiso as a member). Police Chief George Matowic of Nativity parish was a highly respected member of the Cleveland Police Department for more than 40 years. Johnny Risko, Cleveland's "Baker Boy" was a perennial contender for the heavyweight boxing crown in the 1920's and early 1930's. SLOVAKIA 77 In art the best known was Steve Sarisky of the Cleveland Institute of Art and George Krispinsky, a former art instructor at Benedictine High School. Photography has an expert in the person of Tibor Gasparik who is the chief photographer in the municipal photo laboratory at City Hall. Outstanding in the field of Slovak literature are two eminent Slovak poets and authors: Rev. Mikulas sprinc, professor of Modern Languages at Borromeo College in Wickliffe, Ohio and Dr. Karol Strmen, Ph.D., professor of French, Italian and Latin at Cleveland State University. Successful Slovak industrialists are the following machine-shop owners: Wendell sarmir and Sons, Michael Olle and Sons, Wendell Lorence and Son and the Bobinchuk Father and Sons Company. Travel agencies under Slovak management are: John Olds' Atlas, Andrew Hudak's Adventure International, Groger's Travel Service (Groger and Friedman), and LihaniNemecek Travel Bureau. Financial Institutions founded and managed by Slovaks are: State Savings (Joseph Sotak, Sr. and Sons, also Mrs. Anna Sotak), formerly Tatra Savings, and Home Federal Savings in Lakewood Ohio (formerly Orol Savings founded by Martin Slimak and associates). On the cultural side, there is the Slovak Institute and its library at St. Andrew's Abbey. The Slovak Institute was founded by Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. who appointed as its first director Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, author of the first history of Slovakia, in 1952. Benedictine High School, founded in 1927, staffed and administered by the Slovak Benedictine Fathers of St. Andrew's Abbey, is perhaps the best known of Slovak sponsored educational institutions in the country. Its counterpart, the Lumen Cordium High School for girls, is administered and staffed by the Slovak Vincentian Sisters in Bedford, Ohio. They also have charge of the well known Slovak shrine there, Our Lady of Levoca. Under the sponsorship of the Cleveland Press and 78 SLOVAKIA directed by Theodore Andrica ( the well known nationality news editor for the daily over a period of forty years) a series of festival-pageants were produced annually. In the first years the Slovaks appeared with a la_rge group under the direction of Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. The Stefanik Dramatic Circle also participated. Among the most noteworthy books emanating from Cleveland directly were : 1) Poems by M. sprinc, 2) Poems by K. Strmen, 3) The History of Slovak Religious Orders in the U.S. by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., 4) Slovak Christmas by Jozef Duris, 5) Two works on ancient Slovak art and architecture by Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D., 6) A small volume on childhood in a Slovak family in Pennsylvania by A. V. Pier, O.S.B. Undoubtedly the most impor tant of these publications are Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders in the U.S., Dr. Strmen's anthology of world literature in the Slovak language and Mr. Duris' Slovak Christmas (in English). Most popular of the Slovak productions in Cleveland has been the Slovak Cook Book published by the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. The book is in its 17th edition. Nat far behind in nationwide popularity among the Slovaks of America is the map of Slovakia which was originally drawn up with meticulous and scientific care by Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D. and Engineer Kalocsay at the Slovak Institute more than twenty years ago. The map which shows approximately 3,500 Slovak towns, villages, etc. has been in increasing demand as more and more people visit Slovakia each year. The map is in its third edition. The Slovak Institute sponsored a special cultural exhibit under the auspices of the Slovak League of America at the Benedictine High School in 1957 under the co- chairmanship of Konstantin culen and Dr. Jozef Cincik, Ph.D. A three-day Slovak Book Exhibit at the Benedictine High School gym in the early 1960's was sponsored by the Slovak Institute. It was the first Nationality Book Fair in the history of Cleveland. Chief landmarks in Cleveland as unmistakable monu- SLOVAKIA 79 ments of Slovak endeavor are : 1) The bronze statue of General Milan R. Stefanik, erected in Wade Park in 1924 under the sponsorship of the Slovak League of America and associated Slovak societies in Cleveland. The cost was $25,000, and the sculptor was Frico Motoska from Slovakia. 2) The Slovak Cultural Garden, one of a score of nationality garden centers in Rockefeller Park. Peter Mokris and his wife, as well as Msgr. Francis Dubosh, were instrumental in establishing this Slovak link in the chain of gardens by the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation. Mrs. Tillie Bacik is currently the president of the Slovak Cultural Garden Association. Villa Sancta Anna is a home for the aged in Beachwood under the management of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. Slovak historic shrines that trace their origin to Slovakia where they have a history that goes back for centuries have their counterparts in Cleveland. The best known is the unique Our Lady of Levoca pilgrimage site in Bedford, Ohio. Little known here but equally famous are the Mother of Sorrows shrine from sastin and the Mother and Child Mariatal statue enshrined in St. Benedict's Church. Proposing a list of leading personalities in Slovak life in Cleveland during the past hundred years is risky business, but one must begin somewhere, and so I submit the following to be enrolled in the Slovak Hall of Fame: Stefan Furdek, Matthew Benko, Matthew Gruss, John Liscinsky, John Pankuch, Sr., Johnny Risko, George Szell, Mrs. Anna Hurban, John Sabol, Mrs. Anna Sotak, Gregory Vaniscak, Mother M. Berchmans, V.S.C., Martin Slimak, Joseph Dubnicka, Paschal Kavulic, Susan Matuschak, John Rozboril, Philip A. Hrobak, Dr. Francis Hrusovsky, Ph.D., and Msgr. Francis Dubosh. There are undoubtedly more who can be added to the group of our eminent Slovak leaders in various fields . Those who are still active have not been submitted as candidates for this honor.  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 Visible Signs of Slovak Culture in Cleveland, Ohio Description An account of the resource Andrew V. Pier, O.S.B. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 73-79 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pier, Andrew W., 1910-2003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 name